RFE/RL Headlines
9/3/2009 5:34:54 PM
A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty News
'Arctic Sea' Critic Flees Russia Mikhail Voitenko, editor of the online "Sovfracht Marine Bulletin," was among the earliest and most outspoken of those casting doubt on the official version of events, questioning why pirates would risk seizing a relatively inexpensive cargo in one of Europe's busiest shipping lanes. More
U.S. Investigates Misconduct Allegations At Kabul Embassy U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has ordered an investigation after a damning report alleging hazing and wild, alcohol-fueled parties by private security guards at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. More
HRW Urges Saudis To End Shi'a Discrimination U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Saudi Arabia is experiencing its sharpest tensions in decades between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims -- with the Shi'a increasingly being victimized by "systemic state discrimination." More
Iran's Parliament Approves Most Cabinet Picks Iran's parliament has approved 18 out of 21 nominees in Mahmud Ahmadinejad's proposed cabinet. The vote is seen as a boost to the embattled president, who said his cabinet would deliver a "punch" to Iran's enemies. For the first time in the Islamic republic’s history, a woman was approved as a minister. More
From Our Bureaus
Ukrainian Former Head Of Court To Start Hunger Strike
The jailed former chief of the Court of Appeals in the Ukrainian city of Lviv says he will start a hunger strike on September 4, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More
Ukrainian Former Head Of Court To Start Hunger Strike The jailed former chief of the Court of Appeals in the Ukrainian city of Lviv says he will start a hunger strike on September 4, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More
Kadyrov’s Lawsuit Against Journalist Dropped The Moscow City Interior Affairs Department (GUVD) has decided not to launch an investigation against the head of the Memorial human rights center, Oleg Orlov, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More
Kazakh Journalist Faces Libel Suit
A city court in Zhezqazghan, central Kazakhstan, has started hearings in a libel lawsuit against Vladimir Prutik, the editor in chief of "Nashe Vremya" (Our Time), RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More
A city court in Zhezqazghan, central Kazakhstan, has started hearings in a libel lawsuit against Vladimir Prutik, the editor in chief of "Nashe Vremya" (Our Time), RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More
Moscow Police Try To Break Up Beslan Commemoration Similar gatherings were being held in nine places in the Russian capital, Moscow, where terrorists have struck. More
Moscow Police Detain Around 20 Local Activists
The leader of Left Front opposition movement, Sergei Udaltsov, told RFE/RL the gathering was not a protest but merely an attempt to collectively hand in a complaint to city officials. More
The leader of Left Front opposition movement, Sergei Udaltsov, told RFE/RL the gathering was not a protest but merely an attempt to collectively hand in a complaint to city officials. More
NATO Envoy Plays Down Turkmen Base Plans NATO special representative for Central Asia and Caucasus Robert Simmons has downplayed the controversy over Turkmenistan's plan to establish a naval base on its Caspian coast, saying it's natural for littoral states to boost border security to protect against an increasingly active transit route for illegal activities. More
Conference On Reservoir Security Opens In Tajikistan Attendees were expected to discuss safety at reservoirs including Tajikistan's Lake Sarez, formed in 1911 after a strong earthquake blocked part of a river valley in the eastern part of the country. More
Kazakh Activist Sentenced To Four Years In Jail A court in Kazakhstan has sentenced a prominent human rights activist to four years in jail for manslaughter, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More
Communist Party Activists Detained In Belarus
Valer Rybchanka told RFE/RL from detention that he and Svyatlana Mikhalchanka had not been given any specific reason for their detention. More
Valer Rybchanka told RFE/RL from detention that he and Svyatlana Mikhalchanka had not been given any specific reason for their detention. More
Policemen Charged In Kyrgyz Journalist's Slaying
Almaz Tashiev was reportedly brutally beaten by a group of police officers in Osh Oblast's Nookat district on July 4 and later died in a local hospital. More
Almaz Tashiev was reportedly brutally beaten by a group of police officers in Osh Oblast's Nookat district on July 4 and later died in a local hospital. More
Transmission
Putin And Me
Media access to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is pretty strictly controlled. But Georgia’s Rustavi-2 television channel this week hit the jackpot when one of its reporters was able to put a few questions to the man who many believe was the leading force behind Russia’s August 2008 military intervention in the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. More
Putin And Me Media access to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is pretty strictly controlled. But Georgia’s Rustavi-2 television channel this week hit the jackpot when one of its reporters was able to put a few questions to the man who many believe was the leading force behind Russia’s August 2008 military intervention in the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. More
The Week In Facebook
Inspired by "The Atlantic's" mock "World Leaders" Facebook group, RFE/RL presents a Facebook-style summary of last week's events. Click on any of the status updates for more information. More
Inspired by "The Atlantic's" mock "World Leaders" Facebook group, RFE/RL presents a Facebook-style summary of last week's events. Click on any of the status updates for more information. More
'Mysteries of The Oval Office' Belarus Style The head of Belarus's newly formed morality watchdog once wrote a steamy novel about the Clinton White House. More
Remembering A Remarkable Journey
This week more than 100 people are retracing the journey taken by 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to Britain in 1938. More
This week more than 100 people are retracing the journey taken by 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to Britain in 1938. More
Features
Lost Memories
The genocide trial of seven Bosnian Serb officers was meant to help close the page on the Srebrenica massacre, one of the grisliest chapters in modern European history. Instead, survivors are reeling from the recent admission by the UN tribunal in The Hague that it destroyed over 1,000 personal items and forensic evidence from the victims’ graves. More
Lost Memories The genocide trial of seven Bosnian Serb officers was meant to help close the page on the Srebrenica massacre, one of the grisliest chapters in modern European history. Instead, survivors are reeling from the recent admission by the UN tribunal in The Hague that it destroyed over 1,000 personal items and forensic evidence from the victims’ graves. More
Fears Of A New Cultural Revolution In Iran As university students prepare to return to classes in Iran, recent statements by the country's supreme leader are feeding fears that a new cultural revolution could be in the offing. Some recognize echoes of the mass purges and curriculum revisions that took place just after the founding of the Islamic Republic 30 years ago. More
Q&A: Destruction Of Srebrenica Artifacts The spokeswoman for chief prosecutor of the Hague tribunal (ICTY), Olga Kavran, spoke to RFE/RL's Kristin Deasy about the court's decision four years ago to destroy more than 1,000 personal documents and photographs as well as forensic evidence retrieved from Srebrenica mass graves. These are excerpts of that interview, which was conducted on August 17. More
Moldova President To Step Down, As Gridlock Continues Moldova's longtime leader, Vladimir Voronin, has announced that he intends to step down as acting president. It's the latest development in a months-long power struggle between Voronin's Communist Party and the country's Western-oriented opposition. More
A Hitchhiker's Guide To The North Caucasus It all began last year, when Tomas Polacek, a reporter for the Czech newspaper “Mlada Fronta Dnes,” suggested to his editors that he could hitchhike from Prague to China and write a daily blog. To his surprise, they agreed. Three weeks later, Polacek had reached Beijing and the blog was a hit. This year, Polacek suggested a follow-up: How about hitchhiking through the Caucasus, a year after the Russia-Georgia conflict, to see what life was like on the ground? Polacek’s editors did a double take, but they didn’t hesitate. More
