text:
What is a fever?
A fever is defined by most healthcare provider as a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) and higher when taken rectally.
The body has several ways to maintain normal body temperature. The organs involved in helping with temperature regulation include the brain, skin, muscle, and blood vessels. The body responds to changes in temperature by:
Increasing or decreasing sweat production.
Moving blood away from, or closer to, the surface of the skin.
Getting rid of, or holding on to, water in the body.
Seeking a cooler or warmer environment.
When your child has a fever, the body works the same way to control the temperature, but it has temporarily reset its thermostat at a higher temperature. The temperature increases for a number of reasons:
Chemicals, called cytokines and mediators, are made in the body in response to an invasion from a microorganism, malignancy, or other intruder.
The body is making more macrophages, which are cells that go to combat when intruders are present in the body. These cells actually "eat-up" the invading organism.
The body is busily trying to make natural antibodies, which fight infection. These antibodies will recognize the infection next time it tries to invade.
Many bacteria are enclosed in an overcoat-like membrane. When this membrane is disrupted or broken, the contents that escape can be toxic to the body and stimulate the brain to raise the temperature.
What conditions can cause a fever?
The following conditions can cause a fever:
Infectious diseases
Certain medicines
Heat stroke
Blood transfusion
Disorders in the brain
Some kinds of cancer
Some autoimmune diseases
What are the benefits of a fever?
Fever is not an illness. It is a symptom, or sign that your body is fighting an illness or infection. Fever stimulates the body's defenses, sending white blood cells and other "fighter" cells to fight and destroy the cause of the infection.
What are the symptoms that my child may have a fever?
Children with fevers may become more uncomfortable as the temperature rises. In addition to a body temperature greater than 100.4°F (38°C), symptoms may include:
Your child may not be as active or talkative as usual.
He or she may seem fussier, less hungry, and thirstier.
Your child may feel warm or hot. Remember that even if your child feels like he or she is "burning up," the measured temperature may not be that high.
The symptoms of a fever may look like other medical conditions. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, if your child is younger than 3 months of age and has a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, you should call your child's healthcare provider immediately. If you are unsure, always check with your child's healthcare provider for a diagnosis.
When should a fever be treated?
In children, a fever that is making them uncomfortable should be treated. Treating your child's fever will not help the body get rid of the infection any faster; it simply will relieve discomfort associated with fever. Children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years can develop seizures from fever (called febrile seizures). If your child does have a febrile seizure, there is a chance that the seizure may occur again, but, usually, children outgrow the febrile seizures. A febrile seizure does not mean your child has epilepsy. There is no evidence that treating the fever will reduce the risk of having a febrile seizure.
What can I do to decrease my child's fever?
Give your child an antifever medicine, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. DO NOT give your child aspirin, as it has been linked to a serious, potentially fatal disease, called Reye syndrome.
Other ways to reduce a fever:
Dress your child lightly. Excess clothing will trap body heat and cause the temperature to rise.
Encourage your child to drink plenty of fluids, such as juices, soda, punch, or popsicles.
Give your child a lukewarm bath. Do not allow your child to shiver from cold water, as this can raise the body temperature. NEVER leave your child unattended in the bathtub.
DO NOT use alcohol baths.
When should I call my child's healthcare provider?
Unless advised otherwise by your child's healthcare provider, call the provider right away if:
Your child is 3 months old or younger and has a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher. Get medical care right away. Fever in a young baby can be a sign of a dangerous infection.
Your child is of any age and has repeated fevers above 104°F (40°C).
Your child is younger than 2 years of age and a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) continues for more than 1 day.
Your child is 2 years old or older and a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) continues for more than 3 days.
Your baby is fussy or cries and cannot be soothed.


text:
Rays - 000 000 122 - 5 12 0Lackey (7-8-1-2-3, 108) was a bit Diceian -- he allowed at least one baserunner in six of his seven innings and stranded two runners at third -- but he kept the Rays off the board until his 30th batter.
Red Sox - 000 032 30x - 8 10 1
Boston needed five relievers to navigate the final two innings, including Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon, though they each faced only one batter and threw only five and six pitches, respectively.
David Ortiz launched a three-run bomb in the fifth. The first three batters in the sixth reached base against Shields (5-7-5-2-6, 109) and two of them scored, with Jason Varitek and Daniel Nava getting the RBI. Varitek added a sac fly in the seventh and Bill Hall hit a two-run dong.
Adrian Beltre went 4-for-4, with two doubles and two runs scored.
The Mariners scored in five consecutive innings off Phil Hughes and beat the Yankees 7-4. The Red Sox are 1 GB New York.James Shields / John Lackey
On May 24, the Red Sox were 8 GB the first-place Rays. Since then, there has been a shift of nine games in the standings, and Boston is now 1 GA of Tampa Bay -- and 2 GB the Yankees.Scutaro, SS
Nava, LF
Ortiz, DH
Youkilis, 1B
Drew, RF
Beltre, 3B
Varitek, C
Hall, 2B
Cameron, CF
Rays Red SoxThe Rays have won only three of their last 11 games, and five of their last 16.
April 6 to May 23 32-12 24-21
May 24 to June 28 12-19 22-10
On Sunday, center fielder B.J. Upton jogged after a triple in the gap and had to be restrained when Evan Longoria confronted him about it in the dugout. Longoria called it "the byproduct of a frustrated team". Manager Joe Maddon said it was "obvious" that Upton "did not run as hard as he could after the ball".
Shields's last six games: 8.12 ERA, with a .954 opponents OPS.
Also at 7 PM: Mariners/YankeesJune 29
1897 - The Chicago Colts of the National League establish the record for most runs scored in a game, beating Louisville 36-7. No team will score 30+ runs for more than 110 years, until the Rangers defeat the Orioles 30-3 on August 22, 2007.
1905 - Moonlight Graham of the Giants plays in his only major league game.

subset: commoncrawl


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Friday, July 29, 2011
50 Women Game-Changers in Food - #8 Judith Jones - Frenchified Meat Loaf
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love tales told by those who are the power behind the throne. Those stories are especially delicious when they are told by people who have compelling stories of their own to tell. Judith Jones, the book editor who brought the likes of Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, and Madhur Jaffrey to print, is such a woman. Her work with these and other authors has changed the way we write and think about the food we eat. Her publishing career career began at Doubleday where she saved The Diary of Anne Frank from the rejection list. She later moved to Knopf where she saved Mastering the Art of French Cooking from a similar fate. Her stellar culinary roster was matched by literary clients who included John Updike, Anne Tyler and John Hersey. She has also written a number of her own cookbooks and a charming memoir, The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food. She believes that recipe writing should engage the senses and enable readers to use their own judgment. Her own recipes do just that. It's entirely fitting that she claim 8th place on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers in Food.
I have chosen the simplest of recipes to represent her work. She calls it a Frenchified meat loaf. Having just made and served this for our supper, I can tell you it bears no resemblance to the meat loaf of childhood memory - unless of course you're French. This is a lovely entree whose flavors carry with them the scents and tastes of Provence. It's a dense loaf with a texture that is far more like a pate than a meat loaf. It will make wonderful cold sandwiches for tomorrow's lunch. I really think you'll like it. Here's the recipe as it was written by Judith Jones.
Frenchified Meat Loaf...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Judith Jones
3 slices homemade-type white bread, crusts removed
3 pounds ground beef, veal, and pork (about 1/2 beef portion and 1/2 each of veal and pork)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large egg
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons salt
2 fat garlic cloves, peeled, chopped, and mashed with 1/2 teaspoon salt (see below)
Several grindings of black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (basil, tarragon, marjoram), or 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
2 bay leaves
2 strips bacon
1/2 cup red wine
1) Spin the bread in a blender to make crumbs; you should have 1-1/2 cups. Dump everything except the bay leaves, bacon, and wine into a big bowl, and blend well, preferably with your hands.
2) Arrange the bay leaves on the bottom of a large loaf pan, and pack the meat mixture in. Place the strips of bacon on top, then pour the wine over, punching a few holes into the meat with your fingers so it will seep down a little. Let marinate for an hour or so, then bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 1-1/2 hours. Turn out of the pan, and remove the bay leaves. And pour any pan juices on top. Serve hot. Yield: 6 servings.
Note: If veal is too expensive or hard to get, use about 3/4 beef to 1/4 pork, ground. If you prefer, slice the peeled garlic instead and press into the top of the meatloaf, then remove the slices before you turn the meatloaf out.
The following bloggers are also paying tribute to Judith Jones this week. I hope you'll visit all of them.
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Next week we will highlight the food and recipes of Irma Rombauer. If you'd like to join us please email me for additional information. Everyone is welcome.
52 comments :
Good old meatloafand memories of my grandam to go with it;)
- July 29, 2011 at 1:01 AM
- FABBY'S LIVING said...
