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Nikola Krastev

Also by Nikola Krastev

July 20, 2009
U.S. Political Experts Examine Impact Of Iran Crisis

Speaking at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations last week, two political experts on Iran discussed the impact that Iran's postelection situation will have on its future policies at home and abroad. They were Mohsen Milani, a professor who chairs the Department of Government and International Affairs at the University of South Florida, and Suzanne Maloney, senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
July 18, 2009
NASA Looks To Mars

As it prepares to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first manned moon landing on July 20, the U.S. space agency NASA is looking to build on its achievements by establishing a permanent station on the moon's surface as it maps a path for space exploration to Mars and beyond.
July 18, 2009
Cosmonauts Recall Failure To Beat U.S. To Moon

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong set foot upon the moon. The "giant leap for mankind," a triumph for the U.S., was a devastating blow to the Soviet Union. Three veterans of the Soviet space program talk about where Moscow's lunar ambitions went wrong.
July 04, 2009
Election Environment Improving, But Major Obstacles Remain

Experts on Afghanistan came together this week at the Asia Society to discuss possible outcomes for the country's presidential election, which is scheduled for August 20. The election is viewed as a critical test of Afghanistan's fledgling democracy. Will the vote represent another step toward a stable, democratic, and peaceful Afghanistan, or a return to armed conflict over political succession? The credibility of the election process will determine how this scenario unfolds.
July 01, 2009
U.S. Human Rights Activists Urge Action Against Tehran

Hundreds of human rights activists, intellectuals, civil society leaders, opposition political activists, students, and journalists have been detained in Iran since the disputed presidential election. A group of prominent human rights activists in New York has urged the international community, and specifically the United Nations, to try and persuade Tehran to stop the crackdown.
June 25, 2009
Turkmen-U.S. Energy Cooperation Could Accelerate

While officials have generally offered few details, special U.S. envoy for Eurasian energy Ambassador Richard Morningstar, who recently returned from Ashgabat, noted that energy-development issues are a "high priority" for the new administration of President Barack Obama.
June 23, 2009
'Hidden Treasures' Seeks To Reveal Another Afghanistan

A major art exhibit opens in New York this week. Hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it features artifacts that span five millennia of culture. Much of the art is on display after being hidden for the past quarter-century of Afghanistan's tumultuous history, and presumed destroyed or stolen.
June 21, 2009
New Yorkers Express Solidarity With Iran Protesters

Close to the UN headquarters in Manhattan, visibly distressed young Iranian women wearing black headscarves are chanting in Persian with a like-minded crowd.
June 18, 2009
Kosovo, Serbia Spar At UN Security Council

Serbia has reiterated its opposition to Kosovo's independence, with Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic telling the UN Security Council that Belgrade will never recognize its former territory as a separate entity. Jeremic also urged the implementation of measures to speed the return to Kosovo of thousands of Serbs displaced by the 1998-99 war.
June 16, 2009
Georgia Slams Russia For Shutting Down UN Mission

Tbilisi has strongly condemned Russia's decision to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at extending the UN Observer Mission in Georgia. The move brings to an end two weeks of heated negotiations, and means the withdrawal of the last international monitoring mission on Georgia's breakaway territories.
June 12, 2009
Iranians Vote, Even In New York City

At least 5 million Iranians live outside their homeland and a record number of them are expected to participate in the presidential election. Even in the United States, which has no diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic, voting is taking place.
June 12, 2009
Festival Aims To Dispel Misconceptions About Islam

Over 300 Muslim artists, performers, craftspeople, and scholars have gathered in New York for a 10-day festival highlighting the best in culture and performance from the Islamic world. While the "Muslim Voices: Arts And Ideas” event may not bring an overnight end to U.S. misperceptions about Islam, organizers hope the festival will improve understanding between different religions and cultures.
June 02, 2009
Some See Silver Lining In GM's Bankruptcy Announcement

U.S. car giant General Motors (GM), once the world's largest company, has filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming the biggest industrial bankruptcy in U.S. history. The expected move comes after GM had seen its losses grow following a steep fall in sales in recent years. Although the demise of GM is reverberating painfully through the global auto industry, it might eventually put American automakers on a competitive footing with their Japanese counterparts.
May 26, 2009
Security Council Condemns North Korea Nuclear Test

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously condemned North Korea's nuclear test as a clear violation of Security Council resolutions, and said it would begin work immediately on a new, legally binding resolution addressing the violations.
May 12, 2009
UN Security Council Calls For Palestinian State

The U.S. ambassador to the UN said the Obama administration is determination to vigorously pursue "a comprehensive peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors" in the months ahead. Russia's foreign minister, meanwhile, urged both Israel and Palestine to work toward that goal.
May 06, 2009
Nuclear Negotiator Says U.S. For 'Balanced' Arms Reduction

Last month, U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, whose countries possess the world's largest stockpiles of nuclear weapons, singled out nuclear-arms reduction as an issue of mutual interest. The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee is currently meeting at UN headquarters to discuss how to revise the global treaty, whose pillars are the nonproliferation, disarmament, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
May 02, 2009
Financial Crisis Causing Drop In Media Freedom Worldwide

A report by the U.S.-based watchdog Freedom House says the global financial crisis is having a negative impact on freedom of the press. Released ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the report indicates that the crisis is providing oppressive governments with new tools to tighten their grip on the media.
April 27, 2009
Panel Seeks Solutions To Albanian-Serb Divide

Kosovo's tumultous first year as an independent state and its continued ethnic divisions was the focus of debate during a political convention last week at Columbia University in New York.
April 18, 2009
Last U.S. Russian Newspaper Reinvents Itself

“Novoye Russkoye Slovo” [NRS], America’s only daily in Russian, is changing to a weekly format as the result of economic pressures and tough competition in print and online.
April 17, 2009
UN Security Council Calls For Action On Missing Kuwaitis

Expressions of goodwill between Iraq and Kuwait must be translated into quick action to resolve the issue of Kuwaitis, other nationals and property missing since the 1990 Gulf War, the UN Security Council said in a statement after a closed session on April 16. The remains of 236 Kuwaiti and third-country nationals have so far been identified, but the security situation in recent years has prevented teams from Kuwait carrying out exhumation work at Iraqi burial sites.

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