U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy met with jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on August 14, a State Department spokesperson said, in her third such visit since his March detention on espionage charges he denies. "Ambassador Tracy said that Evan continues to appear in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances," the spokesperson said, adding that it was Washington's expectation that Moscow would provide continued consular access. Russia has said Gershkovich was caught trying to obtain military secrets while on a trip to Yekaterinburg, but it has provided no details supporting that assertion. The WSJ also denies the allegations. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on August 14 said he visited troops in the Donetsk region on the front line of the war against Russia. Zelenskiy said in a Telegram post that he "discussed with the brigade commander the problems faced by the soldiers and proposals for their solution. I get general information every day…but I wanted to visit all the brigades separately in order to understand the problems of each of them." Heavy fighting has been taking place over recent weeks in Ukraine's eastern and southern regions.

Kazakh authorities have refused to grant asylum to two Karakalpak activists who face extradition to Uzbekistan, where supporters say they would face serious risk of politically motivated prosecution and torture over last year's mass protests in Uzbekistan's Karakalpak Autonomous Republic.

A Karakalpak activist based in Kazakhstan, Aqylbek Muratbai, wrote on X social network, formerly known as Twitter, on August 14, that asylum requests filed by Koshkarbai Toremuratov and Zhangeldy Zhaksymbetov had been rejected on July 31 but only became known now.

Kazakh officials have not announced the decision.

Toremuratov and Zhaksymbetov were arrested in September 2022 at the request of Uzbek officials, who accused the two men of undermining of Uzbekistan's constitutional order.

In January, an Uzbek court sentenced 22 Karakalpak activists to prison terms on charges including undermining the constitutional order for taking part in the mass protests in Karakalpakstan in July last year.

In March, another 39 Karakalpak activists accused of taking part in the protests in the region's capital, Nukus, were convicted, with 28 of them sentenced to prison terms of between five and 11 years. Eleven defendants were handed parole-like sentences.

Uzbek authorities say 21 people died in Karakalpakstan during the protests, which were sparked by the announcement of a planned change to the constitution that would have undermined the region's right to self-determination.

However, the Austria-based Freedom for Eurasia human rights group said last month that at least 70 people were killed during the unrest.

The violence forced President Shavkat Mirziyoev to make a rare about-face and scrap the proposal.

Mirziyoev accused "foreign forces" of being behind the unrest, without further explanation, before backing away from the proposed changes.

Karakalpaks are a Central Asian Turkic-speaking people. Their region used to be an autonomous area within Kazakhstan before becoming autonomous within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1930 and then part of Uzbekistan in 1936.

The European Union has called for an independent investigation into the violence.

The U.S. Defense Department on August 14 announced a new package of security assistance for Ukraine as it continues to battle against Russia's full-scale invasion. The $200 million package includes additional munitions for Patriot air-defense systems and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). Mine-clearing equipment and systems is also included, the Pentagon said. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, click here.

BUDAPEST -- Open Society Foundations (OSF) has informed organizations in Hungary that rely on its support that a recent decision by the OSF's board effectively puts an end to most of its activities in the European Union to dedicate those resources to other parts of the world, RFE/RL's Hungarian Service has learned.

The OSF's resources for Europe will be "extremely limited," an August 11 e-mail told those local groups.

The OSF, formerly known as the Open Society Institute, has spent hundreds of millions of dollars since it was established with a multibillion-dollar endowment from Hungarian-born founding Chairman George Soros to boost civil society around the world since the fall of communism in 1989.

Several Hungarian NGOs confirmed to RFE/RL's Hungarian Service their receipt on August 11 of the OSF e-mail, which cites the board's decision "on a radical strategic change of direction" to achieve maximum impact.

With the organizational restructuring planned for next year, many European programs could be concluded as early as 2024.

An OSF spokesperson confirmed the strategic reorganization in statements to RFE/RL while saying the group would "continue to fund civil-society groups across Europe," including those that work on EU external affairs or support Romany communities.

"We will also continue to be a funder of human rights, democracy, and accountable government across the region, most notably in Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and the Western Balkans through the work of our national foundations," the statement said.

It added that the organization of most of its specific grants would be "determined over the coming months."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and many of his Fidesz allies have been vocal critics of Soros's role in the region, as well as of the Open Society groups' long-term efforts to advance education, justice, and independent media in former Soviet and Eastern Bloc states.

The OSF closed its Budapest offices in 2018 and moved them to Berlin, citing "an increasingly repressive political and legal environment in Hungary."

George Soros, 93, put son Alexander Soros in charge of Open Society Foundations earlier this year ahead of expected layoffs and "significant changes" to its structure.

In late June, the OSF announced "significant changes to the Foundations' operating model" and said management would implement the changes in "the coming months."