Thanks for this new recipe, a little more sofisticated! We love mestloaf at home and I have a pretty good one from mother, as we too, loved it. Lots of hugs. FABBY
- July 29, 2011 at 1:20 AM
- Ellen Whyte said...
I love meatloaf and pâté and this looks a mix of the two. Loveley!
- July 29, 2011 at 1:34 AM
I am so enjoying this series of posts! Amazing to be the woman who saved The Diary of Anne Frank. Have a super weekend Mary :)
- July 29, 2011 at 2:08 AM
- Michelle said...
Meatloaf is pure comfort food..Look forward to trying this recipe..Thanks for the blog comment :)
- July 29, 2011 at 2:35 AM
Your meat loaf looks lovely Mary. I have never made meat loaf before - not really a South African thing, will bookmark this Frenchified version to try.
Have a happy weekend.
:-) Mandy - July 29, 2011 at 3:09 AM
- freerangegirl said...
I'd never heard of Judith Jones although I've read many of the books she had a hand in, likewise I've never had fancied meatloaf - I think you might have just converted me! Sounds delicious.
- July 29, 2011 at 3:15 AM
- Red Nomad OZ said...
I've never been a big fan of meatloaf - but this recipe, with its whimsical instructions ('Dump' - love it!!) just might prove the exception!
Have a great weekend!! - July 29, 2011 at 4:32 AM
- Maris (InGood Taste) said...
This is probably the finest recipe I have ever seen for meatloaf.
- July 29, 2011 at 4:59 AM
Hi Marry
your recipe looks lovely :)))))
I hope you a nice day
Leyla - July 29, 2011 at 5:17 AM
- Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...
Thank you so much for continuing on this journey Maty. I have learned so much in a few short weeks learning from the masters. I think you're right, I would love this dish.
- July 29, 2011 at 5:26 AM
- Diane said...
I love meat loafs and they certainly make the meat go a bit further than normal. Have book marked this, thanks. Take care Diane
- July 29, 2011 at 6:00 AM
- Karen (Back Road Journal) said...
Hello Mary, I always enjoy your posts as you so often give us interesting background information. I make a fancier meatloaf but the addition of the red wine is new to me. Thank you for inspiring.
- July 29, 2011 at 6:14 AM
- Sue/the view from great island said...
I'm a meat loaf loving gal, thanks to my mom. Ours was of the most basic sort, delicious, but plain. I like the idea of taking it up a notch! Enjoy your sandwiches today!
- July 29, 2011 at 6:36 AM
- Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...
So much to learn about these fabulous women. I had no idea she saved the Anne Frank diary. Wow. We bought my husband's father her cookbook for one and I read it before we wrapped it. It's fabulous and I had to have one for myself. Love that you've chosen the meatloaf/pate today. So much like Judith.
Sam - July 29, 2011 at 7:26 AM
- Kim said...
This meatloaf look really good. I'll try it in fall!
- July 29, 2011 at 8:10 AM
So much of French cooking is in fact comfort food. After all, not everyone in the country lives in Paris. Every time I go back to visit, it amazes me that the Europeans have been there for thousands of years and yet so much of their relatively small countries is farmland, pasture, or just plain countryside.
Cheers! - July 29, 2011 at 8:30 AM
- Inspired by eRecipeCards said...
Just love this series... a very important link to the past. I heard ms Jones interviewed on NPR for her last book. What a personality.
- July 29, 2011 at 8:40 AM
- Unknown said...
Yes, it does not look like the meatloaf of my childhood - Thank goodness :) YUM!
- July 29, 2011 at 8:55 AM
- Unknown said...
oh my golly, now this is a meatloaf I think I can get excited about!
- July 29, 2011 at 9:24 AM
- PeggyR said...
This sounds very good. Norm had meat loaf at Bob Evans the other night.
- July 29, 2011 at 9:27 AM
- Heather S-G said...
Mmmm...Frenchified Meatloaf sounds wonderful. The perfect tribute to Jones :D
- July 29, 2011 at 9:36 AM
- linksdistodaquilo said...
Revenue-looking and delicious!
I ask you please be my fan on my facebook. Thank you.
Kissy, have a lovely evening and good weekend! - July 29, 2011 at 9:55 AM
- SimplyStated said...
I actually made this for the first time last year and it has become a monthly staple in our house. Then only changes I made was to sub lamb for the veal and added a 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce....it increases the flavor.
- July 29, 2011 at 10:00 AM
- Clint said...
Ummm. Meatloaf. Nobody makes it better than Cindy. Nobody.
- July 29, 2011 at 10:54 AM
- Epicurea said...
what a fun take on retro meatloaf!
- July 29, 2011 at 10:59 AM
- Sprigs of Rosemary said...
Meatloaf is really such an underrated dish . . . . but I think I've yet to perfect it myself. Maybe this version fromJudith Jones will do it. Amazing woman, I think.
- July 29, 2011 at 11:03 AM
- June said...
Looks delicious Mary and one that we'd love. Hope you have a super weekend!
- July 29, 2011 at 11:05 AM
- Jeanette said...
What an interesting meatloaf recipe - it does look dense, but I bet it would be tasty on a sandwich. Thanks again for hosting this lovely event.
- July 29, 2011 at 11:11 AM
- Miranda | Mangoes and Chutney said...
I have never had French pâté or anything like that. But a good meatloaf I love, so this is worth trying! Thanks for sharing - beautiful job with Judith's biography.
- July 29, 2011 at 11:21 AM
- Deana Sidney said...
I got her book, the 10th muse and loved it. SHe is a great woman. Her kitchen is lovely too... so real.
Great loaf... nothing like a great meatloaf! - July 29, 2011 at 11:22 AM
- From the Kitchen said...
This does sound and look like a country pate. I recently read "The Tenth Muse" for, what else, my Muse Book group. We all liked it a lot. I've also enjoyed her writings in Gourmet (alas, old Gourmet, I miss you). If you were to name the Muse of Food, what would it be?
Bonnie - July 29, 2011 at 11:24 AM
- Pam said...
I have a sudden craving for meatloaf - it looks terrific.
- July 29, 2011 at 11:51 AM
- Katie said...
Your meat loaf looks so juicy! What a beautiful tribute to Judith. Thank you for all the work you do to organize this! It's so fun!
- July 29, 2011 at 11:58 AM
- Jeannie said...
That is one great looking meatloaf, I would love to try this! Hope you have a good weekend Mary:D
- July 29, 2011 at 12:08 PM
- That Girl said...
I fully believe beef, veal, and pork makes the best meatloaf mix.
- July 29, 2011 at 12:17 PM
- sheila @ Elements said...
I'd love to try this to see how it differs from the meatloaf I grew up with. Sounds wonderful! :)
- July 29, 2011 at 1:15 PM
- Barbara said...
Love her name for the meatloaf, Mary. I've read that using a combination of meats for meatloaves (and meatballs) gives the tastiest results. I don't make meatloaf anymore, but I'm tempted to try this recipe, and serve it next to Val's potatoes!
- July 29, 2011 at 1:53 PM
- Rivki Locker said...
Weird as it sounds, I have NEVER made meat loaf. My kids are always begging for it - they feel like they are missing out part of their childhood, I think. This recipe looks perfect. I just might try it!
- July 29, 2011 at 2:43 PM
- Ginny Hartzler said...
It does look very delicious! I love meatloaf and used to make it all the time, I put sour cream in it. I think this would taste really good!
- July 29, 2011 at 2:55 PM
- Jessica | Cajunlicious said...
I am not a huge meatloaf lover, but this one sounds great!
- July 29, 2011 at 3:29 PM
- Joanne said...
Wow! What an interesting meatloaf. Definitely a great variation from the norm!
- July 29, 2011 at 7:21 PM
- teresa said...
lovely! i love the mix of meats and the herbes de provence. this sounds so good, what a great tribute!
- July 29, 2011 at 8:21 PM
- Anna said...
i must say that i am glad that i like meatloaf the older i get, because this sure does look tasty!! :D
- July 29, 2011 at 9:00 PM
Looks delicious and fancy!
- July 29, 2011 at 9:22 PM
- Tanna said...
Oh, Mary, when I saw the photo, my first thought was PATE! I was delighted to read your description as being more like pate than meatloaf. I WILL be trying this one. blessings ~ tanna
- July 29, 2011 at 9:27 PM
What a GREAT series! I can't wait to see your next entry! I'm going to explore to see the other women....Thanks!
- July 29, 2011 at 10:36 PM
- Ciao Chow Linda said...
Mary - You did Judith proud with this meat loaf. Her cookbook on "Pleasures of Eating For One" helped me find the joy in cooking after my husband died last year. This is a wonderful series you're doing.
- July 30, 2011 at 8:56 AM
- Elaine said...
