Afghan-US Deal Raises Controversy

IWPR 3 months ago Region: Afghanistan

President Karzai's opponents say he should not allow US forces to stay on, while others see this as essential to Afghanistan’s future. By Mina Habib - Afghan... more

Views: 785

Illegal Mining in Ukraine

Ground Report 3 months ago Region: Ukraine

By Veronica Khokhlova Donetsk [1]-based blogger Stanislav Kmet (LJ user frankensstein) visited Severnyi, a decaying coal-mining village in eastern Ukraine, after a group of local residents emailed him asking for help i... more

Views: 766

Armenia’s Government Delays in Passing Conscientious Objection Law

IWPR 4 months ago Region: Armenia

Despite international court ruling, Jehovah’s Witnesses who refuse to perform alternative service under military command risk prosecution. By Gayane Mkrtchyan Armenia’s government ap... more

Views: 543

Kyrgyz-Uzbek Border Area Mired Conflict

Global Voices 4 months ago Region: Uzbekistan

Row over location of electricity poles erupts into violence, reflecting deeper tensions in Kyrgyz-Uzbek border areas.   By Altynai Myrzabekova, Inga Sikorskaya, Anvar Khaldarov After skirmis... more

Views: 841

Kabul: Face-to-Face Meeting with Taleban

IWPR 4 months ago Region: Afghanistan

Paris conference latest attempt to talk about talking peace. By Mina Habib, It may not have amounted to formal peace talks, but a two-day meeting outside Paris last month at which Taleban repres... more

Views: 690

Twitter:: “The First Defection Negotiation in History"

Global Voices 4 months ago Region: Syrian Arab Republic

By Leila Nachawati Rego Following reports that former Syrian spokesman Jihad Makdissi had fled to the US, on 25 December activist Rami Jarrah, [1] also known as Alexander Page, released private Twitter messages that sho... more

Views: 748

Afghanistan Considered One of the Most Corrupt Countries

Global Voices 5 months ago Region: Afghanistan

By Omid Bidar Afghanistan is considered the world's most corrupt country, ranking roughly on par with North Korea and Somalia in an annual survey [1] of 176 nations published on December 5 by Transparency International [2... more

Views: 907

Kindergarten Cops: State Surveillance in Turkmenistan

IWPR 5 months ago Region: Turkmenistan

By News Briefing Central Asia   State surveillance in Turkmenistan is now so all-pervasive that kindergartens are compiling dossiers on pre-school children to keep track of who their relatives are. St... more

Views: 821

Egypt: “So which article do you oppose?”

Global Voices 5 months ago Region: Egypt

By Rayna St. Recent events in Egypt have demonstrated the deepening rift [1] between the ruling Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and an increasing proportion of the population. President Mohamed Morsi first issued a decree makin... more

Views: 642

Kazak Information Bill Reaches Stalemate

IWPR 5 months ago Region: Kazakhstan

Legislation is seen as much-needed step forward, but it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. By Saule Mukhametrakhimov A long-awaited bill on access to information in Kazakstan is now highly ... more

Views: 530