Two people were killed and six wounded in a Russian strike on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, early on April 30, regional head Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram as an air-raid alert was announced for most of the country. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said separately that two infrastructure targets were hit during the strike. The air-raid alert was declared for the regions of Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzya, and Donetsk. To read the original stories by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here and here.

The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office said investigators have detained former Interior Minister Erlan Turghymbaev on a charge of abuse of office and power.

In a statement on April 30, the office said Turghymbaev's detention was linked to "ongoing investigations into the events that took place in January 2022," a reference to nationwide demonstrations that were sparked by protests against an abrupt fuel price hike in the Central Asian nation's southwestern town of Zhanaozen.

The unrest that quickly spread across the country turned into unprecedented anti-government protests that saw more than 200 people killed.

Much of the protesters' anger was directed at former President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who ruled Kazakhstan from 1989 until March 2019, when he handed over power to his then-ally Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev. Despite moving into the background, Nazarbaev was widely believed to have remained in control.

The protests were violently dispersed by police and military personnel, including troops from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that Toqaev invited into the country, claiming that "20,000 extremists who were trained in terrorist camps abroad" had attacked Almaty, the country's largest city.

The authorities have provided no evidence proving Toqaev's claim about foreign terrorists.

Following the unrest which claimed at least 238 lives, including 19 police officers, the chief of the Committee for National Security (KNB) and one of Nazarbaev's closest allies, Karim Masimov, and three of his deputies were arrested.

Masimov was later sentenced to 18 years in prison, while his deputies, Anuar Sadyqulov and Daulet Erghozhin, were sentenced to 16 years and 15 years, respectively. A court in Astana found all three men guilty of high treason, attempting to seize power by force, and abuse of office and power.

Another former deputy of Masimov, Marat Osipov, was sentenced to three years in prison on a charge of abuse of office.

In February of this year, another former deputy and a nephew of Nazarbaev, Samat Abish, was convicted on a charge of abuse of power and handed a suspended sentence of eight years.

Abish's older brother, Qairat Satybaldy, was arrested in March 2022 and later sentenced to six years in prison on corruption charges.

Russia's TASS news agency quoted Interior Ministry officials on April 30 as saying that 398 naturalized Russian citizens had their passports revoked after the adoption of a law in October that allows naturalized Russians to be deprived of their citizenship if they are convicted of a crime. Those crimes include, among other felonies, discrediting Russia's military, distributing false information about Russian armed forces, calling for sanctions against Russia, espionage, high treason, violating the law on "foreign agents," and taking part in the activities of "undesirable organizations.'" To read the original story by RFE/RL's North.Realities, click here.

TBILISI -- Georgia's parliament is set to vote on April 30 on the second reading of a so-called "foreign agents" bill -- regarded by many as mirroring one used by the Kremlin to silence its critics -- amid growing protests and Western warnings that the law is intended to control civil society.

Tens of thousands of people have rallied outside the parliament building in Tbilisi over the past two weeks against the legislation put forward by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which in turn staged a large counterdemonstration in support of the bill on April 29, bringing in people from all over the country.

Those opposed to the bill call it "the Russian law," and President Salome Zurabishvili, who has distanced herself from the policies of the ruling party, has promised to veto it if it is formally adopted in a third reading, as expected. The government has the votes to override a veto and has said it will do so.

WATCH: Thousands of Georgians demonstrated in rival pro- and anti-government rallies as parliament resumed discussions of the so-called "foreign agents" bill.

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Georgian 'Foreign Agents' Bill Sparks Mass Rallies On Both Sides Of The Issue

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Former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, the influential billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, lashed out at opponents of the bill during a speech at the rally in support of the bill, while accusing foreign intelligence agencies of interfering in the Caucasus country's internal politics.

Another former prime minister, Irakli Gharibashvili, currently the chairman of Georgian Dream, and other party leaders say the legislation is intended to increase transparency in the country’s political environment.

If adopted, the law would require organizations and groups to register as "foreign agents" if they receive more than 20 percent of funding from abroad.

