US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza has been denied permission to visit the Armenian cemetery in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan. Bryza had promised to go to the (former) cemetery, located in the village of Djulfa, during his confirmation hearings before the US Senate last year after he had been criticized for what was perceived […]
This year the world commemorates the 70th anniversary of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Another sad 70th anniversary coming up in the fall is the massacre of the Jewish population in a ravine near Kyiv in Ukraine. The ravine called Babi Yar, or Babyn Yar in Ukrainian, is a site where around 100,000 […]
Bringing war and conflict back to those watching in far away homes and offices is vital task. It is also a very dangerous one, and the deaths of Restrepo (my review) co-director Tim Hetherington and his fellow journalist Chris Hondros in Libya yesterday show why. The work of these brave men brought a distant conflict […]
Young women beside a fountain in a park, Tajikistan, July 2009. © Amnesty International I am a huge fan of the BBC World Service and have been following their Extreme World series of programs – a collection of TV, radio and online coverage that examines the extremes of our planet from education and corruption to attitudes […]
I urge all our Afghanistan readers to check out Sean Patrick Murphy’s review of the film ‘Talibanistan’ over at his FPA Global Film Review blog. I have not seen the film, but from Murphy’s description it sounds worthwhile. Here is his intro: Hearts and minds. That’s what narrator Peter Coyote says coalition forces in Afghanistan […]
As the 2012 Russian presidential election draws near, there has been a buzz of speculations and a flurry of possible scenarios floating in the press as to who will run in the election and most importantly be the next Russian president. Though incumbent Dmitri Medvedev has not officially announced his bid for a re-election although […]
As the number of Russian billionaires swells to record numbers (101 from last year’s 62) – recession be damned! – old-school raw materials magnates face competition from a new breed of internet entrepreneurs. According to the FT, the Forbes list – long the preserve of well-connected oligarchs that had made their fortunes from ex-state assets […]
Though the piece is now over a month old, I really would like to recommend this incredible story by Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post on Lt. Gen. John Kelly’s family. Kelly lost one of his two sons to a land mine in Afghanistan and is now a close adviser to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. […]
Fifty years ago today, the Soviets blasted off the first man into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, deep in the heart of the Kazakh steppe. His name was Yuri Gagarin, a 27-year old outstanding test pilot selected out of the 19 final candidates for the first human spaceflight. He came from very humble roots, born […]
50 years ago today, a man in a gleaming white helmet and bright orange jumpsuit approached a peasant woman in a field of potatoes, and asked where he could find a phone. “Could it be that you’ve come from outer space” asked the woman, crossing herself? “As a matter of fact, I have”, replied Yuri Gagarin. […]
All of us Skype-addicts can breathe a sigh of relief: No, the FSB will no longer ban the free online phone service in Russia. But the (justified) outrage over the government’s bungled plan to outlaw Skype and GMAIL overlooks some important context: Electronic communications are already rountinely compromised by most of Russia’s neighbours and democratic counterparts. […]
Russia’s Most Wanted (and Indecisive!) man just keeps coming back! Last year, the Chechen rebel and self-proclaimed Emir of the Caucasus resigned on youtube before changing his mind and retaking control two days later. This time, the man behind Moscow’s airport bombing was reportedly killed in a March air raid before popping up on Radio […]
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