 RFE/RL Headlines 10/26/2009 5:32:20 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  'To Work In Human Rights Is Suicidal' More than 3,000 people gathered today in Ingushetia to bury rights activist Maksharip Aushev, who was killed after the car he was driving was peppered by more than 60 bullets. Before his slaying, Aushev told RFE/RL he had received death threats and had been the target of an attempted kidnapping. More  Karadzic A No-Show At His War Crimes Trial The genocide trial of Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic opened in The Hague today with Karadzic boycotting the proceedings. The trial was adjourned, with judges saying they may be forced to appoint a legal team to represent Karadzic. More GM Car Assembly Begins In Kaliningrad U.S. carmaker General Motors (GM) has started assembling Opel Astra and Opel Zafira automobiles at the Avtotor plant in the Russian Baltic port city of Kaliningrad, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Kyrgyz Police Seeking Second Suspect In Journalist's Killing Kyrgyzstan's Interior Ministry says that a second suspect is being sought in the 2007 murder of independent journalist Alisher Saipov, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Moldova To Freeze Public-Sector Wages Moldovan Economy Minister Valeriu Lazar says the government will have to freeze public-sector wages in hopes of securing a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More  Rights Campaigner Gunned Down In Ingushetia Maksharip Aushev was buried today. Some 3,000 mourners gathered in the drizzle outside Nazran, Ingushetia's largest city, to say goodbye to the opposition campaigner. More  Time To Prove An Important Fact: We Don’t Support Violence And Terrorism Blogger Kamangir reacts to the deadly October 18 attack by the group Jundallah on the Revolutionary Guards Corps by saying that violence should be condemned: More  EU Reviews Cooperation With The South Caucasus Foreign ministers of the three South Caucasus countries today met with an EU troika of top officials in Luxembourg. The routine meeting takes place yearly under the aegis of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements the EU has with Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The EU is offering all three countries an upgrade to an Association Treaty, which could eventually bring with it free trade and visa-free travel, but would not open the door to EU membership. More  The Best Place In The World To Live? You Might Be Surprised What's your idea of the best place in which to live? Many people would probably answer that palm trees and a gleaming beach would be a good start to their idea of earthly paradise. But in real life, the country which scores best on a whole range of economic and quality-of-life issues is a good deal colder. It's Finland. That's what the 2009 Prosperity Index issued by the British-based think tank the Legatum Institute finds. More  Former UN Envoy Suggests 'Emergency Government' In Kabul Former Spanish diplomat Francesc Vendrell, who served as a special envoy for Afghanistan for the United Nations and the European Union, weighs in on the ongoing political crisis in Afghanistan. More  Uzbekistan Stumbles On Courting Tourists Promoting itself as a hospitable tourist stop along the ancient Silk Road, Uzbekistan is seeking to boost its tourism industry and attract more foreign travelers. But the authoritarian regime in Tashkent maintains a strict visa procedure that all but discourages outside visitors. More  Hudson's Search For The Northeast Passage Before English explorer Henry Hudson sailed for the New World, he had twice tried to find a passage to Asia through Russia's northern waters. Bitter cold and ice scuppered both attempts, but historians say they still played a significant role in developing stronger trade relations between the West and Russia. More  Examining The Impact Of New Media On Authoritarian Regimes After a year in which Twitter and Facebook catalyzed protest movements in Iran and Moldova and authoritarian regimes around the world unleashed new tools of Internet control, a Congressional panel was told how new media and the Internet affect the balance of power between human rights activists and authoritarian governments. More  St. Pete Skyscraper Debate Opens Rift in Russian Elite Doubts have surfaced over whether long-standing plans by the Russian energy giant Gazprom to erect a $2 billion, 400-meter skyscraper in St. Petersburg will go ahead. Fierce public opposition to the project has sparked a rare phenomenon -- debate and dissent within Russia's political elite. More |
