Turkmenistan honored its first Olympic medal winner on August 21 with a lavish ceremony where she was showered with gifts.

The 21-year-old weightlifter Polina Guryeva won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo by lifting a total of 217 kilograms in the 59-kilogram category.

It was the first Olympic medal won by an athlete from Turkmenistan since the Central Asia country gained its independence in the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Turkmenistan's authoritarian president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, presented Guryeva with an apartment, a luxury sports utility vehicle, and a cash award of about $50,000.

Berdymukhammedov's son, Serdar, handed over the gifts to the weightlifter during the ceremony in Ashgabat.

He read the president's remarks for the occasion, saying that Guryeva's medal helped “increase glory, prestige, and authority of the sovereign homeland” and was a “source of immense pride for the entire people.”

The Olympic winner told the gathering of athletes and government officials that she dedicated her medal “to the Turkmen people and the country's president in honor of the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan's independence.”

Based on reporting by AP

Russian police have detained several journalists who were protesting in Moscow on August 21 against a decision by authorities to label a top independent television channel as a “foreign agent.”

To circumvent Russian laws against unauthorized protest gatherings, the journalists held individual pickets outside the main headquarters of the country's top domestic security agency, the FSB, on Moscow's Lubyanka Square.

They were detained after holding up protest signs with messages such as “Journalism is not a crime” and “You are afraid of the truth."

The protests follow a decision by Russia's Justice Ministry on August 20 to add the Dozhd television channel (TV Rain) and the online investigative outlet Important Stories to its list of organizations deemed as “foreign agents."

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Russian Justice Ministry Declares Dozhd TV A 'Foreign Agent'

Dozhd has denounced the designation as unfair and says it will appeal.

Dozhd operates online and has long been a platform where Kremlin critics who are unable to get on state TV have been able to express their views.

The channel has been sharply critical of Russian authorities’ crackdown on dissent. It has regularly carried live reports about opposition protests.

It also has extensively covered the poisoning and the imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and the criminal cases authorities have launched against his allies.

The "foreign agent" designation was made under a law used by Russian authorities to target nongovernmental organizations and individuals who receive funding from abroad and are deemed to be engaging in "political" activity.

Rights groups and other critics say the law is a tool to crack down on media freedom and silence the critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies.

Russian authorities have raised pressure on the opposition and independent media ahead of parliamentary elections in September -- a vote seen as an important part of Putin's effort to consolidate his rule ahead of the country's 2024 presidential election.

The "foreign agent" label implies closer government scrutiny. It also has connotations that could undermine the credibility of media outlets and hurt their advertising revenue.

With reporting by Current Time, RFE/RL's Russian Service, and AP

Recently elected Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said his government will place a priority on fighting COVID-19.

"The government's first priority is controlling the coronavirus, improving the health situation, and widespread vaccination," Raisi said on August 21 as parliament began debating the conservative leader's male-only cabinet choices.

"The economy and the livelihood situation is the second" priority, he said.

Infection and death rates owing to the coronavirus pandemic have hit record highs in Iran this month, with more than 4.5 million cases and more than 100,000 fatalities.

Officials have blamed the more contagious Delta variant for the country's "fifth wave" of coronavirus infections.

Raisi has tapped Bahram Eynollahi to be his health minister, describing the 63-year-old optometrist as "a figure who can rally forces in the fight against coronavirus."

Eynollahi has been identified as a signatory to a January open letter that warned against importing vaccines made by the United States, Britain, and France, alleging they could cause "unknown and irreversible complications."

More than 16.3 million people out of the country's 83 million inhabitants have been given a first vaccine dose, but only 5.4 million have received the second, the Health Ministry said on August 20.

Based on reporting by AFP

KYIV -- An influential opposition news website has been banned in Ukraine in connection with sanctions against its editor, who faces sanctions in Kyiv for publishing "pro-Russia propaganda" and is living in exile in Austria.

The ban against the strana.ua website was issued as a decree signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that was made public on August 21.

Strana.ua's editor Ihor Hushva has been in exile since 2018 when Ukraine's National Security Council imposed sanctions on him and his companies.

Hushva is among dozens of individuals named on August 20 by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council of spreading "pro-Russian propaganda."

The council on August 20 also imposed sanctions on a number of pro-Kremlin figures in Ukrainian politics, businesses, and media.

Among them is Andriy Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker that the U.S. government sanctioned in September 2020 after accusing him of being a Russian agent who tried to interfere in U.S. elections.

In January, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned seven Ukrainians and four entities for being part of a Russia-linked foreign intelligence network run by Derkach.

Derkach did not immediately comment, but he previously denied the allegations and said he was being targeted for exposing corruption.

Derkach was linked to an effort by Rudy Giuliani, who was former U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, to find compromising information about President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, during the 2020 election campaign.

“Sanctions are also imposed on four entities related to Internet resources, which are directly or indirectly coordinated by these citizens and conduct systematic anti-Ukrainian propaganda,” the council said.

They include bloggers and politicians Anatoliy Shariy and Olga Shariy, who are accused of running a video blog and website considered pro-Russian. The couple also founded a party that has several representatives in city and oblast councils.

The head of Ukraine's SBU security agency, Ivan Bakanov, said the measures were taken to protect the "information space."

"The Security Service clearly distinguishes between freedom of speech and the attack on the statehood and sovereignty of Ukraine," Bakanov said.

In addition, sanctions were imposed on 28 members of Russia's intelligence and special services as well as six other individuals alleged to be responsible for human rights abuses in Crimea.

Sanctions were also imposed on 12 legal entities, including local television channels, news agencies, and online publications from Crimea.

“All of them are waging an information war against Ukraine and are active participants in hybrid aggression,” the council said.

Russia occupied Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 after sending in troops and staging a referendum dismissed as illegal by more than 100 countries.

Moscow also backs separatists in a war against government forces that has killed more than 13,200 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.

