RFE/RL Headlines 7/22/2009 4:25:19 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Tajik Official Says Militant Activity Not Spreading To South Khatlon Province Interior Ministry head Shodibek Rajabov countered reports of armed men coming to his region. More Youth and Sports Minister Jassim Muhammad Jaafar told a large crowd at a local ceremony that a consortium including U.S. companies 360 Architecture and Newport Global and Iraqi Abdullah Al-Jiburi Contracting won the contract for the first phase of the massive project that is expected to cost some $8 billion. More  Austria To Try Kazakh 'Spy' For Kidnap Attempt Investigators suspect a man identified as "Ildar A." attacked former Kazakh National Security Committee (KNB) chief Alnur Musaev in September with the intention of abducting him. More  Ukraine Arrests Top Suspect In Gongadze Murder Case A man suspected of killing Ukrainian independent journalist Heorhiy Gongadze in 2000 has been detained in Ukraine. Lieutenant General Oleksiy Pukach, the former head of criminal investigations for the Ukraine's Interior Ministry, was first detained in the fall of 2003 in connection with the murder, but was later released, and fled. More  Biden Wraps Up Ukraine Visit With Tough Words Wrapping up his visit, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has delivered an "address to the Ukrainian people" that was supportive but critical. He praised Ukrainian democracy, but also urged its political elite to end feuding and concentrate on reforming the country's devastated economy and decaying energy sector. More Five Iranians were killed when gunmen opened fire on a convoy of buses taking pilgrims to Shi'ite holy sites in Iraq, police in restive Diyala Province said. More  U.S. Fears North Korea Nuclear Ties To Myanmar The United States is concerned about the possible transfer of nuclear technology from North Korea to military-ruled Myanmar, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said. More  Moldova Says Bucharest Not Involved In Violence Moldovan's top justice official has said that Romania was not involved in the postelection riots in Chisinau on April 7 that left at least one protester dead and led to hundreds of arrests, RFE/RL's Moldova's Service reports. More  Watchdog Condemns Azerbaijan Blogger Jailings Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says a Baku court's rejection of an appeal to release two jailed Azerbaijani bloggers is "unacceptable," RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More  Uzbekistan Controlling Civil Society With 'GoNGOs' Rights activists say the Uzbek government is using government-operated NGOs (GoNGOs) to control civil society in the country, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports. More  Postelection Iran And Its Clients A couple of worthwhile efforts to examine the possible effect on Tehran-backed militants (think Hamas and Hezbollah) of the current troubles in Iran. More  More Calls For Justice For Estemirova Seven leading UN human rights experts released a formal statement on July 21 affirming their readiness to assist the Russian authorities in carrying out an independent investigation into the murders of lawyers, journalists, and human rights activists in Russia, including the recent killing of Natalya Estemirova. More  Georgian Opposition Appeals To U.S. To Promote, Guarantee Political Reform Georgian authorities may seek to focus primarily on security issues as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrives for a two-day visit. More  Zoom In: Pedaling To Economic Recovery Begijon Pirov, a retired driver in Tajikistan, has found an innovative way to supplement his pension during lean times. More  Al-Maliki Visits U.S. Amid Baghdad, Kurd Test Longstanding differences between Kurdish officials and Iraq's central government are on the Obama administration's agenda as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visits Washington this week. Upcoming parliamentary elections in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq will determine which Kurdish officials take part in any future negotiations with the Baghdad government. Ultimately, their differences are testing whether a federal system of government can work in Iraq. More  A Kyrgyz Election Primer Kyrgyzstan enjoys a reputation as the most democratic state in Central Asia, but that image stands to be tainted by the early presidential election on July 23. The result is essentially a foregone conclusion – the only question being the margin by which current President Kurmanbek Bakiev will win reelection. More  Couple Takes On Russia In Fight For Same-Sex Marriage Thirty-year-old Moscow resident Irina Fedotova-Fet has big plans this September. She'll travel to Canada, a country she's never visited, and marry her longtime partner, 32-year-old Irina Shepitko. Then comes the hard part -- trying to get her same-sex marriage recognized by authorities back home, where homosexuality remains a deep taboo. More  Forget The Stock Market, Watch Copper You could track consumer sentiment indexes, scour the latest numbers for U.S. home sales, or pore over the fine print of China's GDP data.Or you could look at the price of copper. More |
