4. Çekya cumhurbaşkanı
Pavel Ivanov spent years helping publish LGBTQ-themed books in Russia. In court, he called himself a lifelong hunter of ‘perverts’ and walked away with a suspended sentence.
In May 2025, three employees of Popcorn Books — a publisher of young adult fiction — were detained in Moscow. They were charged in connection with the distribution of LGBT literature — specifically, the publication of the novel “Leto v pionerskom galstuke” (“Summer in a Pioneer Tie”) by Yelena Malisova and Katerina Silvanova. The defendants spent nearly a year under house arrest before it was eased to a restriction on certain activities. In June 2026, one of the three — former sales director Pavel Ivanov — went to trial. He had cut a deal with investigators and testified against others named in what became known as the “book publishers’ case.” During closing arguments, Ivanov said he had fought this his whole life, going back to Soviet times, when he caught “perverts” as part of a Komsomol patrol. The trial concluded in a single day, and Ivanov received a suspended sentence. Mediazona journalists attended the proceedings and reported on what Ivanov said there.
Fate of 3,400 Russians established since beginning of Ukrainian crisis — Red Cross
Pavel Savchuk, Chairman of the Russian Red Cross, explained that there are multiple channels available for submitting requests
Avrupa Birliği Pavel Valentinovich SHPEROV kişisini yaptırım listesine ekledi
Avrupa Birliği, Pavel Valentinovich SHPEROV adlı kişiyi konsolide finansal yaptırım listesine ekledi (AB referansı EU.3947.26). Yaptırım programı: UKR.
AB, Vitalii Zakharchenko Dahil 20 Kişiyi Yaptırım Listesine AldıCzech president, prime minister clash over leadership as both pack for NATO summit
By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE, June 29 (Reuters) - The Czech government agreed under court pressure on Monday to let President Petr Pavel attend a NATO summit in Turkey next week but refused to allow him to lead the country's delegation, laying bare their rift over defence spending. Ankara will host 32 NATO leaders on July 7-8, amid tensions over burden-sharing, defence spending, and U.S. complaints about allies' lack of involvement in re-opening the Strait of Hormuz. The Czechs are bringing an awkward spat of their own, as they cannot agree who will sit at key meetings.
‘Saving the Kyiv regime isn’t part of our plans’: Putin on Ukraine, fuel shortages, and Trump
On the evening of June 28, the Kremlin released a 25-minute “interview” with Vladimir Putin conducted by propagandist Pavel Zarubin. In the published video, Putin is visibly looking away from the correspondent, reading his answers off a teleprompter. The Kremlin’s press service made no mention of Zarubin by name, identifying him only as “a Russian journalist.” During the “interview,” Putin said that Russia’s fuel shortage was “not critical” and that the government intended to address it by ramping up air defense production. He also said Ukraine had put forward a new peace proposal — both sides would halt strikes deep into each other’s territory — but that the Kremlin had already rejected it. Here are the main points of his remarks.
Russia opens criminal investigation against Telegram app founder Pavel Durov
Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, said he is facing a Russian criminal investigation on charges of “aiding terrorism.”
UK marks 10 years since the Brexit referendum – Europe live
Analysis, commentary and reaction on the decade since the UK voted to leave the European Union As expected, Czech president Petr Pavel has filed a complaint against the government’s decision to exclude him from the Czech delegation for next month’s Nato summit in Ankara. The move comes after the Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, said yesterday that the decision to exclude the president was “purely practical,” as he dismissed “an unnecessary” dispute with the president (Europe Live, Monday). Continue reading...
Telegram challenging Indian government order that temporarily blocks its use
Messaging app Telegram has filed a petition in a New Delhi court challenging an Indian government order that has temporarily blocked use of the platform in an effort to prevent exam fraud, a legal news website reported on Wednesday. The extraordinary order blocking the app came into effect on Tuesday in an attempt to curb fraud channels claiming to have the question paper in advance, but has generated divided opinions on such blanket bans. The decision comes ahead of a retest of a nationwide medical college entrance examination, after a scandal last month over a question paper leak. The lawyers for Telegram mentioned their challenge before a judge at the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, who then agreed to take up Telegram’s petition shortly, local media reports said. Telegram did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov on Wednesday questioned the effectiveness of the ban in stopping leaks. He said it is a punishment for Telegram’s 150 million Indian viewers and “not the insiders who leaked the exam materials”. Last month, the Indian government cancelled a key undergraduate entrance exam for medical colleges after authorities said they were investigating allegations that its questions had been leaked. The alleged question paper leak of the medical entrance exam, which is taken by 2.3 million students, led to protests in various parts of India and demands for the resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The restriction on Telegram was issued under an Indian IT law provision that allows the government to block access to internet apps in the “interest of sovereignty and integrity of India”.
India blocks Telegram before retest exam to curb cheating
India blocked access to the Telegram messenger app on Tuesday ahead of a retest of a nationwide medical college entrance examination, following a scandal last month over a question paper leak. The failure of the hugely competitive exam, along with a separate marking fiasco in high school tests, sparked outrage and fuelled youth protests demanding the education minister’s resignation. The electronics ministry issued the order restricting access to Telegram until Monday, the day of the retest. Message-editing features, which allow users to alter existing posts, will remain restricted until June 30. “Both measures have been taken in the interest of public order, in response to the organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates,” India’s National Testing Agency (NTA) said in a statement. The National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) is one of the country’s most competitive exams, attracting more than two million aspiring doctors. The NEET exam was scrapped in May following allegations that the question paper was leaked in advance, including reports that it had been circulated through Telegram channels. Responding to the electronics ministry’s decision, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov said the week-long ban “hasn’t stopped anything” but “punishes” 150 million ordinary users of the messaging app in India and “not the insiders who leaked the exam materials”. “The leaks just moved to other apps,” Durov said in a post on X. The Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights group, said the ban “is a disproportionate answer to exam fraud”. The intense pressure to succeed in the national exams has fuelled a lucrative industry, with tens of thousands of coaching centres across the country. Fierce competition means that success often comes at a high personal and financial cost — creating opportunities for criminal networks seeking to sell leaked examination papers to the highest bidder. Test pilots India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested the “kingpin” alleged to be behind the leak, naming him as a chemistry lecturer involved in the examination process for the NTA. On Monday, the education ministry launched a website where the public can report “suspicious claims, unauthorised content, or fraudulent activities” related to the NEET exam. Indian air force helicopters were seen on Tuesday readying for the delivery of the test papers, to “prevent any possibility of leak”, The Press Trust of India news agency reported, broadcasting images of preparations in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Despite rapid economic growth, millions of people in the world’s most populous nation still struggle to find stable and well-paying jobs, fuelling discontent. Students spend years preparing for exams in the hope of securing a professional career, with the pressure intensified by limited opportunities and intense competition. Indian media reported suicides of teenagers following the fiasco over the NEET exam. The NEET scandal came on top of another controversy, related to the online marking system used for tests taken by nearly two million high school students. Many students said the system had assigned incorrect grades or issued results to the wrong candidates. Anger at the exam mishandling has been channelled by the satirical “Cockroach People’s Party”, which has won millions of followers on social media since its launch in May. The movement emerged after India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly likened young people who criticised the government to “cockroaches” and “parasites” during a court hearing, sparking outrage among the youth. Kant later said his comments were taken out of context.