Well, I definitely want to try making this frenchified meatloaf as meatloaf is one of my comfort foods and there is nothing like a good meatloaf sandwich. Wouldn't you just love to sit around a dinner table with Judith Jones and all her clients?! What a great post, Mary.
- July 30, 2011 at 10:47 AM
- David said...
Mary, This meatloaf recipe actually sounds good...but my wife makes the best meatloaf ever! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
- July 30, 2011 at 5:05 PM
- Kathy said...
Mary, I really enjoy a good meat loaf once in awhile. This Frenchified version look wonderful..I will have to give it a shot!
- July 31, 2011 at 3:43 PM
- Pinky at Designs by Pinky said...
We love meatloaf and creating NEW ones so this will go into our recipe box for sure!!!! It sounds wonderful! Thanks so much!!! XO, Pinky
- July 31, 2011 at 5:25 PM


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NATO: Missile Shield Up and Running
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made the announcement at the NATO summit in Chicago.
If all goes according to plan, NATO will have all of Europe and the United States covered with the missile shield by 2022.
Russia opposes the system, saying it will neutralize its own nuclear deterrent.
Rasmussen repeated Russia has "nothing to fear," and expressed hope Moscow will eventually agree to cooperate on missile defense.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov again warned NATO not to go ahead with the plan, arguing it would disrupt the global strategic balance.
Russia has already threatened military retaliation over the plan.
Based on AP, dpa and AFP reporting
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The meeting would come after a June 15-16 Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland, where representatives of dozens of countries -- but not Russia -- are expected to attend.
"There is no faith in [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," Zelenskiy said during a press conference in Spain, where he signed a bilateral security deal with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez worth 1 billion euros on May 27.
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"If Kyiv cannot attack military targets on Russian territory then it ties one hand of the Ukrainians on their back and makes it very hard for them to conduct defense."
Kyrgyz Blogger Fined Amid Crackdown On Independent Media
The Jalal-Abad City Court in southern Kyrgyzstan told RFE/RL on May 27 that independent journalist Ali Ergeshev was fined 70,000 soms ($795) on a hooliganism charge three days earlier. Ergeshev was detained on February 13 and placed under house arrest. His detention came just before Kyrgyz lawmakers approved a controversial bill allowing authorities to register media outlets and NGOs as "foreign representatives" in a way that critics say mirrors repressive Russian legislation that the authorities there have used to discredit its critics and stifle civil society. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signed the bill into law in early April. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.
Ukraine Claims Drone Attacks On Russian Radar Station Near Kazakh Border
KYIV -- A Ukrainian military intelligence official claimed to RFE/RL that one of its drones targeted a Russian Voronezh-M early warning radar system, in one of Kyiv's deepest attacks inside Russian territory since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than two years ago.
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According to the official on May 27, the drone covered a distance of 1,800 kilometers to hit a radar station in the city of Orsk near the Russian-Kazakh border.
There was no immediate confirmation from Russian officials concerning the attack claim.
Last week, a Ukrainian drone attack targeted a similar radar installation in Russia's southwestern region of Krasnodar. Satellite images showed that the Armavir radar station, which has two Voronezh-type radars, had suffered serious damage to the buildings housing the radar installations.
The Ukrainian attack on the Armavir station came shortly after Russia began exercises with its tactical nuclear weapons forces in the Southern Military District.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the exercises were held "in response to provocative statements and threats from certain Western officials."
Separately on May 27, Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said several Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defenses overnight in areas close to a giant luxury complex on the Black Sea coast near the city of Gelendzhik.
The late Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny's investigative group said in 2021 that the palace complex had been built for President Vladimir Putin, which he denied at the time.
After the report by Navalny's team sparked debate across Russia, Putin's close associate, businessman Arkady Rotenberg, publicly said he is the owner of the property in question.
Another Ukrainian drone attack on May 27 targeted a gasoline station in the western Russian region of Oryol, killing one person, the region's governor, Andrei Klychkov, wrote on Telegram.
In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russian territory and off its shores, targeting, in particular, oil production and refining facilities, air defense installations, and naval vessels.
- By Current Time
U.S. Soldier Faces New Charge In Russia
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, who was arrested in the Far East city of Vladivostok in early May on suspicion of theft, has been additionally charged with threatening to kill his partner, a Russian woman, according to Russian media.
A district prosecutor's office in Vladivostok said in a statement on May 27 that the final accusation papers for "a U.S. citizen" had been submitted and the case sent to court.
"The man, born in 1989, was handed accusation papers saying that in May 2024, while he was in an apartment on Sakhalin street in Vladivostok that is owned by a woman with whom he is acquainted, and where he was residing with her since April, forcibly grabbed the young woman's neck during a quarrel, which she considered as a threat to her life," a statement of the prosecutor's office said.
"The suspect then stole 10,000 rubles [$110] from the victim's purse, which he spent for his own needs, including paying for a room in a hotel, where he was detained," it added.
If found guilty on both charges, Black faces up to seven years in prison.
U.S. authorities said earlier that Black had been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing from a woman after traveling via China from South Korea -- where he had been assigned before returning home to Texas -- without informing his superiors.
Weeks later, Russian authorities also said that another U.S. citizen, identified as William Russell Nycum, had been detained in late April on "petty hooliganism" and alcohol charges in a separate case, adding that Nycum was held in a detention center in Moscow.
The two arrests again raised questions over whether Russian authorities are targeting Americans for potential prisoner swaps amid sharp disagreements between Moscow and Washington over the war in Ukraine and other international security issues.
The detentions of Black and Nycum added to a list of U.S. citizens being held in Russia under various circumstances and came as tensions between Moscow and Washington are at the highest levels since the Cold War.
Among those being held are journalists Alsu Kurmasheva of RFE/RL and Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal. Both have been detained on charges they, their employers, and their supporters reject as politically motivated.
American Paul Whelan in 2020 was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison on espionage charges that he and the U.S. government have repeatedly rejected.
Russia's Foreign Ministry has said Black's and Nycum's cases are not political and neither is accused of espionage.
The State Department in September 2023 issued a "do not travel" warning to U.S. citizens and cited "the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials."
With reporting by Kommersant and TASS
- By AFP
Former German Soldier Found Guilty Of Spying For Russia
A German former soldier was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in jail on May 27 for sharing secret military information with Russia in the wake of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A court in Dusseldorf found the defendant, named only as Thomas H., guilty of passing on information on his own initiative from his post in the military procurement service. The 54-year-old had admitted to the crime during his trial, claiming he was hoping to obtain information in return that would help him get his family to safety in time in the event of the conflict escalating into a nuclear war.
Dozens Detained In Yerevan At Protest Calling For Pashinian's Resignation
YEREVAN -- Armenian police detained dozens of people in the capital, Yerevan, early on May 27 as demonstrators demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian resumed their anti-government protests over a border demarcation deal with Azerbaijan.
Members and supporters of the Tavush For The Homeland movement opposed to a recent controversial border deal blocked traffic in several streets in the center of Yerevan following a call by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, the 53-year-old head of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to ratchet up pressure on the government.
Police moved in and made arrests as they tried to unblock some of the streets. Interior Ministry spokesman Narek Sargsian told journalists that a total of 137 people were detained early on May 27.
Among the protesters were opposition lawmakers.
Galstanian is also taking part in "civil disobedience" actions on May 27, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported.
The outspoken cleric, who has led anti-government protests in Armenia over the border deal, announced his intention on May 26 to challenge Pashinian for the premiership as he addressed tens of thousands of supporters who had gathered in central Yerevan.
Galstanian said at the rally in Republic Square that he had asked Catholicos Karekin II to suspend his "spiritual service" so that he could challenge the prime minister.
Rally participants cheered and applauded Galstanian as he said that he was ready to accept the "nomination" as a candidate for prime minister in the opposition's possible impeachment bid against Pashinian.
Under Armenia's constitution, at least one-third of lawmakers can initiate a no-confidence vote against the prime minister in parliament, provided they also name a candidate who will replace him or her.
Earlier, Hayastan and Pativ Unem -- opposition factions in parliament associated with the former presidents of Armenia, Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian -- said they would support the bid.
They will need the support of the only nonaligned lawmaker to initiate the process, which, in order to succeed, will require a majority vote in the legislature dominated by Pashinian's Civil Contract party.
Pashinian -- who remains largely popular with the population despite some dissatisfaction with recent events -- has rejected Galstanian's resignation demand, and his allies in parliament so far have ruled out a break in ranks to support the protest leader's possible bid to head the government.
The Armenian Constitution bars dual citizens from serving as prime minister, creating another obstacle for Galstanian, who is a dual citizen of Armenia and Canada.
He has said he would not violate the constitution but didn't explain how he would remedy the situation.
WATCH: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian met with residents in the village of Kirants on May 25 as part of his trip to several border communities involved in a controversial demarcation process that will see Azerbaijan regain control over the area.
