 RFE/RL Headlines 9/4/2009 5:55:40 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  North Korea Says It Is In Final Phase Of Enriching Uranium North Korea has announced that it is in the final phase of enriching uranium -- a process that would give it a second method of making nuclear weapons, in addition to its known plutonium-based program. More  NATO Strike Highlights Insecurity In Afghan North After a deadly bombing struck Konduz Province, concerns about the situation in Afghanistan topped the agenda as EU foreign ministers arrived in the Swedish capital Stockholm for two days of informal talks. More  Azerbaijani Minister Criticizes RFE/RL Over Eurovision Interrogation Story The Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sport has criticized RFE/RL for covering news about the interrogation of some people who voted for the Armenian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. More  Relatives Of Missing Belarusians Protest Lukashenka Visit To Lithuania Relatives of three prominent missing people in Belarus have expressed their concerns regarding a planned visit by Belarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to Lithuania later this month, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Supporters Say Kazakh Activist Is Political Prisoner Supporters of Yevgeny Zhovtis, the director of the International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law in Kazakhstan, have announced that they consider him a political prisoner, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Are Azeri Activists Hooligans, Or Merely Pests? The trial of two Azerbaijani bloggers arrested on charges of hooliganism has begun in Baku in a case that rights groups say is an attempt by authorities to stifle dissent. More  Iranian Universities Question Students About Protests Independent student websites in Iran report that disciplinary committees in major universities are calling students suspected of participating in postelection protests to appear before them. More  Iran’s State Telecom To Sell 51 Percent Of Stock The state-owned Telecommunication Company of Iran will offer 51 percent of its stock for sale in Tehran’s stock market next week. More  Turkmen President Invites Azerbaijan’s Aliyev To Visit Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has invited his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, to visit Ashgabat later this month to celebrate the finish of the Silk Road 2009 rally. More  Why They Flee The North Caucasus The reasons why young people from the North Caucasus seek asylum in Europe are well-known -- abductions and disappearances; persecution on religious and political grounds; and even extrajudicial killings. Journalists, human rights activists, and young people who profess allegiance to branches of Islam outside the mainstream are most frequently subject to such persecution. More  In Turkmenbashi's Footsteps? A new school in the Turkmen province of Akhal has been named after President Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov's grandfather, Berdimukhamed Annaev, who took part in the opening ceremony on September 1. The eponym came with privileges. More  Afghans Paying More For AK-47s In North The recent rise -- from $450 to $650 for a Kalashnikov -- appears to be linked to mounting security concerns among Afghans, according to RFA. More Iranian lawmakers were in a joking mood as they convened this week to vote on President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's cabinet appointments, and recordings of some of the remarks that came before state television cut them off have been posted on websites. More  'For My Soon-To-Be-Born Daughter...' Iranian blogger and reformist journalist Hanif Mazrouei has been in hiding since after the disputed June presidential election. Mazrouei is a member of the Mosharekat party, which has come under fire by authorities who have arrested and put on trial a number of its senior members. More  EU Weighs Afghan Strategy In Wake Of Konduz Strike After a deadly bombing struck Konduz Province, concerns about the situation in Afghanistan topped the agenda as EU foreign ministers arrived in the Swedish capital Stockholm for two days of informal talks. More  Diary Of A KGB Mole The Belarusian opposition is reeling from the publication of an online diary in which an activist admits infiltrating the opposition for the KGB secret service. The confession, which contains damaging accusations against opposition leaders, has raised questions both about its authenticity and its author's motives. More  Georgia, Abkhazia, And The Law Of The Sea As Georgia tries to impound ships delivering cargo to breakaway Abkhazia, Sukhumi has responded by threatening to destroy any Georgian warships operating off its coastline. The feud, which has the potential to escalate into an armed confrontation, poses tough legal questions for third parties. Should ships from other nations respect Georgia’s sea blockade? Or is Tbilisi acting out of bounds by treating any shipments to Sukhumi as smuggling? More  Pentagon Defends Strategy As Public Support Ebbs A new report from the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan comes as debate intensifies on the best way forward in the conflict. The Pentagon has been forced to defend its strategy against growing public pressure for troops to return home. More  EU Discussing 'Afpak' Strategy, Iran, Mideast EU foreign ministers are gathering in the Swedish capital for two days of informal discussion on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and the Middle East. More  Putin's 'Polish Syndrome' Ten years of absolute power and 10 years of unlimited sycophancy have not failed to leave their mark on Russia's Vladimir Putin. He has completely lost the ability to listen to others or to hear himself. |
