A regional journalist's journey from being a star TV news anchor to working as a trolleybus conductor provides a striking example of how authorities in Russia's provinces deal with troublesome media. More
Local Leaders Reject Need For Ground Operations In North Waziristan Earlier this year, the U.S. pressed Pakistan hard for a ground operation against the Haqqani network in North Waziristan. Six months later, it is still uncertain whether such an operation will take place. More
As Depression Grows In Bosnia, So Does Appetite For Pills Still recovering from the ravages of war, Bosnians have no shortage of anxiety, what with growing unemployment and poverty. This has sparked a rise in depression, and with it, a rise in the use of tranquilizers and antidepressants. More
As Other Media Stagnate In Russia, Internet Changing Rules Of Engagement The Putin era hasn't been good for Russian media. But the rise of the Internet -- noisy, popular, and community-minded -- might be changing all that. More
EU Turns Up Heat On Belarus, Iran The dire state of human rights in Belarus and Iran is spurring the EU to ramp up sanctions against individuals close to the ruling regimes in those two countries. EU ministers on October 10 will also discuss responses to the upcoming verdict in Ukraine's Yulia Tymoshenko trial. More
Siberian Yeti Conference Seeks Out Elusive Hominid Since yeti sightings are on the rise in Kemerovo, the regional town of Tashtagol was chosen to host an international conference recently on the sought-after beast. More
Russian Media Tests Boundaries Of State Censorship October 7 marks the fifth anniversary of the assassination of "Novaya gazeta" journalist and author Anna Politkovskaya, renowned for her groundbreaking investigative reporting from the North Caucasus region. To mark this date and to honor Politkovskaya's memory, RFE/RL introduces a six-part series, "The State Of The Russian Media." This series will examine issues including ownership and censorship, the changing habits of news consumers, problems journalists face in Russia's regions, the rise and impact of online media, and the role of tabloids. More
Americans Win Economics Prize Two Americans -- Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims -- have won this year's Nobel prize for economics. More
30 Reported Killed In Syria Syrian activists say more than 30 people were killed in violence across Syria on October 9. More
Call For Calm In Egypt After Deaths Egypt's prime minister has appealed for calm after at least 24 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in some of the worst violence since an uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February. More
Kosovo Rules Out Serbia Talks On Flashpoint North Senior Kosovo leaders have ruled out talks with Serbia over the flashpoint north as a European mediator began a two-day visit in a new bid to revive dialogue between two sides. More
New Police Warning For Belarus Pol Former Belarusian presidential candidate Uladzimer Nyaklyaeu has been warned again by his parole officer after taking part in an opposition gathering.More
'Courage' Awards For Rights Defenders Jailed Belarusian, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz human rights defenders have been awarded at the One World-Kyrgyzstan international film festival held in Bishkek. More
Belarusian Charged With Insulting Police Independent Belarusian journalist Kastus Shytal was arrested on October 7 while he was heading to the town of Myory in the eastern province of Vitsebsk. Traffic police stopped the car in which Shytal was riding and told him that his appearance was identical to that of a man suspected of breaking into a car. More
About 10 AIDS patients have been detained by police in front of the International Trade Center in Moscow demanding better treatment for HIV and AIDS patients in Russia. More
Call For Turkmen Reporter's Release The leader of an unregistered Turkmen opposition party has called on President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov to free an RFE/RL correspondent jailed last week. More
Striking Kazakh Oil Worker Attacked A striking oil worker in western Kazakhstan has been shot during an attack.More
Tajik Official Charged With Hajj Bribery A regional Tajik official responsible for religious affairs has been charged with corruption after allegedly soliciting bribes from Muslims who want to perform the hajj. More
Ousted Afghan Deputy Vows To Stay On Hunger Strike A female Afghan lawmaker expelled from parliament over vote-rigging claims says she will continue her hunger strike despite warnings from doctors. More
Polish FM Urges Belarusian Change Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski says it is up to the population of Belarus to try to influence the political situation there. More
Four Azerbaijani Opposition Activists Jailed Over April Protest Four Azerbaijani opposition activists have been jailed for up to three years for taking part in a protest six months ago that was broken up by police. More
Kyrgyz Criticize Counterterrorist Op The Kyrgyz human rights organization Justice-Truth has criticized law enforcement agencies for scaring local residents during a counterterrorist operation in the southern district of Osh on October 8. More
Kyrgyz Governor's Release Demanded Some 1,000 protesters blocked the entrance to a district government building in southern Kyrgyzstan today to demand the release of the local governor who was detained for suspected bribe-taking. More
Tatar Mufti Upset About 'Immoral' Film Festival Invitees Tatarstan's chief mufti says he sent a protest letter to the Russian republic's Culture Ministry about the "immoral background" of some actresses who attended the Muslim Film Festival held last month in Kazan. More
The Week Ahead: October 10-16 The Week Ahead is a detailed listing of key events of the coming week affecting RFE/RL's broadcast region. More
Hairy Monsters Through The Ages Last week’s conference of yeti experts in the Siberian town of Tashtagol prompted RFE/RL staff in Prague to take another look at hairy humanoids. Inclined to skepticism, we nevertheless bring you some of the finest highlights in the historiography of these apelike beasts. And who knows? No less than Jane Goodall once suggested that she believed in the yeti’s existence. More
Iranian Activist Lashed 74 Times For 'Insulting' Ahmadinejad Peymen Aref was lashed on October 9 before being released from Tehran's Evin prison, where he had spent the last 11 months because of his political activism. More
Insult The Tajik Authorities, Get Treated Like You're A Murderer Held in solitary confinement for nearly a year, and facing 16 years in prison, Tajik newspaper reporter Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov's case shows how the country's authorities deal with criticism. More
Central Asia's Largest Mosque To Be Built in Dushanbe Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon apparently takes great pride in breaking records. A month after officially raising the country's flag on the world's tallest unsupported flagpole in the Tajik capital, the president began construction of what is going to be Central Asia's biggest mosque, not far from downtown Dushanbe. More
Vladimir Putin: Russia's Last Tsar? The elites in the Kremlin have one overriding political goal: to keep control for themselves. Their leaders have an urgent need to secure amnesty for their crimes -- and this is precisely why Vladimir Putin has to come back to presidential office for the next 12 years. More
Tymoshenko Prosecution Is A Dead End For Ukraine This is the first time in contemporary Ukrainian history where the winner of a presidential contest has gone after the loser. It establishes a dangerous precedent. More
Photos Of The Week -- October 1-7 Apple boss Steve Jobs is remembered following his death, as Russia fetes its former/future president. More
