The Armenian capital is holding local elections on September 17 that are viewed as a major test for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

Voters are heading to the polls to elect a municipal assembly and decide on Yerevan’s mayor for the next five years.

A total of 13 political parties and one bloc are vying for 65 seats in the assembly, called the Council of Elders.

The vote is the first major test for Pashinian’s Civil Contract party after 2021 general elections in which it scored a landslide victory.

Nearly 825,000 people are eligible to vote in Yerevan, which is about a third of the country’s eligible voters.

Civil Contract’s mayoral candidate in Yerevan elections is current Deputy Mayor Tigran Avinian, who served as Armenia’s deputy prime minister in 2018-2021.

SEE ALSO:

Is Armenia Turning To The West?

According to political observers, one of Avinian’s key rivals in the elections is Hayk Marutian, a former Pashinian ally who served as Yerevan mayor from 2018 to 2021 when he was relieved of his duties by a vote of no confidence passed by the Civil Contract-dominated Council of Elders.

Marutian, a popular comedian, is running on the ticket of the little-known National Progress Party.

Among the main contenders are also Mane Tandilian, a former labor minister who heads the Aprelu Yerkir (Country for Living) party, and former opposition lawmaker Andranik Tevanian, who leads the Mother Armenia bloc that enjoys the support of former president Robert Kocharian’s parliamentary Hayastan (“Armenia”) alliance.

The September 17 poll follows a 24-day election campaign, which, according to Vahagn Hovakimian, head of the Central Election Commission (CEC), took place in a relatively “polite and calm” atmosphere.

Opposition parties as well as some observers, however, have accused Civil Contract of foul play, saying its candidate has been using administrative resources in his campaign, a claim denied by the ruling party.

The CEC said three local and two international organizations have been accredited to monitor the elections. It added that 40 local and three foreign media outlets have also received accreditation to cover the voting on election day.

Voting is scheduled to end at 8 p.m. local time, with preliminary results expected to be announced early on September 18.

Ukraine said Russia launched missile and drone attacks early on September 17, targeting mainly the southern parts of the Odesa region as Moscow and other regions of Russia reported Ukrainian drone strikes.

Ukraine in recent days has launched a series of strikes on Russian military targets in occupied Crimea and the Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet's facilities.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Attacks deep inside Russia, far from the front lines, have also increased, with Moscow's mayor saying at least two drones were shot down in the capital region early on September 17.

Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure are continuing, with Ukraine reporting on September 17 that an agricultural facility in the southern Odesa region had been hit in a Russian aerial attack.

Russia launched six Iranian Shahed drones and 10 cruise missiles, with Ukraine's forces destroying six drones and six missiles before they hit their target, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

"Fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, mobile fire groups, and other means of attack were involved in repelling the air attack," the air force said.

The strike in Odesa comes a day after Kyiv said two cargo vessels arrived there to use a temporary corridor to sail into Black Sea ports and load grain for African and Asian markets.

Ukraine last month announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea to allow ships to sail from its ports and to circumvent a de facto blockade after Russia abandoned a deal to let Kyiv export grain.

Elsewhere, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram that air-defense systems had destroyed six drones over western, Russian-occupied Crimea.

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Russia's Navy Has A Dry Dock Problem. Again.

It did not say whether there had been any damage or casualties on the peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 in a move widely condemned internationally.

In the Moscow region, a drone was destroyed over the Istra district and another over the Ramensky district, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram, adding there were no casualties or damage from drone debris.

At least 30 flights were delayed and six canceled at Moscow's three major airports, Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Sheremetyevo, Russian state news agencies said.

In southwestern Russia, a Ukrainian drone damaged an oil depot early on September 17, sparking a fire at a fuel tank that was later extinguished, the regional governor said.

"There are no casualties. All emergency services are working on the territory of the facility," the governor of the Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, said on Telegram.

WATCH: RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir travels to the front with the Ukrainian drone operators who are hunting down enemy artillery with increasing accuracy.

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First-Person Firepower: Ukrainian Drone Unit Hunts Down Russian Armor

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In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskiy on September 16 thanked his nation’s allies for their continued support In the fight against the Russian invasion.