A measles outbreak in Kyrgyzstan has led to the deaths of two unrelated children, aged 3 and 1, over the past six months, officials said on August 14. Both fatalities resulted from the refusal of vaccinations by the children's parents, who cited religious beliefs, officials said. The Health Ministry reported a total of 1,704 confirmed cases this year. The surge in cases extends to other former Soviet republics, with Russia reporting more than 5,000 cases, Kazakhstan at least 3,000, and Tajikistan with 528 cases since the beginning of the year. Measles is a preventable but highly contagious disease that can kill a child or leave it disabled for life. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, click here.

Romanian officials said the NATO member nation's navy had sent a team of specialized divers and a helicopter to search for stray mines along the Black Sea coast after an explosion shook the embankment near the resort town of Costinesti. No one was injured in the blast. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, mines have been placed in the Black Sea by both sides of the war. Strong waves and winds have often brought the explosives toward the Romanian coast. Western reports say Russia planted additional mines in the region after it left a UN-brokered grain deal. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Romanian Service, click here.

The Uzbek capital's Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into the death of a 33-year-old man being detained at a Tashkent police station after his family said the body showed signs of torture. The unnamed man, who was being held on suspicion of offenses including involvement in organized criminal groups, abduction, and extortion, collapsed on August 12 while undergoing police questioning, officials said on August 14. A preliminary diagnosis attributed the cause of death to liver cirrhosis and cardiovascular defect, but the family disputes the report. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, click here.

Ukraine’s charge d’affaires in Armenia, Oleksandr Senchenko, has died in an apparent drowning incident at the high-altitude Lake Sevan in the country’s east on August 13, Armenian officials said. On August 14, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed Senchenko's death, calling him an experienced and highly qualified diplomat who had worked in the ministry since 2003. Armenia's Interior Ministry said it had launched a probe into the Ukrainian official's death. No other details related to the circumstances of Senchenko’s demise were immediately available. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Armenian Service, click here.

The Supreme Court of Belarus on August 14 shut down the opposition Belarusian Popular Front Party (PBNF) amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent. Last month, the court liquidated the Conservative Christian Party that split from PBNF in 1999. Earlier this year, Belarusian authorities also stopped activities of the Green Party, the Republican Party, the Social Democratic Party of People's Accord, and the Belarusian Social Democratic Party. On August 15, the Supreme Court is scheduled to consider the liquidation of another opposition group, the United Civil Party. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

A citizen journalist and nurse, Iryna Danylovych, who in 2021 was sentenced to seven years in prison by Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine's Moscow-annexed Crimea, has been transferred to a penal colony in the Russian region of Stavropol Krai. The activist's father, Bronyslav Danylovych, told RFE/RL on August 14 that guards had not allowed his daughter, who has a medical condition, to take medicine with her to the penal colony in the town of Zelenokumsk. Danylovych was sentenced on a charge of illegally fabricating an explosive device, which she denies. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Crimea.Realities, click here.

Two more journalists have been arrested by Taliban authorities in southern Afghanistan, where women's voices were also barred from radio broadcasts.

A source who requested anonymity told RFE/RL that Taliban forces arrested journalists Attaullah Omar and Waheedur Rahman Afghanmal in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on August 13.

Omar is a Kandahar correspondent for Tolo News, Afghanistan's leading independent television news station, while Afghanmal reports for the daily Etilat-e Roz.

Their arrest follows the detention of five journalists in different parts of Afghanistan this month.

Meanwhile, the Taliban's Information and Culture Ministry in the southern Helmand Province ordered local radio stations to stop broadcasting women's voices, even in advertisements.

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"All the radio stations in Helmand have been warned that if they broadcast the voice of a woman, they will be shut and their owners will be punished," one station manager, who requested anonymity, told Radio Azadi on August 14.

In an August 13 statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the Taliban to "stop its relentless campaign" of muzzling the free press two years after returning to power in August 2021.

"Worsening media repression is isolating Afghanistan from the rest of the world at a time when the country is grappling with one of the world's largest humanitarian emergencies," said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi.

Despite promises to allow press freedom after returning to power, the Taliban has shut down independent radio stations, television studios, and newspapers. Some media outlets have closed after losing funding.

Its hard-line government has banned some international broadcasters while some foreign correspondents were denied visas.

The ultraconservative Islamist group has driven hundreds of Afghan journalists into exile.

The Chief Justice of Iran's Fars Province, Kazem Mousavi, said on August 14 that a Tajik national was behind a deadly attack on the Shah Cheragh mausoleum that took place a day earlier in the city of Shiraz. According to Mousavi, eight foreigners had been apprehended on suspicion of involvement into the attack on the Shi’ite shrine that killed one person and wounded several others. "The main suspect identified himself as Rahmatullo Noruzov, and he is a Tajik national," Mousavi stressed. Tajik officials have yet to comment on Mousavi's statement. To read the original report by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, click here.

