Wagner Group, Russia’s infamous paramilitary organization, is well-known for replenishing its ranks with convicted criminals. Who are these men, and what leads them to sign up to fight and die in Ukraine?

(Photo: IStories)

In October 2022, Colombian journalist Rafael Moreno was shot dead. Six months after the assassination, 30 journalists continued his investigations into allegations of wide scale corruption and environmental damage. With new evidence, they revealed serious irregularities that confirmed a system of cronyism in public works contracts and exposed the methods of mining companies that Moreno was investigating.

Funeral vigil in memory of Rafael Moreno in Puerto Libertador, Córdoba (Colombia), October 26, 2022. (Photo: Diego Cuevas/El País)

Revealing photographs of journalists and activists are proliferating on social media. Many Azerbaijanis, and the women themselves, suspect they were planted by the country’s authoritarian government as revenge against speaking out. The government denies the claims.

Narmin Shahmarzade (front right), a women’s rights activist, protesting against the political use of revenge porn. (Photo: Meydan TV)

Two girls from occupied Kherson were taken far from home and kept for months in prison-like conditions — until journalists helped them flee. Hundreds or perhaps thousands more Ukrainian children remain in Russian hands.

Nastia Mitrofanova and Masha Senchuk, two Ukrainian girls who were held against their will in occupied territory. (Photo: Slidstvo.Info)

Prosecutors in Lebanon and Europe are investigating the longtime Banque du Liban governor, Riad Salame, for suspected money laundering and corruption. He’s also been blamed for the country’s financial crisis. But Salame claims he is a scapegoat.

(Photo: James O’Brien/OCCRP)