Report: Polish priest killed in Tunisia

1 day, 7 hours ago

(AP) Tunisia’s official TAP news agency says a Catholic priest from Poland has been killed and his body had multiple stab wounds and his throat was slit.The report cites the Tunis archbishopric as saying 34-year-old Marek Marius Rybinski worked at a religious school in the Tunis suburb of Manouba. His body …

Two Iranian naval ships will sail through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean on Monday, a Suez Canal official said, in what will be the first passage of Iranian naval ships through the canal since 1979.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has described Iran’s plan to send the ships through the canal en route to Syria as a “provocation.”

The official said the vessels would arrive at the southern mouth of the canal in the Red Sea’s Gulf of Suez on Sunday. They would enter the canal in the northern convoy on Monday morning and complete the journey to the Mediterranean by evening.

An Egyptian army source said on Friday that the military, which has been running Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power on Feb. 11, had approved Iran’s request to send the ships through the canal.

The decision had posed an early diplomatic headache for Egypt’s interim government. Cairo is an ally of the United States and has a peace treaty with Israel but its relations with Iran have been strained since the 1979 revolution.

Egypt’s Western allies are watching for hints of any shift in policy towards its Middle East neighbours.

Writing by Tom Perry; editing by Michael Roddy

Ruling

clears way for Germans’ release in Iran

36 minutes ago

(AP) Iranian state TV says two German journalists arrested after interviewing the son of a woman sentenced to death by stoning have been fined $50,000 each, clearing the way for their release.They were found guilty of committing acts against Iran’s national security. The TV report did not elaborate. The court ruling …

Europe and Russia

Brown’s wife recalls Berlusconi’s eye for Campbell

1 hour, 8 minutes ago

(AP) The wife of Britain’s ex-leader Gordon Brown says she spotted Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi asking for model Naomi Campbell’s phone number at an official dinner.Sarah Brown said in an interview with the Daily Mail published Saturday that she later joked about the episode with "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling. She …

Asia

China cracks down on call for ‘Jasmine Revolution’

1 hour, 10 minutes ago

(AP) Chinese authorities are detaining activists as a call circulates for people to gather Sunday in 13 cities for a "Jasmine Revolution."The organizers are not known. Searches for the word "jasmine" were blocked Saturday on China’s largest Twitter-like microblog.Families and friends reported the detention or harassment of several activists Saturday after …

Reuters

Bahrain protesters occupy square as Libyans bury dead

Reuters – 39 mins ago MANAMA (Reuters) – Protesters in Bahrain appeared to gain the initiative on Saturday and mourners buried their dead in western Libya as the wave of protest washing across the Arab world tested more of the region’s longtime rulers. Full Story »

• Related: Bahrain troops shoot at protesters: ex MP Reuters

After the carrot, Egypt military shows the stick

Reuters – 2 hrs 26 mins ago

Fresh clashes after Libyan city after buries dead

Reuters – 33 mins ago

• Video: Meltdown in the Middle East ABC News
• Slideshow: Anti-government protests in Libya

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Politics News

Freshmen spur GOP-run House on big spending cuts

AP – 43 mins ago

Jolted to action by deficit-conscious newcomers, the Republican-controlled House agreed early Saturday to cut $61 billion from hundreds of federal programs and shelter coal companies, oil refiners and farmers from new government regulations. Full Story »

U.S. News

Wisconsin GOP leader shows no signs of compromise

Reuters – 20 mins ago

A Wisconsin Republican leader said on Saturday there was no room for compromise on legislation to curb public workers’ bargaining rights despite mass protests and a Democratic legislative boycott. Full Story »

China resisting G20 deal on indicators

Reuters – 2 hours 21 minutes agoChina was holding out on Saturday against an agreement among the world’s major economies on ways to measure and correct global economic imbalances, refusing to have its massive currency reserves used as an indicator.

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• China central bank adviser calls for interest rate hikes

  Reuters via Yahoo! News – Sat Feb 19, 3:54 am ETChina needs to increase interest rates because real rates remain in negative territory, a central bank adviser said on Saturday.

• 

  China adopts heavy metal reduction plan

  AFP via Yahoo! News – Sat Feb 19, 12:22 am ETChina has adopted a plan to tackle heavy-metal pollution, according to state media, after more than 30 major poisoning incidents since 2009.

• China Fights Against West’s Economic Formula at G-20

  BusinessWeek – 1 hour 50 minutes agoChina led resistance to making bulging foreign-exchange reserves a measure of economic imbalances as Group of 20 finance officials struggled for consensus on realigning the skewed world economy.

• China resists G20 deal on indicators

  Mail & Guardian – 1 hour 59 minutes agoChina was holding out on Saturday against an agreement among the world’s major economies on ways to measure and correct global economic imbalances.

• China raises diesel, gasoline prices

  The Malaysian Insider – 13 minutes agoBEIJING, Feb 19 — China will raise the price of diesel and gasoline from tomorrow by 350 yuan a tonne, and also increase aviation fuel prices, the government announced today, saying oil consumption was growing too quickly. The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic steering body, said on its website that the adjustment …

• China launches first ocean economic zone

  People’s Daily – Sat Feb 19, 3:33 am ETChina’s first ocean economic zone in the coastal province of Shandong was inaugurated Friday when it signed contracts worth $38.6 billion, signaling the country is enlarging its economic focus from the land to cover the ocean, as well.

Wisconsin Madness as Seen by the ‘Little People’

by Phil Boehmke

No longer basking in the glow of the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl victory, my friends on the other side of the Illinois/Wisconsin border are positively beside themselves at the insane behavior of their public servants.

Read | 63 Comments

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Congress to NASA: Study Space! (Not Climate. That’s Not Space.)

by Art Horn

The budget battle has come to NASA, where a massive amount of money is being spent on something that has nothing to do with NASA’s mission.

Read | 33 Comments

The UN and the Obama Administration on the Wrong Side of History

by Anne Bayefsky

Serving up Israel when the going gets tough is what Arab dictators and demagogues do at regular intervals. The United States should not join them. (Update: US vetoes resolution condemning settlements.)

Read | 32 Comments

Wisconsin: What happens next?

by Bryan Preston

WI Gov. Scott Walker is facing down Obama’s personal political army, the state Democrats and the unions. As the situation unfolds, America may be meeting a real leader with the courage to face the nation’s fiscal problems. (Also read about where Wisconsin’s Democratic legislators hid out. “We now know what they call ‘Hooters’ in Scotland, apparently.”)

Read | 74 Comments

Photos: WI protesters call Gov. Walker a dictator, put crosshairs on his face

by Bryan Preston

Union protesters turn thuggish and Democrats flee, rather than come to grips with economic reality.

Read | 99 Comments

Citizen Watchdogs to Aid Rep. Issa in Oversight Investigations

by Patrick Richardson

Every project undertaken by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will involve citizens and activists having their say.

Read | 9 Comments

From San Francisco to Sarajevo

by Michael J. Totten

Michael Totten catches up with Stephen Schwartz, who went from being a communist in San Francisco who worked for the Cubans, to becoming a Republican who converted to Islam in the Balkans, writing books and articles for magazines like the Weekly Standard along the way.

Read | 58 Comments

Berkeley Votes Against Former Gitmo Detainees Moving In

by Richard Fernandez

The dictum that the “personal is political” is backwards: In reality when something becomes personal, it stops being political. A Guantanamo detainee living in America is political. The same detainee living next door is personal.

Read | 53 Comments

Video: CPAC panel recommends outreach to Nation of Islam, La Raza

by Patrick Poole

Inclusion.

Read | 34 Comments

Backlash!

by Bruce Bawer

The UK’s Guardian downplays confirmed abuse at a radical British mosque.