The battle over the legislation has highlighted Georgia's precarious relationship with Russia.

SEE ALSO:

Wider Europe Briefing: The Georgian Gamble And The Big EU Enlargement 20 Years Later

Anti-Russian sentiment can often be strong in Georgia. Russian troops still control around one-fifth of Georgian territory, most of it taken during a lightning war in 2008 that was ostensibly about breakaway efforts in two northeastern regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

While the government remains against Russia's occupation and also supports Ukraine in its war with Russia, it has also made moves to align itself more economically with Moscow, and the opposition has accused Ivanishvili of using his influence to push the country in a pro-Russia direction.

The European Union, which gave Georgia candidate status in December, has said that adoption of the bill, which is "incompatible" with the bloc's values, would disrupt the country's membership hopes.

On April 29, two influential U.S. lawmakers said the bill was mirroring the one pushed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling the bill "incredibly concerning" and urging Georgia's government to listen to its people and reverse it.

"Putin used this 'foreign agents law' to drastically curb free speech, all but eliminate Russian civil society, and further solidify his brutal rule as a dictator," Representatives Gerry Connolly (Democrat-Virginia) and Austin Scott (Republican-Georgia), the co-chairs of the Congressional Georgia Caucus, said in a statement.

"It is incredibly concerning for the Republic of Georgia, a democratic partner of the United States that has received EU candidate status, to introduce and advance legislation that mimics Putin’s same anti-democratic instrument," Connolly and Scott said in their statement.

"We continue to support the Georgian people in their path to Euro-Atlantic inclusion and urge leaders to heed their calls for a flourishing and unimpeded civil society, independent judiciary, and a government that respects the rule of law and holds those who engage in corruption accountable," the statement said.

SEE ALSO:

Exiled Journalist Warns Georgia's 'Foreign Agents' Law Is 'First Step On Road To Repression'

Before going to the vote in a plenary session on April 30, the parliament's Legal Committee approved the first reading during a stormy session that saw all opposition members expelled from the premises.

The decision to expel the opposition was made by session Chairman Anri Okhanashvili of Georgian Dream, who cited what he said were "violations" of parliamentary procedures.

Online and print media reporters were also banned from attending the session, with organizers only giving access to accredited news outlets due to "security" reasons.

The press center also banned visitors, with the exception of those "invited by the relevant structures," from entering the building.

Georgian Dream introduced the legislation last year but was forced to withdraw it following mass protests. The party’s parliamentary group brought the law back with minor wording changes and passed its first reading on April 17, again triggering unrest.

The final reading of the bill is scheduled to be debated on May 17.

Seven people were killed in an attack on a Shi'ite mosque in Afghanistan's Herat Province late on April 29. Media reported that the attack took place at the Imam Zaman mosque in the Guzereh district of Herat. Among the dead are the imam of the mosque, a child, and five adult worshipers, reports said. No further details were immediately available. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.

A cyberspecialist who briefly worked at the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) was sentenced on April 29 to more than 21 years in prison for attempting to spy for Russia, the Justice Department said. Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 32, spent less than four weeks working at the NSA before he suddenly quit in June 2022. While at the NSA, Dalke printed out top secret documents and later offered them for sale for $85,000 to an individual he believed to be a Russian agent, according to court documents. He was actually dealing with an undercover FBI agent.

Sophie, Britain's duchess of Edinburgh, has visited Ukraine, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife in the first trip to the country by a British royal since the conflict with Russia began, Buckingham Palace said on April 29. Sophie, 59, the wife of King Charles's youngest brother, Prince Edward, made the surprise visit on behalf of Britain's Foreign Office to show solidarity with those impacted by the war and as part of her work to champion survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, the palace said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov visited Sudan on April 29 in a sign of support for the Sudanese Army, which is locked in a war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Bogdanov met Sudanese Army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, a base for the army and government officials since the RSF took over large parts of the capital, Khartoum. Bogdanov said his visit could lead to increased cooperation and expressed support for "the existing legitimacy in the country represented by the Sovereign Council," according to the council, which Burhan leads.

