The European Union and the United States have called on Belgrade to adhere to democratic principles and human rights standards in response to Serbia's decision to ban certain foreign citizens from entry.

In the past year, Serbia has banned the entry of certain foreign activists, artists, and journalists who Belgrade says are a threat to state security.

Those affected are often from the region, as well as Russian anti-war activists and journalists who publicly criticize the Serbian and Russian authorities.

The most recent case occurred on July 12, when Serbian border police banned Bosnian Nedim Music from entering the country. Music previously supported protests against lithium mining in Serbia and the so-called Jadar project of the company Rio Tinto backed by the Serbian government.

The U.S. State Department on July 18 said that it was aware of Serbia's decisions to ban certain foreign activists.

"Taking into account its status as a candidate country for EU membership and a valued partner in maintaining peace and security throughout the region, we call on Serbia to support the rule of law and the highest democratic standards in these and all other law enforcement actions," the State Department said in an e-mail to RFE/RL.

Serbia became a candidate for EU membership in 2012.

EU spokesman Peter Santo told RFE/RL in an e-mail that the EU was also aware of decisions to ban the entry of various foreign nationals into Serbia but Brussels did not have access to detailed information about the decisions.

Santo said although the state had the right to restrict foreign nationals' access to its territory, it is important that the restrictions are "in accordance with European and international standards on human rights."

Santo said the restrictions "should not result in limiting the freedom of expression and the right to peaceful gathering of foreign citizens."

Decisions on "negative security-risk assessments" are carried out by the Serbian Security and Information Agency.

The Serbian law on foreigners states such security risks exist "if the available data and knowledge indicate that a foreigner advocates, incites, helps, prepares, or undertakes activities that threaten the constitutional order and security of Serbia."

Among those who were recently denied entry into Serbia due to a "negative security-risk assessment" is Bosnian actor and writer Fedja Stukan, known for his participation in mass anti-violence civil protests, and Current Time journalist Roman Perl, who was recently declared a "foreign agent" by Moscow.

The Russian Justice Ministry on July 18 added the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to its list of "undesirable organizations." The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office declared the Carnegie Endowment "undesirable" on July 1. Also on July 18, the Justice Ministry added The Moscow Times newspaper in English and Russian based in the Netherlands to the list of "undesirable organizations." It was previously declared as such on July 10. The "undesirable organization" law, adopted in 2015, targets NGOs and media outlets that receive funding from foreign sources. Russian officials have used the designation, which was expanded in 2021, to marginalize dozens of foreign organizations. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Sources close to Tajikistan's Prosecutor-General's Office told RFE/RL on July 18 that noted Tajik lawyer and First Deputy Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan Shakirjon Hakimov was detained last week. According to the sources, Hakimov's detention was linked to the arrest of former lawmaker and ex-leader of the Democratic Party Saidjafar Usmonzoda on June 14 for allegedly "plotting to overthrow the government." In the 2013 presidential election, Usmonzoda ran against Emomali Rahmon, the longtime president who has since consolidated his grip on power. There has been no official announcement about Hakimov's detention. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tajik Service, click here.

A Moscow court on July 18 sentenced U.S. citizen Michale Travis Leake to 13 years in prison on drug charges, the press service of Moscow courts of common jurisdiction said. Leake's co-defendant, a Russian woman, Veronika Garabanchuk, was sentenced to eight years in prison. More than 10 U.S. citizens are being held in Russian jails and prisons, accused or convicted on charges ranging from drug possession and theft to treason and espionage, amid accusations Moscow is using trumped-up charges to detain foreigners to use as currency in prisoner exchanges. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Former journalist Natalia Morari on July 18 said she would run as an independent candidate in Moldova's presidential election in October. Morari, who studied in Moscow, came to public attention when she was banned from entering Russia after publishing a series of reports in 2007 that purported to detail the use of secret funds by the Kremlin to bribe political parties. Morari, 40, was fired from her last job at Moldovan television TV8 in 2021 after it was revealed that she had been in a relationship with fugitive tycoon Veaceslav Platon when she interviewed him in prison. Morari has also previously contributed to RFE/RL's Moldovan Service. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service, click here.

