Russia’s colonial past, and present?

The Russian Foreign Minister recently wrote that Russia had ‘never stained itself with the bloody crimes of colonialism’. It’s not a new theme for Sergei Lavrov but it did surprise many Russian historians. BBC Russian’s Grigor Atanesian wrote an article testing Mr Lavrov’s claims. Rural schools in Azerbaijan A plea by a 13-year-old Azerbaijani schoolgirl has put the spotlight on rural education in the country, with too few schools in some regions and badly maintained buildings. BBC Azerbaijani filmed Zahra walking the 4 kilometre return trip to her classroom, and editor Könül Khalilova shares the story. Military service for K-pop superstars Members of the K-pop band BTS may soon have to complete their military service, but this may not mean they have to stop performing. The band had already been given a 2 year deferral, and parliament is debating radically shortening their service, as Julie Yoonnyung Lee of BBC Korean explains. Five years of the Rohingya crisis BBC Bangla has been marking the fifth anniversary of the Rohingya crisis, which sent more than a million refugees from Myanmar into the Cox's Bazar refugee camp. Journalists Akbar Hossain and Shahnewaj Rocky heard from Rohingya refugees and the local Bengali community about their perspectives. A travelling heart The embalmed heart of Brazil's first emperor, Dom Pedro I, has arrived in the country as part of celebrations for its bicentenary. Dom Pedro is remembered as a hero who led Brazil’s independence from Portugal, but he also allowed slavery to continue. BBC Brasil’s Nathalia Passarinho tells us about the man behind the heart. (Photo: An official of Bukhara Emirate, a Russian protectorate. Credit: Sergey Prokudin-Gorskii/Getty Images)