A group of Iranian political prisoners around the country have launched a hunger strike to protest a wave of death sentences that could push Iran's execution rate even higher, human rights activists reported.
Turkmenistan has opened a section of the Ashgabat-Turkmenabat highway linking the cities of Tejen and Mary in southeastern Turkmenistan.
The director of Montenegro’s Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) has been arrested after a search of the ACA's offices and vehicles in Podgorica in the latest in a series of measures aimed at curtailing graft and abuse of public office at the highest levels of the Montenegrin justice system.
Media reports in Kyrgyzstan cited the Digital Development Ministry as saying that it had instructed Internet providers to limit access to TikTok as of April 18.
In the Kazakh city of Oral, thousands of residents are building dams and preparing for another wave of flooding that could arrive on April 20. With no help from the state, people in a village in the Russian region of Orenburg raised money to build their own 1.5-kilometer dam. And in Tajikistan, flooding has destroyed homes in many villages.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has reiterated his warning to Israel that "the tiniest invasion" would trigger a swift and severe response amid global concerns over how the Jewish state will retaliate following a drone and missile attack on it orchestrated by Tehran over the weekend.
Water levels in the Tobol River in the Russian region of Kurgan have risen "dangerously," amid flooding in the border region with Kazakhstan caused by heavy rains and a massive snowmelt sparked by unseasonably warm weather.
Members of Iran's sizable Afghan community are worried about the prospect of a full-blown war between Tehran and its archfoe, Israel. In the wake of Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel on April 13, observers say an all-out conflict is a possibility.
As Israel and Iran engage in a dangerous game of one-upmanship that threatens to plunge the Middle East into a broader conflict, Arab countries have shown that resolving the Gaza war and maintaining regional stability is their highest priority.
Around 70 people have been killed by heavy rains lashing Afghanistan over the past five days, the government's disaster management department said on April 17.
Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza faces a long and arduous transfer from a Siberian penal colony to a Moscow court to appeal against his 25-year sentence on treason and other charges, his lawyer said on April 17.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on April 17 that Israel “is making a decision to act” in response to Iran's missile and drone attack over the weekend, while Iran warned that even the “tiniest” invasion of its territory would bring a “massive and harsh” response.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, will shortly be travelling to Tehran to resume nuclear talks with the Iranian side, a top Iranian official said on April 17.
Russian authorities have arrested a dual Tajik–Russian national in connection with the March 22 terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow that left 144 people dead.
The Kremlin has confirmed that Russian peacekeepers are leaving Azerbaijan's once-breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Georgian parliament on April 17 approved the first reading of the controversial "foreign agents," bill with 83 lawmakers supporting the legislation and no votes against.
Riot police used pepper spray against demonstrators and detained several of them in the Georgian capital on April 16. This came after thousands of protesters gathered for a second day in front of the parliament in Tbilisi as lawmakers in plenary session debated a revived bill to designate certain groups as "foreign agents." The ruling party previously backed the controversial "foreign agents" bill in 2023, then withdrew it in reaction to an earlier round of mass protests.
Russia's Federation Council on April 17 voted to appoint Irina Podnosova, who in 1975 graduated from the Leningrad State University's law school along with Vladimir Putin, to the post of chairwoman of the Supreme Court.
Judge Aizhan Qulbaeva on April 17 ruled to exclude Russian forensics experts' conclusion from the high-profile trial of former Kazakh Economy Minister Quandyq Bishimbaev, who is accused of beating his wife to death.
Independent Kazakh journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim, on trial for what he says are politically motivated charges, has launched another hunger strike to protest against the delay of an investigation into his complaint that he was tortured in custody.
Desperately looking for work, three Tajik migrants found jobs in Turkey’s booming soap opera industry, working as bit-part actors and stuntmen. Two of the men say they came to Turkey to take "any job" to survive.
Russia's Interior Ministry on April 17 added Zalina Marshenkulova, an activist journalist in exile, to its wanted list on unspecified charges.
The 25 crew members of the MSC Aries, which was seized by Iran on April 13, are safe, shipping firm MSC said, adding that discussions with Iranian authorities were in progress to secure their earliest release.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recommended late on April 16 that Kosovo be invited to become a member of the Council of Europe and will monitor its fulfilment of an "extensive list of commitments and obligations as from its accession."
Iran says it has received assurances from Armenia regarding its concerns about the potential escalation of geopolitical competition in the South Caucasus stemming from the Armenian leader's recent high-level discussions with U.S. and EU officials in Brussels.
