 RFE/RL Headlines 8/18/2009 6:24:27 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Georgia Finalizes Withdrawal From CIS Georgia has completed the process of withdrawing from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the 18-year-old regional grouping of former Soviet republics. It's the final step in a process that began one year ago, during the Russia-Georgia war. More  U.S. Prosecutors Charge Three In Massive Identity Theft Prosecutors in the United States have charged three people in what they are calling the largest identity theft case in U.S. history, in a case that includes links to several Eastern European countries. More  Obama Defends Afghan Strategy, Says 'Won't Be Quick' U.S. President Barack Obama has said the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan will not be quick or easy but that the war is necessary to protect Americans from terrorist attacks. Obama spoke to 5,000 U.S. military veterans and their families just days before Afghans go to the polls for provincial and presidential elections in an atmosphere of escalating violence. More  Journalist, Rights Activist Dies In Azerbaijani Jail A well-known Azerbaijani writer and journalist, Novruzali Mammadov, has died in a prison hospital, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. Mammadov, 68, was a leading activist of the Persian-speaking Talysh minority of Azerbaijan. More A Tajik education official has announced that schoolchildren will for the first time be required to take course on Islam, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More  Opposition Businessman Sues Armenian Government An Armenian business conglomerate owned by an opposition party-linked businessman has asked a European court for 214 million euros ($304 million) in compensation from the Armenian government for its confiscation of one of the company's key assets, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Azerbaijani Film Festival Planned In Armenian Capital An Armenian nongovernmental organization says it will hold an Azerbaijani film festival in Yerevan as part of its efforts to promote Armenian-Azerbaijani reconciliation. More  Taking Over A 'Ruined Place' Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani has been appointed by Iran's supreme leader as head of the judiciary to replace Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi, whose term ended on August 16. Shahrudi took over as the head of the judiciary in 1999, when he called it a "ruined place." But what has he left to his successor? More  Surge In North Caucasus Violence Reflects Diversification Of Resistance Tactics The attacks on police in Daghestan on August 13, and Ingushetia on August 17 serve to highlight the extent to which resistance jamaats in different North Caucasus republics adapt and modify their tactics in light of local conditions and constraints, and their own growing numerical strength. More  Stuck In Time When Russia recognized two Georgian separatist regions last year, people in another post-Soviet territory locked in frozen conflict took hope: Moldova's pro-Moscow breakaway region of Transdniester. Now some believe an opposition victory in Moldova may help revive stalled negotiations over the tiny region's future. More  Controversial General Raising Hopes, Hackles On the eve of Afghanistan's presidential and regional elections, one of the country's most notorious militia commanders has emerged from exile. General Abdul Rashid Dostum's return to Afghanistan, where the ethnic Uzbek boasts a significant following, is seen as a boost to incumbent President Hamid Karzai's reelection chances. But the accusations of widespread human rights abuses that led to Dostum's exile in Turkey remain. More  Boxer's Shooting Latest In Series of Suspicious Deaths The recent shooting death of Kazakh boxer Yermek Serikov is the latest in an ugly series of sports-related crimes. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, more than 20 prominent sportsmen in former Soviet republics have died under suspicious circumstances. More |
