Iran
Nobel Peace laureate slams Iran over Syria role
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi spoke out against her own government and Russia for their "intervention in Syria" on the side of Bashar Assad's regime.
Tag: Russia
The Caucasus
Olympics in Sochi; state terror in Dagestan
With the Winter Olympics underway in Sochi, Russian special forces troops have killed several suspected militants in a series of raids in Dagestan, just across the Caucasus. (Map: Wikitravel)
The Caucasus
Circassians call for boycott of Sochi Olympics
Circassians are calling for a boycott of the Sochi Winter Olympics, demanding that Russia's 19th-century military campaign against their people be recognized as a genocide.
The Caucasus
Russia ordered to pay in Chechen disappearances
The European Court for Human Rights ruled that Russia must pay $2.6 million, to the families of 36 Chechen men who disappeared between 2000 and 2006.
Inner Asia
France to extradite ex-Kazakh energy minsiter
France agreed to exradite the ex-Kazakh energy minister to Russia on corruption charges—despite fears that he will be turned over to Kazakhstan, to face torture.
The Caucasus
Volgograd terror: revenge of ‘Caucasus Emirate’?
In the wake of the Volgograd terror blasts, Putin is preparing a new offensive against Chechen insurgents seeking to rebuild the 19th century "Caucasus Emirate."
Europe
Ukraine, Thailand, Italy: hope and contradiction
In Ukraine, Thailand and Italy, riot police stood down and ceded control of urban space to protesters—yet the demonstrators in all three countries have problematic politics.
Syria
Evo Morales betrays Syrian people
By saying the US “funds rebels that fight against presidents who don’t support capitalism or imperialism,” Evo Morales allies himself with a regime that is committing war crimes.
Greater Middle East
Did climate change spark Syria crisis?
A jet stream blockage related to climate change caused the Russian wheat crop to fail in 2010, halting exports to Syria and the Arab world, and fueling unrest and revolt.
Greater Middle East
Are you ready for World War 5?
The fearful synergy of regional sectarian war and Great Power rivalries holds the menace of the looming Syria intervention setting off a new global conflagration.
The Andes
Latin leaders react to blocking of Bolivian flight
What appeared to be a clumsy effort to catch US secret leaker Edward Snowden seems to have backfired: three Latin American countries have now offered Snowden asylum.
The Andes
Edward Snowden and Ecuador press freedom
Edward Snowden seeks refuge in Ecuador, just as the Andean country has passed a media law protested by the Committee to Protect Journalists as imposing arbitrary censorship.