Russia

Today's news: In Sumatra seven months in prison for a comedian for a joke about Mohammed; 21-year-old Afghan Manizha Talash, who fled the Taliban, at the Olympic Games in the refugee team; Hong Kong outlaws and withdraws passports from six activists who fled to the UK; Two Indians recruited by the Russian army killed in the war in Ukraine; New attack in Yerevan against synagogue.

Konstantin Gološanov, former leader of the ‘Athos fraternity’ that brought together the oligarchs-VIPs, is back in vogue in Moscow. Having gone out of the scene with the start of the conflicts with Ukraine (and the explosion of some financial scandals), today he is once again trying to show through sacred art that Russia is the ‘true Europe’.

Today's news: UN Security Council votes on Gaza ceasefire resolution; Taipei arrested a Chinese citizen for ‘illegal entry’ by sea; Indonesia's population has the highest ingestion of microplastics among 109 countries in the world; Manhunt by Indian soldiers in Kashmir after an attack on a pilgrim bus; Tokyo wants to strengthen economic cooperation with Central Asian countries.

Today's news: South Korean doctors on strike on 18 June against government reform; Economic crisis and joblessness cause growing school dropout in Laos; At least seven security men killed in an explosion in Pakistan; Armenian archbishop calls for street protest against government territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.

Many people in Russia tried to honour his memory on June 4, his birthday. His Anti-Corruption Foundation remains an important legacy, transcending the capabilities of his followers or the prestige of his wife Julia, and may still have a role to play even in a Russia now locked in neo-Soviet totalitarianism.

Bishkek and Tashkent ink a memorandum to connect Kashgar to Andijon. This will cut the freight journey to Europe and the Persian Gulf, while bypassing Russia. For the Chinese president, the agreement is "a show of determination,” part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Speaking at a press briefing on the sidelines of the St Petersburg Forum, the Russian president said he "appreciates" South Korea’s position. Although Seoul joined Washington in imposing sanctions against Russia, it has not sent weapons to Ukraine. Putin also reiterated his intention to strengthen ties with Pyongyang. Conversely, he took a tough stance against Japan, saying that conditions are not in place to resume sovereignty talks over the Kuril Islands.

A US-European coordination mechanism for the Western Balkans will specifically deal with the fight against information manipulation and propaganda orchestrated by Moscow. The conflict is particularly acute in the area through which Russian gas pipelines pass.

During his visit to Tashkent Putin called Uzbekistan ‘the largest country in Central Asia’, despite Kazakhstan being six times larger. And in Astana there are those who cry provocation. In the background is the ‘cooling’ of relations with Moscow in a strategic area for trade routes between China and Europe.

A series of video-documentaries circulated by Maša Pevčik, one of Naval'nyj's best-known contributors, shift all the blame and responsibility for what is happening today onto the bandits and corrupt people who prevented the development of a free and democratic society in the 1990s. Putin propagandists and opposition publicists, older and the younger generations, all cloaked in guilt and resentment, speak to those years.

Zjuganov's communists have once again submitted a bill to the Duma calling for a Constituent Assembly to approve a series of changes to the Basic Law. But the Kremlin is bracing itself for plebiscite votes in the 2020 amendments and the 2024 presidential elections, without the need for further bureaucratic complications

After the dismissal of the historic minister Sergei Šojgu, four generals have already been arrested in the last month, all accused of corruption. Not since Stalin's time have such actions been seen at the top of state and military bodies.