"This week, we’ve made significant progress in implementing existing defense agreements and other support packages," Zelenskiy said.

"Denmark, thank you for the new defense package, which is already the 12th package. Equipment, ammunition, and missiles for our air defense," he said.

"Germany, thank you for the new batch of military aid. Belgium, your participation in our pilot training is approved. Thank you! Norway, your decision to provide additional funding for Ukraine's recovery, it's crucial. Thank you!"

He also singled out the United States and South Korea for their support.

U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed on September 15 that President Joe Biden will host Zelenskiy in Washington on September 21 for what will be their third meeting at the White House.

Both Biden and Zelenskiy are slated to address the 78th session of the UN General Assembly next week, and Zelenskiy is expected to use his in-person appearance with U.S. and world leaders to rally support and plead for advanced weapons and ammunition to aid his country's ongoing counteroffensive to retake Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces.

A farmers' association in Romania has asked the government to continue a ban on Ukrainian grain and related products following a decision by the European Commission to lift restrictions, a move that would mirror actions announced by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary.

"If a country like Poland, which strongly and thoroughly supports Ukraine against Russian aggression, has taken such a unilateral decision after the September 15 deadline expired, we don't understand why Romania would be reserved about doing the same," the farmers' association said in a statement on September 16.

"Our request in no way affects the transit of Ukrainian farm products through Romania to other destinations, as it is going on at present," the statement added.

Russia’s war against Kyiv and the disruption of Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea have resulted in the European Union becoming a major transit route and export destination for Ukrainian grain.

In May, the European Commission agreed to allow Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds, while permitting transit of such cargoes for export elsewhere.

The five EU countries said the flood of products over the past 18 months had caused a slump in prices at home, hurting their farming sectors.

However, the commission allowed the ban to expire on September 15, despite protests from four of the five nations and vows of their unilateral action to protect farmers.

The parliament in Bulgaria, which previously supported the ban, on September 14 approved a decision to lift the restrictions, saying they risked raising prices for consumers. Sofia is seeking additional compensation from the commission for its farming sector in return for lifting the ban.

Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary on September 15 announced unilateral bans despite expiration of the commission restrictions.

Ukrainian grain shipments to Romania surpassed 9 million metric tons in the first eight months of 2023, arriving at the Black Sea port of Constanta, up from 8.6 million tons last year.

Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis on September 16 defended the decision to end the import ban on Ukrainian grain products, although he acknowledged that it was important to monitor the situation.

"We need exceptional circumstances to justify this type of restriction, and at the moment we see there is no disruption or distortion in the market of these five member states," he said.

With reporting by Reuters and dpa

Hundreds gathered in central London on September 16 to mark the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody in Iran last year, sparking worldwide protests against the country's conservative Islamic theocracy. Chanting "Woman! Life! Freedom!'' the crowds held her portrait and rallied around the memory of a young woman who died after she was arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s mandatory headscarf law. Similar protests took place in Rome and Berlin. To read the original story by AP, click here.

North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry has ordered the expulsion of three Russian diplomats, the third such move since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The ministry did not specify the reasons but said the decision was made after information indicated that their actions were contrary to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Russia vowed that the “hostile step…will not go unanswered." The tiny Balkan nation, a NATO member, had previously expelled at least 11 Russian diplomats. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, click here.

Two cargo vessels were headed to Ukrainian ports on September 16, the first to use a temporary corridor to sail into Black Sea ports and load grain for African and Asian markets, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov told Reuters. Last month Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea to release ships trapped in its ports since the start of the war in February 2022 and circumvent a de facto blockade after Russia abandoned a deal to let Kyiv export grain. Five vessels have so far left the port of Odesa, using the corridor which hugs the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria. To see the original story by Reuters, click here.

Some 120 nongovernmental groups have publicly appealed to lawmakers in the Kyrgyz parliament, the Supreme Council, to reject adoption of a law that would allow authorities to register organizations as "foreign representatives" in a style that critics say mirrors repressive Russian legislation. The NGOs say in the appeal, which is addressed to the chairman of the Supreme Council's committee on law and order and crime and corruption, Suyunbek Omurzakov, that the Kyrgyz bill merely substitutes the term "foreign representative" for "foreign agent" but would have a similarly chilling effect. They also say it will harm the Central Asian country of around 7 million people's economy. To see the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.

Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has said she will be in New York this week for high-level meetings with officials from the United States and other countries as delegations converge for the UN General Assembly. Her chief adviser, Franak Viachorka, was later quoted as saying Tsikhanouskaya would be in the United States September 17-23. She will reportedly also meet with members of the Belarusian diaspora. Tsikhanouskaya, who was driven abroad by the brutal crackdown after Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed a sixth presidential term after a flawed election in 2020, warned last month that Belarusian independence is under its "greatest threat" ever because of Lukashenka. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

Local officials in the central Afghan province where the Taliban detained 18 staffers for a long-serving humanitarian NGO earlier this month suggest the group was suspected of spreading Christianity, RFE/RL's Radio Azadi has learned.

Taliban intelligence and other officials in Kabul have remained silent over the detentions.

The International Assistance Mission (IAM) humanitarian group in Afghanistan on September 15 announced the detention of 18 team members from its offices in Ghor Province between September 3 and 13. It said they all appear to have been transferred to the Afghan capital, Kabul.

IAM and other information suggested the detainees comprise 17 Afghan nationals and a female American surgeon.

Early on September 16, IAM said it still "has not been informed of the reasons for the detention of our staff."

But Taliban officials in Ghor have accused them of spreading Christianity, which can be punished under strict interpretations of Islamic law in Afghanistan.

In a written message to Radio Azadi, Abdul Hai Zaim, the head of information and culture for the Taliban-led government for Ghor Province, confirmed the arrest of the IAM employees and claimed -- without providing evidence -- that they had been promoting Christianity.

The fundamentalist Taliban, who retook control of Afghanistan as U.S.-led international forces withdrew in 2021, have imposed a particularly harsh form of Shari'a law on the country when they have been in power at various points in the past four decades.

The internationally unrecognized Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has been accused by UN and other international officials of grave human rights offenses against non-Muslims, women, and minorities.

IAM said on September 16 that it had inquired with the Taliban-led Afghan government's Finance Ministry and was "working together with the UN and ACBAR, the coordinating body for NGOs in Afghanistan," to seek the release of the staff members.

IAM has worked in Afghanistan for nearly six decades, it said.

"IAM has worked in Afghanistan alongside Afghan communities for 57 years and we value and respect local customs and cultures. We stand by the principle that 'aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint,'" it said, adding, "All IAM staff agree to abide by the laws of Afghanistan."

The daughter of a German-Iranian reportedly abducted abroad and sentenced to death in Iran on "terrorism" charges denied by his family has met with visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Washington to discuss Jamshid Sharmahd's case, the daughter said in a tweet.

Dpa said Baerbock would not comment on details of the meeting.

Baerbock spoke this week with Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian for the first time in a year and a half, possibly about his and other detained German citizens' cases.

The German Foreign Office later cited "different attitudes" during that conversation.

Baerbock has previously described Sharmahd's death sentence as "absolutely unacceptable."

"Deeply grateful to the German foreign minister for spending time with us on her trip in Washington DC to speak about my dad Jimmy Sharmahd," Gazelle Sharmahd said on September 15 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Gazelle Sharmahd has been waging a #SaveSharmahd campaign and has been critical in the past of Berlin's perceived lack of commitment to seeking his release.

Sharmahd was detained under unclear circumstances in 2020 and is accused by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry of being a member of the Iranian opposition group Kingdom Assembly of Iran, or Tondar.

Based in Los Angeles, Tondar says it aims to overthrow the Islamic republic and reestablish a monarchy similar to that of Cyrus the Great. It runs pro-Iranian opposition radio and television stations abroad, as well as social media channels.

With reporting by dpa

Kyiv said it was continuing offensive operations against Russian forces in the east and south as alarms sounded throughout Ukraine on September 16, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Western and other allies for helping to make “significant progress” with “defense agreements and other support packages” for his embattled nation.

Meanwhile, Russia rejected Ukrainian claims of retaking a strategic village in the Donetsk region as its full-scale invasion of Ukraine approached its 20th month, while the Kremlin also said defense forces had shot down two drones outside Moscow overnight.

