 RFE/RL Headlines 19.05.2009 A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  U.S., Russia Start Fresh Nuclear-Disarmament Talks Russian and U.S. officials are meeting to start disarmament talks that could lead to cuts in the two countries' nuclear arsenals. The aim is to create a successor agreement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expires soon. More  Biden Begins Tour Of Balkans U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has begun a three-day tour of the Balkans, arriving at Sarajevo airport for what is seen as a bid to show Washington's commitment in the volatile former Yugoslavia. More  Armenian-American Businessman Found Dead Police say they have found the body of a missing Armenian-American businessman in a ravine outside Yerevan that shows "traces of violence." More  Kyrgyz Opposition Leader Quits Presidential Race Former Defense Minister Ismail Isakov has announced that he is withdrawing from Kyrgyzstan's presidential election to improve the chances of another opposition candidate. More  Relatives Demand Investigation Into Kyrgyz Officials' Deaths The relatives of a Kyrgyz politician and his two associates who were killed in an alleged traffic accident in March are demanding further investigations into the case. More  Crimean Tatar World Congress Opens The World Congress of Crimean Tatars (Kurultai) has opened in the Crimean city of Bakhchisaray, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  Tajik Families Defect To 'Muslim' Afghanistan Two Tajik families illegally entered Afghanistan earlier this month because they said they wanted to live in an Islamic country, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More  Yekaterinburg Protesters Demand Rights Activist's Release Some 100 protesters gathered in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg to demand the immediate release of a human rights activist, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More 'It Was Very Hard Time For Me' Our colleagues over at RFE/RL's excellent "Journalists In Trouble" page have posted a video interview with Turkmen correspondent Yovshan Annagurban that is worth checking out, if you haven't already seen it. More  Ahmadinejad Accused Of Trying To Buy Votes Again Iran’s President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has been accused of handing out cash in order to buy votes ahead of the June 12 presidential election. More The savior of 667 lives turns 100 today. More  Tajikistan's Secularization Proof perhaps that Tajik President Rahmon's policy of secularization is working. More Robert Amsterdam, who's part of former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky's legal team, is twittering about the trial. More  Abkhaz Opposition Lambastes President Two opposition groups have released a joint statement criticizing the "damaging" policies implemented by the republic's leadership. They say those policies, including the "multivectoral" foreign policy advocated by President Sergei Bagapsh, "pose a real threat to the [continued] existence of our people and independent state." More  Thousands Attend Former Armenian President's Election Rally Thousands of people attended an election rally and subsequent march through central Yerevan on May 15 organized by the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK). With less than two weeks to go before the May 31 Yerevan municipal-council election, predictions of the outcome differ widely. More  Politicians Struggle With Afghanistan Strategy With elections on the horizon, the leaders of Germany's two main parties, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, are cautiously trying to rally support for the country's role in Afghanistan. But with two-thirds of the population in favor of withdrawal, will Germany's engagement fall victim to the election campaign? More  Moldova's Topsy-Turvy Vote Lawmakers in Moldova are selecting a successor to long-time Communist President Vladimir Voronin. The opposition is vowing to boycott the vote to prevent the Communists from electing their candidate. If parliament fails, Moldova will face another round of national elections -- and, possibly, more unrest following last month's mass demonstrations. More  Iran's Vetters Prepare To Lower The Boom What do a truck driver, a dentist, an unemployed woman, and a 12-year-old schoolboy have in common? They're all among the 475 people who want to compete in Iran's upcoming presidential election. They're also all equally doomed to failure. More Unfinished Business In The Balkans Since 1995, the EU has taken center stage in the fractious Balkans. But from the very beginning, various EU members have adopted differing, sometimes contradictory, policies; different European countries have supported various Yugoslav successor states at different times. Now, the best the EU can hope for is maintaining a dissatisfying status quo. So the arrival of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in the region seems like a bid to push yet another "reset" button and an acknowledgement that Washingt More |