A former senior member of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) died in prison on August 12, his relatives said, prompting opposition members to accuse authorities of inhuman treatment of political opponents.

Authorities confirmed that Jaloliddin Mahmudov, 63, died in prison in Vahdat, a city some 23 kilometers east of the capital, Dushanbe, without giving a reason for his death.

Mahmudov's relatives said he suffered from bladder problems, high blood pressure, and diabetes, and hadn't been receiving proper medical care in detention.

The IRPT, an influential party with representatives in the government and parliament, was labeled a terrorist group and banned in 2015 by authoritarian President Emomali Rahmon.

Many IRPT officials and supporters have been prosecuted and many imprisoned, drawing criticism from human rights groups.

Mahmudov was first arrested in 2015 when he worked as a member of Central Commission for Elections and Referendums. He was charged with illegal possession of weapons and sentenced to five years in prison.

He was released from prison early in 2019 when his sentence was reduced under an amnesty.

But he was rearrested and sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison in 2020 on charges of receiving money from wanted individuals. Human rights groups and Mahmudov's relatives called the charges politically motivated.

Following Mahmudov's burial on August 13, the National Alliance of Tajikistan (PMT), a group uniting several exiled opposition movements that was also outlawed by Tajik authorities as a terrorist and extremist organization, accused the government of inhuman treatment of political prisoners.

"The authorities deliberately create unbearable and inhuman conditions for prisoners, especially political prisoners," to eliminate them, the PMT said, calling on human rights groups to closely monitor the conditions of detention of political prisoners.

At least three people were killed and seven others were wounded in an explosion at a hotel in Afghanistan eastern province of Khost, which borders Pakistan's former militant stronghold of North Waziristan, police said on August 14. A statement issued by the office of the Taliban governor in Khost said that the blast occurred mid-morning on August 14, without giving details about the nature of the blast and who was behind it. Eye-witnesses told RFE/RL that members of the Pakistani Taliban were staying at the hotel. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.

Forty-five diplomats and employees of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau left Moldova on August 14 after the Moldovan government last month ordered the drastic reduction of Moscow's diplomatic presence there. Moldova, a former Soviet republic, has been buffeted by Russia's war in neighboring Ukraine, and pro-European President Maia Sandu has denounced the invasion and accused Moscow of trying to destabilize her country. Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu ordered the Russian Embassy on July 25 to reduce staff to 25 from some 70 by August 15. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service, click here.

MINSK -- Belarusian authorities have put on auction possessions belonging to jailed former would-be Belarusian presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka.

The 59-year-old Babaryka was sentenced to 14 years in prison in July 2021 on charges of bribe-taking and money laundering that he and his supporters have said are political retribution for challenging authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

The organizer of the auction, BelYurZabespyachenne, placed nine watches for auction on its website that it said had been "impounded" from Babaryka.

The watch collection includes a Vacheron Constantin valued by BelYurZabespyachenne at more than $15,500, a Patek Philippe at $18,700, and a Zenith at $4,800. The auction is scheduled to start on September 13.

The website also carried pictures of other possessions listed as belonging to Babaryka that had been sold on auction already, including a Ford Fiesta car, shares in companies, and rifle scopes.

Babaryka, the former head of the Russian-owned Belgazprombank, was arrested in June 2020 as he was trying to register as a candidate to run against Lukashenka in a presidential vote critics and observers say was massively rigged.

Lukashenka was declared the winner of the August 2020 election, triggering protests by tens of thousands of Belarusians. The demonstrations lasted for months as Belarusians demanded that Lukashenka, in power since 1994, step down and hold fresh elections.

At Lukashenka's direction, security officials cracked down hard on demonstrators, arresting thousands and pushing most leading opposition figures out of the country.

Several protesters have been killed in the violence, and rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used against some of those detained.

Lukashenka denies voter fraud and has refused to negotiate with the opposition led Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who supporters say actually won the August 2020 election. Tsikhanouskaya is currently residing in Lithuania.

Authorities in Minsk had impounded her two-bedroom apartment and sold it in an action in July for 203,687 rubles (around $80,740).

Hundreds of Kazakh miners employed by the largest copper producer in Central Asia, the Kazakhmys Corporation, went on strike on August 14 at the mines in Satpaev, in the central Kazakh region of Ulytau. The protesters put forward a list of 15 demands, including the improvement of working conditions, the modernization of mining equipment, the hiring of extra workers, and enhanced vacations, disability, and financial benefits. Local authorities and law enforcement officials went to talk to the strikers, officials told RFE/RL. The Kazakhmys Corporation declined to comment on the strike, saying they were preparing “up-to-date information.” To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service, click here.

