Civil liberties and democratic freedoms under threat

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Four drones illegally entered Moldova’s airspace within hours; northern airspace temporarily closed

Moldovan authorities reported that four unmanned aerial vehicles breached the country’s airspace on the morning of Sep...

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Europe Intensifies Emergency Planning as Officials Warn of Rising Russian Provocations and Possible Attacks on NATO Territory

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Will Germany Turn Toward Russia Instead of Supporting Ukraine? The Significance of the AfD’s New Electoral Triumph

In Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania on September 20, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a landslide regional...

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Czech, Latvian and Swedish intelligence chiefs warn Russia may intensify sabotage in Europe in coming months

Leaders of the Czech, Latvian and Swedish intelligence services told The Guardian that Russia could escalate a campaign...

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Three years of NGO restrictions in Georgia: civil society diminished but not extinguished

Since 2024 successive laws and administrative measures have battered Georgia’s independent civil society, forcing many...

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Russia-installed Sevastopol Governor Reports Second Aerial Attack in One Day; Authorities Say Seven Drones Neutralized

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-appointed head of Sevastopol, said a second air-raid alert sounded over the city on the...

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Kyrgyz Officials Say President Can Run Without Resigning; Legal Provision Dates Back to 2004

Speaker of Parliament Marlen Mamataliyev and Central Election Commission head Tynchtyk Shainazarov have stated that Pres...

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Russian Justice Ministry labels seven more foreign NGOs 'undesirable', expanding crackdown on civil society

Russia's Ministry of Justice has added seven organisations based in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom to...

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Norway's PM Says Drone Nearly Hit President Zelenskyy's Plane; Moldova Reports Shahed-Type Drone Crash

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told journalists that a drone nearly struck the aircraft carrying Ukrainian P...

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Acting Kosovo Interior Minister Given One-Year Suspended Sentence for Throwing Tear Gas into Parliament

Kosovo's acting interior minister, Dželal Svečalja (Xhelal Sveçla) of the Self-Determination Movement, was sentenced...

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Right-wing AfD Tops Saxony-Anhalt Vote in Exit Poll; Faces Choice of Coalition Despite Strong Lead

An exit poll on Sept. 6 put the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) on 44.4% in the Saxony-Anhalt regional...

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Drone Strikes on Wildberries Warehouses in Russia Trigger Multimillion Losses for Central Asian Exporters

Drone attacks on Wildberries logistics sites beginning 18 July have wiped out inventory belonging to sellers from Kyrgyz...

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Open-cockpit Yak-52s and World War I–style tactics help Ukraine shoot down Russian drones over Odesa

Operating from three Soviet-era Yak-52 propeller planes donated by a Dutch NGO, Ukrainian aircrews are using open cockpi...

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Kazakhstan signs contract with Russia’s Atomstroyexport to build first nuclear power plant amid budget allocations and controversy

Kazakhstan formally signed a contract on September 3 with Russia’s Atomstroyexport (a Rosatom subsidiary) to design, s...

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Actor Beka Bediashvili Says He Was Denied Entry to Georgia, Cites Political Activity

Beka Bediashvili, a Georgian-born actor who has lived in Germany since childhood, says he was stopped at Tbilisi Airport...

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The Economist reports Putin told aides "Они меня повесят" — paper says he fears showing weakness and is unsure how to end the war

The Economist, cited by Настоящее Время (Current Time), reports that President Vladimir Putin told members...

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Norway Pledges NOK 85 Billion to Ukraine for 2027, Majority Earmarked for Military Needs

On 23 August Norway announced it will allocate 85 billion Norwegian kroner (about $9.2 billion) to Ukraine in 2027, matc...

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Law Passed, Now the Test of Peace Begins: İmralı Delegation Outlines Next Steps and Risks

Members of the DEM Parti İmralı delegation and İmralı Secretariat met with journalists in Istanbul on 19 August to d...

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Bosnian preacher Elvedin Peziq escorted by Kosovo police ahead of planned book event in Peja

Kosovo police escorted Bosnian Islamic preacher Elvedin Peziq to a Pristina station for questioning and identity verific...

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Pakistan Confirms Three Citizens Killed in Red Sea Attack as Yemen Coastguard Reports Multiple Deaths; Regional Tensions Over Strategic Waterways Escalate

Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed that three Pakistani citizens were killed and one wounded in an attack on a comm...

