https://www.rferl.org Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is an international news organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Wed, 13 May 2026 19:33:14 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL The war and its global ripple effects are a through line influencing many of the issues that the two leaders will discuss in Beijing, from rare earth minerals to Taiwan. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-trump-xi-meeting-taiwan/33756180.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-trump-xi-meeting-taiwan/33756180.html Wed, 13 May 2026 18:34:43 +0200 VideosIranThe Rundown StoriesChina The resignation of the UN High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, has exposed deep divisions among key international actors over the future of international oversight in the country more than three decades since the end of the 1990s Bosnian war. https://www.rferl.org/a/bosnia-eufor-un-christian-schmidt-/33756125.html https://www.rferl.org/a/bosnia-eufor-un-christian-schmidt-/33756125.html Wed, 13 May 2026 17:37:01 +0200 Bosnia-HerzegovinaFeaturesThe Rundown Stories The conflict involving Iran is revealing new lessons about how artificial intelligence is being weaponized in modern warfare and statecraft. https://www.rferl.org/a/lego-hip-hop-deepfakes-iran-ai-propaganda/33756098.html https://www.rferl.org/a/lego-hip-hop-deepfakes-iran-ai-propaganda/33756098.html Wed, 13 May 2026 17:14:34 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East Power has become increasingly decentralized in Iran following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the selection of his son as the new supreme leader. So, who holds power in the Islamic republic now? https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-irgc-khamenei-qalibaf/33756085.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-irgc-khamenei-qalibaf/33756085.html Wed, 13 May 2026 16:37:57 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East Iran is proposing to turn the Strait of Hormuz into a digital chokepoint threatening to charge, regulate, or potentially sabotage the undersea cables that carry a significant share of global internet traffic. https://www.rferl.org/a/33755937.html https://www.rferl.org/a/33755937.html Wed, 13 May 2026 14:53:45 +0200 VideosIran Trade tensions, Taiwan, and rare earth exports are expected to dominate talks, even as the war in Iran and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz raise the stakes for the Beijing summit. https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-xi-summit-iran-war-taiwan-energy-oil-minerals/33756013.html https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-xi-summit-iran-war-taiwan-energy-oil-minerals/33756013.html Wed, 13 May 2026 14:43:15 +0200 NewsIranThe Rundown HeadlineChina Iranian women have been disproportionately affected by the Internet blackout that authorities have imposed since the war broke out. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-internet-blackout-women-brunt-labor-market/33755949.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-internet-blackout-women-brunt-labor-market/33755949.html Wed, 13 May 2026 13:25:12 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Stories As the US-Israeli war with Iran continues to impact and shape the region, journalists from RFE/RL's Central Newsroom and Iranian service, Radio Farda, deliver ongoing updates and analysis. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-war-us-hormuz-oil-blockade-gulf-israel/33640284.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-war-us-hormuz-oil-blockade-gulf-israel/33640284.html Wed, 13 May 2026 07:30:00 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Headline Sweden is hosting large-scale NATO exercises, called Aurora 2026, on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. As the alliance members fine-tune their cooperation, nonmember Ukraine is playing a special role, with drone units training their NATO counterparts in cutting-edge battlefield tactics. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-nato-military-exercises-sweden-aurora-26/33755466.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-nato-military-exercises-sweden-aurora-26/33755466.html Wed, 13 May 2026 00:03:57 +0200 UkraineVideo ArchiveVideos The brother of imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi says doctors cannot yet offer a definitive prognosis on her condition, days after Iranian authorities released her on bail amid a health crisis that her family says nearly killed her. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-narges-mohammadi-hospital-tehran/33755284.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-narges-mohammadi-hospital-tehran/33755284.html Tue, 12 May 2026 17:14:40 +0200 IranNewsHuman RightsThe Rundown Stories Robots and drones were used by Ukrainian forces to capture a Russian position without an infantry assault in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as a historic first in the war. Speaking to Current Time, troops involved in the operation are now revealing details. https://www.rferl.org/a/robots-alone-captured-a-russian-position/33755254.html https://www.rferl.org/a/robots-alone-captured-a-russian-position/33755254.html Tue, 12 May 2026 14:56:26 +0200 UkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Has the moment arrived to start Ukraine’s EU accession talks? https://www.rferl.org/a/wider-europe-jozwiak-ukraine-moldova-eu-accession/33754585.html https://www.rferl.org/a/wider-europe-jozwiak-ukraine-moldova-eu-accession/33754585.html Tue, 12 May 2026 12:55:54 +0200 Wider EuropeThe Rundown Stories In an interview with RFE/RL, Ken Moriyasu, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, says Beijing may tactically help ease tensions between Washington and Tehran, but will resist any effort that could threaten the survival of Iran’s regime. https://www.rferl.org/a/china-regime-survival-iran-moriyasu-trump-xi-summit/33755145.html https://www.rferl.org/a/china-regime-survival-iran-moriyasu-trump-xi-summit/33755145.html Tue, 12 May 2026 12:49:55 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesChina Ukraine's anti-corruption prosecutor will seek the detention of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's former chief of staff Andriy Yermak pending further investigation in a graft case that has rocked Kyiv as the country battles against the full-scale Russian invasion, now in its fifth year. https://www.rferl.org/a/yermak-zelenskyy-suspicion-ukraine-investigation/33754687.html https://www.rferl.org/a/yermak-zelenskyy-suspicion-ukraine-investigation/33754687.html Mon, 11 May 2026 23:58:47 +0200 NewsUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Migrant workers from India, Bangladesh, and elsewhere are taking up manual labor jobs inside the warring countries as Moscow and Kyiv struggle to offset shortages in their labor forces. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-migrant-workers-india-demographic-crisis/33754530.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-migrant-workers-india-demographic-crisis/33754530.html Mon, 11 May 2026 18:44:06 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Iranian outlets with ties to the IRGC have floated the idea that Tehran assert control over undersea fiber-optic cables running under the Strait of Hormuz. Experts say the proposal has little legal merit but warn that Iranian sabotage remains a threat. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-undersea-cable-hormuz-toll-internet/33754408.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-undersea-cable-hormuz-toll-internet/33754408.html Mon, 11 May 2026 14:49:50 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East Former senior US diplomat Gordon Gray, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs under President George W. Bush, says indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran are likely to continue despite what he described as significant pain and pressure on both sides. https://www.rferl.org/a/ambassador-gray-iran-trump-negotiations-diplomacy/33754183.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ambassador-gray-iran-trump-negotiations-diplomacy/33754183.html Mon, 11 May 2026 09:52:53 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East US President Donald Trump described the cease-fire with Iran as being on "life support," adding he is considering restarting naval escorts -- dubbed Operation Enduring Freedom -- through the Strait of Hormuz amid a continuing a deadlock over how to bring the conflict to an end. https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-iran-response-peace-proposal-unacceptable/33753884.html https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-iran-response-peace-proposal-unacceptable/33753884.html Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:37 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown HeadlineMiddle East After Russia and Ukraine agreed to pause hostilities for three days starting on May 9, both sides said there had been attacks on their territory in violation of the deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia is "not even trying" to observe the cease-fire along the front lines. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-cease-fire/33753868.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-cease-fire/33753868.html Sun, 10 May 2026 21:03:05 +0200 UkraineVideo ArchiveVideos A Russian drone hit a high-rise residential building in Ukraine's second-largest city, authorities said, injuring at least five people and straining a three-day cease-fire timed for Victory Day celebrations. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-drone-attack-war-cease-fire/33753723.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-drone-attack-war-cease-fire/33753723.html Sun, 10 May 2026 09:49:17 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories