https://www.rferl.org/z/651 RFE/RL journalists report the news in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We broadcast in 27 languages to 22 countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Russia. https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org/z/651 en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Wed, 03 Jun 2026 02:30:32 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL Russia is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to build schools and universities across Central Asia, reinforcing the use of the Russian language at a time when younger generations in the region are increasingly exposed to Western and Chinese influences. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-schools-central-asia-kyrgyzstan-tajikistan-kazakhstan-uzbekistan/33771019.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-schools-central-asia-kyrgyzstan-tajikistan-kazakhstan-uzbekistan/33771019.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:52:40 +0200 FeaturesKazakhstanKyrgyzstanRussiaTajikistanTurkmenistan Uzbekistan As Washington and Tehran edge toward a preliminary peace deal, renewed fighting in Lebanon has cast uncertainty over the diplomatic track. https://www.rferl.org/a/former-senior-trump-nsc-official-says-diplomacy-alive-as-us-iran-battle-for-leverage/33770891.html https://www.rferl.org/a/former-senior-trump-nsc-official-says-diplomacy-alive-as-us-iran-battle-for-leverage/33770891.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:41:12 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East A donation of 16 Gripen C/D fighter jets from Sweden to Ukraine has the potential to significantly impact the ground war with Russia, depending on what weapons will be provided with the jets, experts say. https://www.rferl.org/a/gripen-fighters-ukraine-war-impact-russia-aviation/33768477.html https://www.rferl.org/a/gripen-fighters-ukraine-war-impact-russia-aviation/33768477.html Sat, 30 May 2026 16:27:17 +0200 UkraineFeaturesRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Leaked documents examined by Schemes link a debunked report that claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bought a $3.2 million apartment in Dubai for his mother to a Kremlin-backed disinformation outfit hit with sanctions by the US, the EU, and the UK. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-fake-news-zelenskyy-claim-dubai-kremlin/33768433.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-fake-news-zelenskyy-claim-dubai-kremlin/33768433.html Sat, 30 May 2026 10:55:48 +0200 UkraineFeaturesRussiaRussia Invades UkraineSchemes: Investigating UkraineThe Rundown Stories When US President Donald Trump unexpectedly called on a number of Muslim-majority states to join the Abraham Accords in a social media post suggesting the move could pave the way for a broader peace arrangement with Iran, many responded with uneasy silence. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-abraham-accords-trump-saudi-pakistan/33768416.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-abraham-accords-trump-saudi-pakistan/33768416.html Fri, 29 May 2026 16:41:31 +0200 News AnalysisFeaturesIranThe Rundown Stories On the second anniversary of his imprisonment, Farid Mehralizada reflects on life behind bars, the humanity of the prison economy, and the AI photo of him with the daughter he has barely seen. https://www.rferl.org/a/imprisoned-journalist-farid-mehralizada-shares-reflections-from-azerbaijani-prison-on-second-anniversary-of-detention/33768284.html https://www.rferl.org/a/imprisoned-journalist-farid-mehralizada-shares-reflections-from-azerbaijani-prison-on-second-anniversary-of-detention/33768284.html Fri, 29 May 2026 12:31:59 +0200 AzerbaijanFeaturesThe Rundown Stories After Ukraine’s tourism industry was decimated by the Russian invasion, tour operators in Ukraine are catering towards travellers who want to see the impacts of the war firsthand. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-war-dark-tourism-russia-invasion/33767624.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-war-dark-tourism-russia-invasion/33767624.html Fri, 29 May 2026 10:22:25 +0200 UkraineFeaturesPhoto GalleriesPicksRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Russia and Afghanistan’s Taliban have signed a military and technical cooperation deal, Russian media reported, but neither side released details, raising questions about whether it marks a substantive shift or a symbolic move. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-taliban-afghanistan-military-agreement-shoigu-yaqub/33767652.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-taliban-afghanistan-military-agreement-shoigu-yaqub/33767652.html Thu, 28 May 2026 18:37:02 +0200 FeaturesAfghanistanRussiaThe Rundown Stories Over the past eight years, at least 20 foreigners have helped raise and educate two boys believed to be the sons of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his purported partner Alina Kabayeva, most of them from Western countries, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit has determined. https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-purported-sons-western-nannies-language-tutors/33767499.html https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-purported-sons-western-nannies-language-tutors/33767499.html Thu, 28 May 2026 17:42:38 +0200 RussiaFeaturesRussia Invades UkraineSystema: Investigating RussiaThe Rundown Stories Former Pentagon official Michael Patrick Mulroy says both Washington and Tehran have incentives to avoid renewed war, but warns the Strait of Hormuz will remain a long-term pressure point even if an agreement is reached. https://www.rferl.org/a/mulroy-warns-iran-us-conflict-could-restart/33767525.html