Reuters

Iran-U.S. Tensions: Calls For Revenge And Restraint

The killing of a top Iranian general in a U.S. drone strike has leaders, diplomats, and analysts around the world on edge, wondering where this might lead.

Paws To Relax: Dogs Ease Stress At Russian Airport

Russian airport terminals are buzzing this week with travelers trying to get home for the Orthodox Christmas holiday. One Moscow airport is providing a fuzzy, four-legged way to help cope with the stress.

Croatians Cast Ballots In Presidential Runoff

Candidates cast their ballots in the January 5 presidential runoff in Croatia's capital, Zagreb. Incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic is facing former Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, who won in the first round.

Iran Holds Massive Rallies Mourning Soleimani

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have attended government-organized funeral rallies for Qasem Soleimani, who had led the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' influential Quds Force.

Funeral Procession Held In Baghdad For Soleimani, Others Killed In U.S. Air Strike

Thousands of people attended a funeral procession in Baghdad on January 4 for those killed one day earlier in a U.S. air strike, including top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi joined the procession, as did many Iraqis carrying the flags of Iranian-backed militias.

Protesters Withdraw From U.S. Embassy Perimeter In Baghdad

Pro-Iran paramilitary groups protesting against U.S. air strikes in Iraq pushed their supporters to withdraw from the perimeter of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Iraqi Protesters Storm U.S. Embassy In Baghdad Over Air Strikes

Thousands of protesters surrounded the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on December 31 in a protest over recent U.S. air strikes that killed at least 25 members of an Iran-backed militant group, Kataib Hizbullah, in Iran and Syria. Embassy staff and the U.S. ambassador were evacuated as protesters broke down a door and burned American flags. Video shot elsewhere in Baghdad shows thousands of protesters marching to join the crowds at the embassy.

New Anti-Cruelty Law Unlikely To Close Russian Petting Zoos

An animal cruelty ban which comes into effect in Russia in January 2020 prohibits petting zoos and animal cafes that exhibit exotic animals. Animal rights activists believe immediate change is unlikely.

Tesla Or Lada? Moscow Car Hobbyist Turns Jalopy Into Cybertruck

Car enthusiast Aleksandr Trubnikov has been seen driving around Moscow in a Tesla Cybertruck, the electric vehicle unveiled to much fanfare in November. But fans of Trubnikov's YouTube channel know that the futuristic car body actually conceals the guts of a junked-out Russian Lada.

Putin Inaugurates Crimea-Russia Rail Link

Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in a ceremony on December 23 officially opening railway travel on a new bridge between mainland Russia and the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.

After Russian Loan, Businessman Orders Putin Statue For Kyrgyz Ski Resort

A new 2.5-meter statue of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been unveiled in a ski resort 30 kilometers south of the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. The statue was commissioned by businessman Akbar Roziev after he secured a loan from a Russian development fund.

Putin Slams U.S. Impeachment, Warns Of Arms Race

Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the impeachment of Donald Trump and urged an extension of arms control measures during a wide-ranging annual news conference on December 19.

India Citizenship Law Protests Spread Across Campuses

Protests over a new Indian citizenship law based on religion spread to student campuses across the country as critics said the Hindu nationalist government was pushing a partisan agenda in conflict with the country's founding as a secular republic.

Funeral Held For Former Moscow Mayor Luzhkov

The lying-in-state ceremony and the funeral service for former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, who led the Russian capital for almost two decades and oversaw its post-Soviet transformation, was held on December 12 in Moscow.

Afghanistan's Endless War Pits Brother Against Brother

Ukrainian Protesters Warn About Appeasing Russia

Thousands joined a December 8 rally in Kyiv to demand a tough stance on Russia ahead of peace talks in Paris that seek an end to the five-year war between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Barbie Gets Trashy Makeover By Ukrainian Filmmaker

A Ukrainian filmmaker has used nonrecyclable toothbrushes, plastic bags, and other trash to build the set for a new cartoon in which a plastic Barbie doll faces an apocalyptic future. Visitors can also explore a human-sized version of the set built with yet more trash.

New Typhoid Fever Vaccine Protects Young Children

Macron: NATO's Enemy Is Terrorism, Not Russia Or China

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged NATO leaders to review the alliance's strategy ahead of the NATO summit in London next week and focus on the threat from terrorism rather than Russia. His remarks come days after he declared the alliance was "brain dead."

Demands For Political Reform Met With Water Cannons In Georgia

Riot police in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, used water cannons to disperse protesters outside the country's parliament on November 26. It was the latest in a series of confrontations between the government and opposition over the country's electoral system.