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After graduating from medical school, Salomat had to settle for working as a masseuse at a Dushanbe beauty salon because hospitals in Tajikistan don’t allow the Islamic hijab, which she wears....

kyivindependent.com/update-14-killed-in-russian-s…...

The U.S. ambassador to Russia on March 29 issued an unusual diplomatic statement refuting Russian government claims about information that the United States shared with Russia ahead of the terrorist attack last week on a concert hall outside Moscow that killed more than 140 people....

The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely refusing to release the body of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who died suspiciously in prison on February 16, because it fears a massive outpouring of grief and support just ahead of the March presidential election, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a leading Russian...

Financial Times: “Russia intends to double the number of its troops stationed along its border with the Baltic states and Finland as it prepares for a potential military conflict with NATO within the next decade, according to Estonia’s foreign intelligence service.”

In a move set to tighten government control over practicing religion in China’s western Xinjiang Province, the Muslim-majority region will introduce a set of regulations that – among other things – will require all new places of worship to reflect “Chinese characteristics and style.”...

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy marked Ukraine’s Day of Unity with the introduction of a draft law that allows multiple citizenships, a move that would make it possible for foreign fighters and ethnic Ukrainians outside the country to hold Ukrainian passports while not giving up other citizenship....

At least 42,284 Russian military personnel have been killed since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, according to research by journalists from Mediazona and the BBC Russian Service who have established the deceased soldiers’ identities....

The head of Russia’s parliament said he plans to submit legislation next week that would allow the state to seize the property of “scoundrels” who criticize the war in Ukraine....

Russia last year overtook Saudi Arabia to become the largest supplier of oil to China, Reuters reported, citing Chinese import data....

Iranian authorities have seized the prestigious Sakharov Prize that was awarded by the European Parliament to honor Mahsa Amini, whose September 2022 death in custody sparked nationwide anti-government protests and who came to symbolize battle for human rights for Iranian women....

KYIV – Ukraine will likely receive it first shipment of advanced F-16s in the next few days, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call as Kyiv seeks to disrupt Russia’s air superiority over Ukrainian skies amid continued battles on December 23 in the east and south of the country....

With all political opposition eliminated and Russia firmly in the grip of what analysts call “mature authoritarianism,” the country prepares for a March presidential vote devoid of competition and, if the Kremlin has its way, ushers Vladimir Putin into another six-year term without surprises.