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The Week's Best: Stories You May Have Missed
by RFE/RLWe know that rferl.org isn't the only website you read, and it's possible that you may have missed some of our most interesting journalism from the past week. To make sure you're up-to-date, here are some of the highlights produced by RFE/RL's team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days.
Hailed As Heroes On State TV, Russia's Medical Workers Feel Like Victims Off-Screen
Even before the pandemic, doctors were warning that a punitive system was driving them away from the profession. But the current crisis appears to have brought the problem into stark relief, leaving medics across the country facing legal consequences for speaking out. By Matthew Luxmoore
Afghan Boy Gets Prosthetic Hands And Learns To Write Again
A 14-year-old Afghan boy who lost both hands after being hit by a roadside bomb is getting used to new prosthetic limbs. An international NGO and a human rights group helped him after he was featured in an RFE/RL report. By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan
Hiding The Bodies? Numbers At Kazakh COVID-19 Cemetery Don't Add Up
A graveyard at a remote location 50 kilometers from Almaty is said to be for COVID-19 victims from the city and surrounding region. There are 32 fresh graves, but the city has recorded just 10 deaths and none have been reported from the region. By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, Manas Kaiyrtayuly, and Ray Furlong
Getting It In The Gut: Iran Sees Rise In Gastrointestinal Coronavirus Infections
Medical experts in Iran are reporting a rise of coronavirus cases in which patients do not have respiratory symptoms but show signs of gastrointestinal infection. By Ron Synovitz and Maryam Sinaiee
A Bishkek Florist's Generosity Blossoms Amid The Pandemic
Salamat Baktybek-Kyzy has been saving the profits from her florist business in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in order to buy herself a prosthetic leg. But when orders collapsed amid the COVID-19 lockdown, she decided to start donating flowers for free. By Ray Furlong and Current Time
Locust Swarms Devour Swaths Of Pakistan's Crops
A plague of locusts, said to be the worst in decades, has destroyed thousands of hectares of crops across Pakistan. Areas of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Punjab provinces have been the hardest hit, with farmers asking the government to do more to help. By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal and Samad Shabnam
The Indispensable Mr. Kadyrov? Questions About Chechen Leader's Health Prompt New Questions About Region's Future
He’s been Chechnya’s strongman ruler more than 13 years. Reports that he was hospitalized with COVID-19 have prompted a new round of questions: What happens when he’s gone? By Mike Eckel
China Seen As Rising Military Power In Central Asia, Foreshadowing Future Friction With Russia
A new report highlights Beijing’s growing security role in Central Asia and a future of friction with Russia. By Reid Standish
Although Banned From Running, Vlogger's Calls To Cast Out 'Cockroach' Lukashenka Resonating With Many Belarusians
On May 24, more than 1,000 people turned out in Minsk to sign ballot petitions for would-be presidential candidates in the upcoming election in Belarus in August. Among the crowd was Syarhey Tsikhanouski, a popular blogger turned politician, who says Belarus must be “independent” and Lukashenka, whom he calls the “cockroach,” must go. The blogger has been arrested, jailed, and already banned from running in the August 9 poll, but his message for change just months ahead of a presidential election seem to be resonating with more Belarusians. By Tony Wesolowsky
Surrogate Babies Still Stuck In Ukrainian Lockdown Limbo
More than 60 surrogate babies are still stuck in a Kyiv guesthouse, unable to be united with parents from 35 countries because of Ukraine's lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. By Ray Furlong
Deep Trouble: Russia Finally Moves To Raise Radioactive Debris From Arctic Waters
Nearly 17,000 items of radioactive debris are scattered throughout the Barents and Kara seas, dumped there over decades mainly by the Soviet Navy. Now the Russian government has taken a major step forward toward cleaning up some of the most dangerous debris. By Mike Eckel
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