https://www.rferl.org/a/mulroy-warns-iran-us-conflict-could-restart/33767525.html Thu, 28 May 2026 13:51:40 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Stories The Taliban has issued a new law on divorce that explicitly acknowledges child marriage is permitted in Afghanistan. Two former child brides told RFE/RL that the law formalizes a reality many Afghan girls are already living: forced marriage, delayed justice, and silence treated as agreement. https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-taliban-child-bride-marriage-divorce-girls-women/33766823.html https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-taliban-child-bride-marriage-divorce-girls-women/33766823.html Wed, 27 May 2026 17:21:19 +0200 AfghanistanFeaturesThe Rundown Stories After 88 days of a near-total Internet blackout, Iranians are slowly reconnecting, but to the same heavily censored, regulated network they had before. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-internet-restrictions-shutdown/33766824.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-internet-restrictions-shutdown/33766824.html Wed, 27 May 2026 16:34:32 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Headline Tens of thousands of Afghans have been internally displaced by deadly border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent months. Among them is a father-of-six who now lives in a tent. https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-pakistan-idp-refugees-border/33766621.html https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-pakistan-idp-refugees-border/33766621.html Wed, 27 May 2026 13:09:02 +0200 AfghanistanFeaturesThe Rundown Stories After 88 days of digital isolation, described by NetBlocks as the “longest nationwide Internet shutdown in modern history,” Iran has begun partially restoring Internet access. To unpack what this means, RFE/RL spoke with Charles Dunne, a former senior US diplomat and national-security official. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-s-internet-restoration-highlights-shift-from-battlefield-to-negotiating-table-says-former-diplomat-charles-dunne/33766524.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-s-internet-restoration-highlights-shift-from-battlefield-to-negotiating-table-says-former-diplomat-charles-dunne/33766524.html Wed, 27 May 2026 09:38:11 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Stories A series of conflicting signals from Tehran and Washington has highlighted the fluid status of ongoing US-Iran negotiations. To break down the strategic calculations, political pressures, and maritime realities on the ground, RFE/RL spoke with former US Ambassador Christopher Henzel. https://www.rferl.org/a/ambassador-christopher-henzel-iran-deal-negotiations/33766110.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ambassador-christopher-henzel-iran-deal-negotiations/33766110.html Tue, 26 May 2026 20:00:54 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Stories Dramatic images of glowing projectiles streaking down from space on May 24 marked the latest combat use of Russia's Oreshnik missile against Ukraine. Here is how the missile works, and why some of its payloads don't explode. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-missile-oreshnik-kinetic-strike-war-invasion/33766001.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-missile-oreshnik-kinetic-strike-war-invasion/33766001.html Tue, 26 May 2026 18:45:56 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkrainePicksRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline The patriarch of Russian Orthodox Church is a vocal backer of Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Systema, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit, examined how the country’s dominant religious organization goes after dissenters, including priests who decline to intone a victory prayer in their services. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-church-persecution-ukraine-war-prayer/33764424.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-church-persecution-ukraine-war-prayer/33764424.html Tue, 26 May 2026 14:14:54 +0200 RussiaFeaturesRussia Invades UkraineSystema: Investigating RussiaThe Rundown Stories The coup trial of former security chief Kamchybek Tashiev signals a major shift in Kyrgyzstan’s political system. More than a criminal case, it reflects President Sadyr Japarov’s effort to eliminate his last major rival within the ruling elite and consolidate centralized presidential power. https://www.rferl.org/a/kyrgyzstan-tashiev-coup-trial-japarov-power-struggle-rivalry/33764407.html https://www.rferl.org/a/kyrgyzstan-tashiev-coup-trial-japarov-power-struggle-rivalry/33764407.html Tue, 26 May 2026 08:41:00 +0200 FeaturesKyrgyzstanThe Rundown Stories RFE/RL interviewed Jason H. Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and former Pentagon official during Trump’s first administration, about a potential peace deal between Washington and Tehran. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-conflict-peace-deal/33764611.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-conflict-peace-deal/33764611.html Mon, 25 May 2026 20:55:15 +0200 IranFeatures A senior Iranian official says Tehran has imported Chinese equipment to support a “permanent” internet shutdown, as the country’s unprecedented blackout enters its third month. Experts say Iran's censorship model is cheaper than the Chinese version and easier to replicate for other states. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-china-internet-blackout-censorship-tool/33764398.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-china-internet-blackout-censorship-tool/33764398.html Mon, 25 May 2026 17:21:36 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown HeadlineNews Analysis