A Romanian far-right member of the new European Parliament has been escorted out of the Strasbourg chamber after repeatedly heckling member Valerie Hayer during a debate following European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's speech. Diana Iovanovici-Sosoaca waved a black garbage bag, shouting, "You kill Romanians!" and placed a dog's muzzle on her face while being escorted out of the chamber. Iovanovici-Sosoaca won a seat in Romania's parliament in 2020 as a member of the far-right Alliance for the Unification of Romania (AUR) party, but has since been expelled and formed her own Russian-friendly group, SOS Romania, which propelled her into the new European Parliament in last month’s elections. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Romanian Service, click here.

Floods caused by heavy rain on July 18 disrupted 46 public transportation routes in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The Emergencies Ministry said two subway stations were briefly shut down as floods affected 38 segments of streets, one parking site, one building, and two underpasses in the city. Rescue teams are working to pump out the water from the affected sites. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Independent Kazakh journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim, who is on trial for what he says are politically motivated charges of financing an extremist group and participating in a banned group's activities, has been hospitalized in the southern town of Qonaev.

"Due to the ongoing stress and several longtime hunger strikes, Duman's health has dramatically deteriorated. He has problems with his kidneys and stomach, a disc protrusion," Mukhammedkarim's lawyer, Ghalym Nurpeisov, told RFE/RL on July 18.

Nurpeisov added that his client was unable to be in a sitting position for longer than two or three hours at a time due to back pain.

Mukhammedkarim, whose Ne Deidi? (What Do They Say?) YouTube channel is extremely popular in Kazakhstan, was sent to pretrial detention in June 2023 over an online interview he did with the fugitive banker and outspoken government critic, Mukhtar Ablyazov.

Ablyazov's Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement was declared extremist and banned in the country in March 2018. As Mukhammedkarim's trial started on February 12, he complained of being beaten by jail guards, prompting prosecutors to launch an investigation into the matter.

Mukhammedkarim's trial was then postponed until an unspecified date to allow for the investigation, which was shut down later due to a "lack of evidence."

The trial resumed after that.

If convicted, Mukhammedkarim could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.

Domestic and international right organizations have urged the Kazakh authorities to drop all charges against Mukhammedkarim and immediately release him. Kazakh rights defenders have recognized Mukhammedkarim as a political prisoner.

Rights watchdogs have criticized the authorities in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic for persecuting dissent, but Astana has shrugged off the criticism, saying there are no political prisoners in the country.

Nurpesiov thanked rights groups and activists who helped persuade officials to hospitalize Mukhammedkarim, raising awareness about his health.

Kazakhstan was ruled by authoritarian President Nursultan Nazarbaev from its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 until current President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev succeeded him in 2019.

Over the past three decades, several opposition figures have been killed and many jailed or forced to flee the country.

Toqaev, who broadened his powers after Nazarbaev and his family left the oil-rich country's political scene following the deadly, unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022, has promised political reforms and more freedoms for citizens.

However, many in Kazakhstan describe the reforms announced by Toqaev as cosmetic, and a crackdown on dissent has continued even after the president announced his "New Kazakhstan" program.

The European Parliament on July 18 reelected Ursula von der Leyen to a second five-year term as president of the European Union’s executive commission. “5 more years. I can’t begin to express how grateful I am for the trust of all MEPs that voted for me,” she said in a post on X after winning the vote with a comfortable majority. Von der Leyen's win is seen as ensuring continuity in major policy areas for the 27-nation bloc, including the war in Ukraine, climate change, and migration. To read the European Parliament's announcement on the vote, click here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected talk of making a deal with Russia without Kyiv's approval after Hungarian Prime Minister met with President Vladimir Putin as Ukraine's embattled troops continue to suffer from inadequate defenses in the face of a Russian onslaught in the east.

