Regional News
Family Studies: New textbooks for Russia’s secondary schools
Family Studies: New textbooks for secondary schools 28.03.2025 Today, TASS will be hosting a press conference to present textbooks on Family Studies for students in grades 5-7 and 8-9. These will be introduced by Nina Ostanina, Chair of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Fatherhood, Motherhood and Childhood; a member of …
Rosstat refuses to release data on life expectancy in Russia
Rosstat refuses to release data on life expectancy in Russia 25.03.2025 Article published on the Moscow Times (www.moscowtimes.ru) website Rosstat has decided not to publish detailed statistics on life expectancy in Russia, which has already fallen to a record low since the pandemic amid the many thousands of deaths in Ukraine. …
Launch All-Russian initiative against inter-ethnic bullying
Different doesn’t mean bad: Launch of a new All-Russian initiative against ethnic bullying 25.03.2025 Article published on the Russian Federation’s Civic Chamber (www.oprf.ru) website A new Civic Chamber and Guild of Inter-Ethnic Journalism initiative “Stop ethnic bullying: Through knowledge to mutual understanding” initiative has been launched. It is aimed at helping children …
Incidence of mental illness in Belarus
More than 500,000 recorded cases of depression in Belarus in 2024 24.03.2025 At the end of last year, Belarus was ranked eighth in the world in the diagnosis of mental illness, with one in four residents suffering from an anxiety/depressive or adaptation disorder, said Svetlana Dolzhenko, a specialist in the psychological department at …
Georgia: survey of gender roles and domestic abuse
11.9% of women in Georgia have suffered violent abuse at the hands of their partners, says a recent survey 20.03.2025 “Georgians are generally positive when it comes to the basic principles of gender equality. However, people’s attitudes towards the allocation of family responsibilities, childcare and the role of men and women remain conservative. …
Crisis centre countering domestic violence in Shymkent, Kazakhstan
A day at the Shymkent crisis centre in Kazakhstan 18.03.2025 Article published on the rus.azattyq.org website The Shymkent crisis centre Komek has housed hundreds of people in need of temporary shelter for the past eight years. Specialists working at the centre provide legal and psychological support and listen to people who are …
Turkmenistan tightens dress code and other restrictions
New rules introduced in Turkmenistan that further limit what women can wear to work 16.03.2025 Article published on the rus.azathabar.com website Unmarried women in Ashgabat have been informed that they must wear yellow headscarves at work. When asked why, their managers simply shrugged their shoulders in response. The women were only told …
Kazakhstan: Facial recognition used in Almaty clinics to prevent fraud
A patient identification system with Face ID technology is being introduced in Almaty healthcare centres. Why and is it safe? 13.03.2025 Article published on the rus.azattyq.org website. In Almaty, polyclinics have decided to introduce a patient identification system that uses Face ID, a facial recognition technology. Before an appointment begins, the …
Up to 1 m roubles compensation for victims of drone attacks in Moscow region
Victims and families of those killed in a drone attack in Moscow Region to be paid compensation 11.03.2025 Article published on the ASI website On the night of 11 March, several Russian areas, including Moscow Region, were hit by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with the attack on Moscow being the largest since …
Turkmenistan Faces the Highest Food Insecurity in Former Soviet Region, With Rising Needs
Published by Progres (progres.online) 07.03.2025 The World Food Security Outlook (WFSO) database, managed by the World Bank, tracks global food insecurity using historical, preliminary, and forecast data for 191 countries from 1999-2030. Food insecurity is when “people lack regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life”. According …