Read | 34 Comments

Stop the Presses: Shutting Down the Civil Rights Commission’s Investigation of DOJ

by Hans A. von Spakovsky

President Obama and Harry Reid have used their appointment powers to stop the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ investigation into the New Black Panther Party voter-intimidation case. (Don’t miss James Poulos’ PJTV interview with von Spakovsky and J. Christian Adams from CPAC.)

Read | 68 Comments

GOP Outreach to Latinos Draws Fire from Conservatives

by Ruben Navarrette Jr.

The Hispanic Leadership Network, a new organization that seeks to build a bridge between Latinos and the center-right, is being strongly criticized by some conservatives.

Read | 34 Comments

Goodbye to All That — 2004-2007

by Victor Davis Hanson

Remember when Guantanamo was a gulag, renditions were the stuff of Hollywood movies, and Bush and Cheney were deemed veritable war criminals? Was it all a dream, those nightmare years of 2004-7?

Read | 121 Comments

Egypt’s Identity Crisis

by Raymond Ibrahim

Egypt’s future begins when Egyptians see themselves as Egyptians — not Arabs, and certainly not Islamists.

Read | 43 Comments

The PJTV Interviews: Ann Coulter, Rep. Allen West, Dana Loesch, faux Sarah Palin and more

by Bryan Preston

PJTV delivered the most comprehensive coverage of CPAC 2011 that you will find anywhere. See all the interviews and meet all of the personalities who made up this year’s conference, only on PJTV.

Read | 8 Comments

Mubarak and Anti-Semitism: A Boomerang Effect?

by John Rosenthal

American pundits say that the deposed Egyptian president fomented anti-Semitism in Egyptian society. But on closer examination, the charges again reveal the anti-Semitism of the opposition that toppled him.

Read | 34 Comments

George Soros, Nazi Obsessive

by Kyle-Anne Shiver

Beneath his public outrage lies an outrageous lack of conscience.

Read | 175 Comments

Middle East Uprisings: What Did We Expect?

by Josh Shahryar

The West needs to realize its mistakes and act quickly before any more surprises in the Middle East start to pose threats. (Also read Michael Totten: “North African Dominoes?”)

Read | 38 Comments

Video: ACU’s Suhail Khan declares that there is no Muslim Brotherhood in the United States

by Bryan Preston

CPAC erupted into controversy this week over the presence of ACU board of directors member Suhail Khan. He didn’t help the matter by saying something that is provably false.

Read | 66 Comments

The Department of Homeland Security Wants to Friend You?

by Annie Jacobsen

Facebook and Twitter alerts are to replace the color-coded terror alerts. Friend DHS at your own risk.

Read | 40 Comments

Joe Biden on the Wrong Side of Middle East History

by Richard Grenell

Like it or not, George W. Bush was right and Joe Biden was wrong.

Read | 37 Comments

After Mubarak

by Richard Fernandez

One way to tell whether a regime has lost power is when its major symbols are overrun. Think Berlin Wall smashed, or Saddam’s statue toppled. But in the case of Mubarak’s resignation, the singer is gone, but the song remains. (Also read “Obama v. Mubarak” at the Tatler.)

Read | 91 Comments

GOProud Party Breitbart’s Proudest Hour

by Roger L Simon

The party staged by Andrew Breitbart for the gay Republican group was as close to a game changer as things get and the most interesting event at CPAC by far, at least to this point.

Read | 267 Comments

The Spooks’ Black Thursday

by Michael Ledeen

James Clapper’s astonishing declarations concerning the Muslim Brotherhood are yet another reminder that our “intelligence” experts are blinded by some amazingly politically correct and demonstrably false stereotypes. (Also read Patrick Poole at the Tatler: “Obama’s worst day.”)

Read | 93 Comments

Rudderless in the White House

by Stephen Green

Mubarak has stepped down, and no doubt the White House will claim this is a great victory for its Egypt policy. But which Egypt policy? (Also see “Video: Gov. Tim Pawlenty addresses the unrest in Egypt” at the Tatler.)

Read | 40 Comments

Bombshell: Justice Department Only Selectively Complies with Freedom of Information Act (PJM Exclusive)

by J. Christian Adams

According to documents PJM has obtained, FOIA requests from liberals or politically connected civil rights groups are often given same day turn-around by the DOJ. But requests from conservatives or Republicans face long delays, if fulfilled at all. (And don’t miss J. Christian Adams’ PJTV interview here.)

Read | 84 Comments

Can American Values Radicalize Muslims Both Here and Abroad?

by Raymond Ibrahim

Far from eliminating radicalization, there is reason to believe that Western values can actually exacerbate Islamist tendencies.

Read | 53 Comments

Signs of the Times

by Victor Davis Hanson

Poseurs of the Arena. Plus, VDH answers questions from readers.

Read | 83 Comments

They All Call Her ‘Gabby’

by Elise Cooper

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was wounded last month in Tucson. Her friends, neighbors, and constituents tell Pajamas Media about the woman they know as “Gabby.”

Read | 16 Comments

What, Never? W.S. Gilbert on the Muslim Brotherhood

by Roger Kimball

I have a sneaking suspicion Geert Wilders was right when he said that there may well be such a thing as moderate Muslim but, alas, there is not such thing as moderate Islam.

Read | 29 Comments

‘Green’ Lobbyist Who Shaped Energy Dept. Policy Hired by Bailed Out Bank. Hmmm.

by Christopher Horner

At what point does this sort of admission warrant investigation by Congress?

Read | 8 Comments

Iranium: A Necessary Wake-up Call on Iran

by Ryan Mauro

A new film about the Iranian regime highlights the mortal danger they represent to the U.S. and the West. (And don’t miss “POLIWOOD- Iranium: The film Ahmadinejad does not want you to see.”)

Read | 8 Comments

We’re Losing the Battle Against Islamism

by Rachel Lipsky

Where is the principled leadership among Jewish and Christian clergy?

Read | 12 Comments

Happy Birthday, Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il

by Dan Miller

The synchronized dancing and swimming demonstrations were remarkable as was the evident rapture of the appreciative spectators.

Read | Comments

An Open Letter to Mr. Daily Kos

by Stephen Green

Dear Kos, surveying the goings-on in Wisconsin, you tweeted, “Dear Tea Baggers, It’s our turn now.” Well, now that both sides have had their turns, let’s compare and contrast.

Crumbling Beneath The Facade

Russian officials have been touring hospitals across the country with unusual zeal. But critics say the government’s efforts fail to address the underlying problems. More

‘Anonymous’ Speaks

A hacker talks to RFE/RL about his work with the enigmatic online collective Anonymous. Members claim to be part of a vast cyberarmy working on behalf of the Iranian opposition. More

‘The Blender’ Podcast

A Turkmen musician wails on the dutar; Barry Rubin’s frank assessment of the Egyptian revolution; and a pedophilia scandal shakes Armenia. More

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• Iran’s Karrubi Ready For ‘Public Trial’

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Antigovernment Protests Erupt Across The Middle East

Uganda’s Museveni leads early election results

AFP – 1 hour 8 minutes agoUgandan President Yoweri Museveni was running away with victory in early official election results Saturday, but his main rival’s secret tallying told a different story, raising fears of a post-poll dispute.

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Venezuela: US should mind own business on protests

AP – Fri Feb 18, 7:43 pm ETVenezuela’s top diplomat hit back at the United States on Friday over its suggestion that President Hugo Chavez’s government should allow an international investigation into alleged human rights abuses.

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  US urges Venezuela to let OAS visit hunger-strikers

  AFP via Yahoo! News – Fri Feb 18, 10:00 am ETThe United States has urged Venezuela to allow the Organization of American States to visit youths who are on a hunger strike seeking the release of two political prisoners.