With reporting by Kyiv Post and dpa

Iranian officials have reported an increase in the overall number of child marriages last year compared to 2019.

According to the Statistics Center of Iran, the marriage rate of girls aged 10-14 last year increased by 10.5 percent compared to 2019.

It says 31,379 girls in that age bracket were married in 2020 compared to 28,373 cases the previous year.

The legal age for marriage in Iran is 13 years for girls and 15 years for boys, though it is acceptable for children younger to be married with a father's permission.

The statistics for child marriages are only those that were officially registered with the Civil Registry Office. The actual number is believed to be higher as many such marriages are unregistered.

The Statistics Center of Iran reported that about 5 percent of all the registered marriages in Iran in 2020 involved children under the age of 15.

Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, called for "immediate reforms" in the Islamic republic's treatment of women and girls in a report to the UN Human Rights Council in March, citing the prevalence of child marriage as a major issue.

Rahman said that "[Iranian] women and girls are still treated as second-class citizens."

Russia's Justice Ministry on August 20 declared the Dozhd television channel (TV Rain) a "foreign agent," part of what Kremlin opponents say is a crackdown on critical media before parliamentary elections next month.

Adopted in 2012 and amended repeatedly, Russia’s controversial "foreign agent" legislation requires nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign assistance and that the government deems to be engaged in political activity to be registered, to identify themselves as “foreign agents,” and to submit to audits. Later modifications of the law targeted foreign-funded media.

Organizations designated have to carry out administrative procedures, including clearly indicating their status to the public.

Dozhd operates online and has long been a platform where Kremlin critics who are unable to get on state TV have been able to express their views.

In mid-June, Dozhd was expelled from the journalists' pool of Russian President Vladimir Putin, apparently because the outlet had covered the return of politician Aleksei Navalny from Germany to Russia and the rallies in his support.

Investigative journalists working for another outlet, Important Stories, were also added to the list of "foreign agent" media on August 20, the official register of the ministry showed.

They included Editor In Chief Roman Anin; journalists Roman Shleinov, Irina Dolinina, Alesya Marokhovskaya, Dmitry Velikovsky; and former staffer, Olesya Shmagun. Journalist Stepan Petrov also appeared on the list.

On August 18, the independent election monitoring group Golos said Russia’s Justice Ministry has designated it a “foreign agent,” a move that is likely to hamper the monitor's work during next month's parliamentary and local elections.

Golos has painstakingly documented allegations and evidence of fraud in past elections, including the 2011 parliamentary vote, in which suspicions of widespread rigging on behalf of the ruling United Russia party fueled large protests, and the 2012 presidential ballot that returned Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin after four years as prime minister.

The September 17-19 elections are for members of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament and a key instrument of Putin's power, as well as regional and local balloting.

The Justice Ministry maintains two other registries of "foreign agents" -- one is for NGOs registered in Russia, and the other is for media outlets.

With reporting by Reuters

MOSCOW -- A Moscow court has sentenced another associate of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny to one year of so-called "restricted freedom," a parole-like sentence, for allegedly violating restrictive measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.

The court handed down the sentence to the former chief of Navalny's team in Moscow, Oleg Stepanov, on August 20 after finding him guilty of publicly calling for people to take part in unsanctioned rallies to support the Kremlin critic in January.

Stepanov, like several other Navalny associates previously, rejected the charge calling it politically motivated while accusing authorities of using pandemic restrictions to crackdown on opposition.

Four days earlier, the same court sentenced Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, to 18 months of restricted freedom on the same charge.

Earlier this month, Navalny's brother Oleg was found guilty of the same charges and handed a one-year suspended sentence and a one-year probation period.

Two other Navalny associates, Nikolai Lyaskin and Lyubov Sobol, also were found guilty and given parole-like sentences -- one year and 18 months, respectively. Media reports that Sobol fled Russia after the verdict have not been confirmed either by her or her associates.

Other individuals charged include municipal lawyers Dmitry Baranovsky and Lyusya Shtein; the chief of the Alliance of Doctors NGO, Anastasia Vasilyeva; and a leading member of the Pussy Riot protest group, Maria Alyokhina.

Most of them are now under house arrest or curfew.

Aleksei Navalny was arrested on January 17 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was treated for poisoning with a Novichok-type nerve agent that he says was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin has denied any role in the incident, which was the latest of numerous attacks on Navalny.

More than 10,000 people were rounded up during nationwide rallies protesting Navalny's arrest organized in more than 100 Russian towns and cities on January 23 and January 31.

On February 2, Navalny was convicted of violating the terms of his suspended sentence related to an embezzlement case that he has called politically motivated. The remainder of Navalny's suspended sentence, 2 1/2 years, was then replaced by a real prison term.

That ruling sparked new protests that were also forcibly dispersed by police.

More than 1,400 people were detained by police in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other Russian cities during those demonstrations.

On the anniversary of Aleksei Navalny’s poisoning, Britain and the United States imposed targeted sanctions on Russian intelligence operatives as German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to release the jailed opposition politician.

Navalny, an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, fell violently ill one year ago while on a passenger flight in Siberia, forcing the plane into making an emergency landing where he was rushed to hospital.

Days later, Navalny was airlifted to a clinic in Berlin where doctors battled to save his life. It was later determined by several laboratories that he had been poisoned with a Soviet-style nerve agent.

The U.S. State Department said on August 20 the United States in coordination with Britain imposed fresh sanctions targeting those involved in the poisoning of Navalny or Russia's chemical weapons program.

"Our actions today -- exercised by the U.S. Departments of State, the Treasury, Justice and Commerce -- send a clear signal that there will be no impunity for the use of chemical weapons, including for the individuals and organizations involved. Any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and contravenes international norms," the State Department statement said.

The Treasury website said the sanctions target nine Russian individuals and two Russian entities.