Zelenskiy arrived on July 18 in central England for the European Political Community (EPC) summit at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Britain's World War II leader Winston Churchill.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

The Ukrainian leader wasted little time in calling on those in attendance "to maintain unity in Europe because always this unity leads to strong decisions."

Zelenskiy's comments come after Orban -- who is also at the summit -- embarked on what he called a "peace mission," during which he made stops in Moscow, Kyiv, Beijing, and at the Florida residence of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

The global tour rankled most European leaders, who have repeatedly distanced themselves from Orban's trip, while the Hungarian leader himself has acknowledged that he has no authority to act on the behalf of other EU members, even though Hungary currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency.

"If someone in Europe tries to resolve issues behind others' backs or even at the expense of someone else, if someone wants to make some trips to the capital of war to talk and perhaps promise something against our common interests or at the expense of Ukraine or other countries, then why should we consider such a person?" Zelenskiy said at the summit on July 18.

"The EU and NATO can also address all their issues without this one individual."

Orban on July 18 released a letter he wrote to the heads of EU countries in which he said the warring parties were unlikely to search for a way out of the conflict without significant external involvement from the European Union, the United States, and China. But he said the EU "has copied the pro-war policy of the U.S.," and should break with Washington and pursue efforts for a cease-fire.

The letter, which had been leaked to the media earlier this week, also said Trump was ready to act "immediately" as a peace broker if he beats incumbent Joe Biden in the November 5 vote.

Trump has suggested that if he wins the U.S. presidential election in November he will resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict in one day. He has not elaborated on how he would accomplish such a feat, but many European leaders have said they fear the former president would agree with Putin on a peace plan without consulting with Kyiv.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Western help for Ukraine must be a joint effort between North America and Europe.

"European allies and Canada can of course do more, but it's extremely important that the United States continues to provide support to Ukraine," Stoltenberg told AFP on the sidelines of the summit. "The United States is by far the biggest ally. So, I expect them to continue to support Ukraine."

At the summit, Zelenskiy called for Western allies to lift the restrictions on long-range strikes into Russia, particularly military airfields, and for Western allies' air defenses to protect Ukraine as they protected Israel in April when it was hit with a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones.

Zelenskiy mentioned France, Britain, and the United States -- countries that provided air-defense systems and fighter jets that helped shoot down over 300 Iranian missiles and drones in Israeli airspace.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected the requests and said they were "out of the question."

Zelenskiy said in a post on social media that Ukraine will sign an intergovernmental agreement on support for the Ukrainian defense and industrial complex, discuss future defense cooperation, and expand Kyiv's defense capabilities while at the summit. He gave no details.

Keir Starmer, the first Labour Party prime minister in 14 years, has signaled that his government will continue London's policy of robust military and diplomatic support for Ukraine in its ongoing war to defeat Russian invaders.

The summit comes amid reports of difficulties faced by Ukrainian defenders on the eastern and southeastern front, mainly in the area of the Dnieper River northeast of Kherson city, where Kyiv had managed to establish a fragile bridgehead on the eastern bank of the river late last year.

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Flags, Tears, And Kneeling As Ukrainian Soldiers Return From Russian Captivity

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Ukrainian troops liberated Kherson, which lies on the western banks of the Dnieper, in November 2022, pushing Russian forces across the Dnieper, but the city continues to be targeted by enemy fire.

Ukrainian media in recent days reported that Krynky, a small town on the eastern bank of the Dnieper where Ukrainian marines and paratroopers landed in November 2023, had been abandoned after Kyiv suffered serious casualties.

But Dmytro Lykhoviy, a spokesman for Ukraine's Tavria group of troops, brushed aside a report by the Slidstvo.info publication, which on July 17 wrote that 788 Ukrainian soldiers have been missing in action since November, while the bodies of only 262 fallen troops could be recovered and transported across the river on the side controlled by Ukraine.

