Amnesty International urges the new head of oil firm Shell to end years of pollution and environmental damage in Nigeria.
Everyday of Freedom is an Act of Faith for my writings ============> http://robertoscaruffi.blogspot.com for something on religions ===> http://scaruffi1.blogspot.com
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
China 'agrees huge Zimbabwe loan'
China agrees to give Zimbabwe a loan of $950m (£573m) to help revive its wrecked economy, says Prime Minister Tsvangirai.
France 'banned Yemen crash plane'
A Yemeni plane which crashed in the Indian Ocean was banned from France since 2007 over "irregularities", a minister says.
US warns Iraq of 'difficult days'
President Barack Obama says US troops have withdrawn from Iraqi towns on schedule, but warns of "difficult days" ahead.
Video: Russia, Poland and U.S. Strategy
Video: Russia, Poland and U.S. Strategy
June 30, 2009 | 1904 GMT
In the latest installment of the STRATFOR Insights video series, CEO George Friedman analyzes the upcoming summit July 6-8 between Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama from a geopolitical perspective. Likely topics on the agenda include Iran, Afghanistan, U.S. ballistic missile defense installations in Poland and Russia's sphere of influence.
Video used with permission from Reuters.
To view all video analysis, visit www.STRATFOR.com.
http://www.rferl.org/
 RFE/RL Headlines 30.06.2009 A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Iraqi Oil Auction Draws Strong Foreign Interest Iraq is set to award foreign oil companies with contracts to develop eight of its massive oil and gas fields. More than 30 oil majors from around the world have joined the bidding process, despite the security and technical difficulties which they may encounter in trying to revive Iraq's energy sector. More  Azerbaijani Parliament Drops Proposed NGO Restrictions The Azerbaijani parliament has adopted a law on nongovernmental organizations, but eliminated several restrictive amendments that were opposed by NGO officials and international human rights groups, RFE/RL's Azerbaijan Service reports. More Editors of a leading Moldovan website say the government is trying to shut it down ahead of elections scheduled for July 29, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More  Russian Opposition Activist Dies In Prison A member of the opposition movement Other Russia has died in prison after reportedly falling from a window, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Kazakh Reporter Cites Death Threats After Prostitution Article The article Zhanara Davletova thinks spawned the death threats includes a suggestion that a local hotel owner runs a brothel out of his hotel, and the claim that local police are taking hush money to cover up the illegal activities. More  Azerbaijani, Russian Energy Officials Sign Gas Deals One agreement, signed by Russian gas giant Gazprom's Aleksei Miller and State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) President Rovnag Abdullayev, defines the basic terms of gas deliveries from Azerbaijan to Russia under a memorandum signed on March 29. More Baku Activists Protest Amendments To NGO Bill Police officers failed to identify themselves, instead removing and tearing down protesters' signs and placards that read "No to Undemocratic Law" and "Recognize our Right to Unite." More  Kyrgyz Forces Kill Fourth Suspected Militant A suspected Islamic militant was has been killed by Kyrgyz special forces in southern Kyrgyzstan, the fourth since June 27, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More 'The Iranian People Are Starved And Helpless' E-mails and voicemails sent to Radio Farda, and postings on Radio Farda's Facebook page. More  You Don’t Carry Tear Gas When You Go To A Party Iranian state television has aired interviews with some members of the Basij force who have said they were beaten up by protesters in Iran's postelection violence. More  Russian Investigative Journalist Dies Of Head Wounds The editor in chief of an independent newspaper in southern Russia has died from injuries he sustained in an attack in April. More One of the many to be arrested in the Iranian government's crackdown is human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei. More  Russia Angered At Armenia's Saakashvili Award Armenian nationalists and members of the Russian parliament are up in arms about Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian's awarding of the country's Medal of Honor to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili last week. More  South Ossetian Authorities Target Opposition Financier In the month that has elapsed since the flawed parliamentary elections that yielded a new legislature subservient to President Eduard Kokoity, the South Ossetian authorities have taken further steps aimed at bolstering his position. More  Circassians Fear Adygeya May Become The Next Nalchik Participants at the congress Maikop of the Circassian public movement Adyghe Khase have expressed concern that ongoing police reprisals against young Muslims in towns close to the administrative border with Krasnodar Krai could drive some of the victims to join the Islamic underground. More Kashgar: Life In An Ancient Silk Road City Kashgar is an ancient Silk Road trading hub located more than 4,000 kilometers west of Beijing, in China's autonomous Xinjiang region. Its old city has survived, and remains an important Islamic cultural center for the Uyghurs, the Turkic ethnic group living in Xinjiang. But Kashgar's rich Central Asian heritage is being threatened by an ambitious government redevelopment plan that some say has a hidden agenda. Here's a look at life today amid Kashgar's old streets. More  Russia, Azerbaijan Make Energy Breakthrough A deal to restart the flow of