Ron Synovitz is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL.
Edda Dohm is a 66-year-old German nurse who is trying to keep a leprosy clinic and shelter running in central Afghanistan. Most residents fled the area around the "Zuflucht" shelter in Bamiyan Province during January 2001 when the Taliban began mass killings of ethnic Hazara residents. The Taliban also burnt part of the Zuflucht compound to the ground. But they left two women leprosy patients alone there in the ruins. Today, those women still live in the compound along with other leprosy patients who have nowhere else to call home. But Dohm says a shortage of funds and qualified health workers may force the shelter to close.
U.S. authorities in New York have arrested a reputed Afghan drug lord who is accused of providing explosives, weapons, and militia fighters to the Taliban regime. Haji Bashir Nurzai is charged with trying to smuggle more than $50 million worth of heroin into the United States. He is one of 10 people and organizations on a U.S. list of most-wanted drug traffickers. RFE/RL looks at alleged ties between Afghanistan's former Taliban regime and the illegal narcotics trade in light of the Nurzai arrest.
Vittori (left), Sharipov (center), and Chiao after landing safely today A Russian Soyuz capsule touched down on the Kazakh steppe early today -- bringing three men back to Earth safely from the International Space Station. The Soyuz rockets have been the only way of sending crews and cargo to the space station since the U.S. space shuttle "Columbia" disaster more than two years ago. But the next scheduled launch to the space station is due to be a return to flight by the U.S. space shuttle "Discovery."
Armenians in Yerevan commemorating the victims of Turkish massacres (epa) Armenians from around the world today commemorated the 90th anniversary of what they call "Genocide Day" -- the start of mass deportations and killings of their ethnic kin during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. For decades, survivors of those events and their descendants have lobbied for international recognition that "genocide" occurred. But successive Turkish governments have denied the kllings were aimed at exterminating the Christian Armenian population.
There are many World War II commemorative events taking place across Europe leading up to the official 9 May "Victory Day" celebrations in Moscow. In the German town of Torgau, residents have been celebrating the 60th anniversary of the historic link up of Soviet and American soldiers at the Elbe River. The official anniversary is tomorrow. But Germans already are marking the event by dressing in the uniforms of American and Soviet troops for an historic re-enactment.
Foreign Minister Lavrov (left) and Secretary-General de Hoop Scheffer today Prague, 21 April 2005 (RFE/RL) -- NATO and Russia today signed a milestone agreement that will make it easier for the two sides to organize the transit of troops through each other's territory.
President Musharraf (file photo) Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has renewed his calls for fellow Muslims to reject extremism and to promote religious tolerance. Musharraf said Islamic nations need to embrace a concept that he calls "enlightened moderation." It is an idea Musharraf put forward about a year ago as a way to combat the root causes of terrorism. At the same time, Musharraf said that Western nations must help resolve long-standing political disputes -- like the Palestinian conflict -- that have caused pain across the Islamic world.
Slain humanitarian activist Marla Ruzicka Human rights groups, aid workers and war correspondents around the world are paying tribute to the courage of a young American activist who was killed by a suicide bomber in Baghdad Saturday. Marla Ruzicka worked tirelessly in Afghanistan and Iraq to document cases in which innocent civilians were killed during combat involving U.S. forces. In an effort to get the U.S. government to compensate the families of civilian war victims, Ruzicka founded a nongovernmental group called CIVIC -- "Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict." Her efforts convinced the U.S. Congress to allocate some 17 million dollars in direct aid to civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf The leaders of Pakistan and India say the peace process is "irreversible." The announcement comes in a joint statement issued at the end of a three-day visit to New Delhi by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. The Pakistani leader warns that it will take a long time to reach a final settlement on Kashmir. But today, he said both sides are now being more flexible on their positions and his visit has achieved more than expected.