• Venezuela invests in alternative energy

  Press TV – 1 hour 39 minutes agoVenezuela plans to boost thermal, hydroelectric, and wind power generation capacity by 2015 to put an end to the power crisis that hit the country in 2010.

• Venezuela Student Hunger Strike Gains Momentum

  Fox News – Fri Feb 18, 7:23 pm ETThe activists vow to press on with the protest until OAS Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza or the OAS’s Inter-American Human Rights Commission are authorized to visit Venezuela. Protesters say Chávez uses judges and prosecutors to persecute his political adversaries.

• Official: Venezuela oil company profits down

  AP via Yahoo! Finance – Fri Feb 18, 1:59 pm ETVenezuela’s energy minister says profits from the South American country’s state-run oil company fell last year. Rafael Ramirez says profits at Petroleos de Venezuela SA fell 28.8 percent in 2010 compared to 2009, despite an increase in international oil prices.

• Venezuela rejects ‘US meddling’

  Press TV – Fri Feb 18, 9:22 pm ETVenezuela has rejected the US State Department’s calls for an international investigation into the country’s alleged human rights abuses.

• Hearing set in Venezuela ex-president burial case

  AP via Yahoo! News – Fri Feb 18, 4:28 am ETThe dispute over the final resting place of former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez is back in a Miami courtroom.

• U.S. Investigating If Venezuela Sent Gasoline To Iran

  Payvand Iran News – Fri Feb 18, 10:34 am ETThe U.S. State Department is investigation information that Venezuela violated U.S. sanctions by sending gasoline to Iran. -RFE

• Golf-U.S. PGA Tour Northern Trust Open scores

  Reuters via Yahoo! Sports – Fri Feb 18, 9:02 pm ETScores from the U.S. PGA Tour Northern Trust Open at the par-71 course on Friday in Pacific Palisades, California

• Mel Antonen: Once shut out of baseball, Jay Gibbons is living his dream again

  Sports Illustrated – Fri Feb 18, 5:32 pm ETJay Gibbons couldn’t be more ecstatic. The vagabond outfielder spent Thursday unpacking, organizing and child-proofing his rental house in Peoria, Ariz., and finished a couple of hours before his wife, Laura, and their three children arrived from California. On Friday he reported to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring training camp, where he’ll have a chance to continue his comeback on the team that …

• 

  US says Venezuela’s influence on the wane

  AFP via Yahoo! News – Thu Feb 17, 7:03 pm ETThe influence of firebrand Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Latin America is in “marked decline” despite claims from Caracas to the contrary, a senior US official said Thursday.

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  Scuffles break out in Venezuela Assembly chamber

  AP - Fri Feb 11, 4:49 am ET

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  Venezuela punch-up party

  Reuters - Thu Feb 10, 11:56 pm ET

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  Raw video: Venezuelan politicians scuffle

  AP - Fri Feb 11, 2:02 am ET

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  Living in the shadow of Venezuela’s crime crackdown

  AFP - Mon Jan 31, 4:59 pm ET

• Ugandan President Museveni Leads in Presidential Election With 72% of Vote

  Bloomberg – 2 hours 57 minutes agoUgandan President Yoweri Museveni took an early lead in the East African country’s presidential election with votes at almost half of polling stations counted, Electoral Commission of Uganda Chairman Badru Kiggundu said.

• Zimbabwe not scared of facing No.1 Australian team

  ANI via Yahoo! India News – Sat Feb 19, 1:09 am ETAhmedabad, Feb 19 (ANI): Full with confidence ahead of their first match of the World Cup againt defending champions, the Zimbabwean team has said that they are not afraid of the Australian team.

• Ugandan Electoral Body Says Museveni Leads in Presidential Vote

  BusinessWeek – Sat Feb 19, 1:41 am ETUgandan President Yoweri Museveni took an early lead in the East African country’s presidential election with votes at a fifth of polling stations counted, Electoral Commission of Uganda Chairman Badru Kiggundu said.

• Zimbabwe’s Morgan Tsvangirai Sets Conditions for Backing Elections

  Bloomberg – Thu Feb 17, 8:11 am ETMorgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change party, said his party won’t give its blessing to elections unless there is a referendum on constitutional reform, a biometric voters roll, a secure environment and a credible electoral body.

• 

  Uganda’s leader of 25 years seeks to extend rule

  AP via Yahoo! News – Fri Feb 18, 11:38 am ETAfter 25 years as leader of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni asked his countrymen Friday to cast ballots that would give him five more years in office — not as an old-style African strongman, but as a president who has fostered peace, stability and growth.

• AK-47 found at South African terror suspect’s home

  AP via Yahoo! News – Fri Feb 18, 8:15 am ETPolice found an AK-47 assault rifle and ammunition at the home of a South African terror suspect accused of threatening to spread foot-and-mouth disease in the U.S. and Britain, prosecutors said at a bail hearing Friday.

• 

  Zimbabwe polls not possible this year : Tsvangirai

  AFP via Yahoo! News – Thu Feb 17, 11:28 am ETZimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Thursday that he thought new elections would not be possible this year as work on drafting a new constitution has yet to be completed.

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Global Voices

• Zimbabwe: Zimbabweans celebrate with Egyptians

  Mon Feb 14, 11:59 am EST

• Zimbabwe: Zanu PF activates brutal campaign

  Mon Feb 7, 12:50 pm EST

Reuters

Wisconsin GOP leader shows no signs of compromise

Reuters – 37 mins ago MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) – A Wisconsin Republican leader said on Saturday there was no room for compromise on legislation to curb public workers’ bargaining rights despite mass protests and a Democratic legislative boycott. Full Story »

Pirates grab four American sailors off Oman

Reuters – Sat Feb 19, 5:23 am ET

Green River Killer pleads guilty to 49th murder

Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 7:36 pm ET

U.S. News Slideshows

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• U.S. News Photos
• Father of Utah music group pleads guilty …
• Thousands protest anti-union bill in Wisconsin
• Operation Lion Ark

• Judge won’t release Loughner arrest materials

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 8:01 pm ET

  Reuters

  SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – A federal judge on Friday rejected a request by news organizations to release search warrant records and federal booking photos of Arizona shooting rampage suspect Jared Lee Loughner, saying the investigation was still under way. Full Story »

• Obama touts innovation agenda for spurring jobs

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 3:39 pm ET

  Reuters

  HILLSBORO, Oregon (Reuters) – President Barack Obama touted his agenda to foster innovation as a means of spurring job creation and boosting U.S. global competitiveness during a high-tech visit to the Pacific Northwest on Friday. Full Story »

• Intel plans $5 billion Arizona chip plant by 2013

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 4:05 pm ET

  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Intel Corp plans to build a $5 billion, cutting-edge microchip factory in Arizona by 2013, sharply ramping up its U.S. manufacturing capacity as part of a major global expansion. Full Story »

• Obama to court small business owners in Ohio

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 6:34 pm ET

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will host a forum on Tuesday with small business owners in Ohio, seeking to boost his support with an important constituency as he looks ahead to his 2012 re-election campaign. Full Story »

• Husband to divorce woman who killed teenaged children

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 6:03 pm ET

  ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) – The husband of Julie Schenecker, who is accused of murdering their two teen-aged children because they talked back to her, said on Friday he plans to divorce his wife. Full Story »

• Woman in Pitino case gets 7 years prison for extortion

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 8:45 pm ET

  LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Reuters) – A woman who had sex with University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino and tried to extort at least $1 million from him in exchange for her silence was sentenced on Friday to seven years in prison. Full Story »