Separately, Washington confirmed plans for potentially crucial support-building meetings next week between Ukraine's visiting president and U.S. political leaders.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Around midday, air alerts sounded in a number of regions of Ukraine as the country's military warned of the threat of ballistic attacks on population centers.

The alarms blared in the capital, Kyiv, as well as in the Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Poltava, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolayiv, and Zaporizhzhya, and Odesa regions.

A series of blasts was reported in the Kharkiv region, although information on possible casualties or damages was initially unavailable.

The Ukrainian General Staff said on September 16 that its forces were conducting defensive operations in eastern and southern Ukraine and offensive operations around Melitopol and Bakhmut.

It claimed "success" in the Klishchiyevka area of the Donetsk region.

Ukrainian Digital Transformation Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov, who has participated in building up his country's advanced fighting abilities, warned Moscow's military that following recent attacks on Russian naval targets in the Black Sea, "There will be more drones, more attacks, and fewer Russian ships. That’s for sure."

Governor Roman Starovoit of Russia's Kursk region said on Telegram on September 16 that Ukrainian forces shelled a village in Russia's Kursk region, killing a 30-year-old civilian.

He also said that 17 Ukrainian projectiles had struck a village in the Korenevsky District of the Kursk region, causing damage but no injuries.

The Ukrainian side routinely avoids commenting on the increasing number of attacks inside Russian territory by unmanned aerial vehicles.

Russian media outlet RBC said in late August that it had tallied more than 500 claims by Russian authorities of drone attacks inside Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 18 months ago. In 110 cases, casualties or damage were reported.

SEE ALSO:

A New Mobilization? It's The Last Thing The Kremlin Wants Ahead Of Next Year's Presidential Election

Russia's Defense Ministry also rejected the Ukrainian military's claim from earlier in the week that Kyiv's forces had recaptured the village of Andriyivka, near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, where a Russian-backed separatist group called the Donetsk People's Republic operates.

"The enemy did not abandon plans to capture the city of Artyomovsk of the Donetsk People's Republic and continued to conduct assault operations...unsuccessfully trying to oust Russian troops from the population centers of Klishchiyivka and Andriyivka," the Russian ministry said in its daily briefing, according to Reuters.

RFE/RL can't independently confirm battlefield claims by either side in areas of the heaviest fighting in Ukraine, and censorship and strictures on the media seriously hinder reporting in Russia.

Reports have suggested that pressure from the United States and other allies has mounted on Ukraine to demonstrate success in the ongoing major counteroffensive it launched in June. Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials have pushed back on criticisms about the pace of the Ukrainian military's push to retake Russian-occupied areas of southern and eastern Ukraine.

Early this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that he had replaced Ukraine's defense minister because "new approaches" were needed.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy on September 16 thanked his nation’s allies for their continued support In the fight against the Russian invasion.

"This week, we’ve made significant progress in implementing existing defense agreements and other support packages," Zelenskiy said.

"Denmark, thank you for the new defense package, which is already the 12th package. Equipment, ammunition, and missiles for our air defense," he said.

"Germany, thank you for the new batch of military aid. Belgium, your participation in our pilot training is approved. Thank you! Norway, your decision to provide additional funding for Ukraine's recovery. It's crucial. Thank you!"

He also singled out the United States and South Korea for their support.

U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed on September 15 that President Joe Biden will host Zelenskiy in Washington on September 21 for what will be their third meeting at the White House.

WATCH: U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter tells RFE/RL how Zelenskiy could use a meeting with Biden next week to press the case for further military support.

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U.S. Diplomat: 'This Is Crunch Time' For Ukraine's Counteroffensive

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Both Biden and Zelenskiy are slated to address the 78th session of the UN General Assembly next week, and Zelenskiy is expected to use his in-person appearance with U.S. and world leaders to rally support and plead for advanced weapons and ammunition to aid his country's ongoing counteroffensive to retake Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces.

Sullivan also said Zelenskiy will visit the U.S. Capitol, where he can meet "congressional leaders from both parties to make the case that the United States has been a great friend and partner to Ukraine throughout this entire brutal war."

The U.S. Congress is currently debating Biden's request to provide as much as $24 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on September 16 that any help from Pyongyang is not likely to make a major difference in Moscow’s war effort.