The nine individuals include: Vladimir Bogdanov, chief of the FSB’s Special Technology Center; Aleksei Sedov, chief of the FSB’s Service for the Protection of the Constitutional System and the Fight against Terrorism (also referred to as the FSB’s 2nd Service); chemical weapons specialists Artur Zhirov and Kirill Vasiliev; FSB operatives Stanislav Makshakov, Konstantin Kudryavtsev, Aleksei Alexandrov, Ivan Osipov, and Vladimir Panyaev. The two sanctioned entities are the State Institute for Experimental Military Medicine (GNII VM) -- a scientific research organization specializing in security and defense -- and the FSB Criminalistics Institute -- a sub-unit of the FSB originally founded under the KGB.

Earlier on August 20, Britain's Foreign Office said it had imposed sanctions on seven individuals it said were Russian intelligence operatives suspected of involvement in the “attempted assassination.” Their names were added to Britain's sanctions list, subjecting them to asset freezes.

The newly sanctioned alleged FSB operatives included Aleksei Aleksandrov, Vladimir Panyaev, Ivan Osipov, Vladimir Bogdanov, Kirill Vasilyev, Stanislav Makshakov, and Aleksei Sedov.

The anniversary falls on the day German Chancellor Angela Merkel is visiting Moscow for talks with Putin.

Upon his return from Germany in January, Navalny, who has blamed Putin for the attack, was jailed for parole violations on what he says were politically motivated charges. The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the poisoning.

Russian-German Ties

The anniversary of the incident, which severely strained Russian-German ties, coincided with Merkel's visit to Moscow for talks with Putin.

"I demanded from the Russian President that he free Navalny," Merkel said at a press conference after the meeting in the Kremlin.

Putin countered with a reply frequently used by Russian authorities, saying that the opposition figure had not been imprisoned for his political activity.

Russia's lack of action in the poisoning case also drew criticism on August 20 from Amnesty International, which slammed Moscow's "utter disregard for justice" for its failure to investigate the poisoning.

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In And Out And In Again: All The Times Aleksei Navalny Has Been In Jail

"One year ago today, the Kremlin’s most vocal critic was attacked with a banned chemical weapon, an outrageous crime which should have been the subject of an urgent investigation by Russian authorities. Instead, the Russian government chose to throw Aleksei Navalny behind bars on false grounds -- in conditions which almost killed him -- and to pursue a relentless campaign of reprisals against his supporters,” Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary-general, said in a statement on August 20.

Since the poisoning, Navalny and his associates have uncovered what they say is evidence of the involvement of federal intelligence agents in the attack, while authorities have rejected any implication of official involvement.

The government has also embarked on a sometimes violent crackdown on dissent, rounding up many of Navalny's associates and other opposition figures, and detaining thousands who rallied in his support.

Putin has also moved to end the activities of Navalny’s political organizations, including his Anti-Corruption Foundation, which for years has exposed alleged corruption among top officials and business elite.

“The Russian authorities’ failure to investigate the attempt on Navalny’s life is damning proof of their utter disregard for justice and for the right to life. We reiterate our call for an immediate and impartial investigation into the attempted poisoning of Aleksei Navalny, and for an end to the persecution of Navalny and his supporters," Callamard said.

“We reiterate our call for an immediate and impartial investigation into the attempted poisoning of Aleksei Navalny, and for an end to the persecution of Navalny and his supporters," Amnesty's statement said.

On the eve of the anniversary of his poisoning, Navalny issued an open letter published in Western newspapers, calling on Western countries to challenge authoritarian leaders, including Putin, on corruption.

The Kremlin critic said Western leaders should show “determination and political will” to fight corruption as he outlined five steps that are “entirely realistic.”

In a related development, Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor on August 20 demanded that Alphabet's Google and Apple remove Navalny's app from their stores.

Roskomnadzor cited a Russian court ruling that found Navalny's anti-corruption foundation an extremist organization and banned it. Navalny's allies have published news and blogs through the app after Roskomnadzor blocked their websites.

CHEBOKSARY, Russia -- A Russian-Chinese company has been charged with violating environmental safety regulations in Russia's Republic of Chuvashia, where expanding Chinese investment has sparked protests over alleged corruption.

Officials at the directorate of the agricultural regulator, Rosselkhoznadzor, in Chuvashia told RFE/RL on August 20 that the Sichuan-Chuvashia Chinese-Russian agricultural joint venture was officially charged with neglecting agricultural lands leased to it that now are covered by weeds, creating the threat of wildfires.

The joint company may face up a fine of up to 700,000 rubles ($9,500).

Less than two weeks earlier, the head of the Bolshiye Algashi village in Chuvashia, Maksim Medvedev, was handed a suspended prison sentence of more than three years after a court convicted him of forging documents related to public discussions that never occurred to allocate the lands in 2019 to the Sichuan-Chuvashia.

A lawmaker at Chuvashia's State Council, Aleksandr Andreyev, had accused the republic's top officials of involvement in the illegal allocation of lands to the joint venture.

From Africa to Central Asia, China has aggressively pursued investment opportunities. Officials have largely welcomed them, but the public in many cases is wary if not outright hostile to the new Chinese guests, faulting them, among other things, for importing Chinese labor rather than hiring locals.

In recent years, residents of Chuvashia have staged numerous rallies protesting Chinese companies' involvement in the economic development of the region, accusing local authorities of corruption related to such Chinese projects.

More than 100 countries have signed agreements with China to cooperate in its Belt and Road projects like railways, ports, highways, and other infrastructure.

Critics say the plan to create a modern version of the ancient Silk Road trade route to link China with Asia, Europe and beyond is a vehicle for the expansion of Communist China. Beijing says such doubts betray the "imperial hangover" of many Western powers that humiliated China for centuries.

YOSHKAR-OLA, Russia -- A wave of wildfires has hit Russia's Republic of Mari El in the Volga region, blanketing the republic's capital, Yoshkar-Ola, in a thick layer of smoke.