• Taco-eating Texas beauty queen gets crown back for now

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 8:57 pm ET

  SAN ANTONIO, Tex. (Reuters) – A beauty queen stripped of her crown for infractions including gaining weight from eating tacos was temporarily reinstated on Friday as Miss San Antonio. Full Story »

• Ohio finds 200 dead geese, others sick along Lake Erie

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 8:48 pm ET

  DETROIT (Reuters) – At least 200 geese have died for unknown reasons along the southwestern shores of Lake Erie while others are struggling to hold their heads up, stay upright and fly, Ohio officials said on Friday. Full Story »

• NY stabbing case was assisted suicide, defense argues

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 6:38 pm ET

  NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York man accused of murdering a local motivational speaker and making it appear like a robbery acted in a case of assisted suicide and not murder, his attorney argued on Friday. Full Story »

• Pennsylvania man accused of murder, dismemberment

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 6:19 pm ET

  PITTSBURGH (Reuters) – A Pennsylvania man was arraigned on Friday for allegedly kidnapping, killing and dismembering a man and hiding his remains on a wooded hillside, authorities said. Full Story »

• Brooklyn man indicted for stabbing rampage

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 5:59 pm ET

  NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Brooklyn grand jury indicted a man on Friday for an overnight rampage in which he is accused of stabbing three people to death, striking a pedestrian with his car and killing him, and wounding four others. Full Story »

• NASA readies for next week’s space shuttle launch

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 7:17 pm ET

  Reuters

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – NASA will launch the first of three final space shuttle missions next week, sending the shuttle Discovery on its last flight on a long-delayed cargo run to the International Space Station, officials said on Friday. Full Story »

  • Slideshow: Space Shuttle

• Former Pennsylvania judge found guilty in kids-for-cash scheme

  Reuters – Fri Feb 18, 6:20 pm ET

  PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – A federal jury on Friday found a former Pennsylvania judge guilty in a so-called kids-for-cash scheme, in which he took money in exchange for sending juvenile offenders to for-profit detention centers. Full Story »

• Zimbabwe: Try drinking this water!

  Mon Feb 7, 12:37 pm EST

• Zimbabwe: Meet Zimbabwean blogger and poet, Mcgini Nyoni

  Mon Feb 7, 12:30 pm EST

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Talking To Gorbachev

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.

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Talking To Gorbachev

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.

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Video

Vaclav Havel Talks About His First Film

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

Swiss Carpenter Finds New Vocation In Russia

Swiss citizen Joerg Duss came to a Russian provincial town to pursue his work as a carpenter. But he unexpectedly found another calling in Tarusa — helping the town’s older residents.

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No Place To Call Home

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.

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Osh: Symbols Of Reconciliation

The role of mosques in Kyrgyzstan may change as Islamic leaders seek to bring them under stricter central control.

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What’s Funny In Belarus?

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

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A Vintage Discovery

A team of archaeologists has uncovered the world’s oldest winery in the Armenian village of Areni, proving that people in the region have been in the wine business for more than 6,000 years.

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Video

For Afghan Kids, Hauling Water Is A Living

In the Kabul neighborhood of Aqibi Silo, children skip school to carry water for their families — and sell it to their neighbors for a few afghanis.

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What’s Funny In Bishkek?

Kyrgyz lawmakers and officials in the capital Bishkek prove that politics can sometimes be a joke.

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Photogallery

2010: The Year In Photos

From oil spills, wildfires, and floods to Victory Day and the World Cup, these photos tell the stories that defined 2010.

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Video

Ukrainian Police Brush Up On English

Ukraine co-hosts the 2012 European soccer championship, which will bring an influx of sports fans from across Europe. Still on the country’s to-do list: build two stadiums and teach police officers to speak English.

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No Place To Call Home

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Blogs

Watchdog

Azerbaijani Regional Official Accused Of Torture

The Power Vertical

Truth And Consequences

Tangled Web

Taking The Slack Out Of Slacktivism

Persian Letters

Protesters Say Two ‘Green Martyrs’ Hijacked In Iran

Caucasus Report

Kabardino-Balkaria At A Loss On Militant Threat

Chaikhana

Kazakhstan’s ‘Godsend’ Presidential Nominee

More Blogs

Commentary

In Egypt, The Son Also Sets

As I prepared to interview Gamal Mubarak in September 1999, I included one sensitive question that seems prescient now: “Many Egyptians lament that the children of those revolutionaries who overthrew the monarchy and the elites in the name of social injustice and anti-imperialism are now behaving in very much the same manner. Is this a fair criticism?” More

• Three Years After Independence, Kosovo Struggles For Recognition

• How To Turn A ‘Partly Free’ Ukraine Into A ‘Not Free’ Ukraine

More Commentary

Belarus Crackdown

After last month’s disputed election, hundreds of protesters remain in jail. Candidates who ran against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka could be jailed for up to 15 years. See this page for some of the best reporting on the crisis from RFE/RL’s Belarus Service.

From Our Bureaus

U.S.: No Military Solution To Karabakh

U.S. diplomat Matthew Bryza held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on February 17 after presenting his credentials as the new U.S. ambassador in Baku. More

Slain Pakistani’s Family: Release Siddiqui

The brother of one of the two Pakistanis shot dead by an American last month said his family could agree to forgive the accused in exchange for the U.S.’s release of Pakistani criminal Aafia Siddiqui. More

Kyrgyzstan’s Female Prisoners Claim Innocence

The Kyrgyz Ombudsman’s Office says a survey of the inmates in the country’s only women’s jail showed that 80 percent of them do not consider themselves guilty of a crime. More

Tajik Youth Religion Bill Criticized

Russian Orthodox Christians in southern Tajikistan are critical of a draft law on “parental responsibility” that would ban children under 18 from worshipping in churches, mosques, and other houses of worship. More

Kyrgyz Parliament Radio To Broadcast Nationwide

The Kyrgyz parliament today adopted a law on expanding the broadcast reach of its radio station. More

Kyrgyz-Russian Firm To Supply U.S. Transit Center With Fuel

A new Kyrgyz-Russian venture called GazPromNeft-Aero-Kyrgyzstan will be the provider of fuel for the U.S. transit center at Manas airport near Bishkek. More

More News

Iran

Iranian Activists Welcome Access To Google Software

More

• Istanbul Talks A Prime ‘Opportunity For Iran’

• Publishers, Writers Accused Of Destabilizing Regime

• Condemned Iranian Woman Tells Journalists ‘Leave My Case Alone’

More Iran

Afghanistan and Pakistan

U.S. Senator In Pakistan To Discuss Davis Case

More

• Study: Window For Afghan Peace Closing Quickly

• Kabul Housing Shortage Leaves The Middle Class Behind

• Shooting To Kill On the Iran-Afghan Border

More Afghanistan

Caucasus

Gambling Gets A Run For Its Money In Azerbaijan

More

• In Armenia, Locals Toast Discovery Of Vintage Winery Of Enduring Character

• Azerbaijan Gas Deal Pumps New Life Into EU’s Energy Plans

• Turkish Friendship Offering To Armenia Riles Erdogan

• Hijab Debate A Mounting Challenge For Azeri Government

More Caucasus

Russia

Terrorist Wave Raises Doubts About Moscow’s North Caucasus Strategy

More

• Khodorkovsky Doc Set To Premiere At Berlin Festival

• Browder Sees ‘Tipping Point’ In Western Attitudes To Russia

• UN Looking Into Case Of Russian Lawyer’s Prison Death

More Russia

Central Asia

In Kazakhstan’s Poll, It’s Not ‘Who’s Gonna Win?’ But ‘Why Now?’