“Would it have a huge difference? I’m skeptical of that,” Milley said, adding that while any weapons assistance would be of concern, "I doubt that it would be decisive.”

With reporting by Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers and hypersonic Kinzhal missiles on September 16, accompanied by President Vladimir Putin's defense minister. A smiling Kim was greeted in Russia's Knevichi, about 50 kilometers from the Pacific city of Vladivostok, by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu who saluted Kim who then inspected a guard of honor. A day earlier, Kim inspected a Russian fighter jet factory that is under Western sanctions, part of a visit Washington and its allies fear could strengthen Russia's military in Ukraine and bolster Pyongyang's missile program. To see the original story by Reuters, click here.

One American and two Russian space crew members have blasted off aboard a Russian spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a mission to the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub lifted off on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft on the evening of September 15. O'Hara will spend six months on the ISS while Kononenko and Chub will spend a year there. According to NASA, when mission commander Kononenko finishes his tour, he will hold the record for the person who has spent the longest amount of time -- more than 1,000 days -- in space. To read the original story by AP, click here.

The Pentagon's Central Command has ordered interviews of roughly two dozen more service members who were at the Kabul airport when suicide bombers attacked during U.S. forces' chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, as criticism persists that the deadly assault could have been stopped. The interviews are meant to see if service members who were not included in the original investigation have new or different information. The decision, according to officials, does not reopen the administration’s investigation into the deadly bombing and the withdrawal two years ago. But the additional interviews will likely be seized on by congressional critics, mostly Republican. To read the original story by AP, click here.

The European Union on September 15 decided not to renew a ban on Ukrainian food heading to nearby countries that have complained that an influx of agricultural products from the war-torn nation has hurt their farmers. The move sets up a clash with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, which have said that food coming from Ukraine has become stuck within their borders, creating a glut that has driven down prices for local farmers and hurt their livelihoods. The issue threatens European unity on supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. Bulgaria had decided to allow Ukrainian imports to bring down food prices. To read the original story by AP, click here.

PRAGUE -- The U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has said it is “too early” to rule out the possibility that Kyiv's counteroffensive against Russian forces will achieve "significant gains."

Ambassador Michael Carpenter said in an interview with RFE/RL on September 15 that the West needs to provide the military capabilities Ukraine’s forces need “to be able to have that breakthrough.”

“I think it's too early at this stage in mid-September to rule out any significant gains in the counteroffensive," Carpenter said. "I think it could still be the case that they could punch through those contiguous lines of defense that the Russians have established.

“I think the bottom line is that we need to cement the Western alliance of countries, continue to stand in unity with Ukraine, and provide cutting-edge military capabilities that they need to be able to have that breakthrough.”

Kyiv launched its counteroffensive in Ukraine's east and south in June but the effort has been slowed by heavily fortified Russian defensive lines. Ukrainian officials have frequently pushed back at criticism about the pace of the Ukrainian military's strategy to take back Russian-occupied territory.

While Washington early this month downplayed such criticism, saying that notable progress has been made, there have been widespread suggestions that public support for continued aid to Ukraine could diminish if the counteroffensive fails to meet high expectations.

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U.S. Diplomat Demands Humanitarian Aid 'Flow In' To Nagorno-Karabakh

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that “slower” arms shipments from Western countries are threatening the counteroffensive and called for Ukraine's partners to send more powerful and long-range weapons to push back Russian forces.

Carpenter said that Kyiv’s push for more weapon supplies is understandable, as “the Ukrainians are fighting an existential fight.”

“Their young men and women are dying in the trenches," he said. "And so they need everything they can get.”

The White House confirmed on September 15 that U.S. President Joe Biden will host Zelenskiy at the White House on September 21 and that the Ukrainian president will also visit the U.S. Congress.

Zelenskiy is also slated to speak at the UN General Assembly in New York next week. Zelenskiy is expected to use his in-person appearance with U.S. and world leaders to rally support and plead for advanced weapons and ammunition to fend off Russia's full-scale invasion that began in February 2022.

During Kyiv's counteroffensive, Ukrainian forces have also attacked the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally seized from Ukraine and annexed in 2014.