Azerbaijani gas to Russia, beginning in January 2010, represents a breakthrough as both Moscow and the European Union court Baku in hopes of tapping its vast gas deposits to fuel favored pipeline projects to Europe. More  'Chaotic’ Czech EU Presidency Comes To Close When it comes to excitement, the EU's rotating presidency doesn't usually spring to mind. But the past six months, under the leadership of the Czech Republic, has been anything but boring. Prague's presidency has been punctuated by offending art works, inflammatory remarks, and, well, embarrassing nude photos. More  All Bets Are Off An industry is closing up shop in Russia. At the stroke of midnight, all the casinos and slot-machine arcades across the country will close, and gambling will be permitted only in four Las Vegas-style zones decreed by the Kremlin. The only problem is there is nothing in these zones yet. More  What McChrystal Learned From Afghan 'Listening Tour' U.S. General Stanley McChrystal recently assumed his position as the commander of both the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and all the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Hamid Mohmand, he said that the "fight is for the Afghan people, it's not with the Afghan people." More  Wexler: 'American-Russian Relations Are Not A Zero-Sum Game' U.S. Congressman Robert Wexler (Democrat, Florida) was in the Czech Republic this week to attend an international conference on the assets of Holocaust victims. During his time in the Czech capital, Prague, Wexler visited RFE/RL's headquarters, where he sat down for a broad-ranging interview with correspondent Gregory Feifer. More  In War-Torn Gori, Survivors Pick Up Pieces Georgia's Gori region endured the worst of last year's Russia-Georgia war as hundreds lost their homes and scores were killed. As Russia holds massive military exercises nearby, survivors worry that a new conflict could be on the way. More  China's Silk Road City Of Kashgar Facing Bulldozers Kashgar's old city has survived, and remains an important Islamic cultural center for the Uyghurs, the Turkic ethnic group living in Xinjiang. But Kashgar's rich Central Asian heritage is being threatened by an ambitious government redevelopment plan that some say has a hidden agenda. More  Commentary: Looking Beyond Georgia's Political Crisis Former Georgian parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze argues that in addition to the global financial crisis, her countrymen must contend with a total absence of accountability, the nonexistence of democratic checks and balances, and extravagant budget spending, all of which severely undermine the prospects for steady economic growth in the next few years. More |
China Delays Rule on Web Filters
China postponed a plan to require personal computer makers to supply Internet-filtering software, retreating in the face of protests.
http://www.rferl.org/
| RFE/RL Headlines 29.06.2009 A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Ahmadinejad Win Confirmed Iran's Guardians Council has confirmed election results giving incumbent conservative President Mahmud Ahmadinejad a landslide win. Ahead of the announcement, witnesses reported an increased police presence in some Tehran squares, where protesters have previously gathered. More  Moldovan President Accuses Opposition Of Working With 'Criminals' Acting President Vladimir Voronin says the survival of the Moldovan state is at stake in the upcoming parliamentary elections, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More  Southern Afghan Police Killed In Clash With Security Guards The provincial police chief and at least four other police officers in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar Province have been killed in a clash with private Afghan security guards. More 'Where Did He Learn To Tell Such Big Lies?' Voicemails sent to Radio Farda on June 29. More  Basij 'Impostors' Blamed For Havoc As officials prepare to slam the door shut on any effort to revisit the June 12 election, they appear to be going on the offensive over allegations of thuggery and killing on the part of security forces. More  Rafsanjani Breaks His Silence Rafsanjani suggested that "proper elections" would turn rivalry into "unanimity, cooperation, and the transformation of competition to friendship after the election." More More The two big news stories converged. More Voicemails left with Radio Farda on June 26. Many listeners decline to leave their names: More  Azerbaijan's Proposed NGO Media Curbs Draw Fire Rights groups in Azerbaijan are warning that proposed restrictions on civil society will further curb democratic freedoms in the former Soviet republic. More  Obama’s Mission To Moscow Last week, on June 24, the Hudson Institute held a panel discussion on the challenges President Obama will face when he visits Moscow on July 6. More Artists all over the world are youtubing their support for the Iranian people. Watch Joan Baez singing part of the legendary protest anthem "We Shall Overcome" in Farsi here: More  Will Moscow Be Constrained To Cede The North Caucasus To Ramzan Kadyrov? In light of Ramzan Kadyrov's megalomaniac tendencies, his clear ambition to assume control of the "power" agencies in Ingushetia, and possibly also other North Caucasus republics, in effect relegating republic heads to mere economic managers while creaming off for his own purposes a chunk of the subsidies those republics receive from the federal center, is alarming. Any additional powers that Moscow formally bestows on him cannot be simply annulled if/when the crisis that served as the rationale for granting them in the first place is resolved. More Colonel Valmer Butba, who during the 1992-93 war and after headed a counterterrorism unit that sought to thwart attacks in Abkhazia's