Tuesday, May 21, 2013
The chairman of the Guardians Council, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati

Explainer: Iran's Process For Vetting Presidential Candidates

On June 14, millions of Iranians will flock to the polls to vote for a successor to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. RFE/RL looks at the vetting process that determines the final list of presidential candidates. More

Ahmadi community members carry a coffin during a funeral ceremony in 2010 for victims of a militant attack on one of the sect's prayer halls, which killed some 80 people. According to a new report by the U.S. State Department, the religious minority Ahmadis are still the target of frequent sectarian violence.

Pakistan's Ahmadis Face Rising Persecution, Violence

One of the many religious minorities whose plight is documented in the latest U.S. State Department report on religious freedom is the Ahmadiyya community, or the Ahmadis. More

Prosecutors have "brought us to the brink of sanctions on the one hand and are undermining our authority and business reputation on the other," says Levada's Lev Gudkov.

Levada Center, Russia’s Most Respected Pollster, Fears Closure

The director of the independent Levada Center says the polling organization could be forced to close down after Russian prosecutors warned that it must register as a "foreign agent." More

PHOTO GALLERY: Huge Tornado Devastates Oklahoma Town

Photogallery Explainer: Why Do Tornadoes Occur And Why Are We Seeing More Of Them?

In the U.S. state of Oklahoma, more than 90 people have been killed and scores of others injured by a huge tornado. The twister was nearly a kilometer wide and packed winds of up to 320 kilometers per hour. RFE/RL correspondent Antoine Blua talked to Dr. Liz Bentley, a member of Britain’s Royal Meteorological Society, to get the lowdown on this often devastating natural phenomenon. More

The Alley of Russian Poets is the brainchild of Uli Zislin, a Russian-born poetry collector and songwriter.

A Walk Down Washington's Alley Of Russian Poets

In a corner of a park in the U.S. capital lies an unexpected memorial to some of Russia's greatest writers. Washington's Alley of Russian Poets, a short path lined with trees and plaques, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. More

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Ex-President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is flanked by current President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (left) and parliament speaker Ali Larijani (right).

Will Iran’s Former President Rafsanjani Be Allowed To Run?

The spokesman for Iran's Guardians Council -- the oversight body that vets all the country's election candidates -- has said that physically weak candidates will not be allowed to run. The comments appear to be a reference to the age of 78-year-old presidential hopeful Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is considered a challenge to Iran’s establishment.
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PHOTO GALLERY: A tour of the KarLAG

Photogallery In Kazakhstan, Spending Saturday Night In The Gulag

A museum of the Stalin-era prison camp system in central Kazakhstan has given visitors a night-time tour, where they were "treated" to prison meals and a performance of mock interrogations.
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New legislation regarding marijuana use is expected to be introduced in Georgia

Georgia Considers Taking Softer Approach To Marijuana

Georgia’s strict laws on marijuana have become the subject of a hot debate in the former Soviet republic as the government considers decriminalizing the use of cannabis.
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Gazprom employees at the launch of production at the Bovanenkovskoye gas field in the far northern Yamal-Nenets Region in October 2012

At 20, Russia's Gazprom Struggles To Stay Dominant

After two decades as Russia's marquee company, is Gazprom losing its mojo? A changing energy market and emergence of new energy sources is challenging the company's longtime dominance.
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The gravestone for Admira Ismic and Bosko Brkic at Sarajevo

Twenty Years On: The Unfinished Lives Of Bosnia’s Romeo And Juliet

Bosko and Admira, who became known to the world as Sarajevo's Romeo and Juliet, were killed on a bridge in the Bosnian capital 20 years ago.
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An immigrant looks toward New York

Has The U.S. Green Card Lottery Run Out Of Luck?

Each year, the U.S. green-card lottery awards tickets to American citizenship to a lucky 55,000 applicants. But now, the program itself may have run out of luck, becoming collateral in deal-making between Democrat and Republican lawmakers as they attempt a massive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system.
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People hold a banner reading "Kosovo" during a protest against the agreement about the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo in Belgrade on May 10.

U.S. Congressman Engel Says Serbia, Kosovo Can Now 'Look Forward To Future'

Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representative’s Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke to RFE/RL about the recent normalization agreement between Serbia and Kosovo and the prospects for reconciliation.
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“We, in our laboratory, are interested in developing a new way of creating stem cells," says Dr. Shoukhrat Mitalipov.

U.S. Scientists Claim Breakthrough In Cloning Human Stem Cells

U.S. scientists have reportedly succeeded in producing early human embryos through cloning, a major breakthrough that could potentially help treat a number of diseases and injuries with stem cells. But the study, which used techniques similar to those that created the cloned sheep Dolly in Scotland in 1996, has raised ethical concerns.
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Dzokhar (left) and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings, in a handout photo released through the FBI website days after the April 15 attack.

FBI Probes Exiled Chechen Rebel For Link To Bombing Suspect

The FBI has been investigating a former Chechen rebel fighter over his association with one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
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Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf waves after registering his candidacy for the June presidential election.

Iranian Candidate Appears To Offer Starkly Contrasting Accounts Of Crackdown

Two starkly different accounts by one of Iran’s leading presidential hopefuls of his role in state crackdowns have emerged online. So is Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf a hard-liner or a moderate?
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