 RFE/RL Headlines May 25, 2009 A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Medvedev Unveils Economic Program In an unusual move, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev personally presented his annual budget message to government and legislative leaders. While refraining from open criticism of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin or the cabinet, he conceded that the global economic crisis has hit Russia hard. More  Kazakhstan Arrests Head Of State Uranium Company Kazakhstan's security service has arrested the head of the state uranium company on suspicion of theft, the latest in a string of high-profile criminal cases in the Central Asian state. More  Azeri-Rights Protesters Demand Khatami Apology One participant in the Tehran demonstration told RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service that more than 100 demonstrators were on hand to condemn "chauvinism" and "apartheid" in Iran. More  Petraeus Tells RFE/RL Gitmo, Interrogation Moves Will 'Help' In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview, the head of U.S. Central Command says that "on balance" the end of Gitmo and abandonment of enhanced interrogation techniques will "help" U.S. efforts. He also talks about the need to keep Afghan civilian deaths "to an absolute minimum." More Islamic Clerics In Kyrgyzstan To Attend Training Courses All religious clerics in Kyrgyzstan's southern Batken region will be required to attend a one-month training course administered by the state, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More Three top officials at Tajikistan's major uranium-processing facility in the northern city of Khujand have been arrested for allegedly spying for Uzbekistan, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More The Iraqi government has decided to reform its social benefits programs for the disadvantaged due to increased cases of corruption and the misappropriation of public funds, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports. More  Georgian Officers Charged Following Mutiny Two Georgian military officers have been officially charged with attempting to overthrow the government. More Iraq's first-ever women's wrestling club has been established in the predominantly tribal city of Diwaniyah, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports. More  Tajik Border Guard Charged With Drug Trafficking Tajikistan's Presidential Anti-Narcotics Agency has arrested a high-ranking officer on charges he was involved in illegal drug trafficking. More  HRW Says Iranian Political Prisoner’s Life Is In Danger Human Rights Watch is calling on the Iranian government to immediately release political prisoner Behrooz Javid-Tehrani and provide him with access to adequate medical care. More The Week In Facebook Inspired by The Atlantic's mock "World Leaders" Facebook group, RFE/RL presents a Facebook-style summary of last week's events. More  The Richest Man In Town The little village of Yeruda, nearly 750 kilometers from Krasnoyarsk, has a new resident. Russia’s richest man, oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov, the sole owner of the Oneksim group of companies, has been officially registered in this village of 2,300 people. More  Family Denies Circulating Photo Of Convalescing Chechen Commander Relatives of Sulim Yamadayev, the former commander of the Russian Defense Ministry's renegade Vostok Battalion who was reportedly shot dead outside his Dubai residence on March 28, have denied publicizing photos of him in hospital. More  Georgian Opposition Gears Up For New Mass Protest The Georgian opposition is hoping to mobilize up to 100,000 supporters on May 26 -- the anniversary of the proclamation in 1918 of an independent Georgian republic -- in support of their demands for President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation. More  Video: Interview With General David Petraeus In an RFE/RL exclusive, the head of U.S. Central Command talks about the Gitmo effect, deadlines in Iraq, and the militant Islamist threat. He also looks at successes and setbacks in South and Central Asia, and efforts to keep Afghan civilian casualties "to an absolute minimum." More  Prospects For Iran-Pakistan 'Pipeline Of Peace' Following the signing of an agreement between Iran and Pakistan that could one day lead to Iranian gas being transferred to India via Pakistan, RFE/RL examines the viability and implications of the so-called "Pipeline of Peace." More  Rating Agencies Take Aim At Top-Rated Countries For a country's economy there can be no higher accolade, perhaps, than a "triple A" rating from the world's top credit-rating agencies. It's a sign to foreign investors that there is no safer place to invest their money. But the number of those countries is diminishing. Spain and Ireland were the first this year to lose their AAA status. And last week Standard & Poor's warned that Britain's AAA rating was at risk because of rising debt. That has spurred many to ask if the United States could be next. More Transcript: Complete Petraeus Interview General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. Central Command, sat down with RFE/RL Central Newsroom Director Jay Tolson in Prague on May 24 to talk about a wide range of issues. He answered questions about Guantanamo and "enhanced interrogation techniques," a looming deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal in Iraq, cutting off and combating militant Islamist extremists. Petraeus also talked about successes and setbacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the region, and highlighted the need for internatio More |
