Chechnya, Grozny The republics of the North Caucasus - Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia - are traditionally considered a demographic exception in Russia: significantly more children are born here than the national average. However, recent data show that even in these regions negative trends are gradually beginning to appear. According to data for the beginning of 2026, the average fertility rate has decreased in all regions of Russia, but most of all in Chechnya .

Jan Leuken. Christian captives are sold at a slave market in Algeria. 1684 The saga around the Strait of Hormuz brings to mind that the entire Mediterranean Sea was once controlled by the Muslim rulers of North Africa. European states paid them tribute for free trade. And only young independent America accepted the military challenge. In September 1785, the US ambassador to France, Thomas Jefferson, received a letter from Algeria.

"Putin's paranoia is causing him to surround his residences with more and more radars and air defense systems, taking them from other places. This is creating a hole even around Moscow," says Alexei Alshansky, an analyst with the Farewell to Arms project. Tonight, a drone hit a high-rise building a few kilometers from the Kremlin, on Mosfilmovskaya Street. At least four more drones flying towards Moscow, according to the mayor of the capital, were shot down in the morning and afternoon.

Ukraine (illustrative photo) On the afternoon of May 4, Russian troops launched a missile attack on the town of Merefa in the Kharkov region, local authorities reported. According to the head of the Kharkov regional military administration Oleg Sinegubov, private and apartment buildings, four shops and a service station were damaged. There are dead. According to the latest data, their number has reached six. Another 23 people were injured.

The United Arab Emirates intercepted three missiles launched from Iran and a fourth fell into the sea, the Defense Ministry said on social media site X. A major fire broke out in the oil refinery complex (FOIZ) area in the emirate of Fujairah following an attack by Iran. This was reported by the press service of the government of the emirate in X. As a result of the attack, three Indian citizens were injured and were hospitalized, the report said .

A story about those who died in Bucha and those who are trying to live despite the tragedy that happened and the ongoing war, as well as about war crimes and the search for justice.

US President Donald Trump announced the launch of a mission to remove ships from third countries that are currently blocked in the Persian Gulf from the Strait of Hormuz, through which navigation has been seriously limited by Iran since early March.

On the night of May 4, a drone hit a building in the area of ​​Mosfilmovskaya Street in Moscow, said the mayor of the city, Sergei Sobyanin. According to him, no one was injured. The first reports of a Ukrainian drone allegedly hitting a multi-storey building on Mosfilmovskaya appeared after midnight. Eyewitness videos were published showing damage to the façade and debris on the ground. On the night of May 3 and throughout Sunday, Sobyanin reported on downed drones flying towards Moscow.

Russian Embassy in Vienna Austria expelled three Russian diplomats, declaring them persona non grata due to possible espionage activities. The government announced this on Monday. The statement said three diplomatic staff, who were not named, had already left Austria. As Reuters notes , the total number of Russian diplomats expelled from the country since 2020 has reached 14.

The state agency VTsIOM has not published trust ratings for politicians, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, since April 24, The Moscow Times reports . Prior to this, his ratings had fallen for seven weeks in a row. The rating is published weekly on Fridays at 10 am Moscow time. The new rating was not published either on the weekend of May 1 or on the first working day after the long weekend. As the publication notes, in 2025, VTsIOM published Putin’s rating on May 9, a day off.

May 4, 2026 in the center of Leipzig above the scene of an accident where a car crashed into a crowd of people on the street A car drove into a crowd of people in the center of Leipzig, killing at least two people, local police say. Leipzig fire chief Axel Schuch said more than 20 people were injured, Spiegel reported . Police said the driver initially fled the scene of the accident but was later detained.

Burning oil in Tuapse. Truncated parade on May 9

The Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow arrested the movable and immovable property of businessman Vadim Moshkovich, as well as 100% of the shares of a number of companies, including Rusagro, Interfax reports , citing one of the participants in the process. The Prosecutor General's Office filed a lawsuit to transfer to the state the property of the founder of Rusagro Moshkovich and the former general director of the holding Maxim Basov.