Carpenter said the General Assembly “is an important time” for Zelenskiy to meet with world leaders and to secure support as Ukraine continues its counteroffensive.

“This is a moment for Zelenskiy to speak to the president but also to the American people,” Carpenter said.

He also said that the visit would be an opportunity “to underscore that Ukraine's fight is not just a desire to reconquer territories that have been occupied by a foreign power, but it's really a fight for the future of the international system as such, for the principles that we, in the OSCE, hold dear -- sovereignty, inviolability of borders, territorial integrity."

Last week, the United States announced new aid for Ukraine totaling more than $1 billion, including over $665 million in military and civilian security assistance.

Washington has been Kyiv’s largest security partner, investing more than $44 billion in security assistance since 2021.

Ukraine is almost entirely dependent on Western military aid and equipment to wage its defense against the Russian invasion, now approaching its 19 month. Kyiv has repeatedly pressed the United States and other allies for more powerful weaponry, such as F-16 fighter jets, which could be put into service as early as next year.

The Belarusian Prosecutor-General’s Office said on September 15 that the country's Supreme Court has recognized the Belarusian Investigative Center (BRTs) as an "extremist organization." Registered in the Czech Republic, BRTs received the national Free Word prize four times from 2018-21 for reports revealing corruption among Belarusian officials. According to the Belarusian Prosecutor-General, BRTs in its reports aims "to escalate tensions in Belarusian society, create a negative attitude towards authorities, and damage Belarus' image on the international level." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

Calls to share scarce water resources and cooperate on security issues featured heavily in a two-day summit of the five Central Asian leaders that wrapped up in Dushanbe on September 15.

Joining the heads of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan for the fifth annual Consultative Meeting of the Leaders of Central Asia was Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, invited as an “honored guest.”

Amid perceived threats from the Taliban in Afghanistan and persistent droughts and water shortages in the entire region, discussions at the Tajik-hosted event revolved around border security and water-energy resource management.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon expressed concerns about what he called two “alarming” recent attempts by militants affiliated with Jamaat Ansarrulah, an Islamist extremist group based in Afghanistan that is considered a terrorist organization by Dushanbe, to breach his country’s border.

WATCH: In the midst of a growing water crisis in Central Asia, Uzbek well diggers are forced to constantly go deeper to supply rural farmers. With water tables falling, diggers can no longer guarantee farmers they will find a reliable source of irrigation. Climate change, misuse of resources, and government policies are being blamed.

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Digging Deeper: Well Builders Struggle To Supply Farmers Amid Central Asian Water Crisis

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"We have faced attempts by various terrorist groups to break through and illegally cross the state border. They aimed to commit a series of terrorist attacks in the capital and other regions of Tajikistan," he claimed.

Tajikistan said on September 6 that it had killed three members of Jamaat Ansarrulah, which is made up mostly of ethnic Tajiks and aims to overthrow the Tajik government, as they attempted to enter the country in late August.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov emphasized the region's growing energy and water challenges in recent years, noting increased electricity consumption during harsh winters and a scarcity of water resources in summer.

"I propose to begin work on renewing and improving cooperation within the framework of the 1998 agreement on the use of water and energy resources of the Naryn/Syr-Darya [basin] between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, which provides for a balanced exchange of water and energy resources," he said.

Despite that deal on the balanced use of transboundary river-water potential signed 25 years ago, compliance with it has waned in Central Asia as water becomes more scarce.

Kazakh President Qasym-Jomart Toqaev called for an action plan to be created to increase industrial cooperation among the Central Asian states. He said the plan would create a closed cycle of production for specific types of goods, with the potential to export them outside the region.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev suggested the formation of a free-trade zone without exceptions or restrictions in order to increase trade turnover.

SEE ALSO:

Kyrgyz-Kazakh Relations Strained Amid Water Cutoff, Border Traffic Jam

"It is necessary to adopt a comprehensive regional program providing for the formation of sustainable trade and logistics chains in the region as well as the opening and expansion of cross-border trade and cooperation centers," Mirziyoev said.

The Uzbek president also called for "eliminating barriers to mutual trade, and to create common electronic platforms for customs administration…as well as the launch of a regional e-commerce platform."

Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhammedov expressed his country’s readiness to supply natural gas and electricity to fellow Central Asian countries and further abroad via their territories.

The first meeting of the leaders of Central Asian states began in 2018, and last year’s gathering was held in July in the northern Kyrgyz city of Cholpon-Ata. Just three months later, deadly clashes broke out along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border that led to more than 100 people being killed and hundreds of others injured.

The contentious issue of the delimitation and demarcation of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border was not included on the agenda of the September 15 meeting.

Prominent jailed Iranian rights activist Narges Mohammadi says the death of Mahsa Amini a year ago has become a day that symbolizes "the oppression of the theocratic authoritarian regime against Iranian women."

In a message from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, Mohammadi on September 15, a day before the first anniversary of Amini's death, called for unity, urging Iranians to stand together in "revolutionary protest" and become symbols of dissent.

She highlighted the Woman, Life, Freedom movement that erupted in the wake of the 22-year-old's death as a testament to the resilience of protesters and the waning authority of the "theocratic authoritarian regime."

SEE ALSO:

'Naked' And Defiant: Diary Of An Iranian Protester

Amini died while in the custody of the morality police for an alleged head-scarf violation. Demonstrations against the Islamic regime over the incident quickly escalated, with the subsequent brutal government crackdown leading to the deaths of hundreds, including at least 64 teenagers and 34 women.

Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned multiple times over the past decade for her civil rights activities, emphasized the nation's mourning due to the "massacre and execution of young people on the streets and in prisons."

She said the violence against citizens has left the regime facing "disaster, disgust, and destabilizing fear."

She further argued that the Islamic republic's increased repression is a sign of its "depths of humiliation" rather than its strength. As the regime expands its oppressive measures, it is, according to Mohammadi, sinking deeper into a "quagmire of illegitimacy."

"The ultimate victory is certain," Mohammadi, who recently recent saw her prison sentence extended to a total of 10 years and nine months, along with an additional punishment of 154 lashes, said.

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Mahsa Amini: The Funeral That Sparked Nationwide Anti-Government Protests In Iran

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Mohammadi has been vocal in protesting prison conditions, publishing numerous letters highlighting the state of prisons and violence against inmates, especially those detained during nationwide protests.

Last year, in a letter addressed to Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Mohammadi described the "assault on women during arrest and in detention centers" as part of the Islamic republic's "suppression program" against activist women.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy has met with imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the envoy's fourth such visit since the American journalist was detained in March on espionage charges he denies. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said in a social media post that Gershkovich "remains strong and is keeping up with the news." The embassy added that "we reiterate our call for his and Paul Whelan's immediate release." Russia has alleged, without providing evidence, that Gershkovich attempted to obtain military secrets while on a trip to Yekaterinburg. The Wall Street Journal denies the claims.

Moscow-born figure skater Margarita Drobiazko has lost her Lithuanian citizenship over her participation in an event in Russia in August 2022.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda signed a decree annulling Drobiazko's citizenship on September 15 after lawmakers initiated a process to take away Drobiazko's citizenship in June.

Earlier in March, the Lithuanian parliament adopted a law that allows the revocation of the citizenship of individuals who had been granted Lithuanian passports for outstanding contributions to the country's culture and sports but whose actions posed a threat to the Baltic state's national security.

In August last year, Nauseda signed a decree depriving Drobiazko and her husband, Povilas Vanagas, who is also a well-known figure skater born in Lithuania, of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas over their participation in the event in question, which was organized by Tatyana Navka, the wife of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Nauseda at the time called the couple's participation in the event in the Russian city of Sochi "cynical" and said the Lithuanian government’s decision to grant Drobiazko Lithuanian citizenship in 1993 "looks like a miserable farce" under the circumstances of Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Drobiazko started representing Lithuania in international figure-skating events along with Vanagas. In 1993, she obtained Lithuanian citizenship; seven years later, the pair married. They have been residing in Moscow for many years.

The couple earned bronze medals at the 2000 World Championship and at the European Championships in 2000 and 2006.

Last year, Ukraine’s Olympic Committee sacked Olympic champion Viktor Petrenko from the post of vice president of the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation (UFFK) and expelled him from the organization for taking part in the Navka's event.

