 RFE/RL Headlines 12/8/2009 A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Baghdad Car Bombs Kill 112, Injure More Than 400 A series of apparently coordinated explosions in Baghdad has killed 112 people and wounded more than 400. More  Kabul Mayor Talks, Despite Arrest Order Kabul's mayor has given a press conference at his office -- despite an order being issued for his arrest following his conviction for corruption, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reports. More  Armenian Parliament Endorses Troop Deployment To Afghanistan The Armenian parliament today overwhelmingly approved the deployment to Afghanistan in February of 40 servicemen to serve in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Kazakh Protesters Detained At Rally For Sacked KNB Chief Five people were detained today outside President Nursultan Nazarbaev's home in the capital, Astana, while protesting the sacking of the Kazakh National Security Committee (KNB) chairman, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Verdict Expected In Killing Of Ingushetian Website Owner A court in Ingushetia says a verdict in the trial of the policeman accused of killing website owner Magomed Yevloyev is expected on December 11, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Russian Fire Officials Fired As Toll Rises Several officials in the Fire Control Department in Russia's Perm Krai were fired today as the death toll from a deadly nightclub fire rose, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More Iranian authorities have shut down the reformist newspaper "Hayat-e No" (New Life), RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. More  Ingush Official Denies Being Fired Over Conflict A dismissed Ingushetian presidential administration official denies he was fired by President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov after challenging the Russian republic's prime minister, RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service reports. More  Kyrgyzstan's Largest Hydropower Station Hit By Shutdown Mechanical problems at Kyrgyzstan's Toktogul hydropower station early today caused two of its four major power generators to shut down, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More Authorities the Russian capital and the second city of St. Petersburg have announced plans to ban on the use of pyrotechnics in closed areas after a deadly nightclub fire last week, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More More than 300 pensioners in the midwestern Russian city of Izhevsk demonstrated today against the decision to abolish reduced fares for senior citizens on public transport, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More Police and security forces in Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian republic of Daghestan, reported killing an armed insurgent after he resisted arrest today, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More A woman suffering from swine-flu-like symptoms has died in northern Tajikistan in what could be the country's first reported death from the H1N1 virus, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More  Question Over Tajik Election Pledge Rajab Mirzo, a journalist and Democratic Party candidate in the 2005 parliamentary elections, said the administration should go further by changing the law to allow "free and transparent elections." More  Belarusian Activists Blindfolded, Dumped In Forest In what could mark a worrying new trend in Alyaksandr Lukashenka's Belarus, two prominent opposition activists say they were briefly abducted over the weekend by assailants they believe are tied to the secret services. More  Traveling Down The Mekong To mark the Copenhagen summit, our sister organization Radio Free Asia has a great video series with their correspondents travelling down the Mekong River. More  European Left Is Left Behind Amidst the global financial crisis, left-wing parties struggle to offer a credible alternative. More  Now That We Have Your Attention... Does broad public interest in climate change mean we're more united over what to do? More  Russia, U.S. Face Off In Court Over Independence The United States and Russia, deeply divided over the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence, have presented opposing arguments about the move to the International Court of Justice. More  European Union's Eastern Partnership Stuck In Low Gear The Eastern Partnership was launched with great fanfare in Prague in May. But just past the eight-month mark, it is becoming clear that neither the EU nor the six partnership members have high hopes for the grouping. More  Obama, Turkish PM Agree To Tackle Iran U.S. President Barack Obama says he and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have agreed that one of the most important issues the two NATO allies need to resolve is Iran's nuclear program. More  Peter Vail, Veteran RFE/RL Broadcaster, Accomplished Author, Dies At 60 Peter Vail, a longtime pillar of RFE/RL's Russian Service, died late on December 7 in Prague following a long illness. He was 60 years old. A distinguished author and journalist, Vail worked for more than 20 years in RFE/RL's Russian Service. More |
