The global economic crisis has hit Russia hard as falling oil prices and a devalued currency have cut into living standards. But for the Kremlin, the downturn may also be an opportunity -- to use the economic mayhem to solidify state control over key sectors of the economy.
Two weeks ago, Veronika Narozhnaya worked as a secretary at a large Western accountancy firm. She had been employed by the company for more than a year, the work was stimulating, and her prospects looked rosy, she said. Then everything changed.
Iran's former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, has given his strongest hint yet that he is prepared to run in the presidential election in June. Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, a former reformist legislator who is currently a visiting scholar at the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston, is well-known for her outspokenness and human rights advocacy. She says she's concerned about Khatami's weakness and a
Over the past few months, the world's major central banks have been slashing interest rates to record lows in a bid to get lending flowing again and help their economies weather the global downturn. Today, it was the turn of the Czech and the British central banks. But now that rates are nearing zero in some places, what options do central banks have?
As winter weather eases in Afghanistan, a clear Taliban strategy for 2009 is emerging. What was once known as the "spring offensive" is now a multi-pronged approach of roadside bombings, attacking supply routes, threatening villagers, and pushing communities away from the authority of Kabul.
On April 5, Moldova is to elect a new parliament, which in turn will name a new president. After two consecutive four-year terms, incumbent President Vladimir Voronin, a 67-year-old veteran Communist, is seeking to remain in power, whatever it takes.
Thirty years after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the promises of economic justice that helped spur the movement remain unfulfilled. With unemployment in oil-rich Iran approaching double digits, inflation spiraling, and incomes far below levels seen under the shah, the economy has exposed itself as the establishment's Achilles' heel.
Kyrgyzstan has threatened to kick U.S. troops out of an air base that's vital to the supply of forces in nearby Afghanistan. The intensity of the warnings and questions about Moscow's role suggest the situation could pose serious challenges to the new U.S. administration in relations with Russia and Central Asia.
With irregular supplies of natural gas and restricted electricity usage, power shortages are routine for millions of Central Asians. For mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the solution is clear: water. But regional rivalries and energy politics are getting in the way.
Just days after announcing the postponement of Afghanistan's presidential poll, the Independent Election Commission finds itself amidst a storm of controversy. Parliament accuses it of overstepping its legal authority, while politicians are warning of a crisis that could harm the country's fragile democracy.
Afzal Khan is an 82-year-old Pashtun politician who has emerged as a symbol of the resistance to Taliban extremism in the Swat Valley. Khan has survived numerous assassination attempts, but continues to oppose the Taliban and their representation of Islam.
Freelance journalist Thomas Crampton has spent the last five days covering the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a gathering of government and business leaders from around the world. Crampton, formerly a correspondent for "The New York Times" and "International Herald Tribune," says this year's gathering, unlike previous ones, left him with feelings of "extreme depression."
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