The total value of a 35-year contract to maintain, operate, and build most of Hungary's highways won by seven private equity funds whose owners have close ties to the Hungarian government is at least $45 billion, according to documents obtained by RFE/RL. The highway contract awarded in 2021 was made public at the time, but the appendices containing most of the financial details of the deal were kept secret. RFE/RL published details of the contract on April 29 after winning a lawsuit to gain access to the contract’s appendices. To read the full story by RFE/RL's Hungarian Service, click here.

Police in Baku detained the chairman of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Education Center, Anar Mammadli, his colleagues said on April 29. Mammadli's lawyer, Elcin Sadiqov, told RFE/RL that his client’s detention was linked to the case against several journalists of Abzas Media independent investigative website, who are under pretrial arrest on charges of illegally smuggling foreign currency, which they reject as politically motivated. Critics of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.

A group of former prisoners who were once detained in Iran have slammed the Swedish government, saying it had failed to take enough action to secure the release of Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian physician facing the death penalty in Iran.

The 15 signatories of the letter, including prominent figures such as Barry Rosen and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, said the Swedish government’s efforts had been "insufficient" as Djalali approaches his eighth year behind bars.

"The inaction and lack of a clear strategy on Sweden's part is alarming," Siamak Namazi, one of the signatories, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

"It is imperative that the Swedish government upholds its responsibility towards its citizens."

Djalali, a medical professional and university professor, was detained in May 2016 by Iran's intelligence services during a visit for a scientific conference. He was subsequently sentenced to death in 2017 on charges of "espionage and selling information to Israel" and "corruption on Earth," charges he denies.

Vida Mehrannia, Djalali's wife, voiced her frustrations with the lack of progress in the case in an interview with Swedish Radio.

"The silence from the government is deafening," she said in the interview.

"We are desperate for action and engagement that can bring Ahmadreza home," she added.

The letter by the group of former prisoners underlines Iran's practice of detaining foreigners to use as bargaining chips in international negotiations.

They called on the Swedish government to collaborate internationally to combat the practice of hostage taking by establishing severe penalties as a deterrence.

Djalali’s case has also drawn attention to other Swedes detained in Iran, including Johan Floderus, and long-running tensions between Stockhokm and Tehran, particularly after the conviction of Hamid Nouri in Sweden for his role in the 1988 mass executions in Iran.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Police in Germany said on April 28 that they had arrested a 57-year-old Russian man on suspicion of stabbing two Ukrainian soldiers to death in a shopping center in the Bavarian city of Murnau a day earlier. The soldiers were said to be on rehabilitation in Germany when the incident took place. It is not clear if the alleged attacker and the victims knew each other. The two Ukrainians were 23 and 36 years old and lived in the southern German region of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Their names were not released, in line with German law.

Kazakhstan's Emergencies Ministry said on April 29 that among those forced to flee the recent unprecedented flooding in the north, 38,521 people had returned home. About 120,000 people, including 44,000 children, had been evacuated from areas affected by the floods, which were caused by abrupt warm weather that led to a massive snowmelt. According to a ministry statement, some of the rescue teams and military personnel deployed to help flood-affected regions had started leaving as water levels begin to recede. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

Moscow resident Stanislav Netyosov was charged with discrediting the Russian military after he dyed his hair blue and yellow, which police considered support for Ukraine due to its national flag of the same colors. Netyosov was charged on April 28 after he came to a police station to file a complaint saying he was attacked the previous evening by unknown assailants who broke his tooth and stole his telephone. Police also fingerprinted Netyosov and handed him a summons to a military recruitment center, saying they would "teach him to kiss his native land in the military trenches." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Czech police confirmed on April 29 that agents of Russia's military intelligence (GRU) were involved in two ammunition depot blasts that killed two workers near the eastern Czech village of Vrbetice in 2014. In 2021, Prague accused Moscow of being involved in the blasts and expelled several Russian diplomats. Moscow denied any involvement. The Czechs said two Russian men were involved in the explosion, identifying them as Russian citizens who have also been accused by Britain of participating in the 2018 poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

A Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa killed five people and injured 32, the regional governor said on April 29, just hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for faster deliveries of desperately needed weapons for depleted and outgunned Ukrainian troops.