The United States is sanctioning more than two dozen individuals and entities connected to Iran's "violent suppression" of protests in the wake of Mahsa Amini's death last year in the custody of Iran's morality police, the U.S. Treasury Department said on September 15.

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'Naked' And Defiant: Diary Of An Iranian Protester

The sanctions target 29 people and groups, including 18 key members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iran's Law Enforcement Forces (LEF), as well as the head of Iran's Prisons Organizations, the department said.

They also target officials linked to Iran's Internet blockade as well as several media outlets.

Meanwhile, the European Union has threatened to tighten sanctions on the Iranian government.

All available options are being considered to address issues related to the human rights situation in the country, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on September 15 on behalf of member states.

The EU and its 27 members strongly reiterated their support for the fundamental rights of Iranian women and men.

All those arbitrarily detained should be released immediately, including EU citizens and those with dual nationality, he said.

A top U.S. diplomat to Afghanistan has categorically ruled out Washington's support for a new war in the nation, saying Afghans "deserve some peace" after more than four decades of international conflict ended two years ago when American and international troops left as Taliban militants seized power.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, Karen Decker, the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. mission to Afghanistan, dismissed any support for anti-Taliban armed factions such as the National Resistance Front (NRF) and the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF), saying Afghans themselves have been adamantly against the launch of any new conflict.

“No. Absolutely not! We do not support renewed conflict in Afghanistan. Full stop," she said in response to a question about whether Washington would support these groups.

"The one overwhelming message I hear from Afghans inside the country is no more war," she said, adding that Washington would "support" and "promote" a dialogue among Afghans.

Most of its neighbors have resisted supporting another round of war in Afghanistan after the hard-line Islamist Taliban swept to power in the wake of the final withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO troops two years ago.

After the pro-Western Afghan republic collapsed on August 15, 2021, some defunct Afghan security force members joined the NRF and other smaller groups to attack Taliban forces in the northern provinces of Panjshir and Baghlan. This raised the possibility that four decades of war in Afghanistan could enter a new phase.

Ahmad Massoud, the NRF’s leader in exile, recently visited Moscow in what was seen as an effort to win support for the NRF and pressure the Taliban, which has marked its two years in power so far by severely restricting rights and freedoms, especially for women.

Decker, however, questioned whether the Kremlin could support a new Afghanistan conflict.

"The Russians are kind of busy right now doing something else in Ukraine, so I don't know if that is a realistic scenario," she noted in a thinly veiled reference to Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which continues to take a heavy toll on its military resources.

“Any proxy warfare? Absolutely not,” she said. “The Afghan people have had more than 40 years of war. They deserve some peace.”

Decker said that Washington supports a dialogue among Afghans to work out the future of their country, including forming an inclusive government.

After returning to power, the Taliban's internationally unrecognized government has refused to share power with other Afghan political groups and armed factions.

Instead, it has recreated its extremist Islamic emirate. Exclusively led by senior Taliban leaders, the de facto government has banned women from education, work, and public life. The Taliban has also denied Afghans many fundamental rights and freedoms.

Taliban officials, however, point to a commission as evidence of their willingness to embrace reconciliation among citizens in the country.

The commission has invited former senior government members and state officials to come back to the country as long as they do not participate in politics.

Ukraine's government approved on September 15 a draft budget for next year, planning for higher defense spending and counting on continued Western financial support to cover the expected deficit. The draft 2024 budget puts the deficit at 1.548 trillion hryvnyas ($42 billion) or at about 20.4 percent of gross domestic product. More than half of all planned Ukrainian budget spending next year, or 1.7 trillion hryvnyas, is planned for the defense sector to fund the war effort against Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. The draft has yet to be approved by parliament. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

The ruling Taliban has detained 18 staff members of the International Assistance Mission (IAM) in Afghanistan from the humanitarian group's offices in the central Ghor Province, including an American surgeon. The IAM said in a statement on September 15 that it believed all 18 of the team members had been transferred to the Afghan capital, Kabul. The group said the detentions had taken place over 11 days. The long-serving NGO said, "We are unaware of the circumstances that led to these incidents and have not been advised of the reason for the detention of our staff members." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.