Violence is on the rise in Iran's border region with Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Iran war could shift the strategic balance for militant groups operating in the area.
In 2022, Ukraine relied almost entirely on Chinese components for its military drones. While that dependency has now been drastically reduced, Ukraine still relies on Beijing for essential parts that remain difficult to replace at the necessary scale and cost.
Ukraine has yet to receive answers from the Pentagon or Elon Musk's SpaceX over restrictions on satellite communications used by its military, Kyiv's top diplomat in Washington told RFE/RL, as a growing bipartisan push for a congressional investigation intensified.
Russia has released 74-year-old US citizen Stephen Hubbard, who had been detained since 2022. He had been sentenced to prison for allegedly acting as a mercenary in Ukraine, charges his family disputed. President Vladimir Putin announced Hubbard’s release during talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff.
The Soviet-era Roghun Dam project has endured decades of uncertainty and opposition. Now major funding tranches appear to have the project on track to transform Central Asia's energy landscape -- and displace tens of thousands of Tajik villagers.
A viral video of two Ukrainian border guards’ violent pursuit of a man trying to cross the Dniester River into Moldova has highlighted a route Ukrainians use to escape Russia’s war and the prospect of fighting in it. In this case, all three men ended up in Moldova – and the guards were detained.
Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan held by Russia since 2022 on accusations of joining Ukraine's armed forces, has been freed in what is being framed as a goodwill gesture by the Kremlin.
That's why Kirby said he supports a nationwide wealth tax.
"We should have a national wealth tax — it won't work by state because people will just move," Kirby recently told The New York Times.
Kirby, who lives in the Chicago area near United's headquarters, was one of the highest-paid CEOs of a public company in 2025, according to Crain's Chicago Business. Kirby's 2025 total compensation was valued at over $32 million, according to United's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Wealth taxes are facing one of their biggest tests yet this November. Californians will vote on what, if approved, would become the world's first billionaire tax.
The fight is pitting some of the state's wealthiest individuals against the proposal. Google cofounder Sergey Brin alone has donated $102 million to a group seeking to undercut the proposed wealth tax by proposing competing initiatives that could effectively cancel it out.
In addition to a wealth tax, Kirby also said that inheritance taxes should be increased.
"We should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100 percent at some level," he said. "I would pay them."
Kirby's views may seem unusual among corporate leaders, but others are at least open to the idea of wealth taxes.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently reiterated his willingness to pay potentially billions of dollars if California's wealth tax goes into effect.
"I don't mind paying taxes," Huang said. "The more you make, the more taxes you pay, so I'm OK with it."
Huang, who famously got his start working at Denny's, said he worries about other things. Bloomberg estimates that the Nvidia CEO is now worth $180 billion, making him the ninth richest person in the world.
"The fact that I can afford to pay $8 billion in taxes over five years is a privilege," he said. "I'm not afraid of paying taxes. I'm just afraid of being poor."
Georgia’s Constitutional Court will begin hearings on October 21 on a case seeking to ban five opposition parties that together have won hundreds of thousands of votes. The proceedings mark another critical test for the country’s multiparty democracy, with a final ruling potentially to come later.
Increasing militant attacks along Iran's border with Pakistan by multiple armed groups have stoked fears of further instability in the two countries, both of which already face multifaceted threats of sectarian violence in addition to the broader repercussions of the conflict in the Middle East.
Moldova has announced an investigation into concerns that Russian tech giant Yandex has been harvesting the personal data of its citizens by sending it directly to servers in Russia rather than storing it in the Netherlands as previously believed.
In this week's briefing, RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak is drilling down on two issues: Croatia’s demands before giving the green light to Montenegro’s EU accession and Georgia’s growing irrelevance in Brussels.
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will take part in meetings in Oslo to discuss the situation in Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russia continues to pound the country amid growing tensions between Kyiv and Washington.
Last week, a Russian military satellite came “exceptionally close” to another Finnish-operated satellite that provides intelligence to Ukraine. “It’s concerning and aggressive with potential hostile intent – but I also think cooler heads believe it is signaling on the part of the Russians.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Tehran on October 19 for talks with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi and a meeting with President Masud Pezeshkian amid questions over what support, if any, Moscow is providing Iran to fight its war with the United States.
Marco Rubio has brought nearly 300 American business representatives to Uzbekistan for a meeting with representatives of the five states of Central Asia. But Daniel N. Rosenblum, a former US ambassador to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, cautions that investment faces major obstacles.
President Donald Trump slammed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and defended his decision to waive sweeping sanctions planned against Russia as an effort to keep Moscow at the negotiating table amid criticism from Kyiv and US lawmakers that it sends the wrong message to the Kremlin.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said that US President Donald Trump's decision to waive sweeping sanctions against Russia was "indecisiveness," which "sends the wrong message to the aggressor."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian strikes targeted energy facilities in multiple regions, leaving thousands of households without electricity, as Ukrainian and Russian officials reported civilian deaths following drone attacks on October 18.
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