Both the United States and the European Union have hailed the border demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, stressing that the deal announced by the two bitter South Caucasus rivals in April contains a reference to the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, a document by which a dozen former Soviet countries, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, pledged to recognize each other's territorial integrity within existing administrative borders.
In the process, which was formally completed on May 15, Baku regained control over four abandoned villages near the Armenian border that had been under Yerevan's military control since the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the early 1990s.
Armenia and Azerbaijan announced on May 24 that their border guards were deployed at the sections where the demarcation was completed.
Azerbaijan retook the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in a blitz offensive in September from ethnic Armenian forces who had controlled it for three decades.
The offensive forced more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee the region, leaving it nearly deserted.
Georgian Parliament Moves Closer To Overriding Presidential Veto Of 'Foreign Agent' Law
TBILISI -- A key Georgian parliamentary committee has overruled pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili's veto of the so-called "foreign agent" law, opening the path for lawmakers to put the legislation into effect despite weeks of domestic protests and criticism from the West that the measure is harming Georgia's drive to join the Euro-Atlantic community.
Following the move by the Legal Affairs Committee, parliament, dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party that has pressed ahead with the law while cracking down harshly on protesters, is to consider overriding Zurabishvili's veto at a plenary session on May 28.
Georgian Dream has a comfortable majority in parliament, with a successful override vote seen as a mere formality.
The move came despite a massive peaceful protest in Tbilisi on May 26 and a last-minute warning by Georgian Ombudsman Levan Ioseliani that the law, also referred to as the "Russian law" because of its resemblance to legislation introduced by the Kremlin to stifle opposition and free speech, needs changes to limit the damage it will bring to civil society.
"Accepting this law in this form, in my opinion, has already brought significant damage to the [democratic] process as a whole," Ioseliani told a news conference in Tbilisi on May 27, as he warned of the law's effects.
"Therefore, it would be possible that parliament will refuse to override this veto and...there will be space for making changes in other legislative acts.... In my opinion, retreat is often not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength," Ioseliani added.
Thousands of mostly young people marched in Tbilisi on Georgia's Independence Day on May 26, calling on the ruling Georgian Dream party to scrap the law.
WATCH: On Georgia's Independence Day, thousands of demonstrators called on the ruling Georgian Dream party to withdraw the controversial "foreign agent" law, which is seen as mirroring legislation used in Russia to silence critics and crush opposition.
"Our fight is tireless, although they thought that we would get exhausted," writer Lasha Bugadze told the crowds of young Georgians who marched peacefully in downtown Tbilisi, waving Georgian and European Union flags. "Neither will we get tired in the coming days, not until the Russian law is withdrawn and Georgia becomes part of Europe," Bugadze said.
The participants raised the flashlights on their cell phones and chanted, "No to the Russian law!" and "No to the Russian regime!"
Earlier on May 26, Zurabishvili, in an Independence Day speech, said integration in the European Union and strong ties to the United States were paramount for the Caucasus nation to preserve its freedom.
"This is the cornerstone of the solution," she told a crowd on May 26 in Tbilisi's Freedom Square.
"Today -- when the ghost of Russia stands before us -- partnership and rapprochement with Europe and America is a true way to maintain our independence, peace, and strength," she said, as she cited the desire of a vast majority of citizens to join the European Union.
Georgia obtained the coveted status of EU candidate country in December, but it has yet to start actual accession talks, which could last for years. There had been hope such talks could start later this year, but Brussels has warned that the "foreign agent" law could endanger the path toward Europe.
Russia still maintains thousands of troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway Georgian regions that Moscow recognized as independent states following a five-day war with Georgia in 2008.
"No war has been started by [members of the] European Union since its inception," Zurabishvili said. "Instead, the real war party is one and only one that we see today in our occupied territories: Russian imperialism."
The United States on May 26 marked the Georgian holiday, saying in a statement that it "will continue to strongly support the aspirations of the Georgian people for a Euro-Atlantic future."
"We urge Georgia's leaders to take the steps necessary to move Georgia forward in the right direction," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Last week, Blinken announced visa restrictions on Georgian government officials and a comprehensive review of bilateral relations with Tbilisi over the "foreign agent" legislation.
"Anyone who undermines democratic processes or institutions in Georgia -- including in the lead up to, during, and following Georgia's October 2024 elections -- may be found ineligible for U.S. visas under this policy and precluded from travel to the United States. Immediate family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions," Blinken said while announcing the sanctions on May 24.
The "foreign agent" law would require civil society and media organizations that get more than 20 percent of funding from foreign sources to report that fact to local authorities and submit to oversight that could encompass sanctions for as-yet-undefined criminal offenses.
Critics have said the legislation was introduced by Georgian Dream, founded by Russia-friendly Georgian tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, in order to cement the party's grip on power ahead of elections later this year seen as crucial for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic path.
Moldovan Parties Sign 'Pact For Europe' As Commitment To Drive For EU Entry
Thirteen Moldovan political entities, including the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) party and the mayor of Chisinau, signed a Pact For Europe on May 26 to signify the small southeastern European nation's commitment to "contribute fully to the objective of Moldova's integration into the European Union." The signing ceremony at the National Museum of History was also attended by representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau and the Romanian and Ukrainian ambassadors. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service, click here.
In Rare Foreign Foray, Putin Arrives In Uzbekistan For 2-Day Visit
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived on May 26 in Uzbekistan, where he was met at the Tashkent airport by President Shavkat Mirziyoev amid reports some Western nations are trying to pull Central Asian nations away from Russia's sphere of influence. Tashkent, the capital of the former Soviet republic, is decorated with flags of the two countries for the two-day visit. The Uzbek presidential press service said their meeting discussed strengthening a "comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance" and the "development of trade and economic cooperation." International investigations have identified Uzbekistan as one of the main entry points into Russia for goods that are subject to sanctions. Putin has traveled sparingly since he launched Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
- By Reuters
Lithuanian President Set To Secure Reelection As Opponent Concedes
Lithuania's Gitanas Nauseda was set to secure a second term in a presidential election runoff on May 26 after his opponent conceded following a campaign dominated by security concerns in the EU and NATO member state neighboring Russia. The Baltic nation of 2.8 million people has been a staunch ally of Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion. Like other countries in the region, it worries it could be Moscow's next target. Nauseda, 60, a former senior economist with Swedish banking group SEB who is not affiliated with any party, won the first round on May 12. Nauseda had a commanding lead in the runoff, gaining more than 80 percent of the vote after the initial vote count, followed by Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, 49, from the ruling center-right Homeland Union party, which has been trailing in opinion polls. Simonyte later conceded.
Protest-Leading Armenian Archbishop Says He Will Challenge Pashinian For Premiership
YEREVAN -- Bagrat Galstanian, an outspoken archbishop who has led anti-government protests in Armenia over a controversial border deal with Azerbaijan, on May 26 announced his intention to challenge Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for the premiership as he addressed tens of thousands of supporters who gathered in central Yerevan.
Galstanian, a 53-year-old head of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, said at the rally in the capital's main Republic Square that he had asked Catholicos Karekin II to suspend his "spiritual service" so that he could challenge Pashinian.
Rally participants cheered and applauded Galstanian's remarks that he was ready to accept the "nomination" as a candidate for prime minister in the opposition's possible impeachment bid against Pashinian.
Under Armenia's constitution, at least one-third of lawmakers can initiate a no-confidence vote against the prime minister in parliament, provided they also name a candidate who will replace him or her.
Earlier, Hayastan and Pativ Unem -- opposition factions in parliament associated with the former presidents of Armenia, Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian -- said they would support the bid.
They will need the support of the only nonaligned lawmaker to initiate the process, which, in order to succeed, will require a majority vote in the legislature dominated by Pashinian's Civil Contract party.
Pashinian -- who remains largely popular with the population despite some dissatisfaction with recent events -- has rejected Galstanian's resignation demand and his allies in parliament have ruled out that any of them would break ranks to support the protest leader's possible bid.
The Armenian Constitution bars dual citizens from serving as prime minister. Galstanian, who is a dual citizen of Armenia and Canada, said he would not violate the constitution but did not explain how he was going to surmount the legal obstacle.
Earlier, his supporters did not rule out that it would have to require an amendment to the constitution.
At the end of the rally, Galstanian told participants he would go to Pashinian's residence to meet him and press his resignation demand.
But after waiting for some time near the prime minister's residence with no response, Galstanian told supports he would return to Republic Square to discuss plans for the start of "civil disobedience" actions to begin on the morning of May 27.
"We will make the government reckon with the demand of the people," he said.
Pashinian was out of Yerevan during the afternoon hours, visiting the Lori and Tavush regions, where at least three people had been killed in severe flooding.
Armenian police urged protesters to preserve public order during the day.
The anti-government movement started in the northeastern province of Tavush in April as Armenia and Azerbaijan began the demarcation process of their heavily militarized border following an agreement announced by Yerevan and Baku on April 19.
