RFE/RL Headlines
10/22/2009 9:27:38 PM
A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty News
For Central Europe, A Call To Look Eastward U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, speaking in Romania, has called on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe that broke free of communism 20 years ago to help guide other fledgling democracies toward stability. More
Russian Rights Group Wins Sakharov Prize Russia's embattled Memorial human rights group has won the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The prestigious honor comes as the group fights a lawsuit filed by Chechnya's powerful leader Ramzan Kadyrov related to the murder of one of Memorial's activists. More
NATO Defense Ministers In Afghan Unity Push NATO defense ministers are discussing the future of Afghanistan at a meeting in Bratislava. The United States is pushing its allies to contribute more troops. The ministers will also discuss the changed U.S. strategy on missile defense. More
A New Nexus Between Drugs, Crime, And Terrorism The world's deadliest drug -- heroin -- is killing 30,000 to 40,000 Russians every year. Where is it coming from? Afghanistan. By way of? Central Asia. A new United Nations report examines these and other drug-related developments in unprecedented depth. More
Clinton Urges Commitment To Nuclear-Free World In April, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a speech in Prague that his administration had begun work on an effort to eliminate nuclear weapons from the world's arsenals. In Washington on October 21, Obama's secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, followed up by urging stronger UN authority to crack down on proliferators. More
From Our Bureaus
Iraqi Christians Seek Seat Quota In Next Legislature
Representatives of Iraq's Christian community are demanding that legislative-seat quotas for Christians and other minority communities should be established in the new election law, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports. More
Iraqi Christians Seek Seat Quota In Next Legislature Representatives of Iraq's Christian community are demanding that legislative-seat quotas for Christians and other minority communities should be established in the new election law, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports. More
Tajik President's Moscow Talks Inconclusive Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's talks with Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev near Moscow have produced no significant results, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More
Murmansk Schools Closed By Flu Outbreak
Authorities in the far northern Russian city of Murmansk have closed all schools in the region due to an outbreak of influenza, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More
Authorities in the far northern Russian city of Murmansk have closed all schools in the region due to an outbreak of influenza, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More
Armenian Activist Demands Trial In Defamation Case A young civic activist in Armenia who triggered a scandal about alleged sexual and other abuse at a Yerevan boarding school has turned down a police deal for a pardon that would avoid a trial on libel charges, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More
Moldova Postpones Presidential Election Moldova's parliament has decided to postpone an attempt by lawmakers to elect a new president, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More
Armenia Separates Turkish Rapprochement From Karabakh Dispute
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosian says Turkish-Armenian rapprochement protocols have nothing to do with the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosian says Turkish-Armenian rapprochement protocols have nothing to do with the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More
Armenian President Starts Two-Day Visit To Karabakh Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has started a two-day visit to Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More
Appeals Court Upholds Kazakh Journalist's Sentence A court of appeals in Kazakhstan’s southern city of Taraz has upheld the sentence of independent journalist Ramazan Esergepov, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More
Top U.S. Diplomat Meets Armenian Opposition Leader U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Tina Kaidanow met with Armenian opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian in Yerevan at the end of her first visit to Armenia on October 21, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More
Jailed Belarus Opposition Figure Starts Hunger Strike
Jailed Belarusian opposition activist Alyaksandr Bandarenka began an indefinite hunger strike on October 19, demanding that his case be reconsidered, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More
Jailed Belarusian opposition activist Alyaksandr Bandarenka began an indefinite hunger strike on October 19, demanding that his case be reconsidered, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More
Russian Duma Speaker Says No Need For Recount Boris Gryzlov, the speaker of the Russian State Duma and a leader of the ruling United Russia party, says a recount of the votes of the nationwide local elections held on October 11 would not significantly increase the vote for the country's other parties. More
Turkmen Activist Arrested For Hooliganism
Police in Dashoguz detained Andrey Zatoka, a prominent environmental activist, on October 20, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reports. More