The fires started on August 19 and hit the Medvedevo district, quickly spreading to force the evacuation of hundreds of people from several nearby villages and resorts on August 20 .

The head of Mari El, Aleksandr Yevstifeyev, has arrived in the area and met with firefighters and volunteers at the site.

Early on August 20, some 150 volunteers joined nearly 400 people already involved in firefighting operations, with more people and equipment, including military personnel, expected to be sent to the site in the coming hours, according to the republic's government.

The Emergency Ministry directorate in Mari El said that preliminary estimates put the area hit by the wildfires at around 120 hectares and in very close proximity to the villages of Sosnovy Bor, Studenka, Ustye-Kundysh, and several resort sites near Lake Shap.

Wildfires have also ravaged other parts of Russia, especially vast Siberian regions, for weeks.

The Natural Resources Ministry said last week that a total of 252 active fires were burning across the country covering more than 4.2 million hectares.

Environmental experts say a 2007 decision by the government to disband a federal aviation network tasked to spot and combat fires has hampered firefighting efforts.

Weather officials and environmentalists have linked the growing intensity of wildfires in Russian regions to climate change.

BISHKEK -- An organizer of March rallies against Kyrgyzstan's constitutional amendments has been sentenced to 18 months in prison on a charge of calling to seize power by force.

Bishkek's Sverdlov district court on August 20 sentenced Tilekmat Kudaibergenov (aka Kurenov), who reiterated his innocence after his sentence was pronounced.

Kudaibergenov was arrested in mid-March and later transferred to house arrest.

Before his detention, police searched his home and the office of the Against KHANstitution movement that opposed the amendments initiated by President Sadyr Japarov.

Kudaibergenov is one the organizers of March 9 rallies in Bishkek against the amendments that ended up being approved in a nationwide referendum on April 11.

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Does The New Kyrgyz Constitution Set The Country Up For Future Unrest?

Critics have said that the constitutional amendments that very much increased presidential powers helped Japarov to consolidate power.

Kudaibergenov is a noted activist also known as a founder and a leader of a movement against granting concessions for the Jetim-Too iron ore field near the Chinese border to foreign investors.

A court in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, has sentenced well-known pro-Russian blogger Ermek Taichibekov to seven years in prison after finding him guilty of inciting ethnic discord.

Taichibekov's lawyer, Ghalym Nurpeisov, and his brother Marlen Taichibekov said the Auezov district court handed down the decision on August 19.

Taichibekov was arrested in September and charged with using media to incite ethnic hatred.

Taichibekov told his brother at the time that he was detained for an interview with Ukraina.ru, a website tied to Russia's state Rossia Segodnya media group, which mainly focuses on Russian news and official propaganda abroad.

In a video published on the YouTube channel of Ukraina.ru in May 2020, Taichibekov talked to the presenter against a background of the black-yellow-white flag of the Russian Empire and claimed that Kazakh authorities were pursuing "a Russophobic policy."

Taichibekov was previously sentenced to four years in prison in 2015 on charges of inciting ethnic hatred by placing "inflammatory" materials on Facebook and supporting the idea of Kazakhstan uniting with Russia. He served less than two years of that sentence before being released in October 2017.

Several Kazakh citizens have been sentenced to prison since 2014 for inciting separatism or ethnic hatred through the Internet amid heightened concern of Russian dominance over former Soviet republics sparked by Moscow's support for separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine and Moscow's illegal annexation of Crimea.

Based on reporting by RIA Novosti and Politnavigator

SOFIA -- Bulgaria's political crisis has deepened, moving the country closer to its third parliamentary elections this year, after GERB became the second political party to give up efforts to form a new government since last month's inconclusive vote.

The center-right GERB party's choice for prime minister, Daniel Mitov, returned a mandate to the president on August 20, prolonging the crisis and leaving few options to avoid fresh elections.

The prolonged political uncertainty could hamper the European Union's poorest member state's ability to effectively deal with a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and tap the bloc’s multibillion-euro coronavirus-recovery fund.

President Rumen Radev had asked GERB, the party of former long-serving Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, to try and lead the country after an antiestablishment party that narrowly won the July 11 polls gave up efforts to form a minority government.

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Surveillance Video Puts Bulgarian Police Brutality During Anti-Government Protests In Focus

With just 63 seats in the 240-member parliament, just behind the There Is Such a People (ITN) party's 65 seats, GERB is well short of a majority and other parties have refused to cooperate with it.

On August 10, ITN decided not to propose a government after two other protest parties said they would not support it.

Radev will now have to ask a third party of his choosing to try and form a cabinet, but analysts say the chances anyone will be able to build a majority in the fractured parliament are very small.

If a third attempt to form a government fails, as expected, Radev will have to dissolve parliament once again, appoint an interim government, and call new polls within two months.

An April 4 election also resulted in a deadlocked parliament that failed to produce a government, forcing Radev to appoint a caretaker cabinet to lead the Balkan country until the July election was held.

With reporting by Reuters

MOSCOW -- A student at Moscow State University from Chechnya has been sentenced to five years in prison on a criminal charge of attacking police officers during January 23 rallies in support of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.

The Tver district court sentenced Said-Mukhammad Dzhumayev on August 19 after convicting him of punching several police officers during the dispersal of the demonstrators.

Video showing the incident involving Dzhumayev resisting police went viral in January and received significant online support by Internet users at the time.

Dzhumayev can be seen kicking and punching at riot police wielding truncheons as they surge forward toward a crowd of protesters.

Prosecutors sought six years in prison for the defendant.

Dzhumayev is one of several persons who were handed prison terms or suspended sentences this year for attacking police during the nationwide demonstrations held on January 23 and 31 to protest against the arrest of the Kremlin critic.

Navalny was detained at a Moscow airport on January 17 upon his arrival from Germany, where he was recovering from a poison attack by what several European laboratories concluded was a military-grade chemical nerve agent in Siberia a year ago.

Navalny has insisted that his poisoning was ordered directly by President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin has denied.

