 RFE/RL Headlines 11/18/2009 7:37:11 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Georgia Asks Belarus Not To Recognize Ossetia, Abkhazia Georgia urged fellow former Soviet republic Belarus today not to follow Russia in recognizing the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. More U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Afghanistan for her first visit as America's top diplomat, on the eve of President Hamid Karzai's inauguration after a fraud-tainted election. More  Key Council Meets In Sarajevo Over Fate Of OHR The 55-member international body that supervises Bosnia's peace process is gathering in Sarajevo to discuss whether to extend the mandate of its main civilian overseer there. More  Iran's Islamic Militia Says It Will Confront 'Riots' Iran's Basij militia, who clashed with protesters after June's presidential poll, will confront any further "street riots," its commander said today, ahead of a ceremony to mark the killing of a dissident couple. More  Russian Soldier Caught Selling Plastic Explosives A Russian soldier has been detained for trying to sell plastic explosives used in the armor plating of tanks on a city street on the Pacific coast, RIA news agency reported. More  Poll: Afghans See Poverty As Main Cause Of War Most Afghans see not Taliban militants but poverty, unemployment, and government corruption as the main causes of war in their country, according to a report by a leading aid group. More  Uzbeks Skip Regional Security Meeting In Kazakhstan The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has begun a third round of discussions in Almaty about upcoming counterterrorism exercises, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Turkish-Armenian Writer Reports Death Threats Turkish-Armenian newspaper columnist Sevan Nisanyan says he has received hundreds of deaths threats after altering a famous quote from the founder of modern Turkey to make a case for reforms in the country, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Muslim Women Arrested In Southern Uzbekistan Some 30 women have been arrested in the southern Uzbek city of Karshi since the beginning of November, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports. More  For Russian Opposition, Three’s A Crowd Several Russian opposition leaders were detained briefly on November 16 for protesting against the detention of Eduard Limonov, the leader of the Other Russia coalition. It turns out that their detentions were not a simple matter; in fact, they required a little assistance from a pair of agents provocateurs. More  The Rundown - November 18 News & views on RFE/RL's broadcast region. More  Confessions Of A Man Blogger Masireh Sabz (The Green Path) admits he’s been wrong about Iranian women. He says he has come to realize how courageous Iran’s women really are during the ongoing protests against the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. More  At Least Things Aren't Getting Any Worse The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, emerged today from the 24th EU-Russia summit in the Swedish capital describing it as "one of the best meetings we have had." More  Death Of A Lawyer An attorney for Hermitage Capital has died in a Moscow prison in the midst of a bitter fight between the investment fund and the Russian authorities. His colleagues say he was being pressured to give false testimony and suspect foul play was involved. More  Death Sentences Seen As Intimidation Move Five people have been sentenced to death and 81 have received jail terms of up to 15 years in connection with the unrest that followed Iran's disputed June election. The country's Justice Department says those sentenced to death were affiliated to or members of "counterrevolutionary groups." But observers consider the heavy sentences to be a move by the Islamic establishment to put an end to the continued opposition against President Mahmud Ahmadinejad reelection. More  Karzai Inauguration Brings Anticipation Of Change A grand inauguration ceremony will mark the beginning of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's second term in office on November 19. Will the Afghan leader respond to calls for improved security and services and better governance, or will the changes sought remain wishful thinking? More  From Words To Deeds The international community must act swiftly to impose itself as an equal stakeholder and partner in tackling corruption in Afghanistan. It must come up with intelligent strategies, accompanied by clear benchmarks and mechanisms to monitor those benchmarks every step of the way. More |
