 RFE/RL Headlines 8/20/2009 5:51:13 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Turnout Mixed In Afghan Vote Polls have closed across Afghanistan, after millions cast votes for president and provincial councils. But the Taliban appears to have tried to make good on its vows to disrupt the voting, and early indications are that turnout was mixed, possibly denying President Hamid Karzai a first-round victory. More  New Iran Cabinet Looks Set For Rough Ride In Parliament Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has unveiled his proposed new cabinet. The list was submitted to parliament overnight, and the assembly has 10 days to consider it before it goes to a vote on August 30. But some senior figures in parliament have already signaled trouble ahead for some on the list. More  Pakistani Taliban Deputy Chief Says He's Taken Command The deputy head of the Pakistani Taliban said he has temporarily taken over command in a move likely to fuel rifts among militant factions after the reported killing of leader Baitullah Mehsud. More  Georgia Tries To Enforce Blockade On Rebel Regions A Georgian court has remanded in custody the Turkish captain of a tanker detained this week delivering fuel to the breakaway region of Abkhazia, as Tbilisi tries to enforce a blockade on Russian-backed separatists. More  Ahmadinejad To Present His New Cabinet Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad addresses the nation today to present a new cabinet including a relative novice as oil minister, but he may face a tough battle to win parliament's approval. More  Iraqi Forces Admit Lapses After Blasts Kill 95 A series of blasts in Baghdad killed 95 people and wounded 536 in Iraq's bloodiest day this year, prompting a rare admission of culpability from Iraqi security forces struggling to cope without U.S. help. More  Afghans Voting, Despite Sporadic Violence After a slow start, voting is picking up across Afghanistan for presidential and provincial council elections, despite reports of scattered violence aimed at disrupting the poll. More Turkmenistan Eases Study Abroad Rules Turkmen authorities have annulled a recently approved rule that requires students to obtain permission from several state agencies if they want to study abroad, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reports. More  Rights Activist Leaves Chechnya For Safety Reasons A Chechen human rights activist and his family have left Chechnya because they fear for their lives, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More Tajik Ambassador to Pakistan Zubaidullo Zubaidov says Pakistan should remove Tajikistan from a list of countries that illegally send young people to study in Pakistani schools, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More  Rescue Chief At Russian Dam Has Heart Attack The main coordinator of the rescue operations at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station has been hospitalized after suffering a heart attack, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Russian Journalist Charged Over Dam Coverage A journalist in the Russian republic of Khakassia is being charged with libel after his reports on the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station were deemed "inaccurate" by local officials, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  One Dead In Clash Between Ethnic Russians, Dargins One person has been killed in an ethnic clash involving hundreds of people in Stavropol Krai in southern Russia, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Ukrainian Mayor Investigated Over Anti-Semitic Comments The mayor of the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod has been asked not to leave the city while an investigation takes place into alleged criminal actions, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  Armenian Journalist Spurns 'Illegal' Amnesty An Armenian photojournalist who was penalized for contempt of court has successfully petitioned authorities in Yerevan to rule illegal the amnesty that was granted to him in July, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More The death of a mayor in southern Uzbekistan who apparently committed suicide is being investigated as a possible murder, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports. More  Strangers In Their Own Land A friend of my husband's decided to send her daughter, Nastya, to a preschool. According to her, she and her family speak only Russian and know virtually no Romanian. They spent a long time choosing a preschool and in the end opted for a Russian-language one. I argued with Nastya's mother for a long time about this. I insisted that her inability to speak Romanian was her problem and that she didn't have the right to deny her child a fair shot at a full future in her own country. More  Russia's Top Mufti Set To Receive Cross From Medvedev Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's decision to award Mufti Ravil Gainutdin with the country's highest honor, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, has caused something of a dilemma in Russia's Muslim community. More  Medvedev Outlines Strategy To Contain North Caucasus Violence Russian President Dmitry Medvedev convened a session of the Security Council in Stavropol on August 19 to evaluate the security situation in the North Caucasus in light of the suicide bombing in Nazran two days earlier that claimed 25 lives. More  Early Ramadan Raises Health Concerns For the first time in a decade, Muslims will be observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in what will be the peak of summer in the northern hemisphere. The timing has prompted concerns over how believers can deal with sunrise-to-sunset food and water abstention during the year's hottest days, while maintaining their health. More  Ghosts Of Russia's 'Kursk' Haunt Dam Accident Stories of trapped survivors knocking to alert rescue workers that they are alive. A detached government ill-equipped to deal with sudden disaster. A race-against-the-clock rescue effort as hope fades. In many ways, this week's disaster at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is reminiscent of the August 2000 sinking of the submarine "Kursk." More  "In a crisis, three people are vital" An interview with Muhammad Amin Mudaqiq, the Kabul bureau chief of RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, on the challenges of being a journalist in Afghanistan. More |