In February, a Moscow court ruled that while recovering in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case that is widely considered to be politically motivated.

His 3 1/2-year suspended sentence from the case was converted to a jail term, though the court said he will serve 2 1/2 years in prison given time already served.

More than 10,000 Navalny supporters were detained across Russia during and after the January rallies. Many of the detained men and women were either fined or handed several-day jail terms At least 90 were charged with criminal misdeeds and several have been fired by their employers.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a long list of contentious topics to discuss during Merkel's last official visit to Russia before retiring from politics after next month's general elections.

The controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear deal, and the stalled peace process to end the conflict in Ukraine were just some of the headline issues discussed by the two leaders during their nearly three-hour talk in Moscow on August 20.

Also up for discussion in the Grand Kremlin Palace were upcoming elections both in Russia and Germany and the continuing postelection crisis in Belarus, with Merkel stressing at the beginning of the meeting that Moscow and Berlin need to maintain dialogue despite “deep disagreements."

Nord Stream 2

Putin said that there were only 15 kilometers to go to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will bring natural gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, and which has been a source of dispute between Berlin and Washington for years.

In July, Germany and the United States reached an agreement on the Nord Stream 2 project, with the two allies pledging to support Ukraine and committing to confront Russia if it uses energy to apply political pressure.

One big question that remains is Ukraine's traditional role as a major transit point for Russian natural gas being piped to Europe.

Merkel told Putin that Moscow's transit agreement with Ukraine, which depends on the fees it receives to transit Russian gas, should be extended beyond 2024.

Putin said during a post-meeting news conference that Russia planned to fully comply with its obligations on gas transit via Ukraine, even after 2024, but first needed to get a better understanding of demand amid Europe's push for green energy.

"For this, we need to get an answer from our European partners on how much they are ready to buy," Putin said. "We cannot sign a transit contract if we don't have supply contracts with our consumers in Europe."

Putin also noted that the Nord Stream 2 route is 2,000 kilometers shorter than the trans-Ukrainian route, and claimed it significantly reduces emissions.

Ukraine has opposed the construction of Nord Stream 2, saying it was politically motivated. Ahead of the Merkel-Putin meeting, the head of the Ukrainian energy giant Naftogaz told Reuters that the project breaches European Union regulations and should be stopped.

"We continue to insist that this geopolitical project of the Kremlin must be stopped. In particular, through U.S. sanctions," Naftogaz's Chief Executive Officer Yuriy Vitrenko said in written comments.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has chosen not to try to kill the project, but shortly after the conclusion of the Putin-Merkel meeting the United States announced that it would impose new sanctions against one Russian vessel and two Russian individuals involved in Nord Stream 2.

The same day, President Biden separately issued an executive order allowing for sanctions to be imposed with respect to Russian energy export pipelines such as Nord Stream 2.

Turning to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine that has pitted Kyiv against Russia-backed separatists since 2014 and was sparked by Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, Merkel said it was important to continue peace talks under the Normandy format.

"My advice is to continue trying to keep this format alive and not let it end at an impasse," she told Putin during their joint news conference. "Even if the progress isn't as fast as we hoped."

Merkel said she would continue "to work for the territorial integrity of Ukraine" until she steps down following elections in Germany in September.

For his part, Putin also called for the continuing of peace talks, as "there is no other instrument for achieving peace."

Russia's Elections

On the topic of Russia's upcoming elections, Putin brushed back criticism of the Kremlin's treatment of its political opposition, including the alleged poisoning and subsequent incarceration of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny and the arrest of key figures and restrictions against and even banning of some opposition movements.

Merkel said after the talks that she had urged Putin to free Navalny, whose prison sentence is widely seen as politically motivated. Putin reiterated the Kremlin's official line that Navalny's conviction had nothing to do with his political activities.

Putin claimed that all Russian citizens enjoy the right to express their own views on political issues, but said that it "must be done in conformity with the current law and constitution."

"We will do our utmost to make the situation in Russia stable and predictable," Putin said. "Russia reached its limit of revolutions back in the 20th century."

As for international issues, the Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan was a priority topic.

Putin harshly criticized the United States for what he said was the imposition of its own values on Afghanistan, and highlighted the importance of establishing good relations with Kabul following the Taliban's return to power.

The Russian president also said it was necessary to prevent "terrorists" from entering neighboring states from Afghanistan "under the guise of refugees."

Merkel said the risk of terrorism in Afghanistan was manageable for now.

Both leaders expressed hope that the Iranian nuclear deal, abandoned by the United States in 2018, could be saved after the formation of a new government in Iran.

The two also discussed Belarus, where Russia-backed strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka has harshly cracked down on his political opposition following the controversial outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Merkel condemned Minsk for using refugees at its borders as "hybrid weapons," a reference to accusations that Belarus has deliberately sent refugees, mainly from Iraq, across its borders into EU countries in retaliation to Western criticism of Lukashenka's continued rule.

Putin said that the situation in Belarus should be settled without interference from the outside.

After 16 years at the height of European politics, Merkel is stepping down at the end of her fourth term as chancellor following German elections on September 26.

During her time in office, the "crisis chancellor" has met and spoken by phone with Putin more than any Western leader as the two engaged in global diplomacy on some of the toughest issues, from Ukraine and the Iran nuclear deal to the conflict in Syria.

Based on Reuters, dpa, TASS, and AFP

Amnesty International has slammed Russia's "utter disregard for justice" for its failure to investigate the poisoning of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny one year ago.

The anti-corruption campaigner and outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin fell violently ill while on a passenger flight in Siberia, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Omsk, where Navalny was rushed to a hospital.

Days later, Navalny was airlifted to a clinic in Berlin, where doctors battled to save his life. It was later determined by several laboratories that he had been poisoned with a Soviet-style nerve agent.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Moscow for talks with Putin later on August 20 that coincide with the first anniversary of the poisoning, an incident that severely strained Russian-German ties.

