Ron Synovitz is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL.
Armenia and Turkey have taken a step toward reconciliation -- announcing that they will launch final talks aimed at establishing diplomatic ties. But diplomatic protocols announced on Monday still need to be approved by the parliaments of both countries.
Iraqi officials say the country's first national census since 1987 could be postponed indefinitely because of fears it may stoke ethnic and political tensions in the north. Political rifts between Kurds and Arabs are at play, as is control of key oil fields.
Reports from Kabul say U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have had an "explosive" meeting -- with Holbrooke reportedly complaining about alleged fraud during last week's election.
With a Taliban suicide attack hitting Kabul this weekend, there are renewed fears about security ahead of Afghanistan's presidential election. While security has been a key focus of NATO and Afghan government troops, Taliban militants have waged their own campaign of threats and intimidation.
A wave of bombings in Shi'ite areas of Iraq has raised fears that there could be a resurgence of sectarian violence in the country. Some suggest Al-Qaeda may be trying to foment a civil war. Others say a turf war may be emerging between rival Iraqi factions following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from urban areas. So far, Shi'ite leaders have been urging their followers to show restraint.
The U.S. and Britain are calling for a new framework on negotiations with the Taliban to encourage moderate elements to support the Afghan government. It could signal a shift toward a more wholesale approach to militias that includes letting them stay armed and mobilized.
Preliminary election results from northern Iraq's Kurdish region show the two traditional ruling Kurdish parties securing the presidency and a majority of seats in parliament. But as the final results are being tallied, it also appears that a viable opposition has emerged in the region with a reformist agenda.
Longstanding differences between Kurdish officials and Iraq's central government are on the Obama administration's agenda as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visits Washington this week. Upcoming parliamentary elections in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq will determine which Kurdish officials take part in any future negotiations with the Baghdad government. Ultimately, their differences are testing whether a federal system of government can work in Iraq.
As many as 2,000 Taliban prisoners were killed in late 2001, allegedly by fighters of a U.S.-backed warlord in Afghanistan. U.S. President Barack Obama has called for more facts on the case, and questions remain about why the killings have not been officially investigated.
South Korea is on high alert amid suspicions that North Korea was behind a recent wave of website outages in South Korea and the United States. The attacks are being called the most widespread cyberoffensive in recent years.
Iranian demonstrators who allege vote-count fraud in the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad are using Internet media to stay ahead of government censors. And some young Iranians are taking the battle further, launching their own cyberattacks against government websites.
After a weekend of widespread protests against Iran's official election results, many Iranians continue to believe that incumbent President Mahmud Ahmadinejad was fraudulently declared the winner of the June 12 vote. Now the regime in Tehran is trying to silence the critics. RFE/RL looks at the reasons many suspect Iran's presidential election was stolen.
A Bosnian television station has shown what it says is recent video footage of indicted Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic freely enjoying life with members of his family and at parties attended by scores of guests. But officials in Belgrade say the footage is at least eight years old, and allege it was leaked to undermine Serbia's EU membership bid by suggesting Belgrade is not meeting its promise to arrest Mladic.
Polling in Iran suggests that two reformist candidates could pose serious challenges to incumbent President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in this week's voting. But opinion polls there are notoriously inaccurate, particularly when trying to predict election results for the entire country.
U.S. President Barack Obama is to give his much-anticipated speech to the Islamic world on June 4 when he visits Cairo, Egypt. Obama has made it clear that the United States wants to reach out to Muslims across the world with "the language of respect." But expectations ahead of his speech to the Islamic world are mixed.
There appears to be growing recognition that the counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan is failing. Military and civilian officials say too little support has been offered to farmers, and too little effort has focused on the powerful drug lords who spread instability throughout the region and farther abroad.
Following the publication of a new tell-all about President Nursultan Nazarbaev, Kazakhs are told they can be punished for merely "touching" the book. RFE/RL looks at the legal basis for the ban, and how it compares to prior-restraint laws in the U.S. and Britain.
A U.S. think tank that focuses on the spread of nuclear weapons has released reports showing how Pakistan has been expanding its nuclear-weapons-production complex in recent years. The conclusions are based on comparisons of commercial satellite images from 2004 and 2008 that focus on several of Pakistan's nuclear facilities.
Afghanistan's government is investigating claims that highly flammable white phosphorus was used last week in Farah Province during a battle between the Taliban and U.S. forces. The U.S. military denies using phosphorus there, and it has accused the Taliban of using the incendiary ammunition against civilians.
Afghan villagers are mourning relatives buried in mass graves after a coalition air strike that all sides say killed or injured noncombatants. The timing is awkward politically, as the U.S., Afghan, and Pakistani presidents gather in Washington.
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