The demarcation, which was formally completed on May 15, alters the boundary in a way that affects the infrastructure of a number of Armenian border villages.
Local populations have expressed fears of possible further Azerbaijani attacks after the Armenian military withdrawal from four abandoned villages that used to be part of Soviet Azerbaijan but have been controlled by Armenia since the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the early 1990s.
WATCH: Border Village Residents Challenge Armenian PM Over Demarcation With Azerbaijan
The Pashinian government has pledged to solve infrastructure-related problems of the border villages within a few months, including the construction of a new road and payment of compensations to those who are losing property and land as a result of the demarcation.
The prime minister has also stressed that having a demarcated and recognized border with Azerbaijan is in itself assurance against Azerbaijan's possible aggression.
Both the United States and the European Union have hailed the border demarcation between the two bitter Caucasus rivals.
Georgian President Presses Need For Closer EU, U.S. Ties In Independence Day Speech
TBILISI – Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who has come out in support of anti-government protesters angered by a planned "foreign agent" law, pressed in an Independence Day speech the importance for closer ties to Europe and the United States for her South Caucasus nation.
"This is the cornerstone of the solution," she told a crowd on May 26 in Tbilisi's Freedom Square.
"Today -- when the ghost of Russia stands before us -- partnership and rapprochement with Europe and America is a true way to maintain our independence, peace, and strength," she said, as she cited the desire of a vast majority of citizens to join the European Union.
"No war has been started by [members of the] European Union since its inception. Instead, the real war party is one and only one that we see today in our occupied territories: Russian imperialism," she added.
Russia maintains thousands of troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway Georgian regions that Moscow recognized as independent states following a five-day war with Georgia in 2008.
The EU in December granted candidate status to Georgia, and there had been some hope that the bloc would agree to the next stage of accession talks as early as this year.
However, EU leaders have said Georgia's hopes of joining the bloc will be severely damaged if the government, led by the Georgian Dream party, enacts what critics call the "Russian law."
The law would require civil society and media organizations that get more than 20 percent of funding from foreign sources to report that fact to local authorities and submit to oversight that could encompass sanctions for as-yet-undefined criminal offenses.
Many critics have claimed that the law is similar to one used by the Kremlin to crack down on independent voices in Russia.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and other leaders of the Georgian Dream party have blasted U.S. and EU comments regarding the legislation -- formally called the Law On Transparency Of Foreign Influence -- and have insisted it is essential to maintaining transparency in civil and political matters.
Also speaking at the Independence Day ceremony, Kobakhidze hit back at Zurabishvili and her remarks about the controversial bill.
"It was the unity and reasonable steps of the people and their elected government that gave us the opportunity to maintain peace in the country for the past two years despite existential threats and multiple betrayals, including the betrayal by the president of Georgia," he said.
A bill recently unveiled by U.S. lawmakers is aimed at persuading Georgia's government to repeal the contentious law.
Under the proposed Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia's Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence (MEGOBARI) Act, the United States would give Georgia more economic aid, lower trade barriers, and grant more access to U.S. visas if the law were to be repealed.
But if the "foreign agent" bill becomes law, the MEGOBARI Act would require the U.S. administration to impose sanctions on Georgian officials responsible for the legislation.
Zurabishvili has vetoed the bill, but the Georgia Dream has enough seats in parliament to override the move. The parliament announced that discussions to override the veto would begin on May 27, with a vote likely on May 28.
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly on May 26 said the alliance "remains firmly committed Georgia's sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy, and aspiration to join NATO. "
However, it added, "the law on the so-called 'transparency of foreign influence' is a step backwards for Georgia's democracy and runs counter to its NATO as well as EU aspirations and values."
"If this bill becomes law, it will severely damage freedom of speech and association and undermine Georgia's vibrant civil society and media landscape," it said in its statement.
Parliament's passing of the law has led to massive street demonstrations in Tbilisi and elsewhere, with protesters holding Georgian and EU flags and shouting anti-Russian slogans.
Organizers have called for further protests on the eve of parliament's planned actions on the president's veto.
Kobakhidze has accused the protesters of "following the agenda of the political minority" and charged that they were showing a "great irresponsibility" toward their country.
The United States on May 26 marked the Georgian holiday, saying in a statement that it "will continue to strongly support the aspirations of the Georgian people for a Euro-Atlantic future."
"We urge Georgia's leaders to take the steps necessary to move Georgia forward in the right direction."
Director Who Fled Iran Gets 12-Minute Ovation, Special Jury Prize At Cannes Film Festival
Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof, who fled a prison and flogging sentence in his home country, was awarded a special jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his tale of a court investigator whose family life is torn apart during anti-government protests.
In accepting the award in the French resort town, the 51-year-old Rasoulof said his heart was with his film crew, who were "still under the pressure of the secret services back in Iran."
The special jury prize was given to Rasoulof for "drawing attention to unsustainable injustice" in Iran, organizers said after a screening of the film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, led to a 12-minute ovation.
The festival's top prize, meanwhile, went to the film Anora, a sensual drama and comedy about an exotic dancer who becomes involved with a Russian oligarch's son.
Earlier at a news conference, Rasoulof recalled how he had to decide within hours whether to go into exile or serve a prison sentence, saying it was still difficult to talk about.
"I had to say to myself, well, do I want to be in prison, or should I leave Iran, geographic Iran, and join the cultural Iran that exists beyond its borders?" said Rasoulof, who is an outspoken critic of repression in Iran and has twice served prison terms.
Iran's judiciary sentenced Rasoulof to flogging and eight years in prison after he was convicted of "collusion against national security," his lawyer, Babak Paknia, said on May 8.
Details of his escape from Iran are not totally known. He said the action was plotted by using contacts he had made during his prison stays.
"The more you spend time with interrogators, the secret police, the more you learn how to thwart them," he told the AFP news agency at Cannes.
"They show you your emails, so you learn how to write them. They show you your bank statements, so you learn when you should not have used your credit card."
Rasoulof said he also came up with the idea for The Seed Of The Sacred Fig while in prison.
Western rights advocates and film-industry groups had condemned Iran's actions against Rasoulof and demanded his release.
Rasoulof won the Berlin Film Festival's top prize in 2020 for his film There Is No Evil, which tells four stories loosely connected to the themes of the death penalty in Iran and personal freedoms under oppression.
"I am also very sad, deeply sad, to see the disaster experienced by my people every day...the Iranian people live under a totalitarian regime," he said in Cannes.
With reporting by AFP and Variety
Self-Exiled Iranian Director Rasoulof Talks Of 'Mixed Feelings' At Cannes Festival
CANNES, France -- Self-exiled Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof -- who had to escape his home country to be able to appear at the Cannes Film Festival -- told RFE/RL that he has "mixed feelings" about the screening of his film and the attention he received during the famed event in France.
The May 25 screening of his film, titled The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, was greeted by a 12-minute ovation. He later received a special jury prize for "drawing attention to unsustainable injustice" in Iran, festival organizers said.
"It's interesting for me that I'm [in Cannes] after seven years in which I was banned from traveling," he told RFE/RL in an interview prior to receiving the jury prize.
"I have mixed feelings. There were members of my team...who wanted to be here but didn't have that possibility. So, there is a heavy sadness within me."
"On the other hand, I'm glad that the movie is [being screened] here. It can be heard; the voices of those who wanted this movie to be made are being heard.
"Therefore, it is all a paradoxical situation."
In accepting the special jury prize, the 51-year-old Rasoulof had told the audience that his heart was with his film crew, who were "still under the pressure of the secret services back in Iran."
Iran's judiciary had sentenced Rasoulof to flogging and eight years in prison after he was convicted of "collusion against national security," his lawyer, Babak Paknia, said on May 8.
Prior to Rasoulof's flight from Iran, Western rights advocates and film-industry groups had condemned Iran's actions against the outspoken film director and demanded his release.
Details of his escape are not totally known. On May 13, he posted a short video to Instagram of an undisclosed mountainous location and wrote that he would talk about his journey out of Iran later.
In a Cannes news conference, he said the action was plotted by using contacts he had made during his prison stays.
"A few days after Norouz (the Persian New Year) -- I think it was around April 12 -- I learned from my lawyers that my prison sentence had been confirmed and then the case would be sent for enforcement and I would have to go to prison."
Rasoulof said he felt that Iranian authorities wanted to send him to prison "for a long time."
"I had to decide whether I wanted to go to prison…wait to see what happens, or leave and keep telling the story. I chose the second option."
The film by Rasoulof -- a longtime activist for human rights in his home country -- tells the tale of a court investigator whose family life is torn apart during anti-government protests.
Rasoulof, an outspoken critic of the Iranian government, has served two terms over previous films. His passport was revoked in 2017.