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Merkel Makes Farewell Trip To Meet Putin Amid 'Deep Disagreements'

"One year ago today, the Kremlin's most vocal critic was attacked with a banned chemical weapon, an outrageous crime which should have been the subject of an urgent investigation by Russian authorities," Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International's secretary-general, said in a statement on August 20.

"Instead, the Russian government chose to throw Aleksei Navalny behind bars on false grounds -- in conditions which almost killed him -- and to pursue a relentless campaign of reprisals against his supporters."

Navalny has blamed Putin for the attack, which the Kremlin has denied.

Since the poisoning, Navalny and his associates have uncovered what they say is evidence of the involvement of federal intelligence agents in the attack, while authorities have rejected any implication of official involvement.

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The government has also embarked on a sometimes violent crackdown on dissent, rounding up many of Navalny's associates and other opposition figures, and detaining thousands who rallied in his support.

Putin has also moved to end the activities of Navalny's political organizations, including his Anti-Corruption Foundation, which for years has exposed alleged corruption among top officials and business elite.

"The Russian authorities' failure to investigate the attempt on Navalny's life is damning proof of their utter disregard for justice and for the right to life. We reiterate our call for an immediate and impartial investigation into the attempted poisoning of Aleksei Navalny, and for an end to the persecution of Navalny and his supporters," Callamard said.

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Month Before Vote, Jailed Opposition Figure Navalny Urges Russians To Use Voting Scheme

On the eve of the anniversary of his poisoning, Navalny issued an open letter published in Western newspapers, describing global corruption as being the root cause of many of the world's big problems.

Navalny wrote that while Western leaders try to solve global challenges -- wars, poverty, migration, the climate crisis, and weapons of mass destruction -- corruption rarely fits at the top of agenda, even though it is behind many of the world's main crises.

"Religious extremists of all stripes find it easier to conduct propaganda when their opponents are driving Rolls-Royces through the streets of penniless countries. Migration crises are caused by poverty, and poverty is almost always caused by corruption," Navalny wrote, citing other examples for war, the climate crisis, and terrorism.

Navalny said corruption had "long ceased to be merely an internal problem" of authoritarian countries and is now "one of the main causes of the global challenges that face the West."

He called on Western countries to challenge authoritarian leaders, including Putin, on corruption through numerous avenues and international summits, saying it would make things "very tricky, very awkward" for corrupt leaders and their cronies.

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He also said that corruption in authoritarian countries can thrive because of the West's financial infrastructure, with much of the stolen wealth being held abroad.

The Kremlin critic said Western leaders should show "determination and political will" to fight corruption as he outlined five steps that are "entirely realistic."

They include creating a special category of "countries that encourage corruption" and the establishment of an international body, making it easier to take collective action against graft.

He also called for "enforced transparency" of all dealings between Western companies that deal with partners from corrupt countries.

"You work for a state-owned company in a country at high risk of corruption and want to buy a villa on the French Riviera? Fine, go ahead, but you should know that all the information about the deal will be publicly available. You want to have dealings with an official in Minsk or the aunt of a Russian governor? No problem, but you will have to publish the entire paper trail of the transaction," he wrote.

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Navalny also called for personal sanctions to be imposed on oligarchs surrounding Putin, who he described as "the role model for all the world's corrupt officials and businessmen."

"Putin's oligarchs, those heading 'state-owned' companies and companies that are formally private but whose prosperity is linked to Putin's group, are not businessmen but leaders of organized crime groups," he said.

The letter was published in The Guardian, Le Monde and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Jailed Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has urged Russian voters to use a Smart Voting strategy, a project designed by his team to promote candidates to defeat Kremlin-linked figures, in the September elections.

In a statement on Instagram on August 19, exactly one month before the elections, the outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin again called the Kremlin-backed ruling United Russia party "a party of scoundrels and thieves" who "are scared of our Smart Voting."

The system, which gives voters a list of the candidates deemed most likely to defeat their United Russia rivals regardless of their party affiliation, is one of the last tools Navalny and his allies have at their disposal after a crackdown this summer outlawed his movement as "extremist" and jailed opposition voices across the country.

"They've declared half the country extremists to grab all the constituencies," Navalny wrote in the post, published a day before the first anniversary of his poisoning with what several laboratories in the West said was a military nerve agent, something Russia has dismissed as a Western smear campaign against it.

Navalny was imprisoned after returning to Russia in January from his recuperation in Germany after he survived the poison attack in August 2020 in Siberia. He has accused Putin of ordering his assassination, something the Kremlin denies.

"They haven't let the strong candidates [take part] in the election. Now even the ones that aren't that strong are being removed from the race -- they're scared of Smart Voting," he said, calling on followers to sign up to the system's mobile-phone app to implement a system Navalny's political network has been implementing for several years.

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On September 19, Russia will vote to choose members of the Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, 39 regional parliaments, and nine regional governors.

In the run-up to the voting, the Kremlin has cracked down on opposition political figures and independent media as the popularity of United Russia and Putin has been declining amid Kremlin's efforts to deal with an economy suffering from the coronavirus pandemic and years of ongoing international sanctions.

In his post, Navalny called on Russians to download the Smart Voting applications to their phones before the strategy's website is blocked by the authorities.

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Russian Media Regulator Blocks Navalny's Website

His team is hoping that enough voters will use the system to at least reduce United Russia's margin of victory and to cause it potential embarrassment in places like Moscow and St. Petersburg, where anti-Kremlin feeling has traditionally run higher.

"In this last month that is left [before the elections] bring a couple of friends and acquaintances to the Smart Voting. Let us join forces and at least try it," Navalny said.

United Russia secured a super-majority in the last parliamentary elections in 2016, but its rating stood at 27 percent earlier this month, its lowest in 13 years, according to a state pollster.

Kremlin sources have admitted that discontent across the world's largest country over stagnant or falling living standards could hurt the ruling party at the ballot box. But they have scoffed at the notion the Smart Voting system could impact the election.

