 RFE/RL Headlines 8/27/2009 6:01:39 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Khamenei Says No Foreign Link To Leaders Of Unrest Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says he has not seen any proof that the leaders of opposition protests that broke out after the disputed June presidential election were working for foreign powers. His comment contradicts previous accusations by Iranian hard-liners that protest leaders had the backing of foreign states, particularly the U.S. and Britain, in a bid to topple the clerical establishment. More  Georgia Slams Railway 'Robbery' In Rebel Abkhazia Georgia has protested plans by its breakaway Abkhazia region to transfer control of the railway in the Black Sea territory to Russia, a move it said amounted to "robbery." More  Black Sea Lighthouse Stirs Russia-Ukraine Tension Russia has accused Kyiv of attempting to seize property belonging to its Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine, in a further sign of escalating tension between the ex-Soviet neighbors. More  Poet Behind Soviet National Anthem Dies Aged 96 Sergei Mikhalkov, who wrote the Soviet Union's national anthem under Josef Stalin and then reworked his rousing lyrics for a new generation of Russians under Vladimir Putin, has died. He was 96. More  Shi'ite Leader's Death Leaves Political Vacuum The death of Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of Iraq's largest Shi'ite Muslim political party, has raised questions about the future political landscape in Iraq. With parliamentary elections just five months away, analysts say there could be a struggle for the leadership of Iraq's Shi'ite majority. More  Remains Of Journalist Gongadze Identified In Ukraine Forensics experts in Ukraine have confirmed that the fragments of a human skull found last month in Kyiv Oblast are remains of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More Uzbek authorities are advising women not to wear the Islamic veil, or hijab, during celebrations of the 18th anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence on September 1. More Physicians and parents in Russia's Chelyabinsk Oblast are concerned about the increasing number of cases of meningitis among children, RFE/RL's Russian service reports. More  Kadyrov Orders Police To Kill ‘Suicide Bomber Recruiters’ The Moscow-backed president of the republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has ordered security forces to hunt down and kill two brothers he accuses of recruiting and training young men to perpetrate suicide bombings. More  Ingushetia Bombing Claimed By Rebels' Spiritual Leader The website of the North Caucasus insurgency says the suicide bombing of the police department in Nazran, Ingushetia, on August 17 was carried out by Said Abu Saad al-Buryati, RFE/RL's North Caucasian Service reports. More  Aliev Says Kazakh Authorities Try To 'Get' Him Using Former Associate Rakhat Aliev, the former son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, told RFE/RL's Kazakh Service that Kazakh authorities are trying "to get him" using his former associate Alnur Musaev. More  Hundreds Of Kyrgyz Children Unable To Attend School Hundreds of Kyrgyz children will not be able to attend schools this year, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Controversy Erupts Over Stalin Statue In Georgian City Controversy has erupted over a campaign in the Georgian city of Gori to remove Josef Stalin's monument from the center of the town of his birth, RFE/RL’s Georgian Service reports. More The Georgian government has sent a letter of congratulations to Uzbekistan ahead of the 18th anniversary of Uzbek independence on September 1, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports. More Russia's Supreme Court has overturned the verdict against a Chechen man convicted of attacking a polling station, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Georgia Grants Political Asylum To Russian Deserter Georgia's Justice Ministry has granted political asylum to a Russian Army deserter, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Trial Of Kazakh Rights Activist Postponed The trial of the prominent Kazakh human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis has begun in the town of Bakanas in Almaty Oblast but lasted just for several minutes before it was postponed due to the absence of the defendant's lawyers, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Hundreds Of Bashkir Pensioners Protest Repeal Of Benefits About 500 pensioners in Bashkortostan's capital, Ufa, blocked a major street in the city, protesting local government's decision to repeal the right of elderly people to use public transportation for free, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Turkmen President Visits Turkey To Discuss Nabucco Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has begun a two-day visit to Turkey. He is meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Antalya province for talks expected to focus on energy issues and bilateral cooperation. More  Parishioners Refuse To Vacate Troubled Minsk Church Parishioners of The New Life evangelical Christian church in Minsk have refused to vacate the church's building, despite demands to do so by Minsk city authorities, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Iran's Vice President Blogs From Prison Iran’s former Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, who was arrested in the postelection crackdown, has updated his blog from prison. More  Iran: Desperately Unwired For such a notoriously wired country (as least among urban youth), Iran certainly has slow download speeds. According to an international Internet speed test website, Iran ranks number 189 among countries in terms of download speed. More  Has South Ossetia's President Fallen Out Of Favor With Moscow? Two Russian commentators have construed comments by Vladimir Putin, in conjunction with the failure of North Ossetian President Taymuraz Mamsurov to attend the anniversary celebrations in Tskhinvali, as reflecting Moscow's annoyance and possibly disillusion with Kokoity, who is widely regarded as incompetent and corrupt. More  Venezuela's Khodorkovsky A Venezuelan businessman linked to the opposition, Egilio Cedeno, is being prosecuted in a case roundly criticized by independent observers. The situation contains parallels to the Russian prosecution of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and it reflects a breakdown of the rule of law in that country. More  Ebadi Calls Iran Trials 'Illegal' Iranian Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi has condemned the ongoing trials of hundreds of people detained following the unrest that followed the country's disputed presidential poll. In an interview with RFE/RL, Ebadi describes the trials as "wizardry" and a "parody" of justice. More  Revolutionary Shouting And Dead Silence I continue to pay for the events of 1968. As fate would have it, I have lived and worked in Prague since 1995. And all this time I have felt how keenly I am unloved. One stark reminder came last summer, when I was a speaker at the Prague International Writers' Festival. My name and the name of the country that is the home of the language I write in (Russia) were featured on posters promoting the festival. One of these posters was hanging in the city’s main square, and some sincere Russophobe had lovingly blacked them out, presumably not because he objected to my verse. More  CSTO Military Exercises Off To Discouraging Start A military exercise in Russia marks the first official test of the new Collective Operational Reaction Forces, created within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. But the exercises have been overshadowed by profound divisions within the CSTO concerning the new force. More  Putin TV -- Russia's New Reality The days when Vladimir Gusinsky's NTV was known for its independent investigative reporting are gone forever. Such is the reality of life in the Russian media. The journalists who broadcast yesterday's honest political reporting still work for the same TV channels, but those channels are now exclusively propagandistic. More |