More

• Kazakhstan Puts Minority Religions Under Pressure

• Elite Kyrgyz Police Unit On Trial For Doing Their ‘Duty’

• Nazarbaev Scraps Kazakh Referendum, Calls For Early Presidential Vote

More Central Asia

East and Southeast Europe

‘Frightened, Demoralized, And Alone’ With Belarus’s KGB

More

• Transdniestrian Authorities Jail Moldovan Man For Espionage

• U.S. Senator Wants Sanctions Lifted On Moldova

• Lieberman: The West’s Policy Toward Belarus Has ‘Failed Miserably’

• Lukashenka Frees Critics — To Live With The KGB

More Eastern Europe

Event

Radio Azadi’s SMS Service Hits 100,000 Subscribers

Three months after its launch, Radio Azadi’s interactive SMS service has passed the 100,000 subscribers mark More

RFE/RL Podcasts

The Blender

Sex Scandal In Armenia; The Music Of The Dutar

The Iran Sound From Way Out

Backstage In Berlin With Kiosk

Most Popular

Most-Viewed Articles

1. Pirates Hijack Four Americans; U.S. Assesses Responses
2. ‘They Kill People’s Children, Then They Pray’
3. ‘Anonymous’ Hackers Help Iranian Activists Fight The Regime
4. Inside The Mind Of Iran’s Basij
5. New U.S. Af-Pak Envoy Brings Different Diplomatic Style To Holbrooke’s Old Job
6. Government Backs ‘Day Of Hate’ In Tehran
7. New U.S. Ambassador In Baku Says No Military Solution To Karabakh
8. In Egypt, The Son Also Sets
9. Sex Scandal Rocks Armenia; Barry Rubin On The Egyptian Revolution; The Music Of The Dutar
10. Violence Continues Across Arab World, As Egypt Celebrates

Read | 123 Comments

Decline Is in the Mind

by Victor Davis Hanson

How Obama and his supporters learned to stop worrying and love the debt bomb.

Read | 87 Comments

David Cameron: ‘Multiculturalism Has Failed’

by John Boot

And you thought the only lesson Americans could learn from our cousins across the Atlantic was the need to cut back on government in the face of gigantic debts.

Read | 30 Comments

Shame, Come Back, Shame!

by Richard Fernandez

An era is ending, and maybe the final curtain is starting to go down in Wisconsin. (More at the Tatler: Wisconsin update: Walker sends out rangers to fetch the Chicken Dems.)

Read | 138 Comments

Building Oppression in ‘Palestine’

by P. David Hornik

The U.S .has created a monster.

Read | 7 Comments

The Paranoid Style Is Alive and Well in Some Conservative Quarters

by Rick Moran

Belief in Cloward-Piven, the Saul Alinsky game plan, and Obama’s desire to destroy the country are symptoms of an irrational mindset among some on the right.

Read | 147 Comments

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Political Pilgrims

by Jamie Glazov

The hard left’s unsurprising romance with the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist organizations. (Also read: It begins: Qaradawi to lead Friday prayers in Cairo at the Tatler.)

Read | 12 Comments

A Luckier Woman Covering Cairo

by Stephanie L. Freid

It wasn’t celebratory that night Lara Logan was attacked. It was terrifying.

Read | 85 Comments

A Reply to a Fearfully Concerned Muslim Friend

by Roger L Simon

…from an American Jewish friend, but one who intends to ask some potentially uncomfortable questions he always wanted to address to a moderate Muslim. (Don’t miss Salim Mansur’s “Letter from a Fearfully Concerned Muslim to an American-Jewish Friend” from last week.)

Read | 178 Comments

When In Doubt, Slam Israel

by Claudia Rosett

Now we come to a moment in which the Middle East is in turmoil. What does the U.S. do? Join with the weakening despots in slamming the only democracy in the region. See also: Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s reaction at the Tatler.

Read | 59 Comments

Cuban Filmmaker Stonewalled in Trying to Tell the True Story of ‘Che’

by Mary Grabar

Agustin Blazquez has produced a compelling film that demolishes the radical heartthrob’s reputation as a brave guerrilla fighting on behalf of the oppressed.

Read | 77 Comments

The Problem with the Civility Movement

by Adam Graham

Three reasons why the push for civility in politics ultimately fails in its objective to improve the tone of political speech. (And don’t miss “The white truck was oppressive,” at the Tatler and Ed Driscoll’s “The era of new civility is over.”)

Read | 37 Comments

Florida’s Rick Scott Shakes Things Up

by Stephanie Maier

One month in, the Republican makes waves. (And don’t miss “Florida governor saves Florida taxpayers from a rail disaster,” at the Tatler.)

Read | 12 Comments

Obama’s Unsustainable and Gutless Budget Proposals

by Tom Blumer

The current level of federal spending can’t continue. The administration says: “Yes it can. Try and stop us.” (Also read the Tatler’s take on how likely voters view Obama’s budget.)

Read | 56 Comments

Can Sarah Upstage Barack?

by David Solway

Two more years of Obama is all any Republican candidate may need.

Read | 130 Comments

The Real Face of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Delusions of Its Supporters

by Ron Radosh

A new group of useful idiots apologize for radical Islam the way fellow travelers used to apologize for Stalinism. (And don’t miss “Why the Muslim Brotherhood doesn’t change,” at the Tatler.)

Read | 27 Comments

The Limits of Obama’s Rhetoric

by Mike McDaniel

Where it isn’t dangerous, it’s simply impotent.

Read | 58 Comments

Two Climate Change Wrongs Don’t Make a Right

by Lee Lane

It’s a war of ideas both sides ought to lose. (UPDATE: Also read Bryan Preston’s blistering response to a pro-alarmism Politico editorial at the Tatler.)

Read | 122 Comments

Will the Muslim Brotherhood Rule Egypt?

by Ryan Mauro

A new poll hints at hope for a pro-Western future. (Also read “Terrible: CBS reporter sexually assaulted and beaten while covering Egypt’s riots” and “Latest on Logan assault: Crowd chanted ‘Jew! Jew!’” at the Tatler.)

Read | 51 Comments

Brother, Can You Spare an Investment?

by Kyle-Anne Shiver

The takeaway lesson from Obama’s proposed budget? Look before you leap into a car with a community organizer at the wheel. (Also read Richard Pollock at the Tatler: “When today means today, and when it doesn’t, at the White House.”)

Read | 26 Comments

Decline and Revival of Western Civilization

by Herbert London

Amid despair, there is still hope that the West will find the anti-toxin to cure what ails us.

Read | 60 Comments

Military Voting Accountability Starts Today

by J. Christian Adams

Today, there will be testimony before Congress about the Department of Justice’s failure to protect the rights of military voters in 2010. Expect to hear two wildly different accounts of the DOJ’s behavior.

Read | 26 Comments

The Fairness Police: No Friends of Israel

by Louis Harovitz

Unbalanced criticism meets uninformed judgment.

Read | 38 Comments

Dithering Won’t Keep the Peace

by Dan Miller

Not even ObamaCare can cover the harm the president has done to national health.

Read | 19 Comments

The NY Times Magazine’s False Cover Story on Israel This Week

by Ron Radosh

Gray Lady Down: Former Timesman Sol Stern, now with the Manhattan Institute, demolishes the Times’ story on Israel, in an article that should be mandatory reading in journalism schools for how what was once the paper of record can get things so wrong.

Read | 29 Comments

Who Keeps You Safe? You Do

by AWR Hawkins

For free citizens like us, self-preservation is a duty.

Read | 68 Comments

Yesterday Tunis, Today Tahrir Square, Tomorrow Tehran?

by Michael Ledeen

Let’s hope. (UPDATE: “Huge demonstrations in Iran.”)

