Ron Synovitz is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL.
Former poppy farmers in Afghanistan appear to be growing cannabis instead -- giving Afghanistan the dubious distinction of being the world's top producer of both heroin and cannabis.
Islamic banks so far appear to be weathering the global financial crisis better than many conventional banks. But experts say you don't have to be a direct holder of "toxic assets" to get burned, and falling prices for assets that have been deemed Shari'a compliant could mean darker days ahead.
Iran this week began the lengthy process of starting up its long-delayed Bushehr nuclear power plant -- a Russian-built facility with a 1,000-megawatt light-water reactor. As the day nears when Iran will start producing its own nuclear energy, fears that material from Bushehr could be used to build a nuclear weapon have been eclipsed by fresh concerns over uranium-enrichment efforts elsewhere in Iran.
Iranian officials say the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant could finally become operational this year. Commissioned in 1995, its launch has been delayed many times amid Western allegations that it may be part of a wider Iranian program to secretly develop nuclear weapons.
Pakistani officials have agreed to let local judges in the Swat Valley practice Shari'a law, in exchange for a pledge from pro-Taliban militants to refrain from attacks. Is the deal a necessary compromise, or could it open the door to abuses of human rights -- and create new safe havens for militants?
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Muhammad el-Baradei leaves office in November after 12 years of leading the UN's nuclear watchdog. With a vote on his successor expected soon, the politics behind the selection of the next IAEA chief are unfolding. The leading candidate, Japan's Yukiya Amano, appears to support ideas in Washington for a new framework of dialogue with Iran about its controversial nuclear program.
Kyrgyzstan says its decision to evict U.S. troops from Manas International Airport near Bishkek is final. The United States says it is still in talks with Bishkek to retain use of the base. But Washington also is looking for alternative routes to supply NATO forces in Afghanistan.
As winter weather eases in Afghanistan, a clear Taliban strategy for 2009 is emerging. What was once known as the "spring offensive" is now a multi-pronged approach of roadside bombings, attacking supply routes, threatening villagers, and pushing communities away from the authority of Kabul.
Kyrgyzstan has threatened to kick U.S. troops out of an air base that's vital to the supply of forces in nearby Afghanistan. The intensity of the warnings and questions about Moscow's role suggest the situation could pose serious challenges to the new U.S. administration in relations with Russia and Central Asia.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received a hero's welcome in Istanbul upon his return from the World Economic Summit in Davos, where he engaged in an angry exchange with the president of Israel over its Gaza offensive. In another possible reflection of Turkey's new, more assertive foreign policy approach, Davos also saw a demonstrative failure of efforts to rekindle diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Movers and shakers in the global energy sector have been discussing the outlook for the world's energy market at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Speakers on the panel included Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla Salem el-Badri.
As the World Economic Forum opens in the Swiss resort town of Davos, leading economic pundits are discussing what steps to take to help pull the world economy out of a state of crisis.
Political leaders, central bankers, and business elite from around the world are gathering in the Swiss resort town of Davos for the annual World Economic Forum -- a five-day event that starts January 28.
A new study has found a link between the economic "shock therapy" of mass privatization in postcommunist countries in the early 1990s and a surge in the death rate for working-age men. But one of the authors says it would be inaccurate to say that mass privatization policies are the direct cause of premature deaths.
In countries with strong historical and cultural ties to Russia, cuts of natural-gas supplies in the dispute between Ukraine and Russia are causing millions of Europeans to face freezing winter temperatures without heat. In some cases, people are reexaming the wisdom of relying solely on Russia for energy. But in places like Transdniester and Serbia -- where state media has been more sympathetic to Russia in the dispute -- many blame Ukraine.
The arrests of four Iranians for alleged involvement in a U.S.-financed plot to topple Tehran's Islamic government come amid fresh U.S. media reports that President George W. Bush has authorized a major program for covert operations in Iran.
Pakistan had been an important element in the war on terrorism before 2008, but with militant attacks across South Asia being linked to Pakistan by its neighbors and Afghanistan's deteriorating security situation, the country has emerged as a new focal point.
Azerbaijan's parliament has taken steps to scrap presidential term limits -- a move that could cement the role of a political dynasty that has ruled the oil-rich former Soviet republic for decades.
From the closure of factories in eastern China to the collapse of construction booms in Europe and the Middle East, the global economic crisis has caused millions of people to lose their jobs. And the first to do so are the foreign migrants who formed a cheap labor pool when times were good.
The United States and NATO, facing an increase of attacks in Pakistan against Afghan-bound supply convoys, are stepping up efforts to secure alternative supply routes into Afghanistan.
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