The May 9 assassination of Moscow's puppet leader of Chechnya, Ahmed Kadyrov, underscores that Russia is today no closer to bringing stability to Chechnya than it was when the Russian military launched its first invasion of the territory in 1994. Indeed, a vicious cycle of savagery has taken hold in Chechnya that makes stability seem like a distant dream.
The origins of the new flag date back to the medieval times when a similar banner was used by a Georgian clan in what is now part of Turkey. Saakashvili adopted the five-cross flag for use by his political party, the National Movement. It thus became the symbol of resistance during the protests that followed the rigged parliamentary elections in November 2003.
As in many countries around the globe, soccer is widely viewed in Afghanistan as the national pastime. The country's legacy of violence, however, meant that Afghanistan has not competed in the international arena for much of the past two decades.
The title of the film has been a source of some confusion. The film has nothing to do with al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, or terrorism for that matter. "Osama" is a poignant portrayal of life under the Taliban, focusing on the severe conditions experienced by Afghan women.
One of Afghanistan's few reconstruction bright spots these days is found in the capital, where a sense of normalcy is slowly returning after almost a quarter century of conflict. As Edward Grazda's photo essay shows, Kabul is in the midst of a construction boom.
Financing for Shakhid-Tela's reconstruction was provided by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), a Saudi Arabia-based organization that maintains an office in Bishkek, according to Yakubjan Sabirov, a financial officer at the mosque. Media reports said the Saudi organization donated $93,000 to the project.
Today, her debut single, "The Closest Thing to Crazy," is a Top-20 hit in Britain and her debut album, "Call Off the Search," has already earned her a gold disc.
Melua has been called a "breath of fresh air" and is being compared to Norah Jones, the young, smoky-voiced jazz singer in the United States who already has a string of Grammy awards to her name.
It follows Piers Lewis, a pony-tailed young Briton working for AES, as he tries to lift bill collection rates by shutting off power to non-paying customers. Lewis has a hard job: years of poor maintenance have left power lines unreliable, and widespread inability to pay has forced Georgians to make their own hazardous hookups.
Hinalugis, who number 2,000, live as a distinct tribe. Some call them a nation. They come from a distinct genetic pool and their language, which descends from Caucasian, is foreign even in nearby villages. Some men who served in the Soviet armed forces speak Russian; most speak Azeri, which they need in order to communicate with the outside world.