Fugitive Russian lawmaker Vladislav Zhivitsa announced at a press conference in Warsaw on August 13 the launch of a movement for the independence of his native Smolensk region from the Russian Federation. Zhivitsa was accompanied by a member of the Coordination Council of Belarus in exile, Yan Rudzik. Zhivitsa added that supporters of the independence of Smolensk will create a unit within the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment consisting of Belarusian citizens who have been fighting alongside Ukrainian armed forces against occupying Russian troops. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.

Iran has reportedly arrested nine more members of the Baha'i faith, the country's largest non-Muslim community, shutting down and confiscating more than 40 pharmacies and warehouses belonging to the detainees.

The Intelligence Ministry of the Islamic republic announced on August 13 that a Baha'i family and its associates, who were involved in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic business, have been detained. Baha'i activists have identified some of the detainees as Ashkan, Afshin, and Ardalan Tabiyanian, along with their sister and brother-in-law.

The detainees are accused of various crimes, including "drug smuggling and hoarding," "fraud with medicines," "money laundering," and "tax evasion."

The Baha'i are branded as "heretics" by the Iranian regime which has been persecuting them for alleged ties to Israel, which is home to their most important shrines and world headquarters.

In a separate incident, Jamaluddin Khanjani, a former leader of the Baha'i community in Iran, and his daughter, Maria Khanjani, were arrested on August 13. After a house search, they were transferred to Evin prison by order of the head of Evin Court.

Jamaluddin Khanjani, a member of the so-called Yaran Iran group, was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2008 on charges including "assembly and collusion against national security," "propaganda against the system," and "espionage."

He was released in 2017 after a reduction in his sentence. The Yaran Iran group, responsible for managing the affairs of the Baha'i in Iran, saw all seven of its members receive lengthy prison sentences of 10 years each.

Currently, three members of the Yaran Iran group, Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabet, and Afif Naeimi, are serving their sentences in prison.

There are some 300,000 Baha'i adherents in Iran, where their faith is not officially recognized, and an estimated 5 million followers worldwide.

In a religious fatwa issued in 2018, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei forbade contact, including business dealings, with the followers of the faith.

Since the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 1979, hundreds of Baha'is have been arrested and jailed for their beliefs. At least 200 have been executed or were arrested and never heard from again.

Thousands more have been banned from receiving higher education or had their property confiscated, while vandals often desecrate Baha'i cemeteries.

Following nationwide protests in 2020, there has been a significant increase in the summoning and detention of Baha'i citizens in recent months.

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

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on August 14 condemning what it called Russia's "provocative actions" after Moscow said one of its warships fired warning shots at a cargo vessel in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian ministry "strongly condemns the provocative actions carried out by the Russian Federation on August 13 in the Black Sea in relation to the Turkish dry cargo vessel 'Sukru Okan,' which was en route to the [Ukrainian Danube] port of Izmail," it said in a statement. "The Russian Navy grossly violated the UN Charter, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and other norms of international law," the statement said. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

At least one person has been killed and at least seven others were wounded by two gunmen in an attack on the Shah Cheragh mausoleum in the city of Shiraz, Iranian state media reported on August 13. The fate of the attackers remained unclear. Iran's IRNA news agency initially reported four killed but then revised the toll downwards to one. In October 2022, an attack on the Shi’ite shrine killed 13 people and left dozens injured. To read the original report by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, click here.

Poland has detained two Russian nationals suspected of espionage, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on August 14. The two men, whose identities were not disclosed, are suspected of distributing propaganda materials about Russia's Wagner mercenary group, which is currently based in Belarus. Ten days earlier Kaminski said a Belarusian citizen was arrested in Poland on espionage charges. On August 12, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Warsaw had increased the number of troops protecting its border with Belarus as a deterrent amid “destabilizing” actions by its pro-Russian neighbor. To read the original story by RFE/RL's North.Realities, click here.

China's defense minister, Li Shangfu, will visit Russia and Belarus from August 14 to August 19, the ministry said in a statement on August 14. While in Russia, Li will attend an international security meeting and make a speech there, according to the statement. He will also meet with leaders from Russia's national defense department. During his visit to Belarus, he will meet with the country's authoritarian leader, Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Li will also visit military departments in Belarus. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

At least 11 people were killed and nine were injured in a collision between a minibus carrying passengers and a truck early on August 14 in Armenia. Five of the injured were in critical condition, doctors told RFE/RL. The deadly car crash occurred on the Yerevan-Gyumri highway some 85 kilometers northeast of Yerevan, Armenian officials said. The passengers of the minibus were returning to Armenia from Turkey, according to victims' relatives. Investigators were reportedly working on the scene to clarify the circumstances of the accident. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, click here.