Read | 34 Comments

In Libya, Gaddafi Sounds Scared

by Claudia Rosett

Libyans have even more reasons to hate their tyrant than the Egyptians had to hate Hosni Mubarak.

Read | 29 Comments

Apocalypse Imminent

by Mark Tapson

With the world focused on Egypt and the possible rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood there, the new documentary Iranium is a disturbing reminder that Iran remains the truly imminent and terrifying threat to American interests and world peace.

Read | 51 Comments

Quantum Computing and Counterintelligence

by N.M. Guariglia

This century, less will be more for the CIA.

Read | 25 Comments

The Egypt Revolution: A New Berlin Wall?

• China cracks down during call for ‘Jasmine Revolution’

  The Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News – 1 hour 2 minutes agoBEIJING, China – Chinese authorities are detaining activists as a call circulates for people to gather Sunday in 13 cities for a “Jasmine Revolution.”

• China Forestry Relieves Duties Of CEO After Regulator Probe On Share Sale

  FOX Business – Sat Feb 19, 6:15 am ETHONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- China Forestry Holdings Co. (0930.HK) said it has relieved Chief Executive Li Hanchun of his duties at the Hong Kong-listed company with effect from last Monday, shortly after the city’s securities regulator sought a court order to freeze his assets following a questionable share sale.

• China PBOC’s Yi says China to buy more, not sell less

  Business Recorder – Sat Feb 19, 5:49 am ETBEIJING: China will try to seek balance in international payments by boosting imports, not cutting exports, Yi Gang, a vice governor with the People’s Bank of China, said on Saturday.

• China aims to be top at science: US experts

  Straits Times – Sat Feb 19, 5:09 am ETWASHINGTON – CHINA has its eye on becoming the top science nation in the world, a position held for decades by the United States and European nations, researchers at a US science conference said on Friday. After being the world’s main source of cheap manufactured goods, ‘China hopes to become one of the leading sources of intellectual property in coming years,’ said Denis Simon, a professor at …

• China Crisis urges younger acts not to copy the ’80s

  Manila Bulletin – Sat Feb 19, 12:45 am ETChina Crisis MANILA, Philippines — People tend to repeat the past generation’s mistake. While copying a good sound should sonically be fine to the ears, for members of ’80s-associated act China Crisis, there’s no point in doing that and it’s definitely wrong.

• China seeks to calm fears amid new milk safety scandal

  GMA News – Sat Feb 19, 2:57 am ETChina on Friday sought to calm the public about a new milk safety scandal, saying it had stepped up scrutiny of production after reports that toxins were being added to some dairy goods.

• China’s Intimidation of Dissidents Said to Persist After Prison

  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Sat Feb 19, 12:41 am ETDONGSHIGU, China — Chen Guangcheng is officially a free man, but it is hard to imagine a life more constrained. One of the country’s most prominent rights defenders, Mr. Chen is confined to his home 24 hours a day by security agents and hired peasant men armed with sticks, bricks and walkie-talkies. Visitors who try to see him are physically repulsed and sometimes beaten. Blinding floodlights …

• China to cut heavy-metal pollution

  Channel NewsAsia – Sat Feb 19, 12:10 am ETBEIJING: China has adopted a plan to tackle heavy-metal pollution, state media reported Saturday, after more than 30 major poisoning incidents since 2009.

• China to fund free entry to art galleries, libraries

  China Economic Net – Sat Feb 19, 1:21 am ETChina’s government has announced it will finance public libraries, art galleries and cultural centers to allow them to open for free to visitors.

• China moves to curb infectious diseases in peak flu season

  People’s Daily – Sat Feb 19, 12:26 am ETChina has increased measures to guard against an outbreak of flu and other infectious diseases in this winter-for-spring transitional season.

• China suspends execution of 3 Pinoys convicted of drug trafficking

  Batangas Today – Sat Feb 19, 3:53 am ETManila, Philippines – China suspended the execution of 3 Pinoys on Monday, February 21, this is after Vice President Jejomar Binay made talks with top Chinese officials on Friday, apparently to plea for the their lives. According to local news sites, the Chinese government agreed to postpone the execution of 3 Pinoys namely Ramon ‘Monchito’ [...]

• China house prices rise despite curbs to deflate bubble

  AFP Telegraph Finance News via Yahoo! UK & Ireland Finance – Fri Feb 18, 7:39 am ETChina’s sky-rocketing property market is still going up, despite a raft of cooling measures introduced by the Chinese government in recent months, official data for January has shown.

• China targets leather protein in new food concern

  AsiaOne – Fri Feb 18, 8:24 pm ETBEIJING, Feb 18, 2011 (AFP) – China pledged Friday to halt use of leather protein in food production, saying the potentially harmful substance was being added to some products in the country’s latest concern over safety.

• China to further ease cost of medical services

  China Economic Net – Sat Feb 19, 12:51 am ETIn the next five years, China will further expand the coverage of its basic medical insurance system and ease the cost of medical services, Health Minister Chen Zhu said Friday.

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Video

• Play Video

  Fishy trick: Magic with goldfish stokes anger

  AP - Thu Feb 17, 12:05 pm ET

• Play Video

  Knife removed from man’s head after 4 years

  AP - Thu Feb 17, 11:40 am ET

• Play Video

  Raw Video: Chinese worry magic trick harms fish

  AP - Wed Feb 16, 5:21 am ET

• Play Video

  Fighting the flu with Tai chi, Tamiflu and snake soup

  AFP - Thu Feb 17, 2:16 am ET

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  China overtakes Japan as No. 2 economy

  AFP - Mon Feb 14, 4:35 pm ET

Opinion

Sen. Scott Brown’s revelation of physical and sexual abuse can help others

The Christian Science Monitor – Thu Feb 17, 4:08 pm ET

Why did Sen. Scott Brown (R) of Massachusetts take so long to reveal a big secret from his childhood? Full Story »

• Play Video Pakistanis call for death penalty Reuters
• Play Video Raw Video: Violent clashes in Yemen protests AP
• Play Video Raw Video: Anti-government protests in Yemen AP
• Play Video Raw Video: Rally in support of Bahrain’s rulers AP

Europe and Russia

Clashes erupt at German far-right rally

1 hour, 37 minutes ago

(AP) German police fired tear gas and water cannons to keep apart groups of far-right supporters and thousands of counterdemonstrators trying to hinder their rally in an eastern city Saturday, police said.Hundreds of leftist protesters in Dresden tried to break through police barriers, hurling rocks and fireworks at officers who responded …

Middle East

Bahrain’s Sunni outreach fuels protests

2 hours, 3 minutes ago

(AP) Among the marchers pledging loyalty to Bahrain’s embattled king were many from afar: other Sunni Arabs and South Asians granted citizenship and jobs in the tiny Gulf nation.But here also lies one of the most deep-seated grievances by the nation’s Shiite majority, who strongly object to the royal policies to …

Africa

Pirates hijack 4 Americans; US mulls responses

3 hours, 8 minutes ago

(AP) The United States government on Saturday said it was assessing possible responses after Somali pirates hijacked a yacht with four Americans on board in the Arabian sea off the coast of Somalia.Pirates hijacked the yacht Quest on Friday, two days after a Somali pirate was sentenced to 33 years in …

Algeria PM: state of emergency gone by month’s end

3 hours, 37 minutes ago

(AP) Algeria’s prime minister says a state of emergency in place for 19 years will be lifted by the end of this month.The government has insisted so far that the state of emergency was a necessary tool in the fight against terrorism, but critics charge that recently it has been used …

Trial over Iranian arms seizure in Nigeria starts

3 hours, 37 minutes ago

(AP) The trial over an illegal Iranian arms shipment intercepted in Nigeria began Wednesday, with both the presiding judge and a defense lawyer questioning suspect statements allegedly obtained by the country’s secret police.Justice Okechukwu Okeke flung one of the statements out into the audience, complaining that the date of a rights …