Children herd goats in front of Kabul's war-ravaged Darulaman Palace. The Afghan government wants to restore a war-damaged former royal palace so it can be used as the seat of parliament. The Darulaman Palace was built in the 1920s by former King Amanullah Khan as part of his plan for social and political modernization. It originally was intended to house Afghanistan's first elected parliament. But before that legislature could be created, Amanullah Khan was forced into exile by conservative Pashtun tribesmen who opposed his reforms. RFE/RL takes a closer look at the history of the building and the plans for its future.
Indian and Chinese leaders today signed landmark agreements aimed at ending their long-standing border disputes. The series of accords could also boost economic cooperation between the giant emerging economies. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the agreements will "reshape the world order."
Pakistani soldiers (file photo) Indian and Pakistani authorities today are pushing ahead with the maiden voyages of a direct bus link between the divided parts of Kashmir -- the first such journeys in more than half a century. The transport link has raised hopes for peace on the subcontinent, despite an attack by suspected Islamic militants yesterday at the Indian government complex in Srinagar where passengers were staying
Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak says Kabul is continuing negotiations with the United States about a possible long-term U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Wardak said Kabul is eager for what he called "enduring arrangements" with the United States and other countries. But Wardak also said it is too early to know whether such arrangements will include permanent U.S. bases in Afghanistan.
Combat in Iraq leaves some U.S. soldiers bearing mental scars even if they are not wounded physically It has been two years since the U.S. troops who spearheaded the invasion of Iraq in 2003 first entered Baghdad. As urban warfare in Iraq enters its third year, the U.S. military is fighting a growing problem -- what to do with soldiers who are mentally scarred by combat. Scientists in the United States are working on a new kind of high-tech treatment. It is a “virtual reality" computer program that recreates front-line experiences -- forcing veterans to confront their war-zone memories in a controlled environment.
Syrian President Bashir Al-Assad (file photo) Syria's president has formally promised that all Syrian troops and intelligence agents will be withdrawn from Lebanon by 30 April. Syria also has agreed to allow UN monitors to verify the withdrawal. By sending its troops home after 29 years in Lebanon, Syria will meet demands by both the United States and the United Nations to end its military presence there.
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami (center) accompanied journalists on the tour of the Natanz facility. (AFP) Iran's President Mohammad Khatami has taken a group of journalists into an underground nuclear facility that Washington wants dismantled. Until 2002, Tehran had kept the existence of the Natanz facility a secret. Iranian officials continue to deny allegations from the United States that facilities like Natanz are part of a program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. But the U.S. State Department is dismissing yesterday's tour as a "staged media event" that falls short of the openness needed to end the nuclear dispute.
Indonesians feared a repeat of the death and destruction of the tsunami that wreaked havoc on 26 December. (file photo) Officials say more than 1,000 people may have been killed by a powerful overnight earthquake off the coast of Sumatra. Worst hit is Indonesia's tiny Nias Island, where authorities fear up to 1,000 people may have died. So far, 330 people have been found dead on Nias and about 100 others on neighboring Simeulue island. The quake struck the same region as the tremor that caused a tsunami three months ago -- leaving some 300,000 people dead or missing along coastal areas of the Indian Ocean. Scientists say the latest quake also caused a tsunami. But it was directed away from coastal areas.
The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says migration flows to the United States, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom have decreased noticeably in the past two years. Many of those who have migrated are highly skilled workers. One reason is stricter laws on entry and residence for foreigners since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. But experts say economics has been a contributing factor. The latest data also show a dramatic fall in the number of foreign students going to the United States. That is attributed directly to tighter security measures. But the trend for students might not be permanent.
Hundreds of Afghans were reported killed by floodwaters raging through mountain gorges across the country in the past week. Rivers already swollen by snowmelt from the harshest winter in years have been overflowing in the wake of heavy rains. But as the floodwaters recede in some areas, the death toll doesn't appear to be as high as initially reported by provincial officials.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai (file photo) Afghanistan's long-delayed elections to the lower house of parliament will be held on 18 September. Afghan voters will also elect their provincial assemblies on that day. But more complicated elections for local district councils within each province also are needed to complete the upper house of parliament. Those elections are being put off until a national census is complete and electoral district boundaries are determined. In the meantime, a temporary upper chamber of parliament is being created.
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