 RFE/RL Headlines June 18, 2009 A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Kosovo, Serbia Spar At UN Security Council Serbia has reiterated its opposition to Kosovo's independence, with Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic telling the UN Security Council that Belgrade will never recognize its former territory as a separate entity. Jeremic also urged the implementation of measures to speed the return to Kosovo of thousands of Serbs displaced by the 1998-99 war. More  Musavi, Mourners March En Masse Tens of thousands of supporters of Iran’s presidential challenger Mir Hossein Musavi have taken to the streets of the capital, Tehran, to mourn the deaths of at least seven protesters killed in postelection violence. More  Russian Region Removes 'Sovereignty' From Constitution The far eastern Russian republic of Sakha (formerly Yakutia) has passed an amendment that removes the word "sovereignty" from its constitution, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports. More  Kyrgyz Presidential Challenger's Supporters Detained Supporters of opposition presidential candidate Almazbek Atambaev reportedly intended to enter the local Manas-Ordo memorial complex, where President Kurmanbek Bakiev was meeting with the local population as part of his presidential campaign. More  Former Tajik Interior Minister Dies During Police Raid Mahmadnazar Solehov's son says he heard a gunshot during an argument behind closed doors between his father and the police intruders and when he rushed into the room, he found his father dead. More  Russian Carmaker To Lay Off Half Its Workers The Russian automaker Izhavto, which halted production in April, is planning to officially lay off half of its workers this month, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More Kyrgyzstan has officially asked Uzbek authorities to release two Kyrgyz citizens detained by Uzbek border guards for allegedly crossing the border illegally, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Former Chief Of Tajik National Airline Arrested Hokimsho Tilloev, the former head of Tajik Air, has been arrested, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More Another soldier from a military unit near St. Petersburg committed suicide on June 16, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Shoot-Outs Reported In Russia's North Caucasus Insurgents opened fire on a local policeman's car in Daghestan's Derbent district, wounding the man's two young children in the car, RFE/RL's Russian Service 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  Ukraine Demands Russia's FSB Officers Out Of Crimea Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers who are working with the Black Sea Fleet must leave Ukraine by December 13, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Protesters Demand Direct Election Of Moscow Mayor Dozens of protesters rallied outside the Moscow city duma on June 17 to demand a referendum on directly electing the mayor of the Russian capital, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  What The Iranian Media Is Saying From ultra-conservative Tehran-based newspaper "Kayhan" owned by Supreme Leader Khamenei and run by hard-liner Hossein Shariatmadari. More More voicemail messages left for Radio Farda on June 18. More More voicemail messages left for Radio Farda on June 18. More More voicemail messages left for Radio Farda on June 18. More More voicemail messages left for Radio Farda on June 18. More  Relying On Citizen Journalists Since Iran is prohibiting foreign journalists from leaving their offices to write, film, or take photographs, media outlets are relying heavily on the work of citizen journalists to send images of the protests out of the country and to the rest of the world. These powerful photographs of the June 17 opposition protests on or near Tehran's Haft-e-tir Square were sent to us today by a photographer who wishes to remain anonymous for security reasons. More Cartoon from news.gooya.com. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad: "I charged your halo for four more years." More A collection of some of the best from the past few days. More Award-winning Iranian-French cartoonist Marjane Satrapi and prominent film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf spoke at the European Parliament about what they described as "a coup d'etat" in Iran. More  One Extraordinary Day... In "Ely's Diary," a contribution to Radio Farda, a Tehran journalist walks us through the coffeehouses and streets of the Iranian capital on June 17. After his newspaper sends female staffers home out of fear for their safety, a cafe debate erupts over who is brutalizing the population, a security troop flashes the "victory" sign, and silent mourning gives way to the honking of horns. More A poster for the opposition rally planned for June 19, sent to us by a reader in Iran. More  Whose Side Is The Supreme Leader On? Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is due to speak at Friday Prayers, after six days of mass rallies in protest of Iran's June 12 presidential poll. It is clear Khamenei ultimately will have to take a position on the crisis. The stakes are nothing less than the future course of Iran itself. More  More At Stake In Presidential Vote Than Would Appear Today is the first day candidates in Kyrgyzstan can campaign for the early presidential election scheduled for July 23. President Kurmanbek Bakiev's job may not be at risk -- no incumbent president in Central Asia has ever lost an election -- but Kyrgyzstan's image as the region's most progressive and democratic country could be. More  EU Summit To Be An Introspective Affair The two-day European Union summit starting tonight in Brussels will largely have an inward-looking focus. More  Karzai Alliances With Warlords Raise Concerns Opinion polls suggest Hamid Karzai is well ahead of rival candidates in the upcoming Afghan election. But one of his key election maneuvers is raising critical questions about governance, accountability, and the rule of law. More An Extraordinary Day In The Life Of A Tehrani "I woke up with a splitting headache as the sounds of honking cars, loud explosions, and screams and chants from the previous night were still echoing in my head. After sipping a dark coffee, I headed out for what was to become an extraordinary day." More  Moldova's Parties Must Act Now To Exercise Their Rights New legislative elections in Moldova will take place July 29, following the collapse of the old parliament that deadlocked over the election of a new president. That parliament was elected in a highly contentious poll in April that the opposition denounced as fraudulent. But Moldova’s Electoral Code gives parties ample rights and tools to ensure that the electoral machinery operates correctly so that next month’s elections will be widely seen as a genuine expression of the popular will. More |