Police in Dashoguz detained Andrey Zatoka, a prominent environmental activist, on October 20, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reports. More
Transmission
The Right And The Power
Those two words arguably sum up Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Serbia on October 20: the "right" being a reference to Serbian nationalism, and the "power" representing Russia's considerable ownership and other ties to Balkan fuel and electricity. More
The Right And The Power Those two words arguably sum up Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Serbia on October 20: the "right" being a reference to Serbian nationalism, and the "power" representing Russia's considerable ownership and other ties to Balkan fuel and electricity. More
Persian Letters
A Woman Doctor's Regrets
Blogger Zendegi Majazi ma (Our Virtual Life) writes about one of her professors, who believes women should not study difficult subjects. More
A Woman Doctor's Regrets Blogger Zendegi Majazi ma (Our Virtual Life) writes about one of her professors, who believes women should not study difficult subjects. More
Features
Iran Mulls El-Baradei Plan, Others Cite Drawbacks
Iran's leadership has received a deadline of October 23 to decide whether it will accept a plan for its enriched uranium to be processed abroad, thereby easing international concerns about the Iranian nuclear program. The plan was put forward in Vienna on October 21 by the head of the UN nuclear energy agency, Muhammad el-Baradei. It aims to ensure that Iran does not have enough enriched uranium on hand to make an atom bomb. More
Iran Mulls El-Baradei Plan, Others Cite Drawbacks Iran's leadership has received a deadline of October 23 to decide whether it will accept a plan for its enriched uranium to be processed abroad, thereby easing international concerns about the Iranian nuclear program. The plan was put forward in Vienna on October 21 by the head of the UN nuclear energy agency, Muhammad el-Baradei. It aims to ensure that Iran does not have enough enriched uranium on hand to make an atom bomb. More
Are Voters Prepared To Vote Again? With fraud, insecurity, and logistical nightmares wearing on Afghan voters, the expectations for the country's November 7 presidential runoff are low. What do voters in remote parts of Afghanistan think about the prospects for the runoff, and what steps are being taken to lure them to polling stations again? More
Gorbachev Criticizes Ruling United Russia Party In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL's Russia Service, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev criticized the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, which he blamed for fraud in regional elections earlier this month. Widespread allegations of serious violations prompted general outrage and calls to reform the country's authoritarian political system. Gorbachev also discussed U.S. President Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize and his own role in history. More
Iran Offers Short-Term Solutions To Long-Term Problems The conflict in Iran's southeast with Jundallah, an ethnic Baluch insurgent group, has arisen from a combination of ethnic, sectarian, economic, and political problems. But Iran's Islamic regime continues to offer only short-term solutions to the minority's complaints. More
Romany Man's Death Sentence Stirs Debate In Belarus The case of a 30-year-old Romany man who faces execution for murder has sparked an emotional debate over the death penalty in Belarus, the only country in Europe and the former Soviet Union that still executes prisoners. Many Belarusians believe the condemned man deserves to die, but European officials have reiterated calls for an immediate suspension of capital punishment in Belarus. More
Havel Expects Biden To Reassure Region As U.S. Vice President Joe Biden begins his travels through Central Europe, arguably the region's loudest voice for strong trans-Atlantic ties, former Czech President Vaclav Havel, is up-front with RFE/RL about what he expects to hear: a clear vision of American policy for the region. More
Vatican Appeals To Anglicans, Eases Conversion Process The Vatican has eased the process of conversion to Roman Catholicism for Anglicans. Appearing to follow the precedent of Catholic communities in the Middle East and Eastern Europe that follow different rites, the Vatican's move is likely to bring disenchanted Anglicans into the Catholic fold. More
Commentary
Is Kazakhstan Fit To Chair The OSCE?
As an international organization that, among other things, promotes human rights, transparent elections, and the rule of law, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is taking quite a gamble by entrusting the chairmanship to a country that is taking steps away from -- rather than toward -- democracy. More
Is Kazakhstan Fit To Chair The OSCE? As an international organization that, among other things, promotes human rights, transparent elections, and the rule of law, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is taking quite a gamble by entrusting the chairmanship to a country that is taking steps away from -- rather than toward -- democracy. More
Is Pakistan Heading For Another Military Coup? Pakistan's elected government appears powerless to stabilize deteriorating security, economic, and political conditions. Quite understandably, its popularity is falling. Similar conditions in the past have triggered three military coups in that nation's 62-year modern history. More
