 RFE/RL Headlines 8/24/2009 4:19:29 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Poland Remembers First Post-Communist Government Poland today marks the 20th anniversary of its first post-communist government. Headed by Tadeusz Mazowiecki, it was formed after the Solidarity union won a massive victory in elections. It's an oft-forgotten moment, but Poles know its true significance in hastening the fall of the Berlin Wall. More  Pakistan Taliban Name New Leader, But Doubts Remain Taliban sources in Pakistan say Hakimullah Mehsud, a commander thought to be behind several deadly terror attacks, has been named the new leader of the Taliban in Pakistan. He would replace its previous chief, who was apparently killed in a U.S. attack. However, intelligence officials in Islamabad express skepticism about the alleged appointment, dismissing it as an attempt by Taliban leaders to hold together the group that has been left without a recognized chief for over two weeks. More  Former Chancellor Of Tehran University Arrested A former chancellor of Tehran University has been arrested, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. More  Russian Activists Mark 40th Day After Estemirova's Slaying Human rights activists in Russia are commemorating their former colleague Natalya Estemirova today, the 40th day after she was abducted in Grozny and killed by her kidnappers, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More Two Russian activists will stand trial for obstructing construction projects and resisting police orders in the Sochi district of Adler, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Tajik Governor Orders Better Regional Media Access The governor of Tajikistan's southern Khatlon Province has ordered local authorities to increase the number of media outlets in the region, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More  Kazakh Weekly Faces Closure After Court Ruling A well-known Kazakh opposition newspaper based in Almaty will likely stop operations because of a heavy fine assessed against it in a court ruling, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Georgian Mutiny Trial Begins Hearings into the case of 41 Georgian Army officers accused of attempt to illegally overthrow the government have started in Tbilisi, RFE/RL’s Georgian and Russian services report. More  Two Bashkir Bloggers Put Under House Arrest Two bloggers in Bashkortostan recently released from jail have been put under house arrest, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports. More Kazakhstan has launched its first-ever Islamic television channel on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More Reformist Website Says Postelection Dead Buried Secretly A reformist website “Norooznews” has reported that on July 12 and 15, 44 unidentified people who lost their lives in the post-=election violence were buried in unidentified graves at the Behesht Zahra cemetery. More  Ahmadinejad Calls Outgoing Minister A Peach Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has compared his outgoing health minister, Kamran Lankarani, to a peach you want to eat, a description usually used for a good-looking woman. More Unfortunately, despite being "silly season," a lot happens in August -- especially in Russia. In the aftermath of the Sayano-Shushenskaya power station disaster, an accident at a Siberian oil depository has killed four people. More  Armenian Parliament Sets Date For Unveiling Results Of Clash Probe Meeting on August 22 with members of the parliament ad hoc committee established in June 2008 to investigate the circumstances in which 10 people died in post-presidential election clashes in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008, parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamian noted that they are legally required to present their final report no later than September 15. More  South Ossetian Opposition Parties Plan Civic Forum The leaders of two South Ossetian extra-parliamentary opposition parties are about to found a Civic Forum and a fund to support democracy. More  Georgian President, Opposition Diverge In Explaining Zhvania's Sacking Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri dismissed Economic Development Minister Lasha Zhvania on August 21 on the grounds that his work was unsatisfactory. More  'I Was Shocked To My Very Insides' It was half an hour later when the patient came out. He told me that he doesn't remember anything at all about what happened, saying it was the effect of rohypnol (commonly called the date-rape drug). I was so shocked that I lost it for a moment and the nurse had to bring me some water. I couldn't believe that such things were happening under this Islamic government. More  The Baltic Way: 20 Years On On August 23, 1989, thousands of people formed a human chain linking the three Baltic capitals in a peaceful demonstration for personal freedom and national independence. The event marked 50 years since the signing in Moscow of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. More  Deadly Threat While Central Asia has been preoccupied with the threat of the swine flu pandemic, another deadly virus is already marking its return to the region. Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever, a tick-borne illness, is starting to reappear, and has already claimed lives in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. More  Russians Loyal To Their Version Of Molotov-Ribbentrop To mark the 70th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Russian media have been pushing a version of events that ignores the secret protocols and views the pact as a logical extension of the pan-European negotiations that preceded the start of World War II. More  The Slippery Slope Of Big Power Politics Measured against the mortal threat posed by Germany, the independence and territorial integrity of the Baltic states and Poland were of minimal significance to the man in the street in Britain or France at the time. And little has changed since. More  The Danger Of 'Us Vs. Them' In Looking At History The anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact has once again sharpened the polemics around the events of 70 years ago. The desire to defend the positions of one's country at all costs is completely understandable from the psychological point of view if you live within an "us vs. them" paradigm in which "us" must always be right. More |
