Rumsfeld Reflects

In an exclusive interview, the former U.S. defense secretary talks about the Iraq and Afghan wars, the 2005 Andijon massacre in Uzbekistan, and his greatest professional mistake. More

A No-Fly Zone, And Beyond

The U.S. now says the UN should consider more than a no-fly zone to protect civilians in Libya. The remarks come ahead of a vote on an air-exclusion zone over the North African country. More

Taliban.com

The Taliban, which while in power in Afghanistan banned photography, movies, and the Internet as un-Islamic, now makes full use of them for its purposes. More

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Multimedia

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Video

Tajikistan Joins War On Smoking Video

On January 1, Tajikistan introduced a ban on smoking or chewing tobacco in public, and some Tajiks are already welcoming the fresh air. But businesses like restaurants are scrambling to keep up with the new requirements.

Video

Tajikistan Joins War On Smoking Video

On January 1, Tajikistan introduced a ban on smoking or chewing tobacco in public, and some Tajiks are already welcoming the fresh air. But businesses like restaurants are scrambling to keep up with the new requirements.
Tajikistan Joins War On Smoking

Video

Tatar Beat Box  Video

Tatar Beat Box artist Islam Valiev shows off his skills to RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service.
Tatar Beat Box

Photogallery

Plan B To Save The World Photogallery

The Earth Policy Institute is working to raise awareness of the risk of catastrophic food shortages -- before it’s too late. Its proposed solution targets carbon emissions and key social problems that lead to overpopulation and instability.

Read more about Plan B here.
An Afghan farmer inspects his wheat crop in July 2010 (AFP).

Video

Rising Food Prices Hit Home In Tajikistan Video

The cost of staple foods is surging around the world, and Tajik consumers are feeling the impact. The government is taking measures to address the crisis, but for struggling Tajiks, the results can't come soon enough.
Rising Food Prices Hit Home In Tajikistan

Video

For Kids With HIV, Hopes For A Normal Life Video

The parents of young Kyrgyz children infected with HIV as a result of a 2007 malpractice scandal are wondering how they will tell them about their condition.
For Kids With HIV, Hopes For A Normal Life

Photogallery

Photos Of The Week -- February 19-25 Photogallery

A week dominated by protests around the world.

Video

How's Your Kazakh? Video

Kazakhstan has introduced a strict linguistic test for presidential hopefuls to demonstrate their knowledge of Kazakh, the state language. RFE/RL tested ordinary Kazakhs to see how they would fare on the exam.
Would You Pass The Kazakh Language Test?

Video

Talking To Gorbachev Video

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev criticizes Russia's ruling tandem of Medvedev and Putin. He says restoring the mechanism of free elections is the top priority for democratic progress in Russia. Read full text.
Interview With Mikhail Gorbachev

Video

Vaclav Havel Talks About His First Film Video

Former Czech President Vaclav Havel is set to release his first feature film next month. "Leaving" is based on Havel's play about the former chancellor of an unnamed country suffering the loss of power after stepping down.

Video

No Place To Call Home Video

A lack of affordable housing has become one of the biggest social problems in Kabul, as the population of the city rises rapidly due to ever-increasing migration.
No Place To Call Home In Kabul

Video

Osh: Symbols Of Reconciliation Video

The role of mosques in Kyrgyzstan may change as Islamic leaders seek to bring them under stricter central control.
Osh Mosques Are Symbol Of Reconciliation

Video

What's Funny In Belarus? Video

As the political crackdown continues under the "last dictatorship in Europe," members of RFE/RL's Belarus Service lighten the mood with a little dark humor. Produced by Margot Buff and Daisy Sindelar
What
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Commentary

A Sarajevan Serb family mourns a victim of the Sarajevo marketplace massacre in the besieged Bosnian capital on February 7, 1994.

The Balkans -- All Talk And No Listening

Every time I publish a commentary on RFE/RL's English-language website or on the website of our Balkans Service, I watch in amazement as the reader comments begin to come in. But it isn't because I am so brilliant or even controversial. It is because my topics attract an audience that knows how to speak, but is incapable of listening. More

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Ask RFE/RL A Question

Something you've always wondered? We'll answer questions on our new "Blender" podcast. Send your queries to podcast@rferl.org.

From Our Bureaus

Iraq

Iraqi Legislators, Criticized For Inaction, Eye Shorter Spring Break

Iden Akso, an adviser to the speaker of parliament, says that a resolution is in the pipeline to halve the parliament's spring break -- currently from mid-April to mid-June -- to one month in order to expedite the lawmaking process and make up for lost time "as the people are simply fed up." More
MegaCom is Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan Probe Targets Top Telco

Experts from Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security, Interior Ministry, and financial police will make up the new investigative group that will look into the affairs of MegaCom, the country's leading communication services provider. More
The new airport terminal under construction near Stepanakert

Baku Will 'Shoot Down' Karabakh Flights

Azerbaijan has threatened to shoot down civilian planes flying to Nagorno-Karabakh if the sole civilian airport in the disputed region reopens as planned. More

Kazakh Prison Director Sacked

The warden at a maximum-security prison in Kazakhstan has been fired after reports of prisoner abuse when prisoners were made to lie face down en masse for a lengthy period. More
Vadim Boiko leaving a courtroom after a hearing in July.

'Pearl Ensign's' Trial Postponed Again

A St. Petersburg court has again postponed hearings in the case of alleged abuse by former policeman Vadim Boiko. More
Entrance to the Sharif University of Technology

'New Crackdown' On Iran Students

A former student activist of Tehran's Sharif University of Technology told Radio Farda on March 13 that 16-18 students of that university have been detained since mid-February. More
Ales Mikhalevich on video saying he was subbjected to torture at a detention center run by the state security service (KGB). Video by RFE/RL

'Fleeing' Belarusian Opposition Figure Says Doing Fine Video

A former Belarusian opposition presidential candidate who apparently fled Belarus this week in defiance of an order barring him from leaving town has sent an audio message saying he is out of the country and doing well. More
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From Our "Off Mic" Blog

Jefim Fistein

Charter 77's Unlikely Signatory

Russian Service Director Jefim Fistein looks back at his time as a political activist in Czechoslovakia and beyond. More

RFE/RL Podcasts

Sergei Sobyanin (L) and Boris Gryzlov at an extraordinary conference of the United Russia party's Moscow branch,

'The Power Vertical'

Talking Elections In Russia Audio

The Blender

The Status Of Women In Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Chechnya Audio

The Iran Sound From Way Out

Backstage In Berlin With Kiosk Audio

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What's Happening This Week

March 18: Kyrgyz Prime Minister Alzambek Atambaev visits Moscow.

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Cultural Capital

Lester Brown: "I think that if we are going to do anything meaningful, the U.S. is going to have to just step up and take the lead."

Lester Brown's 'World On The Edge' Photogallery

Renowned thinker Lester Brown argues that pressures on the environment -- from climate change to soil erosion to deforestation -- are combining to create a "perfect storm" that could result in massive disruptions in food supply and a collapse in the world economy. More

More Cultural Capital

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