 RFE/RL Headlines 1/26/2010 9:03:32 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Iraqi Intellectuals Open Tolerance Center Iraqi intellectuals, journalists, and writers have launched a new initiative aimed at promoting tolerance, amid fears of renewed sectarian violence following a controversial decision to bar hundreds of candidates from March elections, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports. More  French Panel Calls For Partial Ban On Islamic Veils Following six months of hearings surrounded by public debate, a French parliamentary commission has recommended barring Muslim women from wearing the full Islamic veil in public institutions. More  Russia Loses Standing In Science China has overtaken Russia in the number of scientific research papers it publishes. That is the finding of a recent study that looked at what percent of the world’s scientific research papers are published by which countries. More  Russian Daily Sees Possible Cyberattack The website of the influential Russian independent newspaper "Novaya gazeta" was inaccessible through much of today and is thought to have been hacked, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Moldova Prosecutors Quiz Ex-President Prosecutors in Chisinau have again interviewed the country's former president over the beatings in April of demonstrators during protests against the election victory of the ruling Communist Party. More  Deputy Mayor In Bashkortostan Jailed For Corruption The Supreme Court of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan sentenced the former deputy mayor of the town of Salavat to eight years in prison today, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports. More Jailed Belarusian opposition activist Andrey Bandarenka has been transferred from a labor camp in Babruisk to a Minsk detention center while his case is being reviewed, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Kazakh Party Proposes Abolishing Prime Minister Post The pro-presidential Adilet (Justice) party has proposed abolishing the post of prime minister and giving most of its powers to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Kyrgyz Official Says Coverage Of Isakov Protests Biased The governor of the southern Kyrgyz region of Osh says media coverage of protests in support of jailed former Defense Minister Ismail Isakov is biased and "instigating hysteria," RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Slain Kyrgyz Journalist's Family Swaps Lawyer BISHKEK -- The family of Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk has a new lawyer recommended to them by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  'Iran, Please, Free The Hikers' Three young American hikers who were detained in Iran nearly six months ago are being held on espionage charges. But two Belgians travelers who faced a similar ordeal have been luckier. Idesbald Van den Bosch and Vincent Boon Falleur were imprisoned alongside the Americans in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, but were released December 8. Since then, they have been pleading for clemency for their fellow inmates. More  Springing To Hitler's Defense In July 2008, just a couple of weeks before the Russia-Georgia war, Sakartvelo TV, affiliated with the Georgian Defense Ministry, quoted Adolf Hitler. More  The Rundown - January 26 A comprehensive review of news and opinion on RFE/RL's broadcast region More  Further Thoughts On The State Council Meeting The Kremlin has been describing the January 22 State Council meeting as “historic,” so we here at The Power Vertical thought it deserves at least two posts. Yesterday Brian Whitmore noted the strident tone that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin took at the meeting and that, overall, it was perfectly clear that limits were being laid down, probably in an attempt to quash overly ambitious expectations evoked by the “liberal” President Dmitry Medvedev. More  Armenian, Azerbaijani Presidents Agree On Preamble To 'Madrid Principles' Meeting in Sochi with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev, reached verbal agreement on the wording of the preamble of the most recent revised version of the "Madrid Principles" that constitute the outline of a more comprehensive Karabakh peace agreement. More  A 'Mourning Mother' Recalls Evin Prison Blogger Jomhoriyat has published writings by one of Iran's mourning mothers about her detention in Tehran's Evin prison. More  Afghanistan Seen On Tipping Point In Run-Up To London Conference As he prepares for a major conference in London, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his entourage have crafted a detailed plan for reconciliation with the Taliban. But they also want assurances of long-term support to prevent their country from sliding into the chaos of the 1990s. More Demolition crews working for the Moscow city government today returned to the prosperous dacha community of Rechnik to tear down two more of the neighborhood's houses, after destroying four others last week. The city says the houses were built illegally. But residents argue Moscow officials are looking to seize prime real estate for lucrative development projects. More  Turkmenistan Plans Construction Boom The global economic crisis has stopped or slowed construction projects around the world, but there are exceptions and Turkmenistan is one. The president has unveiled plans for a construction boom over the next two years at a cost of $23.6 billion. More  Crackdown On Opposition Groups More  Ambassadorial Credentials Questioned, 'Kommersant' Libel Case More |