The evening attack on Odesa killed three women and one man, Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. He reported later that another man died of a stroke suffered as a result of the attack.

Of the 32 people who were injured, 25 are in the hospital, he said. Among them are two children, ages 5 and 16, and one pregnant woman. The 5-year-old is in extremely serious condition, he said, adding that six of the adults are also in serious condition.

WATCH: A Russian missile attack on a building known as "Harry Potter's Castle" in the Ukrainian port of Odesa killed at least five people on April 29.

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Russian Missile Attack Hits Ukraine's 'Harry Potter's Castle' In Odesa

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Zelenskiy made his comments earlier in Kyiv at a joint news conference with visiting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. He said that small quantities of weapons and ammunition had begun arriving in Ukraine, but he urged that the deliveries gain momentum faster in order to be useful.

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.

"Timely support for our army. Today I don't see anything positive on this point yet. There are supplies, they have slowly begun, but this process needs to be sped up," he said.

"Promptness in supply literally means a stabilization of the front line.... Together we must disrupt the Russian offensive."

An influx of weapons is expected to flow after U.S. President Joe Biden signed a long-delayed $61 billion military aid package last week. Biden said the package would include air defense munitions to help Ukraine protect its cities and infrastructure, artillery shells, and long-range missile systems.

Stoltenberg, visiting the Ukrainian capital for the third time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, acknowledged "serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield."

"For months, the U.S. was unable to agree a package and European allies have been unable to deliver ammunition at the scale we promised," he added. "Ukraine has been outgunned for months and forced to ration its ammunition.... More support is on the way."

The Russian Defense Ministry on April 29 said that it had captured a village in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk and was advancing westward.

"Units of the Center Group of Forces liberated the village of [Semenivka] in...Donetsk," it said on Telegram.

Ukraine has not commented on the claim, which could not be independently verified.

Semenivka is located about 10 kilometers from Avdiyivka, which fell to Russian forces in February after a fierce battle that lasted for several months.

Ukraine’s top military commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy, warned on April 28 that the situation in the east had deteriorated, with Russia attacking "along the entire front line."

SEE ALSO:

Ukraine's Top General Says Frontline Conditions Worsen, Troops Fall Back

"The enemy deployed up to four brigades in these directions, is trying to develop an offensive west of Avdiyivka and Maryinka, making its way to Pokrovsk and Kurakhove," Syrskiy said, adding that the Russian gains were of limited importance.

"In general, the enemy achieved certain tactical successes in these directions, but could not gain operational advantages," he added.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on April 29 that it has captured a village in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk, and is advancing westwards as depleted and outgunned Ukrainian forces retreat. "Units of the Center Group of Forces liberated the village of [Semenivka] in...Donetsk," the ministry said on Telegram. Ukraine has not commented on the claim, which could not be independently verified. Semenivka is located close to Avdiyivka, which fell to Russian forces in February. Ukraine’s top military commander, General Oleksandr Syrskiy warned on April 28 that the situation in the east has deteriorated, with Russia attacking “along the entire front line.”

A nationwide polio vaccination campaign started on April 29 in Afghanistan, Taliban authorities announced. The Taliban-run Health Ministry said the four-day campaign will cover 31 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, while immunizations will start later in the remaining three -- Ghor, Daikundi, and Bamyan -- due to heavy rains and cold weather. Besides vaccines, children will also receive doses of vitamin A to increase their resistance to the infectious disease, the ministry said. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio has not been completely eradicated. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.

