Kathleen Moore is the director of RFE/RL's Central Newsroom.
Setting up a small business is never easy. But for many of Central and Eastern Europe's Roma, poverty, lack of education, and discrimination make it all that much harder. Still, there are some success stories -- and experts at a forum in Prague this week were discussing how to promote Romany entrepreneurship further.
At least one in three Turkish women have suffered physical violence within their families. That's the finding of a report out today by Amnesty International. It says many women are forced into marriage, beaten, raped, or even murdered in 'honor killings.'
Excess weight is fast becoming one of the world's most pressing health problems. That's the view of experts who gathered in Prague this week for the European Congress on Obesity.
A “war on global values.” That's how Amnesty International is summing up the past year in human rights. In its annual report released today, the London-based human rights watchdog says governments and armed groups have produced the most sustained attack on human rights and international humanitarian law in 50 years. And it says the policies pursued by governments in the U.S.-led war on terrorism have actually made the world a more dangerous place.
Russian scientists this week delivered what could turn out to be a fatal blow to the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. They advised President Vladimir Putin to reject Kyoto -- and if he heeds their advice, it will deal the final blow to the seven-year-old pact. But even as the fate of the protocol looks increasingly grim, a growing number of local groups, governments and businesses are willingly adopting Kyoto-like measures to cut harmful gas emissions.
For many people in the West, Islam appears at odds with the idea of equal rights for men and women. So when a woman willingly converts to Islam it raises a few eyebrows. Why, people ask, would an educated, liberated woman choose a religion that in some interpretations permits polygamy and imposes the veil? Yet Islam continues to attract female converts in Western European countries. For many, the trigger is marriage to a Muslim man.
For years, the Russian military has patrolled the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, one of the world's major drug-smuggling routes. Recently the troops' main job has been to stem the flow of Afghan heroin that is smuggled across the border on its way to Russia and Western markets. Now the reported arrests of two Russian border guards with heroin has once again raised questions about the involvement of the Russian military -- at a time when Tajikistan is looking to gradually assume command of the border service.
Prague, 27 April 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Libya's leader has been welcomed in Brussels on his first trip to Europe in 15 years -- the latest step in Tripoli's transformation from pariah to Western partner.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced today that Britain will call a referendum on the European Union constitution. The move is being described as Blair's biggest policy U-turn -- and one of his riskiest, as he will have to convince a strongly Euro-skeptic public.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov is in Moscow today for a visit that will include talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a brief statement, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said the talks will focus on international issues of common interest, as well as Uzbek-Russian relations. The visit comes one day after Russia's energy giant Gazprom announced that it will invest the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars into the Uzbek gas industry.
It's been four years since Feliks Kulov was initially arrested on charges of abuse of power. It marked the beginning of the Kyrgyz opposition leader's travails, troubles that would see him tried twice and put in jail, where he remains today. Now, the Justice Ministry is denying reports Kulov is soon to be freed. The announcement comes as supporters are planning another march to draw attention to Kulov's plight and demand his release.
In Germany, parts of the south of the country have banned teachers from wearing Muslim head scarves in public schools. In France, it's students who will soon no longer be able to wear them. But in the United States, authorities have intervened to allow a Muslim schoolgirl to wear the hijab. The head scarf has hit the headlines in many countries that have Muslim minorities -- but authorities have taken markedly different approaches.
The grisly deaths of four civilian security contractors in Al-Fallujah this week might serve as a grim warning to foreign contractors of the dangers of working in Iraq. It also has highlighted the role of the private security industry there. These firms provide much-needed security, but critics warn there are dangers, too.
A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad says Al-Fallujah is one of the Iraqi towns that "still doesn't get it" -- that is, does not understand that there is no going back to the old regime. Mark Kimmitt's comments came after a particularly brutal incident in the town yesterday, when angry crowds dragged the mutilated bodies of four American civilian contractors through the streets. It caps one of the most deadly months for Americans in Iraq, and secures the town's reputation as a hotbed of anti-American insurgency.
At least 40 people have been killed in three days of violence in Uzbekistan between special forces and suspected militants. The violence has included alleged suicide bombings, a car bomb, and a fierce shoot-out at an apartment block. Authorities are pinning the blame on Islamic radicals. But with no claim of responsibility, and little information to go on, it's unclear who is behind the violence -- and why.
The European Union has appointed its first antiterrorism coordinator. But already there is skepticism about the new post and what can be achieved.
Two new reports highlight the crippling cost of political corruption. Transparency International shows how the worst offenders have siphoned off billions of dollars from some of the world's poorest countries, depriving millions of people of health care, education, and the chance for a better future. And Global Witness says crooked officials have condemned many oil- and mineral-rich countries to poverty and political instability.
Human trafficking. Slavery. Sexual exploitation. Whatever you call it, it's become one of Europe's major scourges. Now, a top European human rights body, the Council of Europe, is paying increased attention to the problem. This month alone, it's devoted a meeting and a training session to the trade in human beings. And it is also in the final stages of drafting a convention against trafficking. RFE/RL spoke about the issue with the Council of Europe's deputy secretary-general.
One of Europe's top racism watchdogs is 10 years old. The European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) -- set up by the Council of Europe -- marked the anniversary yesterday with a conference in Strasbourg. One of the topics up for discussion was the link between terrorism and racism.
Last week's Madrid bombings are seen as a major factor behind the weekend ouster of the party of Spain's prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, a staunch ally of U.S. President George W. Bush. Was this a victory for terrorists, who successfully swayed an election outcome with their deadly tactics? And could this strategy be repeated in other countries?
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