"The situation is not as critical as some media and bloggers interpret it. In this regard, our key message is, the defense forces of Ukraine continue to carry out combat missions on the left bank of the Dnieper. In particular, in the area of the settlement of Krynky," Lykhoviy said on state television.

"However, it is true that most of the main positions of Ukrainian troops in this village have been completely destroyed as a result of intense, combined, long-term enemy fire," he added.

Moscow had claimed in February that its troops had already pushed back Ukrainian forces from Krynky.

Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian claims could be independently confirmed.

Separately, Russia's Defense Ministry said that its air and naval defenses on July 18 repelled a combined attack of Ukrainian air and naval drones that targeted occupied Crimea.

In a message on Telegram, the ministry said that air defenses shot down 33 drones over Crimea and two over the Bryansk region.

The Russian Navy, meanwhile, said it destroyed 10 Ukrainian naval drones that were heading in the direction of the Crimean Peninsula. Separately, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed head of Sevastopol, Crimea's largest port, said a naval drone heading for the port was destroyed.

Ukraine has not commented on the Russian claims.

In Kyiv, the Ukrainian Air Force said its air defenses shot down all 16 drones and two out of three cruise missiles that Russia had launched at targets in the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Zaporizhzhya, Kyiv, and Kharkiv regions.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

A Russian court on July 18 sentenced Ilshat Ulyabayev -- a supporter of imprisoned Bashkir activist Fail Alsynov -- to five years in prison on charges of participating in mass unrest and attacking a police officer. Ulyabayev pleaded guilty. The 50-year-old is the first person sentenced in the high-profile case. Alsynov was sentenced to four years in prison in January on a charge of inciting hatred that he and his supporters call politically motivated. Thousands of Alsynov's supporters rallied before and after his sentence was handed down in Bashkortostan and clashed with police protesting the sentence. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, click here.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on July 18 that a court in the Siberian region of Altai Krai sentenced a 20-year-old university student to nine years in prison for sending a parcel with medicines to the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria. According to the FSB, the man, whose identity was not disclosed, established a connection with the IS and sent a parcel with sedatives, painkillers, and styptic agents, which slow bleeding, to the group in Syria via Turkey. The parcel was intercepted by the FSB. The man was found guilty of "supporting a terrorist organization." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

The Russian Interior Ministry on July 18 added journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva to its wanted list on unspecified charges. Prokopyeva left Russia for Latvia in March 2022 after police brutally forced her to a police station and questioned her in a case of allegedly spreading lies about the regional governor of Pskov. In September, a Russian court convicted Prokopyeva in absentia of discrediting Russia's military over an interview with historian Vasily Zharkov and fined her 35,000 rubles ($395). On July 17, the Interior Ministry added two other journalists in exile -- Andrei Zakharov and Dmitry Fomintsev -- to its wanted list. To read the original story by RFE/RL's North.Realities, click here.

A Moscow court late on July 17 sent Aleksandr Kibovsky, a former member of the Moscow municipal government, to pretrial detention for at least two months on charges of fraud and bribe-taking. Investigators allege Kibovsky accepted more than 100 million rubles ($1.1 million) in bribes while serving as the chief of Moscow's Culture Department between 2015 and 2023. Kibovsky pleaded not guilty and asked to be spared pretrial detention, saying he did not plan to flee and that he is willing to join Russian military forces invading Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