- By Anton Avizhas and
- Oksana Necheporenko
Zelenskiy Visits Kharkiv As Death Toll Rises From Russian Strike On Shopping Center
KHARKIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the battle-scarred northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on May 26 and issued a fresh plea for additional aid. His comments came as rescuers searched the charred wreckage of a shopping center in the city for the bodies of people killed in a Russian missile attack the previous day, which has so far claimed at least 16 lives.
Nearly four dozen people were wounded in the May 25 attack, which hit the store as scores of shoppers were visiting the Epicentr hardware supply store.
Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said the toll stood at 16 as of the late afternoon on May 26 amid fears it would climb higher as emergency workers used heavy equipment to pick through the debris.
At least 43 people were wounded, said Ihor Terekhov, Kharkiv's mayor.
"The attack targeted the shopping center, where there were many people," Terekhov said in a post to Telegram. This is clearly terrorism."
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, meanwhile, said 16 people were still missing after the strike.
"This blow to Kharkiv is another manifestation of Russian madness," Zelenskiy said on Telegram on May 25 moments after the attack.
While in Kharkiv, the Ukrainian leader urged U.S. President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping to attend a planned peace summit in Switzerland starting on June 15.
"There is no nation that is able to stop such a war only through its own efforts. The participation of world leaders is needed," he said in a Telegram posting.
"The efforts of the world's majority are the best guarantee of the fulfillment of obligations. Please support the peace summit with your personal leadership and involvement," Zelenskiy said in comments directed in English to Biden and Xi.
The Russian state news agency TASS cited an unnamed security official as saying, without providing evidence, that there was a "military store and command post" inside the shopping center.
A video released by Ukraine's national police depicted the moment of the attack on the hypermarket, showing what appeared to be workers and shoppers standing in a home-goods section of a large store.
A woman who identified herself as Svitlana told RFE/RL that she rushed to the site "because my son works here. He is an assistant in the paint department."
When asked if she had any word from him, she responded: "No."
Lyubov, who also only gave her first name, said: "So many colleagues [remain inside]. We looked for them. There were other people who needed help, too. But it was impossible to reach them due to the fire."
Oleksandr Filchakov, Kharkiv's regional prosecutor, showed RFE/RL what he said was "shrapnel from the D-30 versatile intermediate gliding ammunition."
"The Russian Federation has used it to bomb this supermarket."
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, has come under intensified missile and rocket attacks over the past month as Russia opened a new front in its offensive operations, crossing the border into Ukraine from the north.
Experts say the offensive is aimed at stretching Ukrainian forces to the breaking point and possibly putting Kharkiv within artillery range.
Overnight on May 26, Russia fired dozens of missiles and kamikaze drones at various targets in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force said 12 missiles, and 31 drones had been downed by air defenses.
Also on May 25, Synyehubov said at least five people were injured in the village of Kupyansk-Vuzloviy and that an emergency vehicle had been damaged in a Russian missile strike.
Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials have pleaded with Western allies to step up deliveries of air defense weapons and other armaments to aid their outmanned and outgunned forces, especially in the country's northeast.
Ukrainian officials have also stepped up their calls for the United States to relax its restrictions preventing Ukrainian forces from using U.S.-supplied weaponry to more aggressively hit targets inside of Russia.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview published on May 24 in The Economist that Ukraine should be allowed to use Western-supplied weapons in strikes against military targets inside Russia.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Flooding Kills 10 Members Of Same Family In Northeast Afghanistan
Flooding from heavy rainfall swept through a remote village in northeast Afghanistan, killing 10 members of a single family. Local Taliban officials in Badakhshan Province told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that four bodies had been recovered, and rescuers were searching for more after the May 26 flooding overnight. Mohammad Akram Akbari, the head of the provincial Anti-Disaster Department said a number of villages were hit by the flooding. In Baghlan, about 300 kilometers north of Kabul, Taliban officials said that 40 houses had been destroyed by flooding. The impoverished country has suffered a series of catastrophic floods this year. To see the original article by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.
- By Reuters
Sudanese General Says Russia Seeks Red Sea Fuel Station In Swap For Weapons
A top Sudanese general, Yasser al-Atta, said on May 25 that Russia had asked for a fueling station on the Red Sea in exchange for weapons and ammunition, and that agreements with Russia would be signed soon. The two countries signed a naval base deal under former President Omar Al-Bashir, but army leaders later said that plan was under review and it never materialized. Russia has previously developed ties with the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, which is the army's foe in a year-old war and which Western diplomats say has also had ties with Russia's Wagner private military group.
- By Reuters
Report: Zelenskiy To Travel To Portugal After Visit To Spain
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to travel to Portugal on May 28, after his planned visit to Spain, CNN Portugal reported on May 25. CNN Portugal said that the "Ukrainian president's arrival in the Iberian Peninsula is scheduled for the beginning of next week but will always depend on the course of the war in Ukraine in the coming hours." Representatives for the Portuguese prime minister and president did not comment. Spanish radio station Cadena SER reported that Zelenskiy will travel to Spain on May 26. Earlier this month, Zelenskiy postponed his trip to Madrid and Lisbon amid intense fighting in the Kharkiv region.
- By RFE/RL
Russia, Iran Reaffirm 'Firm Commitment' To Strategic Partnership, Ministers Say
The Russian and Iranian foreign ministers reaffirmed their ties and "strategic partnership" in a phone call on May 25, less than a week after Iran's president, foreign minister, and others died in a helicopter crash in northern Iran. Both Russia and Iran are bitter rivals of the West, and Tehran has supplied the Kremlin with deadly drones used in Moscow's war with Ukraine. Following the call between Russia's Sergei Lavrov and Iran's new acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, Russia's Foreign Ministry said the "parties reaffirmed their firm commitment to the unconditional continuation of the course chosen by the leaders of the two countries on the formation of a strategic partnership between Russia and Iran and their readiness to implement all available agreements and projects in various fields."
Armenian PM Defends Demarcation Deal With Azerbaijan In Visit To Border Region
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian visited the northeastern province of Tavush on May 25 to meet with residents of several border communities where a controversial demarcation process with Azerbaijan was completed earlier this month.
Pashinian insisted that despite a few infrastructural problems, which have emerged as a result of the process, the sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border where the demarcation has been conducted are now safer than before due to their newly acquired legitimacy.
At the same time, talking to RFE/RL after the meetings, the prime minister stressed that "not a single inch" of sovereign Armenian territory has been ceded to Azerbaijan.
"We are not drawing a new border now, but we are reproducing the de jure border that existed at the moment of the collapse of the Soviet Union," he said, again hailing the process as a success.
"In the modern-day world, there is no more effective security guarantee than a delimitated, legitimate border…. And we are now creating for our villages and our republic in this section of the border the most reliable security guarantee that can exist in the modern world today," the Armenian premier added.
Pashinian experienced an incident during the visit to the border region when his helicopter was forced to make an "unscheduled landing" due to bad weather.
"Everything is fine," Pashinian wrote on Facebook. "Due to bad weather conditions, our helicopter made an unscheduled landing in Vanadzor. Now we continue our journey by car."
The incident came less than a week after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were killed when their helicopter crashed in poor weather near Iran's border with Azerbaijan on May 19.
Both the United States and the European Union have hailed the border demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, stressing that the deal announced by the two bitter South Caucasus rivals in April contains a reference to the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, a document by which a dozen former Soviet countries, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, pledged to recognize each other's territorial integrity within existing administrative borders.
In the process that was formally completed on May 15, Baku regained control over four abandoned villages near the Armenian border that had been under Yerevan's military control since the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the early 1990s.
Armenia and Azerbaijan announced on May 24 that their border guards were deployed at the sections where the demarcation was completed.
Armenian opposition groups have denounced what they describe as the latest "unilateral territorial concessions" to Azerbaijan. They argue that the border demarcation, which affects the infrastructure of border communities, leaves local residents more vulnerable to further possible Azerbaijani aggression.
The demarcation process in April sparked protests in Kirants, the village most affected by the process, as well as later in Yerevan.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, the outspoken head of the Tavush diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has emerged as the leader of these protests in recent weeks, staging several rallies attended by tens of thousands of supporters. He has called on his supporters to rally in Yerevan again on May 26 to push for Pashinian's resignation.
Pashinian and members of his political team dismiss the opposition's criticism, rejecting the resignation demand.
Unlike the three other border sections, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a transitional border protection scheme for the section of the village of Kirants where part of the road and some houses and land are to be handed over to Azerbaijan.
The scheme will be in place until July 24, when Armenia hopes to build a new section of the road that will provide the village with connectivity with the rest of Armenia without having to use the road section that will be controlled by Azerbaijan.
The Pashinian government has also pledged to provide compensation to people who are losing their land and property as a result of the demarcation.
"We will do everything so that the rights of our citizens will be maximally preserved and protected," the Armenian prime minister told RFE/RL on May 25.
