Charles Recknagel is standards editor for RFE/RL.
The Lebanese Shi'ite Hizballah militia has scored a first victory in Syria by helping government forces retake the strategic town of Qusayr. But its victory only raises the risk of a wider regional war.
As secularists accuse Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of pushing Islamism on Turkey, their anger is fueling the country's largest violent protests since he took power in 2002.
Russia's S-300 missile system could dramatically change the stakes in the Syrian conflict if it is sent to Damascus, which Russia has signed a contract to do. RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel lays out five things to know about the air-defense system.
Turkmenistan shows little tolerance for Islamists as it tries to guard against the extremism that bedevils other Central Asian states. But will its tough approach sow the seeds for future problems?
Islamic banks are rising as an alternative to conventional Western banks, partly due to their success in weathering the current economic crisis. How do they work?
Iraqi volunteers -- both Sunni and Shi'ite -- are slipping into Syria. There, they fight on opposite sides, raising fears the war will spill back to Iraq.
India and Pakistan may have tense relations, but a 22-year-old Pakistan woman and two Indian friends have shown they can rise above their differences by ascending Mount Everest together.
In parts of Central Asia, obsolete farm machinery keeps agricultural production low. A look at Kyrgyzstan shows how much.
Western countries say they want firm evidence that chemical weapons have been used in Syria before they decide how to respond. But getting such evidence may prove difficult.
Iran and the world powers are meeting in Almaty on April 5 and 6 to once more seek a solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis. Here are five things to know about the talks.
North Korea's announcement that it will restart its nuclear reactor has sent tensions soaring yet higher in its standoff with the West. RFE/RL looks at some of the possible reasons behind the move.
The weather is always on people's minds, and even more so this spring with snow covering the ground in places where it is usually long gone this time of year. Will the warm weather ever arrive?
It sounds like science fiction, a cyberwar between two companies that brings the virtual world to a halt. But did it come close to happening this week?
Leaders of the BRICS group of nations have agreed in principle to set up their own development bank in addition to current international financial institutions. Does it matter?
The competition between Washington and Moscow over expanding the Czech Republic’s Temelin nuclear power plant is getting hotter with a Czech technical assessment on March 25 that puts the American-Japanese Westinghouse bid ahead in key categories.
The cease-fire call on March 21 by the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, offers hope for peace in the group's decades-long war with Turkey. Here are five things to know about his announcement.
The eurozone’s demand that bank depositors in Cyprus help fund the island’s bailout is enough to make any bank customer nervous. What’s behind the strategy and what are the potential pitfalls for the rest of the eurozone?
What do nations do when they really get mad at each other? They hang up the hotline.
As international sanctions target oil exports, Iran hopes boosting its automotive exports will help ease the pressure.
Neither international inspectors nor Tehran is willing to give an inch in the showdown over access to Iran's Parchin military complex. Why?
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