The U.S. Justice Department said on July 17 that a 52-year-old Russian man was sentenced to three years in prison for smuggling large quantities of American-made, military-grade microelectronics to Russia. Maksim Marchenko, who was arrested in September, pleaded guilty in a New York court in February to one count of money laundering and one count of smuggling goods from the United States. He and two other Russians were accused of using shell companies to conceal the fraudulent procurement of microelectronics. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Kazakh opposition activist Nurlybai Tataev went on trial in Kazakhstan's southern city of Turkistan on July 17 over an online conversation with the self-exiled leader of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement, Mukhtar Ablyazov, in 2021. Tataev is charged with taking part in a banned group's activities. His lawyers insist that the charge is illegitimate, citing the statute of limitations. The DVK was banned in Kazakhstan in 2018. Many activists across the Central Asian nation have been handed prison terms or parole-like restricted freedom sentences in recent years for their involvement in DVK activities. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on July 18 savaged a rogue diplomatic trip made by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Moscow to discuss ways for ending the war in Ukraine, calling it an "appeasement mission." "This so-called peace mission was nothing but an appeasement mission -- this was a plain appeasement mission," she told the European Parliament in a sharp rebuke for Orban, whose country currently holds the rotating EU Presidency. "Russia is banking on Europe and the West going soft, and some in Europe are playing along," said von der Leyen.

Serbian police are searching for a suspect in connection with the July 18 shooting death of a police officer and the wounding of another in western Serbia near the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said in a statement the attack in Loznica was "organized" and that the Serbian Prosecutor-General's Office "will consider this case a terrorist attack."

According to the Interior Ministry, police stopped two people in the middle of the night driving a Mercedes car with Serbian license plates. While exiting the vehicle, one person fired a pistol, hitting officer Nikola Krsmanovic in the chest and officer Vjekoslav Ilic in the shoulder.

Krsmanovic died in the hospital in Loznica, where Ilic is being treated for gunshot wounds and is in stable condition.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic sent his condolences to Krsmanovic's family for the "insidious attack" and said, "Serbia will never forget his sacrifice and selfless devotion to duty."

Dacic said 150 members of the police force were searching for the shooter. This includes members of the gendarmerie, a helicopter unit, a special anti-terrorist unit, border and criminal police, and the Sabac police department.

Serbian police are also working with Bosnian police in the Republika Srpska in case the suspect fled across the border.

Dacic said that in cooperation with the Bosnian Serb police, a man with the initials Z.R. was arrested for allegedly driving the shooter from Presevo to Loznica on the Bosnian border. Z.R.'s wife was arrested in Serbia on suspicion of being an accomplice, an Interior Ministry press release said.

Dacic previously said Serbian police arrested Mithat Hadzic on suspicion of driving the attacker's car and said the shooter himself was still at large.

Although the identity of the suspect is not confirmed, police are searching for Artan Hajrizi, whose Kosovo-issued passport and German identity card were found at the scene.

Hajrizi, who told the Insajderi newspaper he had met with the police in Germany, said his brother Faton Hajrizi stole his identification documents.

Faton Hajrizi previously escaped prison in Kosovo, where he was convicted of several offenses, including the killing of a Russian soldier when he was 15 years old.

Dacic said that "it is possible that this is a false identity," but also said Artan Hajrizi was engaging in a "classic lie."

"Artan Hajrizi, today at 11:55 a.m., declared to the Hanover police that yesterday his brother Fatoni stole the personal documents in his apartment in Hanover," Dacic said.

"According to what logic does a person from Hanover return illegally to Presevo and try to go again illegally to Germany? This clearly shows that it was agreed earlier and that it is an organized act," Dacic said.

Dacic called on German police to "urgently answer" how Hajrizi's documents got from Germany to Serbia.

Assistant Police Director Dragan Vasiljevic said Belgrade had contacted the German police through Interpol. Vasiljevic added that Croatian and Kosovar representatives were working with the Serbian police.

Police continue to search around the Drina River with helicopters, drones, and thermal imaging devices in an operation that Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti asked "not be politicized" at a press conference.

Kurti said Kosovar authorities will investigate the case but asked that the issue be treated "from the point of view of security -- legal and professional."

Dacic said he asked for and expects "full cooperation with the German police and the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo and not lies that no one believes."

The trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been in Russian detention for more than a year on espionage charges that he, his employer, and the U.S. government have rejected as politically motivated, will move to closing arguments on July 19 in the Russian Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

The Sverdlovsk regional court in Yekaterinburg announced on July 18 the beginning of the second hearing in Gershkovich's trial.

