In New Year Message, China’s Panchen Lama Praises Religious Policy

A youth named by China as the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, but reviled as a fake by many Tibetans, has praised the Communist Party’s religious policies in Tibet in a lunar new year message, saying they made him feel “very happy.” Although officially atheist, China selected Gyaltsen Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama in …

Jets Pound Northwest Syria as Geneva Talks Continue

At least 11 people were killed in airstrikes on Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province Monday, opposition activists said, in the latest spasm of violence to mar U.N.-brokered talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and the opposition. Separately, there were unconfirmed reports that a top al-Qaida official was killed in an airstrike, also in Idlib. The …

Islamic State in Western Mosul on the Offensive as Iraqi Forces Advance

“If you trap a cat in a closet, he will fight like hell to get out,” says Ahmed Ghalibi as multiple car bombings send smoke billowing over a nearby Iraqi neighborhood. Standing Sunday on a rooftop with a view of the week-old fight for western Mosul, Ghalibi, a soldier with Iraq’s Emergency Response Unit — …

US Embassy Condemns Far-right March With US Flag in Croatia

The U.S. Embassy in Croatia on Monday strongly denounced a march by far-right nationalists in the Croatian capital of Zagreb who also waved an American flag and reportedly voiced support for President Donald Trump. The embassy said in a statement it “rejects, in the strongest terms, neo-Nazi and pro-Ustasha views expressed during the demonstration of …

The Guardians Of Nemtsov’s Memorial

On February 27, 2015, Kremlin critic and former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov was murdered on a Moscow bridge. Thousands of people marked the second anniversary of his assassination. But with tributes to the slain opposition figure being dismantled, a group of volunteers are fighting to protect Nemtsov’s memory. (YouTube, RFE/RL’s Russian Service, Current …

Afghans Remain Stranded In Pakistan

Hundreds of Afghans remain stranded on the Pakistani side of the Torkham border crossing, which closed earlier this month. Those waiting on February 27 included women, children, and others needing medical attention, who were earlier told by authorities that they would be allowed to cross. (RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal) …

Fans and Film Stars Ready for Hollywood’s Big Night: Oscars

Cameras and cell phones at the ready, fans and members of the media have begun to gather outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 89th Academy Awards celebration. Sunday night’s Oscars are shaping up to be one of the most turbulent and politically charged ceremonies in recent memory. The 3-hour-plus telecast is expected …

Mass Christian Immigration From Iraq Makes Future of Church Uncertain

Hind Safaa has returned to her hometown of Qaraqosh in northern Iraq after Islamic State fighters were pushed out of the town. She and her family left the area two years ago due to fears that Islamic State fighters will target them as religious minorities. Safaa was shocked to witness the destruction and ruins brought …

Stars Arrive at Oscars, Where La La Land Could Shine

Sunday night’s Oscars are shaping up to be one of the most turbulent and politically charged ceremonies in recent memory. The three-hour-plus telecast, which begins at 8:30 p.m. on ABC, is expected to resemble one very glitzy protest against President Donald Trump, whom award-winners _-like Meryl Streep at the Golden Globes – have railed against …

Commemorations Of Slain Kremlin Critic Nemtsov Held In Russian Cities

Besides a march held on February 26 in Moscow commemorating former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, who was killed two years ago, events in his memory also took place in others cities on the same day. While marches were staged in St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk, people in Krasnoyarsk laid flowers beside photos of Nemtsov …

Kyrgyzstan Detains Opposition Party Leader

Kyrgyzstan’s state security service said it detained opposition politician Omurbek Tekebayev on Sunday on charges of corruption and fraud, a move that may eliminate him as a contender for presidency in the upcoming election. Tekebayev, 58, leads the Ata Meken (Fatherland) party’s parliamentary faction and is one of the most outspoken critics of President Almazbek …

French President Asks Trump for Support, not Criticism

French President Francois Hollande fired back at Donald Trump on Saturday after the U.S. president remarked in a speech that a friend thought “Paris is no longer Paris” after attacks by Islamist militants. Hollande said Trump should show support for U.S. allies. “There is terrorism and we must fight it together. I think that it …

Pope Trims Sanctions for Some Pedophile Priests Seeking Mercy

Pope Francis has quietly reduced sanctions against a handful of pedophile priests, applying his vision of a merciful church even to its worst offenders in ways that survivors of abuse and the pope’s own advisers question. One case has come back to haunt him: An Italian priest who received the pope’s clemency was later convicted …

Turkish PM Launches ‘Yes’ Campaign to Boost Erdogan Powers

Turkey’s prime minister has officially launched his ruling party’s campaign for a “yes” vote in a referendum on ushering a presidential system, which critics fear will concentrate too many powers in the hands of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.   Binali Yildirim formally got campaigning going on Saturday telling supporters in a sports arena that the …