Charles Recknagel is standards editor for RFE/RL.
Eastern Europe -- a region including the new EU states, the Balkans, and Ukraine -- has seen fast economic growth in the past decade. But much of that growth is due to Western banks having extended a huge amount of credit to regional business and consumers. Now, as Western countries reel from the global economic crisis, they are suddenly realizing their own economies could be in serious trouble as a result.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's top concern as she heads to Beijing will be U.S.-Chinese trade ties. It is a subject of utmost importance, since that partnership has been one of the growth engines of the world economy.
Opportunities for any significant easing of bilateral tensions have been few and far between, but by most accounts include the period shortly after Mohammad Khatami's election as president in 1997.
This week and next, Iran is marking the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. The 10 days of observances mark the time it took the revolution's leader, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Kohomeini, to topple the last vestiges of the Shah's rule following his return to Iran on February 1. Since then, the Islamic Revolution has proved to be one of the world's most durable. But has it succeeded in making life better for ordinary Iranians?
Lots of political newcomers have been met with a fresh emphasis on local problems in the run-up to Iraqi elections. The result is unprecedented electioneering and greater exposure for aspiring politicians of all stripes -- but not necessarily genders.
The ruble is set to fall today against the euro and dollar. Russia's Central Bank says it is establishing a new floor for the currency at 36 rubles to the U.S. dollar. The action is the latest and biggest in a series of 20 mini-devaluations since November that has sought to adjust Russia's currency to lower oil prices and the country's worst economic outlook in a decade.
Dutch legislator Geert Wilders, the creator of a controversial web-based film stigmatizing Islam, is to be prosecuted in Amsterdam on charges of discrimination and incitement to hatred.
Diplomats may be shuttling to Cairo in hopes of getting a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. But Syria and Iran, the main backers of Hamas, are making it clear that any road to a truce also goes through them. By demonstrating that they can slow down or speed up the pace of negotiations, they are amassing capital for their own purposes in the Middle East.
Turkey is Israel's major regional ally and the two have good military and economic ties. But Turkey's prime minister has been noticeably critical of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Touring the Mideast recently, he accused Israel of perpetrating "inhuman actions." Is he playing to regional popular sentiment? Or is he redefining the Israeli-Turkish alliance?
After five years of fighting and with Iraqi authority now at unprecedented levels since the launch of the U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, the level of violence appears to have finally eased to the point that citizens can again plan for the future.
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has confirmed he will close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and "make sure we don't torture," calling those steps necessary "to regain America's moral stature in the world." The closure of Guantanamo would end one of the most controversial chapters in U.S. President George W. Bush's war on terror.
Defense ministers from NATO states and Ukraine met in Tallinn to discuss Kyiv's prospects for eventual membership in the alliance. Top NATO officials again stressed their desire to one day see Ukraine in the group. But tensions with Russia, and political instability in Ukraine, make it all but certain that Kyiv will not soon be put on the formal path to membership.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has held talks in Poland, the first EU country he has visited since the Russia-Georgia crisis began last month. Appearing afterwards in a joint press conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, Lavrov affirmed Moscow's opposition to the deployment of a U.S. missile shield in Central Europe, and he showed no sign of easing Moscow's tough stance over Georgia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in Poland, the first EU country he has visited since the Russia-Georgia crisis began last month. There is much he can discuss with Polish leaders, but most of it would seem likely only to highlight the tensions between Moscow and the West. That is because, quite apart from Poland's strong support for Tbilisi, Russia is also angry with Poland for hosting a planned U.S. missile shield.
The World Bank lists Azerbaijan, Albania, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan among the world's top reformers of business regulations. But are such reforms enough to attract increased foreign investment?
Little wonder that many people -- including in the two countries themselves -- view the outbreak of "football diplomacy" with amazement.
As Moscow promises to begin withdrawing its troops, the way is opening for a clearer picture of what happened during the Russian Army's occupation of Georgia. But there is still no progress on opening a humanitarian corridor between South Ossetia and Georgia proper, and international access to South Ossetia remains tightly controlled.
Tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets in Tbilisi on August 12 to underline their desire to put aside politics and show unity in the face of Moscow's incursion into their country. But questions have arisen both in Georgia and in the West over President Mikheil Saakashvili's leadership in the run-up to the crisis.
In the international showdown over Iran's nuclear program, Europe is the player with the greatest economic leverage in Tehran. But Europe has been reluctant to use trade ties to press Iran to give up uranium enrichment. Not anymore.
Negotiations to establish the legal conditions under which U.S. troops will remain in Iraq after their UN mandate expires at the end this year are turning into a political crisis in Baghdad.
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