 RFE/RL Headlines 8/19/2009 5:18:22 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  IMF Says Global Economic Recovery Has Begun According to a new report by the International Monetary Fund, the world has begun to recover from recession but the process will not be simple. The global economic recovery has begun but according to the world body, sustaining it will require refocusing the U.S. toward exports and Asia toward imports. More  The Day The Iron Curtain Began To Rip It's just an ordinary-looking farm paddock near the Hungarian city of Sopron. But it's the spot where the Iron Curtain, which had divided Europe so cruelly for more than four decades, began to rip. Commemorations are taking place today to mark the 20th anniversary of the "Pan-European Picnic." More  Iran Halts Execution Of Seven People Iran's new judiciary chief halted the planned execution on August 19 of seven convicted criminals, including a man who was under 18 when he stabbed a boy to death, Iranian news agencies reported. More  Bomb Blasts Kill At Least 75 In Baghdad The toll from bomb and mortar attacks in quick succession near mostly high-profile targets in central Baghdad rose to at least 75 people killed and 310 wounded, police said. More  Obama Meets Mubarak, Encouraged By Mideast Progress U.S. President Barack Obama met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the White House for what was Mubarak's first visit to Washington in five years. His August 18 visit came as the Obama administration has been looking to resume the stalled Middle East peace process and win the support of Arab states in those efforts. More  U.S. Reaches Out To Islamist Parties In Pakistan U.S. President Barack Obama has started reaching out to some of Pakistan's most fervent Islamist and anti-American parties, including one that helped give rise to the Taliban, trying to improve Washington's image in the nuclear-armed state. More  Eurovision Investigating Baku's Questioning Of Voters The head of the Eurovision Song Contest says the organization is investigating reports that Azerbaijani officials are interrogating Azerbaijanis who voted for the Armenian entry in the May contest, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More  Questions Remain Over Ship's Russian Rescue Russian investigators are looking into the circumstances of the apparent hijacking of a Maltese-registered ship "Arctic Sea" with 15 Russian sailors aboard, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Armenian Opposition Dismisses President’s Planned Turkey Visit The main Armenian opposition group says a possible visit by President Serzh Sarkisian to Turkey in October would be "irrelevant" to the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Missing In Russian Dam Disaster Might Still Be Alive About 10 workers of Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station missing since an accident on August 17 might be trapped alive in a compartment underwater, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Christians In Belarus Refuse Orders To Vacate Church The pastor of an evangelical Christian group in Belarus called The New Life says his congregation will not comply with Minsk authorities’ demand that they leave their church, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Ukrainians React Differently To Medvedev's Accusations A poll shows that Ukrainians perceive Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's recent accusations of Kyiv's anti-Russian behavior in different ways, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  Top Officials At Russia's Sberbank Being Investigated Top officials at Russia's Sberbank headquarters in Moscow are suspected of financial fraud and are under investigation, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Armenian Activist Faces Jail After Citing Alleged Abuse A young civic activist is facing criminal proceedings and the possibility of two years’ imprisonment for helping to trigger a scandal about alleged sexual and other abuse at a Yerevan school for children with special needs, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reports. More  Alleged Kazakh KNB Agents To Stand Trial In Austria The Kazakh president's former son-in-law says several agents from Kazakhstan's Committee for National Security (KNB) will go on trial in Austria next month, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Kazakh Flu Fears Lead To Designer Face Masks A Kazakh fashion studio is producing what it calls "glamour surgical masks" as the fear of contracting swine flu spreads across the country, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Kyrgyz Children's Group Urges Equal Opportunities In Education Kyrgyzstan's League for Children's Rights has kicked off an event two weeks ahead of the new school year demanding equal opportunities for the country's children to get an education, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  The Perils Of The Afghan Media Ban The United Nations has asked the Afghan government to lift its ban on media reports about violent attacks during presidential and provincial council elections on August 20. The central government would be well-advised to do so. More  Georgian Interior Ministry Makes First Concession To Opposition Ten Georgian opposition activists detained for their participation in the protest demonstrations launched in April to force President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign have been released from pretrial detention following a landmark meeting on August 12 between the leaders of several Georgian extraparliamentary opposition parties and Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili. More  Daghestan's Leaders Seek To Allay Public Panic In the four weeks since Daghestan Security Council Chairman Ali Magomedov was named to head the republic's Interior Ministry, 16 police officers have been killed in 10 separate militant attacks in five towns or regions. More  Afghan Elections Primer Afghans go to the polls on August 20 to choose a president and members of 34 provincial councils. But all eyes within and outside the country will be on whether the presidential selection will go to a second round. More  Woman Campaigns In Men's Clothes While out campaigning, Akmina, a woman from the deeply conservative and volatile Khost Province, wears men's clothing and carries a Kalashnikov. She is one of 323 women throughout Afghanistan defying Taliban threats and challenging tradition by running for seats on provincial councils. Elections for the councils are being held alongside the presidential poll on August 20. More  Is Russia Losing the North Caucasus? A wave of bloody attacks in Russia's North Caucasus region is fueling speculation that Moscow is losing control over its volatile southern region. Experts blame the Kremlin for failing to tackle endemic poverty and corruption. But some say the violence is evidence of an effective military crackdown against a handful of extremists, pushing them to commit desperate acts. More  Litmus Test On the eve of presidential and provincial-council elections, restive Helmand Province is a good indicator of the state of security in Afghanistan. Considered home to the country's Taliban insurgency and drug trade, the holding of elections in this vast desert province could determine the ultimate success or failure of stabilization efforts in the country. More |