Europe and Russia

Scandal-hit Berlusconi attends event with Vatican

3 hours, 44 minutes ago

(AP) An annual celebration of the 1929 treaty that governs relations between Italy and the Vatican took an awkward turn Friday, as Premier Silvio Berlusconi, engulfed in a prostitution scandal, attended a ceremony with the Vatican’s No 2. official.Berlusconi said the encounter with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone had been "great, as always," …

UK royal wedding draws tasteless merchandise

4 hours ago

(AP) Fancy a royal wedding condom? Or maybe a commemorative sickbag?The April wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton has spawned a cottage industry of inappropriate souvenirs.For ladies and gentlemen who wouldn’t dare touch anything that hadn’t personally been approved by the princely couple, the Royal Collection sells handmade tankards, plates …

Asia

2 trains hit packed buses in Bangladesh; 13 dead

4 hours, 59 minutes ago

(AP) Two trains plowed into packed buses at unmanned railroad crossings in separate accidents on Saturday, killing at least 13 people and injuring 45 others, police and news reports said.Police recovered eight bodies from the wreckage of one bus in Comilla district, 90 kilometers (55 miles) east of the capital Dhaka, …

Middle East

Veteran Egypt activist sees revolution as ongoing

5 hours, 22 minutes ago

(AP) He organized his first demonstration while still a student in 1998, then got arrested and tortured by Egyptian police two years later at age 23. Now he has seen the fall of the president he spent his adult life struggling against.For 33-year-old activist Hossam el-Hamalawy, though, Egypt’s three-week youth revolution …

Africa

Ousted Madagascar president barred from returning

6 hours, 25 minutes ago

(AP) Madagascar’s ousted president was on Saturday barred by officials in his homeland from returning from exile in South Africa, but the politician told reporters at Johannesburg’s airport that he would keep trying to return.Marc Ravalomanana said aviation authorities in Madagascar had written to South African Airways to say he was …

Latin America

Peruvian from US spy scandal back home

7 hours, 49 minutes ago

(AP) A Peruvian journalist deported by the United States to Russia in a spy swap returned home and said she was in Peru to attend her father’s burial.Vicky Pelaez told reporters at Lima’s airport on Friday night that she would not speak publicly until after her father’s burial in the highlands …

Tijuana’s former top cop leave government

9 hours, 44 minutes ago

(AP) A retired Mexican army officer who led an overhaul of the notoriously corrupt police force of the border city of Tijuana has quit as a state law enforcement official after only three months on the job.The Baja California Public Safety secretary’s office says Julian Leyzaola resigned Friday as deputy secretary.The …

Latin America

Guatemala ends ‘siege’ in drug-plagued province

12 hours, 41 minutes ago

(AP) The Guatemalan government lifted a two-month-old state of siege Friday in a northern province that authorities said was controlled by Mexican drug traffickers.President Alvaro Colom said the emergency measures allowed security forces to reduce violence in Alta Verapaz and arrest at least 20 suspected members of the Mexico-based Zetas drug …

Middle East

Al-Qaida No. 2 issues video after Egypt upheaval

14 hours, 52 minutes ago

(AP) Al-Qaida’s deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, issued the terror network’s first message since the upheaval began in Egypt, saying the country’s rule has long "deviated from Islam" and warning that democracy "can only be non-religious."The wave of popular protests that ousted Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, appeared to have caught al-Qaida off …

Protesters step in to help at Bahrain hospital

14 hours, 52 minutes ago

(AP) The scenes inside the hospital were so horrific even doctors cried."He was shot in the head. I saw it, it was in the head," a nurse said to a group of women, clutching their mouths in disbelief. A female doctor sobbed into the shoulder of a colleague.Military gunfire sent a …

Latin America

Peru: Soccer stadium stands collapse, injuring 117

15 hours, 26 minutes ago

(AP) Police in Peru say the metal bleachers at a soccer stadium have collapsed right before a youth championship, injuring 117 people. A dozen fans suffered serious injuries.Lima Fire Chief Alfonso Panizo tells RPP radio most of those hurt have minor injuries, but he says 12 seriously injured people have been …

Teachers trek across DomRep in weeklong protest

15 hours, 58 minutes ago

(AP) Thousands of teachers in the Dominican Republic have walked more than 120 miles (200 kilometers) to demand wage increases and other changes in the Caribbean nation’s public schools.The teachers also want the government to dedicate 4 percent of its revenues to the school system as required by law and to …

Asia

US sanctions target Afghan money laundering

17 hours, 4 minutes ago

(AP) Stepping up its pressure on corruption in Afghanistan, the United States on Friday sanctioned a major Afghan money-exchange outfit suspected of laundering billions of dollars in drug money.The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the New Ansari Money Exchange, which it says is at the center of a network of individuals, money-exchange …

Latin America

Venezuela: US should mind own business on protests

18 hours, 4 minutes ago

(AP) Venezuela’s top diplomat hit back at the United States on Friday over its suggestion that President Hugo Chavez’s government should allow an international investigation into alleged human rights abuses.Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said the matter is a domestic affair and Washington has no business meddling."We absolutely reject that the U.S. …

Jailed Puerto Rican nationalist is denied parole

18 hours, 4 minutes ago

(AP) The U.S. Parole Commission said Friday it has denied a request for the early release of a Puerto Rican nationalist who was once offered clemency by President Bill Clinton.Oscar Lopez Rivera’s first bid for parole after serving nearly half of a 70-year sentence for seditious conspiracy, robbery and other charges …

Africa

Report: Polish priest killed in Tunisia

18 hours, 39 minutes ago

(AP) Tunisia’s official TAP news agency says a Catholic priest from Poland has been killed and his body had multiple stab wounds and his throat was slit.The report cites the Tunis archbishopric as saying 34-year-old Marek Marius Rybinski worked at a religious school in the Tunis suburb of Manouba. His body …

Latin America

Vatican: Chilean priest guilty of abusing minors

19 hours, 37 minutes ago

(AP) A prominent Chilean priest whose sex abuse case was closed by a judge has been found guilty by the Vatican.The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says Fernando Karadima is guilty of abusing minors and "must retire to a life of prayer and penitence." Friday’s statement from the …

Middle East

Correction: Yemen story

20 hours, 4 minutes ago

(AP) In a story Feb. 17 about protests in Yemen, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Philip Luther is the regional deputy director for Human Rights Watch. Luther is the deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa for Amnesty International.

Africa

French ask volunteers in Mali, Niger to leave

20 hours, 42 minutes ago

(AP) The French government is asking citizens who are volunteering for charity organizations in Mali or Niger to leave immediately due to the growing threat of kidnappings by an offshoot of al-Qaida.A copy of the letter signed by France’s foreign minister and dated Feb. 7 was shown to The Associated Press …

Tunisian government discusses ex-leader’s health

21 hours, 12 minutes ago

(AP) Members of Tunisia’s transitional government say the health of their deposed president is not a concern for the interim leadership.At a meeting Friday, the Cabinet briefly discussed reports that ex-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is in a coma. The government neither confirmed nor denied the reports.Taieb Baccouche, spokesman of …

Europe and Russia

UN rights chief condemns Libya, Bahrain crackdowns

21 hours, 39 minutes ago

(AP) The U.N.’s top human rights official has condemned the violence used by security forces in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen against anti-government protesters.U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says security forces responded in an "illegal and excessively heavy-handed" manner against peaceful demonstrators.In a statement issued by her office Friday, …

Kosovo rebels told UN of organ harvests

22 hours, 41 minutes ago

(AP) Ethnic Albanian rebels in Kosovo gave detailed testimony in 2003 on an alleged program to kill Serb captives, sell their organs, and bury hundreds of victims to hide evidence of civilian killings, according to a U.N. document obtained by The Associated Press.The 30-page compilation of statements by at least eight …

• Sudanese inmate sentenced to 14 years at Gitmo

  AFP via Yahoo! News – Fri Feb 18, 6:13 pm ETA US military tribunal on Friday sentenced a Sudanese prisoner at Guantanamo to 14 years in prison for helping Al-Qaeda and providing material support to terrorism.

