First call
Pro-European challenger Maia Sandu has won the second round of Moldova's presidential election and is well ahead of the pro-Russian incumbent Igor Dodon (57% to 44%) with almost all ballots counted, according to the central election commission.
The tiny ex-Soviet nation is under the watchful eye of Russia, which wants polarized Moldova to remain in its sphere of influence at a time when several Kremlin-aligned governments are rocked by political unrest.
‘March of memory’
Belarusians took to the streets of the capital Minsk on Sunday in a fresh demonstration against strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko as anger mounted over the recent death of an opposition activist.
Armed and masked police dispersed protesters with tear gas and stun grenades and deployed water cannon, local media reported, shortly after the latest march began against the ex-Soviet country's strongman leader.
Belarusian rights group Viasna said at least 1,127 people were detained, including journalists.
Mass exodus
Villagers outside of Nagorno-Karabakh set their homes on fire before fleeing to Armenia ahead of a weekend deadline that will see some disputed territory handed over to Azerbaijan as part of a Russian-brokered peace deal.
Under the deal, Armenia cedes swaths of territory that Azerbaijan's forces gained in the weeks of fighting. Azerbaijan said Sunday it had agreed to extend a deadline for Armenia to withdraw from the disputed Kalbajar district until Nov. 25.
New flights
Russia resumed flights with Ethiopia and the Seychelles, where it said new coronavirus cases did not exceed 1% of the population over the past two weeks.
Russia has now authorized flights to and from 17 countries after shutting its borders due to the pandemic in late March.
Bone-riding
Municipal crews in the Siberian region of Irkutsk sprinkled sand mixed with human bones presumably from an old cemetery as de-icer.
Police announced an inspection after drivers found skulls and other body parts lining the road in the Irkutsk town of Kirensk.
AFP contributed reporting to this article.