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On July 18, the court heard testimony behind closed doors. Local Russian news outlet Vechernie Vedemosti published a photo of local pro-Kremlin lawmaker Vyacheslav Vegner outside the courtroom and said he had taken the witness stand.

Vegner told Vechernie Vedemosti he had been interviewed by Gershkovich regarding the Russia's war in Ukraine, the Wagner mercenary group, and Sverdlovsk's industrial enterprises.

Earlier this week, the court said the resumption of Gershkovich's trial had been moved forward from August 13 to July 18 at the request of the defense team, whose arguments for moving up the date of the hearing were not disclosed.

The trial started on June 26 and is being held behind closed doors.

Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg on March 29, 2023, while he was on a reporting trip and was subsequently charged with trying to obtain military secrets to pass on to the CIA. He is the first U.S. journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War.

Gershkovich, the 32-year-old American-born son of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty, an outcome that is all but certain.

The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have firmly rejected the espionage charges, saying Gershkovich was merely doing his job as an accredited reporter when he was arrested.

After the opening hearing of the trial, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said in a statement on June 26 that Russian authorities failed to provide any evidence to back up the charges and called for Gershkovich's immediate release. It also demanded that Moscow stop using U.S. nationals as leverage for political ends.

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Gershkovich's appeals for release from Moscow's infamous Lefortovo Prison, where he has been held since his arrest, have been rejected.

His arrest came about a year after the Russia adopted new laws criminalizing criticism of the Russian war on Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation,” and statements deemed as discrediting the military.

Gershkovich and another U.S. citizen, Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence also on espionage charges, have been designated by the U.S. government as "wrongfully detained."

Such a designation ensures that the case is assigned to the office of the special envoy for hostage affairs in the U.S. State Department, raising the political profile of their situation and allowing the U.S. administration to allocate more resources to securing the prisoner's release.

Russia has complained about U.S. media reports on a possible swap involving Gershkovich. Speaking on July 17 at the United Nations in New York, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again raised this reporting, blaming "the Americans" for publicly bringing up a possible exchange, which he said "isn't helping."

Lavrov told a news conference that confidential negotiations were still "ongoing." Russia has previously signaled the possibility of a swap, but it says a verdict would have to come first.

According to the original Russian version of Lavrov's comments released in a video by the Russian Foreign Ministry, he said "the Americans," while the UN simultaneous translation quoted him as saying "American journalists."

Gershkovich is one of two American reporters currently being held by Russian authorities. The other is Alsu Kurmasheva, a veteran RFE/RL journalist who holds dual U.S.-Russian citizenship.

Kurmasheva, 47, was arrested in Kazan in October and charged with failing to register as a "foreign agent" under a punitive Russian law that targets journalists, civil society activists, and others. She’s also been charged with spreading falsehoods about the Russian military and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

RFE/RL and the U.S. government say the charges are reprisals for her work as a journalist for the broadcaster in Prague.

Unlike Gershkovich and Whelan, Kurmasheva has not been designated as " wrongfully detained," despite repeated calls by her employer and family for this to happen.

Another U.S.-Russian citizen, Ksenia Karelina, went on trial in Yekaterinburg in June on a treason charge.

Karelina, 33, was arrested in February during a visit to her native Yekaterinburg after security officers accused her of raising funds for a Ukrainian foundation that allegedly supplied weapons to Ukraine.

The Razom For Ukraine foundation helps Ukrainian civilians affected by the war.

The chief of police in Iran's Alborz Province said on July 17 that women who took part in an Ashura procession in the city of Karaj without hijabs have been "identified and summoned."

A video posted on Instagram shows a number of young women, most wearing dark clothing but no head scarves, walking in the street in observance of Ashura, a commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, which is marked mainly by Shi'ite Muslims.

To mourn his death, Shi’a wear black during Ashura processions in which many participants beat their backs with chains in a symbolic expression of regret for not being able to help Hussein before his death.