• Sudanese Guantanamo prisoner gets 14-year sentence

  Reuters via Yahoo! News – Fri Feb 18, 5:02 pm ETThe Guantanamo U.S. war crimes tribunal sentenced a Sudanese prisoner on Friday to 14 more years in prison for conspiring with al Qaeda and providing material support for terrorism.

• North, South Sudan trade accusations

  UPI – Fri Feb 18, 11:28 am ETJUBA, Sudan, Feb. 18 (UPI) — The military in northern Sudan denied it was backing militants in the south who are accused of killed at least 200 people, a government minister said.

• Sudanese war criminal at Guantánamo turns government witness

  McClatchy Washington Bureau – Fri Feb 18, 9:47 pm ETA Sudanese former terror camp instructor traded a promise to turn government witness for release from prison by 2014 in a plea bargain made public Friday — moments after a military jury sentenced the man to a symbolic 14 more years at Guantánamo.

• Help needed for Sudan’s displaced following referendum

  Aliran Online – Sat Feb 19, 6:14 am ETWith the historic referendum on South Sudan”s independence now complete, help is needed to support the return of southerners back to the South from other parts of Sudan, according to the United Nations refugee agency, which is seeking US$53.4 million for this effort. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), some 200,000 southerners [...]

• Envoys call for urgency in Darfur peace talks

  Zawya – Sat Feb 19, 5:06 am ETNYALA, Feb 19, 2011 (AFP) – International envoys to Sudan on Friday stressed the “utmost urgency” of reaching a comprehensive Darfur peace deal, as a local governor said negotiations in Doha had so far achieved nothing.

• Sudan’s referendum is over, but the country still needs attention

  The Christian Science Monitor – Fri Feb 18, 12:30 pm ETGuest blogger Laura Heaton outlines the issues still facing Sudan after the south’s independence referendum and urges the media and international community to not lose interest.

• Sudanese Gitmo prisoner gets 14-year sentence

  MSNBC – Fri Feb 18, 5:38 pm ETThe Guantanamo U.S. war crimes tribunal sentenced a Sudanese prisoner on Friday to 14 more years in prison for conspiring with al Qaida and supporting terrorism.

• Basketball Grows With Peace in South Sudan

  New York Times – 2 hours 34 minutes agoEver since Manute Bol became an N.B.A. star, southern Sudan has produced a number of players who had solid college careers in the United States.

• Sudan: Darfur Peacekeepers Have New Approach to Protect Civilians – Gambari

  AllAfrica.com – Thu Feb 17, 10:00 am ETThe of head of the first joint UN-African Union force and the largest peacekeeping mission announced a new approach on movement and access has been adopt to better protect civilians in the restive region of Darfur.

• Sudan Now group lays out ‘road map’ for peace in Darfur

  The Christian Science Monitor – Wed Feb 16, 3:30 pm ETWhile the world focuses on South Sudan’s moves toward independence, the Sudan Now advocacy group is pushing a new plan for peace in Darfur.

• Darfur: UN- African peacekeepers protect civilians

  Scoop.co.nz – Thu Feb 17, 5:07 pm ET16 February 2011 – The United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has significantly stepped up its patrols in the strife-torn region of Sudan where there was a recent resurgence of violence and is setting up a quick reaction force to help protect civilians.

• South Sudan’s post-referendum calm ended by clashes with renegade militia

  The Christian Science Monitor – Thu Feb 17, 11:52 am ETSouth Sudan was racked with violence last week as a renegade militia group – supported by northern Sudan, some say – clashed with the South Sudanese army, leaving more than 200 dead.

• Third int’l meeting on Darfur peace supports Qatar talks

  People’s Daily – Fri Feb 18, 11:07 pm ETThe third international conference on peace in Darfur on Friday reiterated its support for the Qatari-hosted Darfur peace talks, and reaffirmed its call for the Darfur militants to join the ongoing efforts to settle the conflict in the region.

Somali Piracy Offers Opportunity for Korean Détente

By Tad Farrell and Andrew Pascoe | Defense and Military

Somali pirates have been holding the crew of the North Korean ship Chilsanbong Cheonnyeonho since last March, and  the possibility that its crew may now be facing abandonment is becoming ever more likely. Given South Korea’s rescue of one of its own vessels captured by pirates in January, the Chilsanbong now offers the Koreas an opportunity for military cooperation at a time of increasing tension.

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The State of Displacement: Refugees and IDPs

Special Report: The Arab Tipping Point

The Realist Prism: Middle East Democracies Can Be U.S. Friends

By Nikolas Gvosdev | Economics and Business

Most prognostications on the Middle East’s suddenly uncertain future assume that revolutions that depose status quo governments automatically reverse the policies of their predecessors. But the assertion that U.S. support for undemocratic regimes ensures that democratic successors will be enemies of the U.S. has been called into question by events in Asia over the past 30 years.

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• Mauritania Feels Heat From Regional Turmoil
  By Dario Cristiani
• For Ecuador’s Correa, an Uneven Record: Part II
  By Daniel Wagner and Daniel Jackman
• For Ecuador’s Correa, an Uneven Record: Part I
  By Daniel Wagner and Daniel Jackman
• Brazil Takes a Second Look at China Ties
  By Sean Goforth
• Thailand-Cambodia Tensions Reveal ASEAN’s Limitations
  By Roberto Tofani
• The Case for Smart Assistance to the Middle East
  By Johan Bergenas

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• Global Insider: Russia-Pakistan Relations
• Global Insider: Saudi Arabia’s Nuclear Energy Plans
• Twitter as Tactical and Strategic Lens

today’s MR »

• Get out of Afghanistan
• Mexico, Chief Casualty of America’s ‘War on Drugs’
• Thug Life
• Oil Prices and Social Unrest
• Iran Asks for Warships to Pass Suez Canal Say Egypt
• Popular Rage Is Met With Violence in Mideast
• In Yemen, Arab Unrest Takes a Violent Turn
• U.S. Walks Tightrope in Policy Toward Bahrain Violence

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• World Citizen: What Will Egyptian Voters Choose?
  By Frida Ghitis
• Over the Horizon: The Russian Navy’s Strategic Limitations
  By Robert Farley
• Global Insights: Russia’s Demographic Timebomb
  By Richard Weitz
• The New Rules: Ten Assumptions About Egypt Worth Discarding
  By Thomas P.M. Barnett

more » more »

• Thomas P.M. Barnett
  The New Rules
• Richard Weitz
  Global Insights
• Robert Farley
  Over the Horizon
• Frida Ghitis
  World Citizen
• Nikolas Gvosdev
  The Realist Prism

From the Editors

New Feature: Browse Archives

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• Over the Horizon: The Russian Navy’s Strategic Limitations
• The New Rules: Ten Assumptions About Egypt Worth Discarding
• Global Insights: Russia’s Demographic Timebomb
• Brazil Takes a Second Look at China Ties
• Thailand-Cambodia Tensions Reveal ASEAN’s Limitations

• Sudan: Official Demands Egypt to Vacate Halayeb ‘Immediately’

  AllAfrica.com – 2 hours 9 minutes ago