 RFE/RL Headlines 21.05.2009 A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Pakistan Says Nuclear Reports Are 'Malicious' News reports about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, including questions about its safety, are part of a malicious campaign that is counterproductive to efforts to defeat terrorism, a Pakistani spokesman has said. More  Sakharov's Birthday Marked In Russia The 88th birthday of late Soviet human rights activist Andrei Sakharov is being marked in several Russian cities. More  Activist Detained After Urging Tatar Independence An investigation has been launched against a prominent Tatar activist in the city of Chally, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports. More  High-Ranking Daghestani Investigator Shot Dead The deputy chief of the Russian Prosecutor-General's Investigations Committee has been shot dead by unknown assailants in Daghestan's capital, Makhachkala, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  RFE/RL President Meets Youth Activists In Minsk RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin visited the headquarters of the opposition Popular Front of Belarus (BNF) party in Minsk on May 20, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Jailed Belarusian Activist Hospitalized After Hunger Strike One of the leaders of a small-business owners movement in Belarus has been hospitalized after a lengthy hunger strike, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Russian Flight Attendants Continue Hunger Strike Flight attendants at KrasAir (Krasnoyarsk Airlines) in Siberia are continuing a hunger strike to demand their unpaid salaries, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Kyrgyz Rights Activists Accuse Authorities Of Cruelty In a statement, the Kyrgyz Council of Human Rights Activists has accused state officials of cruelty and injustice, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Kazakh Officials Investigating 'Godfather-In-Law' Book The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office has launched an investigation into the book "Godfather-in-Law," written by President Nursultan Nazarbaev's exiled former son-in-law, Rakhat Aliev. More  Kyrgyz Presidential Candidates Take Kyrgyz-Language Exam A new political reality TV show launches today in Kyrgyzstan ahead of the July 23 presidential election. That's when the first of the 17 registered presidential candidates will take the required Kyrgyz-language exam, which will be broadcast live on nationwide television. More There might be a lot of disappointed Wales fans, who were going to see their country's soccer team face off against Azerbaijan next month. More  What Is Ramzan Kadyrov's New Game Plan? Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has called for police and security forces in Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Daghestan to coordinate their efforts to hunt down and kill Islamic militants. But Daghestan is reluctant to comply, while some analysts have questioned how effective such coordination would be. Is Kadyrov's proposal part of a long-cherished desire to extend his control to Ingushetia? Or is he simply trying yet again to demonstrate to Moscow that he personally holds the key to stability in the North Caucasus? More  Karzai Shows His Savvy Weeks before the start of the formal three-month campaign for Afghanistan's presidential vote, incumbent Hamid Karzai is maneuvering to stymie domestic political opposition and convince the international community that he remains an indispensible ally. More  Reports Of Tajik Clampdown Kindle Lingering Fears Reports of the scale of a purported antidrug operation, the inclusion of special-forces troops, and especially its location have fueled speculation that it may be a veiled government effort to combat the activities of warlords in the mountainous Rasht Valley. The region is not generally known for drug production or as a major trafficking route, but was the stronghold of the armed Islamic opposition in last decade's civil war. More  Why Is Dollar Weakening If U.S. Economy Is Stabilizing? The U.S. dollar fell to its lowest level of the year on May 20. But the timing of the fall was strange indeed: it came just as U.S. officials said the U.S. economy is stabilizing. So why is the dollar in retreat? More  Multiple Pipelines, But No Happiness The European Union and Russia are holding a summit in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk that will have a special focus on energy resources. The discussions on oil and natural gas are likely to reflect a spirit of competition, rather than cooperation. More  Russia's Roots Are Its History, And They Are Rotten Russia, the saying goes, is a country with an unpredictable past. In fact, it is harder to predict our past than it is to foresee the future. It is a fun-house mirror that it would seem impossible to twist further. Could it be that President Medvedev's new history commission will be in charge of straightening out twisted reflections? More  Apathy Could Be Ahmadinejad's Best Election Ally It would seem that the establishment is bent on securing a first-round win for the president, even if by a narrow margin. The fear is that a second-round runoff might look too much like an up-or-down vote on Ahmadinejad, and a contest like that might be impossible to win. More |