Most of the residents of Kirants who are losing property in the border demarcation said this week that they would reject the compensation.
Some of them challenged Pashinian over the demarcation process when he visited the village.
One resident, whose father's grave is apparently in the territory that will now be controlled by Azerbaijan, rebuked Pashinian for the land concession.
"You are giving away my homeland and you are giving my father's grave together with it," he said.
Stressing again that "not an inch of sovereign Armenian territory has been handed over to Azerbaijan in the process," Pashinian replied: "Brother, the homeland begins where the state border begins. Period."
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bomber jacket and men´s studded belt: VERSACE for H&M * shirt: COS * pistol boots: ACNE
her house, her rules, MY pleasure!
i can´t wait to show you the other pieces i got.
gotta say, the loud colors, the palms, the greek key, SO NOT ME.
but surprisingly loving it!!
what do you think? :)


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JACKSON, Mich. – Michigan authorities say a man tried to throw a football loaded with drugs and cellphones into the yard of a state prison.
According to state police Trooper Toby Baker, Sunday's throw in Jackson came up short with the football landing between two fences and not in the yard where prisoners exercise.
An officer at the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility saw the man throw the football, and he was taken into custody.
The Detroit Free Press reports (http://on.freep.com/1i87XzA ) the ball contained heroin, marijuana, tobacco, three cellphones and chargers.
Baker says the man is facing possession of illegal drugs with intent to deliver, smuggling and trespassing on prison property charges.
Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com


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TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay's status as the NFL's only winless team didn't last long.
Rookie Mike Glennon threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tackle Donald Penn and led a long fourth-quarter TD drive to put the Buccaneers ahead for good in a 22-19 victory over the embattled Miami Dolphins on Monday night.
Bobby Rainey's 1-yard run capped an 80-yard drive, and the Bucs held on the final 10 minutes to become the last team in the league to win this season.
Silver: Coaches, GMs on the hot seat
As the season slips away from several NFL teams, Michael Silver identifies coaches and GMs who could be in trouble. **READ**
Jacksonville beat Tennessee on Sunday, leaving Tampa Bay (1-8) as the league's only winless team entering the game.
"It's good to stand up here after a win," Bucs coach Greg Schiano said after his team won for only the second time in 15 games dating to last season. "We have to build off this."
Playing for the first time since a bullying scandal, the Dolphins (4-5) started slowly before overcoming an early 15-0 deficit to lead 19-15 heading into the fourth quarter.
Ryan Tannehill threw touchdown passes of 6 and 19 yards to Rishard Matthews, but got no help from a running game that was limited to just 2 yards rushing.
The Bucs sacked Tannehill twice on Miami's final possession before Darrelle Revis intercepted Tannehill's fourth-down desperation throw intended for Mike Wallace with 1:35 remaining.
"We have good guys on this team who understand adversity and understand how to handle it," Tannehill said. "This is a good test. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm not saying it's fun to deal with. But I have faith in these guys."
Tampa Bay held fourth-quarter leads in four of its eight losses, losing each time in the final 89 seconds of regulation or overtime.
"It had the same feeling going down the stretch," Schiano said. "But our guys bowed up and made some plays."
Glennon completed 11 of 21 for 139 yards in his sixth pro start. The third-round draft pick threw his first interception in four games - a span of 159 attempts - to set up a third-quarter field goal that put the Dolphins up 19-15.
Tannehill finished 27 of 42 for 229 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
The Bucs saluted Hall of Famer Warren Sapp at halftime, retiring his No. 99 jersey and inducting the 1999 NFL defensive player of the year and 2002 Super Bowl champion into the team's Ring of Honor.
The Dolphins had not played since Oct. 31, when they beat Cincinnati 22-20 in overtime to stop a four-game skid.
They've been the talk of the league for the wrong reasons ever since.
The NFL is investigating tackle Jonathan Martin's allegations of daily harassment by teammates, including suspended guard Richie Incognito. Martin is with his family in California to undergo counseling for emotional issues, and he'll meet later this week with the league's special investigator to discuss the allegations.
The special investigator will determine whether Incognito harassed Martin, and whether the Dolphins mishandled the matter.
Owner Stephen Ross broke his silence on the situation during a news conference before the game at Raymond James Stadium. He said he was appalled by the player's accusations and plans to meet with Martin on Wednesday at an undisclosed location.
"Obviously there was a voice we weren't hearing," Ross said, adding he will take an open mind into the meeting and is eager to learn the facts of the case.
The owner said he has formed an independent advisory group that includes Tony Dungy, Don Shula, Dan Marino, Jason Taylor and Curtis Martin to review organizational conduct policies and to make recommendations on areas for improvement.
"We need to look at ourselves. We have to examine everything internally," Ross said. "This is so appalling to me. I know I'm capable of overreacting. I want to get everybody's feedback because we all know the football locker room is a different workplace than most of us are accustomed to. I don't want to make any excuses."
With Jacksonville winning on Sunday, the Bucs entered Monday night as the only NFL team yet to win this season.
It was apparent from the start that they might be able to change their fortunes against the Dolphins, who spent much of the past week answering questions about the bullying scandal.
Glennon finished a nine-play, 76-yard, game-opening drive with his TD pass to Penn, a 6-foot-5, 340-pound tackle who discreetly slipped off the line and was all alone in the end zone. Mike James ran five times for 41 yards on the drive before leaving the game with a broken left ankle.
The Bucs built the lead to 15-0 with a pair of field goals by Rian Lindell and a safety before Tannehill got the Dolphins on track in the closing minutes of the second quarter.
The second-year quarterback trimmed his team's deficit to 15-7 with his first TD pass to Matthews. The second put Miami ahead 16-15 late in the third quarter.
"We moved the ball well through the air but we didn't have any balance. That caught up to us at the end of the game," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said.
"There's a lot of football left to be played. November and December is going to determine who moves forward," Philbin said. "We have to learn from the mistakes we made and prepare better and play better."
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press


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I'm back with another Sigma Makeup Friday Giveaway. Today I will be featuring the Sigma Makeup Beauty on the Go Kit Blush & Highlight. This is my last Sigma Makeup Friday Giveaway this time around but I hope to do more in the future! I'll give you a review of the set and a chance to win!
To see swatches, review and giveaway, click here!
Check out my video review!
My Review:
I think I saved this set for last because it's actually my favorite. It's the only blush/highlight set offered and this time around the palette again has shimmery, very pigmented colors but also a matte! You also get a highlighter. Now that's what I'm talking about! If you want a pigmented blush, this is it (like NARS pigmented). The color is so rich and vibrant that I would recommend starting off with a loose brush like a duo fiber or even a fan brush. Like the shadows, these are super soft so remember that you may experience some crumbling and loose powder on your brush so always remember to tap off the excess.
Moon Light Mile Highlighter: Yay for highlighters! This is actually a really flattering shade...a goldish, light pink which has a nice sheen but not overly shimmery when applied. It should coordinate with most blush colors too.
Some Girls Blush: This is that peachy tone that everyone needs in their collection. It's an awesome every day color that gives the perfect flush.
Not Fade Away Blush: For some reason, this color reminds me of Lady Gaga. It's a bright, blue based true pink. Great for a fun night out!
Here I am wearing Some Girls Blush and Moon Light Mile Highlighter. Doesn't it look gorgeous on the skin?
Sigma Makeup has again generously agreed to sponsor a Beauty on the Go Kit - Blush & Highlight for one of you lucky readers.
Here's how to win:
* Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
* Follow this blog
* Leave a comment telling me why you'd like to win.
* I will select a winner at random and announce it on Monday's Post.
You can find these products at www.SigmaMakeup.com
FTC Disclosure: Products were sent from company for review. I am not affiliated with the company and not paid to write the review. These are my honest thoughts.
Atlanta Makeup Artist


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Dear Sassy,
I want to apologize for bursting into tears and sobbing on the way home from our errands yesterday.
Granted, your screaming and ranting at me for daring to ask you a simple question is something I'm used to.
However, I received a call from the doctor not long after the sonogram. It was not good news.
And if I spend too much time trying to hold you close and tell you how much I love you – just humor me. Most likely after the MRI on Monday we'll be back to hating each other.
But for now, let's rock this city and forget our troubles, shall we?


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How to troubleshoot a camera or camcorder remote control that is not working.
Follow these steps to troubleshoot why the camera or camcorder remote control is not working.
IMPORTANT: Some camcorders do not have remote control capability. For model-specific information regarding whether your Sony camera or camcorder is compatible with a remote control, refer to the operating instructions supplied with the product.
- Ensure the camera or camcorder is turned on.
- If the camera or camcorder has a Remote Commander function in the menu, make sure it is set to ON.
- Ensure you have inserted fresh batteries into the remote control.