The Tajik Foreign Ministry said on April 28 that 954 Tajik nationals have been left stranded at Moscow airports due to tightened passport and custom controls in the wake of a terror attack last month. Hundreds of arriving Tajiks have been informed that they are barred from entering Russia, leaving them inside the airports as they seek a resolution. A day earlier, the ministry called on Tajik citizens not to travel to Russia. Rights groups said the ministry's recommendation was linked to a surge in anti-Tajik sentiment in Russia after 11 Tajik men were arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack on a concert hall near Moscow in March that left 144 people dead. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tajik Service, click here.

A Kyrgyz man who was handed a suspended seven-year prison term for joining Russia's armed forces and fighting in Ukraine is expected to obtain Russian citizenship, Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said over the weekend. Askar Kubanychbek-uulu told Russian journalists that he had fled Kyrgyzstan via neighboring Kazakhstan and is currently in Russia. Meanwhile, according to a ruling in January by Bishkek's Birinchi Mai district court, Kubanychbek-uulu was banned from leaving the Kyrgyz capital while serving a three-year probation period that was part of his seven-year suspended sentence. Kyrgyz authorities have yet to comment on the situation. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.

Authorities in Russia's North Caucasus region of Karachai-Cherkessia said on April 29 that two police officers were killed and four wounded overnight in an attack by armed individuals who threw an explosive device and opened fire on a traffic police patrol. The attackers were killed by law enforcement, the region's Interior Ministry said. A week earlier, two other police officers were killed and one officer wounded in Karachai-Cherkessia after unknown attackers opened fire on a police patrol. The assailants managed to take a pistol, an AK-47, and ammunition from the officers, the authorities said at the time. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination. While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions during his confinement, the intelligence community has found “no smoking gun” that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death -- which came soon before the Russian president's reelection — or directly ordered it, according to the official. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. To read the original story by AP, click here.

Chechnya's Moscow-backed authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov says he has appointed his 16-year-old son as the supervisor of a Chechen special forces training school in Gudermes. Adam Kadyrov shot to notoriety last year in August after video was posted online of him beating Russian teenager Nikita Zhuravel, who had been arrested for burning a Koran. Following the incident, he was showered with awards and honors, including one for his "significant personal contribution to the strengthening of Islam and the defense of its values." Ramzan Kadyrov, a staunch ally of President Vladimir Putin, is rumored to be gravely ill. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit France, Serbia, and Hungary from May 5 to May 10, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry announced on April 29. Bilateral relations with France have maintained sound growth momentum, and both countries have had strategic communications and practical cooperation, ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in discussing Xi's trip to France. He added that Xi will hold talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to exchange views on bilateral relations and discuss upgrading the China-Serbia relationship. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

A senior Pakistani judge has been released after being kidnapped in the South Waziristan district of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, after his captors released a video of him pleading for his freedom.

District and Sessions Judge Shakirullah Marwat was abducted in the Tank district of the restive province's Dera Ismail Khan region on April 27 after about 15 men on motorcycles cut off the vehicle he was riding in and set it on fire.

Muhammad Ali Saif, a media adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's chief minister, said in an audio message sent to RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal on April 29 that Marwat had returned home after being released late the previous day. Saif did not provide any further details.

No group has claimed responsibility for the incident but a video published by counterterrorism officials on April 28 purported to show Marwat saying that the Pakistani Taliban -- Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- would not release him until their demands were met. It was not immediately clear what the demands were.

The police chief for the Tank district, Abdul Salam Khalid, told Radio Mashaal that an investigation and search operation for those responsible was under way.

Police and judicial services were restored in South Waziristan when Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas were merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in 2018. But due to the security situation, courts for South Waziristan and some other districts are located in neighboring areas.

Dozens of police and civilians have been killed in the province since late 2022, when the TTP unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the central government.

Residents have said that the security situation has recently worsened significantly in the Dera Ismail Khan region, particularly in the Tank district, as well as in other areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province's south.

A recent report by the provincial police's anti-terrorism department said that in the first three months of this year, 25 armed attacks have been recorded in Dera Ismail Khan, with 17 in the Tank district.

Recently elected Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari expressed concern over the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province during his speech to a joint session of parliament on April 18.