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Russia Labels Independent Election Monitor 'Foreign Agent' Ahead Of September Elections

Nonetheless, a spoiler tactic of enlisting candidates with the same name as opposition candidates who are likely to be successful in the vote has proliferated in recent months.

Under the scheme, minor officials or citizens unknown to the general public are approached with an offer to adopt the first and last name of a popular opposition candidate, usually changing their passport details to make the change official and then registering as rival candidates in their own right.

Occasionally, spoilers who already have the same name as an opposition candidate are found.

The hope of those behind such machinations is that a substantial number of voters who support the opposition candidate in that district will cast their ballots for the namesake candidate by mistake.

Britain, France, and Germany -- three of the signatories of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers -- have expressed serious concern over the UN's nuclear watchdog reporting that Tehran has produced uranium metal and stepped up production of weapons-grade enriched uranium in violation of the deal.

"We, the governments of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, note with grave concern the latest reports by the IAEA confirming that Iran has produced uranium metal enriched up to 20 percent for the first time, and has significantly increased its production capacity of uranium enriched up to 60 percent," said a joint statement from the Foreign ministries of the three nations that was released by the German Foreign Ministry.

The IAEA said on August 16 that Iran has for the first time produced 200 grams of uranium metal enriched up to 20 percent and followed up with a report to member states on August 17 saying that Iran is enriching uranium to 60 percent purity using a second cascade of centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear facility.

Under the 2015 nuclear accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehran committed to not produce uranium metal, which can be used to build the core of a nuclear bomb.

But earlier this year, in one of a series of steps it took in violation of the JCPOA after former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal and reimposed sanctions, Iran said it was researching uranium metal for a new type of reactor fuel.

U.S. President Joe Biden says he wants to return to the deal, but indirect talks in Vienna brokered by the Europeans to get both Washington and Tehran back into compliance with the accord have stalled.

Iran on August 18 confirmed the IAEA report about its expanded production of uranium to 60 percent purity, saying the actions are in response to the “nonimplementation” of the nuclear agreement and U.S. sanctions.

Ninety percent is considered weapons-grade, although other technical steps are needed to create a deliverable nuclear bomb.

"Iran must halt activities in violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) without delay," the three European powers said in their joint statement.

"We urge Iran to return to the negotiations in Vienna as soon as possible with a view to bringing them to a swift, successful conclusion. We have repeatedly stressed that time is on no-one's side," it added.

With reporting by Reuters

Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has notified RFE/RL that it has filed in court the first of a new set of 130 protocols against the independent media outlet for violating Russia's controversial "foreign agent" law requiring the labeling of content.

According to Roskomnadzor, the first 10 protocols of the new set have been sent to Moscow's Tver district court. Earlier in June, the media watchdog informed RFE/RL that the 130 protocols it was preparing envision a total fine of 71.5 million rubles, or about $964,000.

The new cases come on top of some 650 protocols Roskomnadzor filed in court against RFE/RL's Russian Service and several of its Russian-language platforms in the first seven months of the year.

Russia's "foreign agent" legislation was adopted in 2012 and has been modified repeatedly. It requires nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign assistance and that the government deems to be engaged in political activity to be registered, to identify themselves as "foreign agents," and to submit to audits. Later modifications of the law targeted foreign-funded media.

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In 2017, the Russian government placed RFE/RL's Russian Service, six other RFE/RL Russian-language news services, and Current Time on the list.

Earlier this year, Russian courts began imposing large fines against RFE/RL for failing to mark its articles with a government-prescribed label as required by new rules adopted in October 2020.

The fines Russian courts have ordered RFE/RL to pay so far amount to almost 250 million rubles ($3.4 million). RFE/RL has been appealing the protocols, but Russian courts so far have rejected hundreds of the appeals.

RFE/RL has called the fines "a state-sponsored campaign of coercion and intimidation." U.S. President Joe Biden raised the issue of Kremlin pressure against RFE/RL's Russian-language services at a June 16 summit with President Vladimir Putin.

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The Russian State Takes Ominous Steps To Bolster 'Foreign Agents' Law

Earlier this month, when the summons was issued for a new wave of fines, RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said: "We reject this effort to censor our content and silence our journalists. We are committed to continuing to serve the Russian people."

In early June, Fly said Russia is attempting to fine RFE/RL's Moscow bureau out of existence with the law.

"This concerted pressure on RFE/RL and other independent media in Russia is only hurting the Russian people by depriving them of information choice," Fly said. "We will redouble our efforts to provide objective news and information to our audiences across Russia despite these outrageous attacks on our operations."

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In May, RFE/RL sued the Russian authorities over the situation in the European Court of Human Rights. In June, RFE/RL's lawsuit was registered at the court.

The European Union has also called on Moscow to repeal the "foreign agent" law.

RFE/RL is an editorially independent media company funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Each week, nearly 7 million people access RFE/RL's news portals in Russia.

A Moscow court has ordered Google to pay more fines for violating Russia's rules on banned content as the government continues to push foreign firms to open offices in Russia and store Russians' personal data on its territory.

The magistrate court of Moscow's Taganka district ruled on August 19 that Google must pay a total of 6 million rubles ($81,500) for "committing three administrative offenses."

Two days earlier, the same court ordered Google to pay 14 million rubles ($190,000) on similar charges regarding five cases concerning the failure to delete banned content.

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Moscow Court Levels More Fines Against Google

The same court has previously fined Google, Twitter, and Telegram for similar offenses.

The U.S. technology giant has also been fined for refusing to localize the personal data of its users in Russia.

Moscow claims it is trying to rein in Western tech giants and bolster what it calls its Internet "sovereignty."

But many critics say authorities are trying to quell dissent with parliamentary elections looming in September and the ruling United Party's popularity slumping.

