Charles Recknagel is standards editor for RFE/RL.
There are ever more signs Western sanctions are squeezing the Russian government: from the falling ruble to a widening search for cash to prop up state companies.
Iran is not part of the international coalition against Islamic State militants. But it is waging a war of its own with the group that is likely to overlap with the U.S.-led effort in unpredictable ways.
Various Middle Eastern and European countries are expected to join the U.S.-led coalition to roll back Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. We look at who they are and what they will do.
Syria's conflict began as a revolution against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Now the country is the arena for multiple wars, with the U.S. plan to roll back Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria adding only the latest level of complexity.
Semifailed state with polarized politics? A Bosnia-style solution sounds good to the Kremlin's ears when discussing Ukraine's future.
Russia's state news agency, ITAR-TASS, has rebranded itself, not by moving forward with something new but by traveling back to something old: its Soviet-era name, TASS.
Moscow's ban on food imports isn't just punishing the West for sanctions, it is also punishing Russian consumers with higher prices. We look at how the bans hurt Russians most.
Ebola is ravaging parts of West Africa but virologists say it is unlikely to spread rapidly across the globe as many other epidemics have.
The combined U.S. and EU sanctions over Ukraine will put severe strains on Russia's economy, with effects that could last for years. We look at how and where they will hurt most.
As the world's attention focuses on the sad task of burying the dead, the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine remains unsecured and barely open to investigators. That could make it increasingly difficult to ever prove decisively what brought the plane down.
When Mosul's Christians fled for their lives, their once vibrant and centuries-old community scattered to the winds. Who were Mosul's Christians?
Ukraine's pro-Russia separatists say they won't give up Donetsk, their largest stronghold, without a fight. Now they are digging in for battle.
Iraq's Kurdish region is playing the independence card, but there are signs it could simply be upping the ante in a bid for more territory and rights within Iraq.
There is no underestimating the anger that supporters of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah feel over initial election results showing him way behind his rival. But how much power does he have to make trouble if the crisis continues?
The European Union will sign key political and trade agreements with Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova on June 27. What do the accords mean for these countries and how might Russia react?
As Sunni insurgents take territory in northern Iraq, they hope to win local support by capitalizing on deeply felt grievances within Iraq's Sunni community. What are those grievances and how did they help fuel the current crisis?
U.S. and Iranian officials say they could consider cooperating in Iraq against the ISIL. But what form might that take?
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has quickly turned to Shi'ite militias to reinforce the army for a planned counter offensive against Sunni insurgents in the north. Is it a recipe for success, or civil war?
How do Islamists and Ba'athists end up as allies on one side in Iraq while the United States and Iran share interests on the other? Those are just some of the incongruities characterizing the Iraqi crisis today.
Some half a million people have fled Mosul. Now, they are trying to come to grips with what happened and wondering when they can go back.
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