southernmost Gali district by Georgian guerrilla formations, was detained on June 26 in Gali by a group of armed men commanded by a senior Abkhaz Interior Ministry official after a weapon was discovered in his car. More  North Caucasus Resistance Extends War Into Cyberspace For years, the ideologues of the Chechen resistance have used the Internet to communicate their ideas and their military successes in the ongoing fight against Russia to a broader audience both within Russia and abroad. Over the past 10 days, however, the resistance has gone one step further, hacking and temporarily disabling official sites in Daghestan and Chechnya and posting on them statements of responsibility for attacks on senior officials in Daghestan and Ingushetia. More  Hard-Scrabble Life In A Kazakh Village Villagers in Koshkarata, Kazakhstan, live without telephones, running water, or a local hospital. Many would like to see more assistance from local authorities, but have little hope that help will come. More  Frictions Fuel Fears Of New Conflict As Western countries strive to mend ties with Moscow badly frayed during Russia's brief war with Georgia, there are growing fears over a possible new conflict. A week ahead of a summit meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents, the Kremlin is refusing to allow international monitors into the conflict area and holding major military exercises north of the Georgian border. More  Despite 'Uptick' In Violence, Stage Set For U.S. Pullback Iraqi police are on the streets in greater numbers and Iraqi soldiers are at the ready as the government prepares to assume full responsibility for security in the country's urban areas starting July 1. As U.S. troops withdraw, however, Baghdad especially has seen a surge in violent attacks. More  Ex-President Aushev 'Ready' To Lead Ingushetia As tensions rose in Ingushetia, ex-President Ruslan Aushev said he was ready to assume temporary leadership while current president recovered from injuries suffered from an assassination attempt. He was just the region's latest prominent figure to offer his help, as the Kremlin remained silent. More  Police Crime Wave Sparks Talk Of Reform In Russia Police in Russia have never enjoyed much respect. But their reputation has sunk to a new low after a Moscow district chief went on a shooting rampage in a supermarket. The question many Russians are asking is: Can anything be done about the culture of impunity among Russia's police? More  Israeli President's Azerbaijan Trip Breaks New Ground As part of a strategy by Israel to improve relations with moderate, secular countries of the Islamic world, President Shimon Peres is visiting Azerbaijan on June 28. More  Moscow Plays It Smart In Moldova, As Others Dither Moscow has promised Moldova $500 million in the run-up to repeat parliamentary elections after acting President Vladimir Voronin assured the Kremlin there's no place for "color revolutions" and foreign meddling. But anyone who thinks Voronin's latest turn to the east portends a permanent shift should take a close look at recent history. More  What The King Of Pop Bequeathed To The World What did the King of Pop bequeath to the world? Your answer will probably depend on your view of American pop music. Like Elvis Presley, Jackson became a superstar when he was too young to handle it, and by the time of his early death, he had become a freak. More |
http://www.rferl.org/
| RFE/RL Iraq Report 29.06.2009 A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Iraq |
| Despite 'Uptick' In Violence, Stage Set For U.S. Pullback Iraqi police are on the streets in greater numbers and Iraqi soldiers are at the ready as the government prepares to assume full responsibility for security in the country's urban areas starting July 1. As U.S. troops withdraw, however, Baghdad especially has seen a surge in violent attacks. More  Iraqi Lawmakers Concerned By Uptick In Violence Iraqi politicians are blaming the recent spike in violence in the country to a combination of factors including complacency, funding shortages for security, and political in-fighting, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports. More  Iraq Officials Discuss Antinarcotics Plans An official of Iraq’s Health Ministry has warned the country is in danger of transforming from a transit country for narcotics into a drugs-consuming nation, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq reports. More Iraq’s Kurdish regional parliament has approved the autonomous territory’s constitution by an overwhelming majority, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq reports. More  Iraqi Party Seeks Turkoman-Majority Province An official with a party representing Iraq's ethnic Turkic minority has said the predominantly Turkoman district of Talafar in northwestern Iraq should be detached from Nineveh province and declared a province in its own right, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports. More The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is signing millions of dollars of reconstruction contracts with Iraqi businesses owned by women, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq reports, citing the Iraqi official working with the U.S. military to implement the plan. More A U.S. official in Baghdad has urged the Iraqi government to step up efforts to prosecute foreigners convicted of using corruption to secure deals in Iraq, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq reports. More  Some In Kirkuk Fear Kurds Will Replace U.S. Forces Turkoman and Arab politicians in the multiethnic Iraqi city of Kirkuk are concerned that Kurdish forces will fill the void after U.S. forces leave, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports. More |
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