The holidays are over, and we invite you to get back into the RFE/RL rhythm with a review of reports that continue to develop in our broadcast regions and beyond.
# RUSSIA - Profiles from Washington correspondent Richard Solash show the personal stakes entangled in the newly imposed Russian adoption ban.
"U.S. Families Hope For Miracle As Russia Bans Adoptions"
For hundreds of U.S. families in the process of their own Russian adoptions, dreams are quickly becoming nightmares.
"Man Offers Own Mountain Of Proof Against Russia's U.S. Adoption Ban"
Alexander D'Jamoos began life as an orphan with deformed legs in Russia, but now lists a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro among his accomplishments. He says his U.S. adoption was the key to his success and has pledged to fight Russia's ban.
"Russian Adoption Ban: One U.S. Family Counts Its Blessings While Others Fight On"
Profiles of families who made it out of Russia with their adopted children just in time, and those who continue to fight to bring theirs to the United States.
# IRAN - Washington correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari with a trio of reports.
"Wife Of Former FBI Agent Missing In Iran Talks About 'New' Photos"
Christine Levinson, the wife of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who went missing during a March 2007 visit to the Iranian island of Kish, speaks about the release of photographs of her husband in captivity.
"Who Will Be Iran's Next President?"
The faces behind the names of would-be successors to Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
"Khamenei Page Prompts Calls For Iran To Unblock Facebook"
Is Iran about to get more social? Thanks to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Facebook page, supporters and opponents of Iran's supreme leader now agree on one thing: Iran should free up access to the social-networking site.
# PAKISTAN and AFGHANISTAN- The murder of nine health care workers in northwest Pakistan sparks new demands for drastic measures against the Taliban; Benazir Bhutto is remembered on the fifth anniversary of her assassination; and the winter cold challenges the most hardy of Afghanistan's internally displaced refugees.
"Slain Pakistani Polio Workers Remembered"
Radio Mashaal correspondent Shah Nawaz Khan talks to the husband of one of the slain health care workers.
"Will Public Anger Prod Pakistani Officials Into Action?"
But, asks Radio Mashaal correspondent Daud Khattak, does public anger and revulsion mean a tipping point for official and decisive action against the Taliban?
"Veteran War Correspondent On Her Relationship With Benazir Bhutto"
Correspondent Ron Synovitz speaks with Christina Lamb, an award-winning war correspondent and author of five books, has spent 20 years reporting from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, and South America.
"‘Hunger And Cold’ For Displaced In Kabul"
Radio Azadi's Sabawoon captures the difficult life of thousands of internally displaced Afghans and refugees who have returned from Pakistan and Iran are living in camps in Kabul, enduring the cold weather without sufficient clothing, fuel, or food. (See also: photo essays "Displaced Afghans Await Aid In Bitter Cold" and "Helping Afghans Survive The Winter")
A tip for 2013: you'll never miss an important RFE/RL report if you follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
# RUSSIA - Profiles from Washington correspondent Richard Solash show the personal stakes entangled in the newly imposed Russian adoption ban.
"U.S. Families Hope For Miracle As Russia Bans Adoptions"
For hundreds of U.S. families in the process of their own Russian adoptions, dreams are quickly becoming nightmares.
"Man Offers Own Mountain Of Proof Against Russia's U.S. Adoption Ban"
Alexander D'Jamoos began life as an orphan with deformed legs in Russia, but now lists a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro among his accomplishments. He says his U.S. adoption was the key to his success and has pledged to fight Russia's ban.
"Russian Adoption Ban: One U.S. Family Counts Its Blessings While Others Fight On"
Profiles of families who made it out of Russia with their adopted children just in time, and those who continue to fight to bring theirs to the United States.
# IRAN - Washington correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari with a trio of reports.
"Wife Of Former FBI Agent Missing In Iran Talks About 'New' Photos"
Christine Levinson, the wife of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who went missing during a March 2007 visit to the Iranian island of Kish, speaks about the release of photographs of her husband in captivity.
"Who Will Be Iran's Next President?"
The faces behind the names of would-be successors to Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
"Khamenei Page Prompts Calls For Iran To Unblock Facebook"
Is Iran about to get more social? Thanks to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Facebook page, supporters and opponents of Iran's supreme leader now agree on one thing: Iran should free up access to the social-networking site.
# PAKISTAN and AFGHANISTAN- The murder of nine health care workers in northwest Pakistan sparks new demands for drastic measures against the Taliban; Benazir Bhutto is remembered on the fifth anniversary of her assassination; and the winter cold challenges the most hardy of Afghanistan's internally displaced refugees.
"Slain Pakistani Polio Workers Remembered"
Radio Mashaal correspondent Shah Nawaz Khan talks to the husband of one of the slain health care workers.
"Will Public Anger Prod Pakistani Officials Into Action?"
But, asks Radio Mashaal correspondent Daud Khattak, does public anger and revulsion mean a tipping point for official and decisive action against the Taliban?
"Veteran War Correspondent On Her Relationship With Benazir Bhutto"
Correspondent Ron Synovitz speaks with Christina Lamb, an award-winning war correspondent and author of five books, has spent 20 years reporting from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, and South America.
"‘Hunger And Cold’ For Displaced In Kabul"
Radio Azadi's Sabawoon captures the difficult life of thousands of internally displaced Afghans and refugees who have returned from Pakistan and Iran are living in camps in Kabul, enduring the cold weather without sufficient clothing, fuel, or food. (See also: photo essays "Displaced Afghans Await Aid In Bitter Cold" and "Helping Afghans Survive The Winter")
A tip for 2013: you'll never miss an important RFE/RL report if you follow us on Twitter and Facebook.