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Satellite Images Show Damage to Wildberries Warehouses in Russia After Reported Ukrainian Drone Strikes

High-resolution satellite imagery released by imagery firm Vantor reveals damage to warehouses operated by Wildberries,...

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Rebuilding the 'Third Pole': How an alliance of state networks, repression and Kurdish negotiations are reshaping Turkey's political balance

An analysis published in Yeni Yaşam contends that Turkey’s ruling coalition under President Erdoğan has formed a

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Japarov family members at center of lucrative projects: golf resort, new bank and business ties after arrests

The new Issyk-Kul Golf Resort opened with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov speaking alongside visiting heads of state, but...

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Ukrainian General Staff reports 207 clashes in 24 hours as heavy fighting centers on Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka directions

Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces recorded 207 combat engagements over the previous day, with the most intensive...

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Serbia Probes Two Arrested at Hungary Border After German Reports Link Them to Russian 'Disposable' Agents

Serbian prosecutors say two people detained on the Serbia-Hungary border are under criminal investigation after media re...

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Kazakh Minister Defends Charge Against Satirical YouTuber Detained on 'Incitement' Allegations

Kazakh Culture and Information Minister Aida Balaeva said satire itself is not illegal but defended the application of A...

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Veterans Give Zelensky Until July 24 to Make Defence Appointments, Threaten Open-Ended Protests

Veterans and organizers of protests that erupted in Kyiv after Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s resignation have se...

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How Ukrainian Forces Keep the Skies Over Kramatorsk Clear as the Frontline Advances, and How the City Lives Under Constant Attack

A video report from Настоящее время, produced by Радіо Свобода, documents life in Kramatorsk a...

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Russia Summons German Ambassador, Accuses Berlin of Backing Strikes on Civilian Infrastructure; Germany Had Earlier Protested Russian Cyberattacks

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Germany’s ambassador in Moscow, accusing Berlin of increasing support for Kyiv a...

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Kobanî residents protest Arabic naming of their city; mayor vows to keep 'Kobanî' on official records

Tensions have arisen during a phased integration following a January ceasefire between the Syrian Interim Government and...

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Lukashenko Promises Not to Send Belarusian Troops to Fight in Ukraine, Calls Pressure a 'Hybrid' Attack

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told military graduates on July 6 that he would not send Belarusian soldiers t...

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Kazakh Parliament Ratifies CSTO Protocols to Speed and Simplify Alliance Troop Movements

Kazakhstan’s lower parliamentary chamber has ratified amendments to Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) pro...

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Croatia’s far-right revives push for separate Croat electoral unit in Bosnia and Herzegovina, prompting regional alarm

A resolution by Croatia’s radical-right Domovinski pokret seeks to reshape political representation of Croats in Bosni...

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Belarusian youth football team bus hit in Bryansk region; one killed, several children injured as tour offers to Russian Black Sea resorts continue

A bus carrying Belarusian children to a seaside training camp in Russia was struck on June 17 in the Bryansk region, kil...

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Nearly 30 Years of Free Water in Kosovo’s Serb-Majority North Set to End, Leaving Questions over €20m Debt and Transparency

Residents of four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo are set to enter a regular water-billing system for th...

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Zelensky Offers to Meet Putin on Sidelines of G7 Summit in Evian; Moscow Yet to Respond

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has offered to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G7 summit...

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Tajikistan enacts revised national name list, removes nearly 1,700 entries and adds 965

Tajikistan has enacted an updated official List of National Tajik Names that removes 1,745 names and adds 965 more, brin...

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Video Circulates of Mass Smartphone Destruction amid Reports of Taliban Ban on Officials’ Devices

A video circulating online appears to show large numbers of smartphones being destroyed, a scene that has been linked to...

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Trial in 'Generalštab' Case Resumes in Belgrade as Minister of Culture Faces Charges Over Heritage Protections

The trial of Serbia’s culture minister, Nikola Selaković, and three other state officials resumed on June 10 at the S...

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Kyrgyzstan replaces open competition with state-commissioned process to pick new national anthem

Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary committee has approved a shift from an open public contest to a state-commissioned process...