The video of the procession in Karaj on July 16 has been met with widespread reactions on social media.

Hamid Hadavand, the chief of police in Alborz Province, claimed that the publication of the video and others like it had led to "hurting the feelings of Hossein's mourners" throughout the country.

Hadavand accused the individuals seen in the videos of "desecration," adding that all of them "have been summoned to the Alborz Province police after being identified."

He did not say how many people were summoned or how they were identified.

In addition, the head of the Organization of Religious Boards and Organizations revoked the permission granted to the organization that held the Ashura procession in which the young women took part without hijabs.

Majid Babakhani also announced that the head of the organization had been "summoned" with the help of the police and said that he would be dealt with legally.

Ashura is marked on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Muslim calendar. Last year Muharram was also marked by reports of the identification and detention of women without compulsory hijabs across Iran.

Authorities have stepped up confrontations with people who oppose the mandatory hijab law since protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's morality police in September 2022 for allegedly improperly wearing her hijab, and there have been frequent reports of violence against detainees.

In recent months, the police again started a security crackdown on women flaunting the compulsory hijab law by reimplementing the Plan Noor initiative under which the morality police strictly enforce dress codes. This has led to several incidents of violence against women challenging the mandatory head scarf.

Before the reimplementation of the Plan Noor initiative the city of Tehran and the Interior Ministry prior employed hijab guards in some subway stations. The interior minister and the mayor of Tehran denied playing any role in this.

Despite these measures, the presence of women and girls without compulsory hijabs in public in Iran has not stopped over the past two years.

Iran is set to swear in moderate reformist Masud Pezeshkian as president early next month. Pezeshkian has said that while the hijab law should be observed, "there should never be any intrusive or inhumane behavior toward women."

A Russian-German couple has been convicted by a court in Stuttgart, Germany, of supplying about 120,000 spare parts for Orlan-10 drones to Russia in violation of EU sanctions. The court on July 17 sentenced the 59-year-old dual Russian-German citizen to six years and nine months in prison for supplying electronic components to a Russian company 54 times between 2020 and March 2023. According to the court, he sold amplifiers, transformers, transistors, and other spare parts to companies associated with the Russian defense industry, using front companies in China, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. His common-law wife, also a dual citizen, received a suspended sentence of one year and nine months for assisting with the crime. To read the original story byRFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a July 17 UN press conference that Moscow is willing to work with any elected U.S. leader who is willing to engage in “equitable, mutually respectful dialogue.” On Donald Trump’s nomination as the Republican presidential candidate, Lavrov said that there “was still dialogue under way” despite sanctions under the 2016-2020 Trump administration. Lavrov also welcomed Trump’s selection of Senator J.D. Vance (Republican-Ohio), a vocal critic of U.S. aid to Ukraine, as his running mate. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on July 15 that if Trump becomes president, “we will work together” and underscored Republican support for Ukraine. Trump has said he would resolve the war in Ukraine quickly if he is reelected.

Islamabad summoned a senior Afghan diplomat over a deadly militant attack on the Bannu garrison in northwest Pakistan, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on July 17.

Pakistani officials said the attack on July 15 led to the deaths of eight soldiers after a militant rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the outer wall of the garrison.

The army said that its forces opened fire and killed all 10 suspected militants in the encounter.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it summoned the deputy minister of the Taliban-led government's Afghan Embassy to the ministry and strongly protested.

The ministry blamed the Afghanistan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group for the attack and said in its statement that it had asked Kabul to take “immediate, robust, and effective action against the perpetrators.”

The ministry also said the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group and the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, an ally of the Afghan Taliban, are responsible for killing “hundreds of civilians and multiple members of law enforcement agencies” throughout Pakistan.

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On the day of the attack, a previously unknown group called Jaish-e Fursan-e Muhammad claimed responsibility in a WhatsApp message to media outlets. RFE/RL could not independently confirm the existence of any such armed group.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry statement on July 17 said it asked Kabul to fully investigate the bombing and take immediate action against the perpetrators.