In June, the court fined Facebook 17 million rubles ($229,000) and Telegram 10 million rubles ($135,000) for what it called "administrative offenses" after the two companies failed to remove content deemed as being banned by Russia.

With reporting by TASS and Interfax

The Belarusian sprinter who appealed for international help to avoid being forced home prematurely from the Tokyo Olympics says she wants to represent Poland, the country she defected to with her husband less than three weeks ago.

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya told the RBC television channel on August 18 that she plans to apply for Polish sporting citizenship so that she can run for that country.

"We will now try to change my sporting citizenship so that I can compete for the Polish national team. It usually takes three years to change sporting citizenship, but we will ask to expedite the process because my situation is special," the 24-year-old sprinter said.

Tsimanouskaya took refuge in the Polish Embassy in Tokyo on August 2 after refusing to allow Belarusian team officials to force her onto a flight to Minsk after she criticized them. Two days later she boarded a plane to Europe, reaching Warsaw via a stopover in Vienna.

Poland has granted the sprinter and her husband, who fled there via Ukraine, humanitarian visas.

Tsimanouskaya's plight became a major story from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and refocused international attention on repression in Belarus since protests erupted when authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed victory in a disputed presidential election one year ago.

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Several protesters have been killed and thousands arrested during mass demonstrations demanding Lukashenka's resignation. There have also been credible reports of torture during a widening security crackdown.

While Tsimanouskaya has said she has never met Lukashenka, she has also noted that "terrible" things have been happening in Belarus.

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Lukashenka's son Viktar took over the leadership of the Belarusian National Olympic Committee recently from his father in a move that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not recognize.

Other Belarusian athletes, including a former Olympic-medal-winning decathlete and his wife, have reportedly fled Belarus since Tsimanouskaya's ordeal began and after Ukraine announced a murder investigation when an exiled Lukashenka critic was found dead in Kyiv.

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Belarus Sent Hit Squads To Kill Lukashenka Critics, Says Man Who Found Activist's Body In Kyiv

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Earlier in August, a coach of the Vitsyaz handball club in Minsk, Kanstantsin Yakauleu, fled for Ukraine weeks after he served 15 days in jail for taking part in an unsanctioned anti-government rally.

Belarusian heptathlete Yana Maksimava and her Olympic-medalist husband Andrey Krauchanka have also announced that they have decided to stay in Germany with their child due to the ongoing crackdown in Belarus.

With reporting by RBC

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging Iranian authorities to redouble efforts to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying their prohibition on the import of U.S. and U.K.-produced vaccines, a lack of transparency, and mismanagement are exacerbating the already dire impact of the coronavirus in the country.

With the number of deaths and hospitalizations on the rise and a reported shortage of hospital beds and medicine in Tehran and other cities, the New-York-based human rights watchdog said on August 19 that the country should use "all resources necessary to secure lifesaving vaccines" and transparently communicate and enforce "effective and clear vaccination and other safety guidelines."

Iran’s death toll from COVID-19 exceeded 100,000 on August 19 with 564 fatalities recorded in the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 infections reached nearly 4,600,000 after 31,266 new cases were reported over the past day.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccines are in short supply, with about 5 million people having received the required two doses as of August 18 -- out of a population of 85 million, according to the Health Ministry.

"Public trust is a crucial factor in managing the public health crisis, yet Iranian authorities' track record of repeated failure is happening again," Tara Sepehri Far, an Iran researcher at HRW, said in a statement.

HRW cited the August 14 arrest of six human rights lawyers and activists who were said to be working on filing a complaint against authorities' mismanagement of the crisis. One of them was later released, while the five others remain in detention.

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Meanwhile, senior officials have made statements that have "severely interfered with the procurement of lifesaving vaccines and sowed disinformation among Iranians," it said.

In January, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced that the “import of [the COVID-19] vaccines made in the U.S. and U.K. are prohibited,” and claimed that the vaccines are “completely untrustworthy.”

The Iranian Red Crescent Society later announced that plans to import 150,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine donated by a U.S. charity had been canceled.

Iranian authorities have publicly promoted the production of a domestic vaccine, but HRW said no clear information regarding its safety and efficacy had been released, and production appeared to be "seriously behind schedule."

The group said the escalating health crisis and widespread criticism of the way the authorities have handled it may force the government to reverse the prohibition on U.S.- and U.K.-produced vaccines.

On August 10, President Ebrahim Raisi ordered the government to allocate resources to import vaccines, while Khamenei said that jabs should be acquired via "every possible way."

Instead of blaming sanctions and delays in importing vaccines, as well as each other, for the slow rollout of Iran’s vaccination drive, the authorities "should make use of every available resource to respond to the outbreak," according to HRW, including by providing access to "timely and accurate information" about the pandemic, making protective equipment available for frontline workers, and providing access to affordable and safe testing.

The Iranian government should also "publish all procurement contracts as well as an up-to-date vaccine supply and delivery index with price details, date of delivery, and number of doses."

Meanwhile, the United States, which has imposed broad sanctions on Iran should ensure that the Iranian people have "swift, unencumbered, and equitable access to safe, effective, and affordable" vaccines.

In June, the U.S. Treasury Department issued an additional general license for transactions and activities involving the delivery of face masks, ventilators, and oxygen tanks, vaccines and the production of vaccines, COVID-19 tests, air-filtration systems, and field hospitals.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have been moved back to August 31 from August 30.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmytro Kuleba told reporters on August 19 that the decision was made due to an expansion of Zelenskiy's program during his visit to Washington in late August.

"Since the program of the visit has been expanded, the meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States, President Biden and President Zelensky, will take place on August 31. We have agreed with the United States to postpone this date for one day," Kuleba said.

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Last month, Biden's administration said Zelenskiy would make his official visit to Washington on August 30 while Congress is on summer recess.

At the time, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers responded by calling on the Biden administration to reschedule the visit to allow Congress an opportunity to meet with Zelenskiy.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and Ukrayinska Pravda