Twenty-five freed political prisoners arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, on September 16 after they were released by Belarusian authorities. The US special envoy to Belarus, John Coale, said their release was secured in exchange for Washington's agreement to lift sanctions on two Belarusian companies.

The US military says traffic in the Strait of Hormuz continues to gain momentum amid concerns that escalating fighting between Saudi Arabia and Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen threatens another vital artery for global oil supplies in the region.

A military training exercise in Serbia featured Chinese-designed quadruped robots firing weapons, as concerns mount over Beijing-linked technology facilities being set up in the Balkan country.

Russian drones hit a passenger train in southern Ukraine on September 16, setting a train ablaze. No causalities were reported. Another Russian drone strike killed five people on a bus near Nikopol, according to officials. The strikes follow an uptick in attacks on civilian transport in recent days.

The 58-year-old Thaci, and three other former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army who fought Serb forces in the 1998-99 war, was convicted on four counts of war crimes: illegal and arbitrary arrest and detention, cruel treatment, torture, and murder.

In an interview with RFE/RL, Asrin Mohammadi recalls how her brother was killed during the brutal state crackdown on the Women, Life, Freedom protests that began four years ago.

US special envoy John Coale announced that 25 people were released from Belarusian prisons in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions on two Belarusian companies following his talks with the country’s longtime authoritarian leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko.

An international tribunal in the Hague on September 16 said it has found former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander and later Kosovo President Hashim Thaci guilty of war crimes and sentenced the 58-year-old to 25 years in prison.

The US indictment targets five people, including two men linked to Russia's main intelligence agency, who plotted assassinations and sabotage in the United States and Europe.

sweeping Russia sanctions bill championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham cleared a key procedural hurdle in the US House of Representatives on September 15, setting up a final vote on legislation that supporters say would increase pressure on Moscow and strengthen US support for Ukraine.

The hijab has long been a hot topic in Muslim-majority Central Asia, where many authoritarian governments have suppressed Islamic political and religious groups and any outward signs of religiosity. The debate has been rekindled as the new academic year started this month.