There was no immediate reaction from the Taliban-led Afghan government.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks in recent years, mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, where Bannu is located. Residents of the province have protested the lack of security provided by Islamabad against the actions of extremists.

Pakistani security forces have said that they have conducted targeted operations against militants in several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

With reporting by AP

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Serbia later this week to discuss a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery supply chains, and electric cars, a German government spokesman said on July 17.

Scholz is scheduled to meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on July 19 and take part in a summit on “critical raw materials,” Steffen Hebestreit told reporters in Berlin.

"The background is a project for sustainable lithium mining in Serbia,” Hebestreit said. "Overall, it's about the further development of a European raw materials agenda and the diversification of raw material sources."

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic said on July 17 that he was prepared to discuss lithium mining and the development of raw materials if Scholz and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic came to Belgrade. Serbian media previously reported that Scholz, Sefcovic, and Vucevic would sign the memorandum of understanding.

Hebestreit said Scholz and Sefcovic will attend the summit where the memorandum of understanding will be signed but didn’t specify who would sign it. He said the agreement includes "a commitment to high environmental and sustainability standards."

Germany is seeking to secure lithium for its carmakers as the European Union struggles to reduce its dependence on imports from China.

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Serbian Government Restarts Rio Tinto's Contentious Lithium Mine Project

Vucevic, speaking a day after Serbia’s government reinstated a plan for a multibillion-dollar lithium mine operated by the Anglo-Australian metals and mining giant Rio Tinto, said lithium mining is a “great development opportunity” for Serbia.

But he said that, in order to discuss lithium mining, Serbia insists on the construction of factories and other industries in the area where the mine would be.

Rio Tinto says the area holds one of Europe's largest reserves of lithium and could produce 58,000 tons annually, enough for 1.1 million electric vehicles. Rio Tinto's plans call for a sprawling 250-hectare complex to exploit huge mineral deposits in a fertile western valley.

Serbia’s government on July 16 reinstated a spatial plan for the so-called Jadar project lithium mine and processing plant.

The move came days after the Balkan state's Constitutional Court said the government of then-Prime Minister Ana Brnabic had acted unconstitutionally when it withdrew permits for Rio Tinto.

The mining project has been opposed by environmental activists and local officials who have fought Vucic and his ruling allies for years over their support for the project.

With reporting by AP, dpa, and AFP

European Union ambassadors from the bloc's 27 nations have approved a European Commission proposal to start visa liberalization talks with Armenia, sources told RFE/RL on July 17.

The long-discussed proposal now heads to the European Council for formal approval, and then on to the commission, which will announce details on when it will start the negotiations and the action plan it is putting forward.

The process is different for each country as they try to fulfill various security requirements, but the process is expected to take several years to complete.

The sources said the decision regarding Armenia states that the requirement for visas will be removed only if all necessary criteria are fully met.

Brussels usually puts forward four main demands ranging from border management to the fight against organized crime and corruption.

It's likely to take up to six months for the EU to come up with its demands, analysts said.

Armenia joined the EU's Eastern Partnership program in 2009, a move that was meant to bring it, along with several other countries including South Caucasus neighbors Azerbaijan and Georgia, closer to the bloc without a clear offer of future membership.

The progress on visa liberalization comes after the European Parliament adopted a resolution on rapprochement with Armenia amid Yerevan's souring relations with traditional ally Moscow.

The resolution says the bloc should “take advantage of this potential geopolitical shift and help Armenia gain a stronger foothold in the community of democracies.”

Yerevan has edged closer to the West through military and other ties and since its defeat last year by Caucasus archfoe Azerbaijan, which retook control of Nagorno-Karabakh after a lightning offensive in September 2023 along with other areas internationally recognized as Azerbaijani but controlled for decades by ethnic Armenians.

Armenia has accused longtime power broker Moscow and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of offering little help to keep Azerbaijan at bay.

The CSTO is an alliance of six ex-Soviet states -- Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.