Charles Recknagel is standards editor for RFE/RL.
Milosevic in the courtroom at The Hague (file photo) (AFP) The trial of Saddam Hussein re-opened in Baghdad today, with Hussein and seven other top officials of his regime face charges related to the reprisal killings of 143 men and boys from the village of Al-Dujayl north of Baghdad after Hussein escaped an assassination attempt there in 1982. How does the Hussein trial compare with the ongoing trial of former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic?
The Old Bridge in Mostar was rebuilt after the Dayton accords ending Bosnia's civil war (RFE/RL) For 10 years, the international community has been involved in a unique experiment in Bosnia: turning a war-torn and deeply divided country into a unified and self-sufficient democracy. But after a decade of effort, many of those involved in the project say that the results have not met expectations. What has the international community learned about state building in Bosnia?
The Dayton negotiations took place at a U.S. Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, from 1 November to 21 November 1995. They were led by chief U.S. negotiator Richard Holbrooke and included then Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, and Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic.
Nearly 10 years ago, the presidents of Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia agreed on a plan to end the war in Bosnia. How well have the Dayton accords worked, and are they a blueprint for other hot spots?
Explosions at three Western-owned hotels in the Jordanian capital, Amman, killed at least 57 people and wounded more than 100 last night. The bombings are the worst in recent memory in Jordan, one of Washington's closest allies in the region. A website statement purportedly from Al-Qaeda in Iraq -- led by renegade Jordanian Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi -- claims responsibility for the attacks. But the statement's authenticity has yet to be verified.
Official results are still not expected for a few days The final result from Iraq's constitutional referendum is still days away, but U.S. and Iraqi officials are expressing confidence that the vote count will show the public endorsed the draft document. And some say that, even if the constitution is rejected, the reportedly large Sunni Arab turnout gives ground for optimism that the Sunnis may finally be joining Iraq’s political process.
U.S. and Iraqi forces are tightening security in Iraq for the 15 October referendum on the draft constitution. Washington and Baghdad hope to duplicate the success they had minimizing insurgent attacks on voters during Iraq’s polls for an interim government earlier this year.
Arab Sunni leaders are divided over how their community should vote in Iraq’s referendum on the draft constitution that takes place on 15 October. Many clerics are using mosques to urge people to take part in the poll but vote "No" on the charter. Yet at least one mostly Arab Sunni political party is urging supporters to vote "Yes."
Iraqis reading copies of the draft constitution The Iraqi parliament approved a deal today intended to win Arab Sunni approval of the country's draft constitution in a national referendum scheduled for 15 October. The deal includes provisions for a review of the constitution after a new legislature is elected by the end of this year. One of Iraq's main Arab Sunni parties helped negotiate the deal with Shi'a and Kurdish leaders and says it will now call on its supporters to vote to "Yes" for the draft charter. Many observers call the last-minute deal necessary to assure Arab Sunni participation in Iraq's transition process and to avoid a split of the country along sectarian lines. But it remains unclear how many other Sunni Arabs will back the deal, as some leaders continue to call for their community to reject the constitution.
Prague, 3 October 2005 (RFE/RL) -- As EU foreign ministers met in Luxembourg today, there was no certainty that they would be able to agree as planned to offer to start accession talks with Ankara.
The Security Council might be the next step The United Nations' nuclear agency is considering a demand by the European Union to refer Iran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council. The draft asks the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to report Iran's "many failures and breaches of its obligations to comply" with safeguard agreements under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). But Russia and China say they oppose taking the matter to the Security Council. RFE/RL looks at the dispute over Iran's nuclear activities and where it may go from here.
British troops patrolling in Al-Basrah (file photo) Details remain confused about an operation by British forces to free two soldiers arrested by Iraqi authorities in the southern city of Al-Basrah. The operation used armored vehicles to storm the prison where the soldiers were held and came after a day of rioting in the city by crowds demanding the soldiers remain in jail. What is behind the clashes in Al-Basrah and what does it say about British efforts to maintain order in a city increasingly dominated by Shi’ite militias?
North Korea pledged today that it will give up all of its nuclear weapons and programs and return to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In exchange, South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia, and China -- which have been holding talks with North Korea in Beijing -- have expressed willingness to provide Pyongyang oil and energy aid and security guarantees. But are the statements from both sides enough to end the North Korean nuclear crisis?
Zalmay Khalilzad (file photo) U.S. officials again warned Syria to stop allowing insurgents to penetrate Iraq from its territory. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said in Washington that “patience is running out with Syria” and that “all options are on the table.” The stepped-up warnings come as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces continue efforts to take control of the border town of Tal Afar. U.S. and Iraqi commanders say the town is a staging post for foreign fighters infiltrating from Syria.
Pilgrims on their way to the shrine on the morning of 31 August Iraq is observing three days of mourning following Wednesday’s stampede among Shi’ite pilgrims on a bridge in Baghdad that killed nearly 1,000 people. The stampede was set off by rumors of suicide bombers in the crowd. Hundreds of people were crushed to death. Others tumbled into the Tigris River, where they drowned. Both in Iraq and abroad, the tragedy is being called the work of terrorists.
The Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility (file photo) Iran says it has successfully applied biotechnology to manufacturing a precursor material for nuclear fuel. The claim -- made on Iranian state television -- is impossible to immediately confirm but is sure to heighten tensions over Iran's already controversial nuclear activities. The United States says Iran wants to develop nuclear arms under the cover of a peaceful nuclear energy program. Iran denies the charges.
Members of Iraq's constitutional committee (file photo) Liberal Iraqi women and secular parties fought hard to protect women’s rights in the drafting of Iraq’s first post-Saddam Hussein constitution. But their opponents -- Iraq’s ascendant religious parties -- succeeded in including a vague provision that no law can be passed that contradicts the fixed principles of Islam. RFE/RL speaks with an Iraqi women’s rights activist about some of the uncertainties the provision raises for the future of women’s rights in the country.
Iraq's long process of writing its first post-Saddam draft constitution is over. The overdue document, originally planned to be completed on 15 August was presented to the National Assembly and read aloud in the chamber on 28 August. But even as the document was presented to the Shi'a-dominated assembly, many Sunni negotiators involved in the weeks of hard bargaining said their concerns were ignored and they will now work to get the draft constitution rejected in the planned mid-October referendum.
A protest yesterday against the constitution in Ba'qubah Wrangling over terms continues to hold up the finalizing of Iraq’s overdue draft constitution. Iraqi leaders say discussions will last at least another day, but have set no new deadline for wrapping up the process. Meanwhile, new disputes have arisen regarding the proper procedures for approving the draft document before it goes to a national referendum in October.
Al-Sadr loyalists outside the cleric's house today Factional tensions in Shi’ite areas of Iraq are rising in the wake of clashes yesterday in Al-Najaf, Baghdad, and Al-Basrah. The clashes appear largely connected to longstanding power struggles between Shi’ite parties and their armed wings for political control of key centers. But the fallout could affect efforts in Baghdad to finally approve the country’s first post-Saddam Hussein draft constitution. According to the latest timetable, the National Assembly is due to vote by midnight today on whether to approve the document.
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