After the dismissal of the historic minister Sergei Šojgu, four generals have already been arrested in the last month, all accused of corruption. Not since Stalin's time have such actions been seen at the top of state and military bodies.
An in-depth analysis by Meduza's Signal column assessed the real level of popular support for the war. The “majority of Russians” and poll respondents in polls are not the same, and the sample is becoming less and less credible. Surveys are a means of “manipulation” and “information”. The "average Russian male", who repeats patriotic slogans, is an example.
Today's headlines: WFP says floods in Afghanistan have exacerbated the country’s hunger crisis. Over 300 people are killed and 1,182 houses buried in a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea. Tens of thousands of people take to the streets in Taiwan against pro-Chinese reforms currently before parliament. Laos fails to stop human trafficking, especially of young people.
Almaty wants to change the naming of a street in the city centre, shelving the cosmonaut Jurij Gagarin to make room for the memory of a local opera singer. The demolition of the Soviet mythological apparatus is one of the faces of de-Russification. But there is no lack of perplexity among the local inhabitants.
Today's news: Poverty in Lebanon tripled in a decade; Summit between leaders of South Korea, China and Japan on 26-27 May in Seoul, first trilateral talks in four years; Heavy pre-monsoon rains claim seven victims in Kerala; A centuries-old Armenian church reopens in Zakho, Iraq; Russian local government offers children a prize trip to ‘fascinating’ North Korea.
At the Kazan International Economic Forum, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov - former president and adre of the current Turkmen head of state - called for "an Islamic initiative in the name of peace, mutual understanding and trust" to be presented to the UN. He pointed to the relations between Russia and Islamic countries as a model.