- Ensure you are aiming the remote control at the infrared (IR) sensor located on the front of the camera or camcorder.
- Ensure nothing is blocking the IR signal from the remote control to the IR sensor on the camera or camcorder.
- A strong light source, such as direct sunlight, may interfere with the IR signal.
- A connected lens hood or conversion lens may be blocking the IR signal.
- If the issue is still unresolved, follow the steps below to reset the remote control:
- Remove the batteries from the remote control.
- While the batteries are removed, press every button on the remote control twice.
- Reinsert the batteries into the remote control.
If the issue is still unresolved, service may be required.


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Shop, Cook, Shoot, Eat, Edit, Blog, Publish, Repeat: Kalyn's Kitchen Turns Two Years Old!
Here's the part that seems unbelievable now when I look back on it. Neither Rand nor I had ever seen a single food blog when I started Kalyn's Kitchen. He was using the internet a little at that time, but I rarely went online except for e-mail or Epicurious.com, and absolutely didn't know there was a huge web of bloggers out there. I certainly didn't imagine there were people on the internet blogging about FOOD.
Kalyn's Kitchen has improved so much in two years, thanks to the generosity of Rand and Bradley who've provided hours of creative and technical help. Some of what you see here is also due to photo advice and template consulting from my great food blogger friends. (You know who you are!) The latest improvement was a suggestion about a better way to print recipes from the wonderful Zoe who then helped implement it! I'm grateful to everyone who's helped me along the road to this point, either through technical assistance, advice, input, or moral support.
None of this would have happened without YOU, the person who is reading this right now. It's the people who read the blog, give feedback about recipes, leave comments, subscribe, participate in Weekend Herb Blogging, and send nice e-mails who give me the energy to keep creating new dishes and posting them day after day. People are often telling me how much they appreciate my blog, and now it's my turn to tell you how much I appreciate all of you who are enriching my life and inspiring me in so many ways. Thanks to all my wonderful readers and food blogger friends, and here's to many more years of delicious food and friendship!


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It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
And I'm Renee Montagne.
It was the biggest day yet in the Republican presidential race. Mitt Romney hoped that Super Tuesday would reinforce his frontrunner status. And to some degree it did. He won six of the 10 states, including the most populous and hotly contested state, Ohio.
The win in Ohio was by the narrowest of margins, though, and there was enough good news for Romney's rivals to keep them in the running as well. So even in victory, the Romney campaign could not dispel lingering doubts about his candidacy. NPR's Ari Shapiro was at Romney headquarters in Boston.
ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: An election night as big as Super Tuesday requires an election party that's bigger than normal too.
SHAPIRO: No DJ at Mitt Romney's rally in Boston. A live band played pop hits like "Party in the USA," "Don't Stop Believing," and "Play that Funky Music White Boy." The crowd shouted: Go, Mitt, go.
GROUP: Go, Mitt, go. Go, Mitt, go. Go, Mitt, go.
SHAPIRO: Their exuberance belied the mixed results streaming in on giant screens. Early on, Newt Gingrich won Georgia. Rick Santorum took Tennessee and Oklahoma. Romney won Massachusetts, where he used to be governor, neighboring Vermont, and Virginia, where only he and Ron Paul were on the ballot. Yet Romney focused almost all of his energy in the last week on Ohio. And by the time Romney took the podium in Boston, that state still hung in the balance.
MITT ROMNEY: Your support means everything to Ann and me. And I'm not going to let you down. I'm going to get this nomination.
SHAPIRO: Romney fought hard for Ohio's blue collar working class voters - people like retired steelworker Joe Buckmelter, who voted in Steubenville.
JOE BUCKMELTER: I actually do like all the candidates. I wish we could take a compilation of all three. Put Mitt Romney's – I think his forthrightness, Rick Santorum's genuineness, and Newt Gingrich's fire. But I think in the final analysis that Mitt's going to be the strongest.
SHAPIRO: In the last week, Romney shrank Rick Santorum's wide lead in Ohio. He did it partly by outspending his rivals by a 4-1 margin. At the election night party in Boston, Margaret Klingmeyer worried that even a deluge of cash could not wholly sink Romney's rivals.
MARGARET KLINGMEYER: That concerns me, but hopefully as it narrows down, he'll be able to concentrate. And I think he's the real leader.
SHAPIRO: Ohio will be an important swing state in the general election. And the fact that Romney barely squeaked out a win there revives old questions about whether he can unify the Republican Party behind him. Romney prefers to play down the symbolism and focus on cold hard math.
ROMNEY: Tonight we're doing some counting. We're counting up the delegates for the convention, and it looks good. And we're counting down the days until November, and that looks even better.
SHAPIRO: Focusing on delegates lets Romney emphasize what the campaign describes as the other candidates' disorganization. Romney staffers are quick to point out that Rick Santorum did not qualify to compete for all of Ohio's delegates. Santorum failed to get on the Virginia ballot at all. Romney campaign strategist Mark DeMoss says while it may be tempting to glorify a scrappy grassroots campaign like Santorum's, Democrats would crush that sort of operation in November.
MARK DEMOSS: We're not going against a scrappy pick-yourself-up-from-your-bootstraps kind of campaign if we run against President Obama. So I think the organization is critically important. It's important to line up endorsements, to raise money, to turn volunteers out.
BORIS MAKARENKO: And he says Santorum has shown an inability to do that. The flip side of that argument is that the Romney campaign lost key states despite the endorsements, the money, the volunteers, and the infrastructure. In Boston last night, Romney said there will be good days and bad days ahead.
ROMNEY: Tomorrow we wake up and we start again. And the next day we'll do the same. And so we'll go day by day, step by step, door by door, heart to heart.
SHAPIRO: For the next few contests, the bad days may outnumber the good ones for Romney. The next states to vote include Mississippi, Alabama, and Kansas, places with the kinds of religious, socially conservative voters that Romney has struggled to win over.
Yet on a Super Tuesday that produced mixed results for him, there was one thing Romney could be unequivocally happy about. Last night was his first night home in two months. He said he was looking forward to a homemade dinner of chicken marsala.
Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Boston. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Please, I need your readers candid advice on this issue.
met this really hot guy in a bbm group and we hit it off immediately.
He wanted a relationship but we couldn't have one because of the distance. He lives in New York and
I, Nigeria. We kept in touch though. He was in Nigeria recently and we
met briefly. He was everything I wanted in a guy. He's a god literally.
my horror when I walked into my dad's family house and saw him sitting
with my grandma and my dad. The look on his face was indescribable when
my dad introduced me as his daughter. We had not met earlier because my
dad stopped talking to his elder sister (his mum) way before they got
married over some stupid mistake my aunt made.
Apparently, he came back to settle the dispute between the family members. Now, he says he's in love with me. We were always together through out our stay in my country home (our parents think it's the same bond his mum and my dad shared when they were younger that extended to us).
How do I tell my family that I have been intimate with my cousin and that I'm in love
with him? God knows I have done my best to forget about him but it's
just not working. I think about him all the time and he's having the
same problem! How do I let go of the only guy I have ever loved? I'm so confused


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Bed Pad - Reusable
A favorite of family caregivers, washable underpads are waterproof bed and furniture protectors that are reusable and last for dozens, if not hundreds, of washings depending on the item. They are primarily used above the sheets as extra protection from nighttime leaks to help greatly reduce linen changes. Most washable underpads are made with three layers: a soft fabric topsheet, an absorbent soaker layer in the middle and a waterproof non-skid backing. They are often used for repositioning the patient on the bed but should not be used for weight-bearing use, i.e. no lifting or transferring off bed. In most cases, caregivers can save money by using washable bed pads instead of disposable ones. Additionally, washable pads are much heavier weight and therefore will not move around as much under the patient at night. Other uses include protecting recliners, wheelchairs, car seat and other furniture.


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The Sibley Guide to Birds has quickly become the new standard of excellence in bird identification guides, covering more than 810 North American birds in amazing detail. Now comes a new portable guide from David Sibley that every birder will want to carry into the field. Compact and comprehensive, this new guide features 703 bird species plus regional populations found west of the Rocky Mountains. Accounts include stunningly accurate illustrations—more than 4,600 in total—with descriptive caption text pointing out the most important field marks. Each entry contains new text concerning frequency, nesting, behavior, food and feeding, voice description, and key identification features. Accounts also include brand-new maps created from information contributed by 110 regional experts across the continent.
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America is an indispensable resource for all birders seeking an authoritative and portable guide to the birds of the West.


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National Boss Day
Sometimes the best way to show your boss just how much you appreciate their fine leadership is by sending flowers. With a National Boss Day gift of flowers from AN ENCHANTED FLORIST, your boss will know exactly how you feel.
Everyone wants a raise. Raise your boss's spirits this Boss Day with one of the many colorful flower arrangements from AN ENCHANTED FLORIST in Doylestown, PA.