 RFE/RL Headlines 12/29/2009 7:40:47 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Serbian Minister Quits War Crimes Team The Serbian minister responsible for helping the UN war crimes tribunal track down suspects resigned today because efforts to bring fugitive Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic before the court had failed. More  Progovernment Rallies Held Across Iran Tens of thousands of government supporters have rallied, state media said, and a reformist party called on Iran's rulers to apologize to the nation two days after eight people were killed in antigovernment protests. More  Russian Commission Blames Officials For Death In Detention The independent Moscow Public Oversight Commission, concluding a probe ordered by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, has issued a scathing report criticizing law enforcement officials for the death in pretrial detention of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky last month. More  Putin: Russia Needs Offensive Arms Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is quoted as saying that Russia must develop offensive weapons systems to counter U.S. missile-defense plans. More  Obama: U.S. Will Pursue Plane Attackers U.S. President Barack Obama spoke publicly for the first time on December 28 about the attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, vowing that the United States "will not rest" until it finds everyone responsible for the attack. More  British Citizen Executed In China China has put to death a British citizen after convicting him of drug smuggling, in what is believed to be the country's first execution of a European national in more than 50 years. More  Iran Arrests Opposition Figures Iran arrested at least 10 leading opposition figures on December 28, a day after eight people were killed in antigovernment protests that erupted during a Shi'ite Muslim religious festival, an opposition website said. More  Ebadi Says Own Rights Work Prompted Sister's Arrest Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi today told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that authorities from the Ministry of Information had threatened her sister, Nushin Ebadi, and said that Shirin Ebadi must give up her human rights work. More Kyrgyz Defense Minister Bakyt Kalyev has said a NATO office for Central Asia will be established in Bishkek, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a law that introduces "restriction of freedom" as a new penalty, mainly for minor crimes, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Ill Armenian Oppositionist Returned To Jail Imprisoned Armenian opposition figure Sasun Mikaelian was returned to jail on December 28 after spending more than three weeks in a civilian hospital in Yerevan, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Georgia Denounces Rosneft-Abkhazia Deal The Georgian Foreign Ministry says an oil agreement between Russian oil company Rosneft and the separatist region of Abkhazia is a violation of Georgian and international laws, RFE/RL's Echo of the Caucasus reports. More  Georgia Says 15,000 Displaced Housed The Georgian Refugee Affairs and Shelter Ministry has reported on its 2009 activities regarding displaced people from Abkhazia, stating that it focused on repairing homes and providing housing to some 15,000 people, RFE/RL's Echo of the Caucasus reports. More More than a dozen young opposition activists were attacked and beaten by a group of men in downtown Yerevan on December 27 while campaigning for jailed opposition leader Nikol Pashinian, who is running for a parliament seat, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Armenian Policemen Convicted For Beating Two Armenian police officers have been convicted of using disproportionate force in breaking up protests following the February 2008 presidential election, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Russian Imam Arrested For Murder An imam at a Kislovodsk mosque has been arrested on charges of organizing the murder of Imam Ismail Bostanov in Karachayevo-Cherkessia, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More The Worst Soviet 'Let It Be' Covers In The World It's the holiday season so a little bit of frivolity is allowed. More "The New York Times" yesterday highlighted Tehran's fears of its "increasingly aggressive separatist groups," so a rare video dug up by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service is an interesting reminder. More  No Longer A Priority Remember the much-ballyhooed Russian “national projects”? Evidently, you aren’t supposed to. More  No End In Sight To Daghestan Presidential Cliff-Hanger While some have construed Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's assertion that new elections will take place in several municipalities in Daghestan as setting a laudable precedent for annulling local ballots that are openly and blatantly rigged, others see it as way of not reappointing Mukhu Aliyev as the republic's president. More  Election Dispute Brings New Challenge To Iran's Regime At the start of the year, Iran's opposition was fragmented, with multiple messages voiced in muted tones -- but that all changed in 2009. Following the country's highly contentious presidential elections in June, the opposition united under the umbrella of the Green Movement. Six months later, the movement has proven its resilience in challenging the establishment despite a brutal state crackdown, while showing new willingness to use force itself if necessary. More  Senator Joe Lieberman Voices U.S. Support For Iranian People Amid continuing antigovernment protests in Iran and a harsh crackdown by the authorities, U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman (Independent, Connecticut) spoke to Radio Farda correspondent Hossein Aryan about America's next foreign policy moves vis-à-vis Tehran. Lieberman said the U.S. Senate will take up an Iran sanctions bill at its next session in January and will press U.S. President Barack Obama to tighten the screws on the Iranian regime. More  Putin Statement Shows 'Who's In Charge In Russia' Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that Russia must develop new offensive weapons systems to counter U.S. missile-defense initiatives. RFE/RL's Russian Service asked military analyst and journalist Aleksandr Golts what the statement could mean. More  Karachi Reels After Bombing The port city had been relatively quiet since the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, but residents fear all stability is now gone. More  Spanish Presidency To Take Reformed EU For A Test Drive Spain on January 1 becomes the first country to hold the EU's six-month rotating presidency under the new Lisbon Treaty, which dramatically alters some of the bloc's foreign policy-making mechanisms. More |
