 RFE/RL Headlines 1/28/2010 8:33:33 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  UN Veteran Named New Afghan Envoy UN chief Ban Ki-moon has appointed as his representative in Afghanistan the veteran diplomat Staffan de Mistura. More  Powers Urge Yemen To Fight Al-Qaeda With Reforms Foreign powers meeting at a one-day conference in London have urged Yemen to tackle its deep problems of poverty and lawlessness in an effort to root out terrorist groups who have made the country their base. More  Afghanistan Conference Under Way An international conference to chart a new course for the future of Afghanistan is under way in London. More  Saudis Set Conditions For Afghan Role In London, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on Saudi Arabia earlier in the day to play a prominent role in bringing peace to Afghanistan. More  Iran Executes 2 Over Election Unrest Iran has executed two people who were sentenced to death in trials following the disputed June presidential vote that led to the reelection of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. More  Obama Says War In Iraq Ending President Barack Obama says the war in Iraq is ending and all U.S. troops in the country will be returning to America. More  Jailed Kazakh Journalist Loses Appeal For Parole A prison appeals commission today rejected a request for early parole by jailed "Alma-Ata Info" editor Ramazan Esergepov, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Kyrgyz Minister Chided Over Appointment Kyrgyz Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov reprimanded Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongantiev today and cancelled his appointment of a controversial figure as a deputy police chief, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Russian Police Search Homes Of Whistleblower's Relatives Police in Novorossiisk have searched the apartments of relatives of Aleksei Dymovsky, the Russian policeman who accused police officials of corruption last year, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Russian Police Seize NGO's Computers Police in the Siberian city of Irkutsk today searched the offices of the nongovernmental organization Baikal's Ecological Wave, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Spy Charge Targets Georgian Ex-President's Son The son of former Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia has officially been accused of collaborating with Russian intelligence services, RFE/RL's Georgian Service reports. More  Russian Arrests Over 'Ordered' Stories The Russian Interior Ministry says it has uncovered a criminal group that bribed journalists and published "ordered" articles in media outlets in Russia's central Ivanovo Oblast, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More Should the European Union take a more active role in the South Caucasus? Evgeni Kirilov, a Bulgarian member of the European Parliament and member of the parliament's delegation dealing with Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, thinks it should. More A Kyrgyz opposition leader says a hunger strike in support of jailed former Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov will continue until the military's high court hears an appeal of the case, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  President, Son Dismiss Asset Allegations A Kyrgyz Presidential Secretariat official says the administration is very skeptical of comments made by a political analyst that Russia has frozen the bank accounts of businesses related to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev's son, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Kazakhs Threaten Chinese Speculators The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office has said it will prosecute speculators who try to exploit a possible land lease to China for agricultural purposes, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Afghan Conference Diary (Part 4) So can there be an upside to the apparent downside of deadlines for military and nonmilitary support for Afghanistan? More Afghan Conference Diary (Part 3) The skepticism of journalists and other observers doesn't get a free pass at Green Park. Some of the conference participants with on-the-ground-experience in Afghanistan speak with hard-earned authority about the progress that is being made, despite setbacks and widespread misperceptions. More  Afghan Conference Diary (Part 2) Hamid Karzai's speech this morning includes the strongest bid for a sound bite slogan: "Afghan leadership, Afghan ownership." One cynical observer, a former New Delhi-based correspondent, says he might have added "Afghan public relations." More More  Afghan Conference Diary The London Afghan conference got under way this morning with Gordon Brown's opening remarks in Lancaster House. We, the media, are huddled in a cavernous tent erected behind the Green Park underground entrance. More  Patriot Games Russia's mild reaction to the decision to deploy a U.S. Patriot missile battery in Poland, close to the border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, has been -- to say the least -- a bit strange. So what's going on? More  A Friend Indeed The website of “The London Times” today has a story that is full of wonderful ironies. I can’t help but imagine Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin giggling with delight. It seems too fantastic to suggest that he could have planned this, but he definitely kept his eyes open for opportunities and they all fell into place marvelously. More  The Purge In The Regions: Who's Next? Every time a long-serving regional leader is removed, speculation builds that Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov and Baskortostan President Murtaza Rakhimov will be next on the chopping block. Will the speculation prove correct this time? More  Georgia Unveils 'Strategy On Occupied Territories' The Georgian government has made public its strategy with regard to regaining control over the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Like successive draft peace proposals that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili presented since his election in 2004, it is phrased in such a way as to impress the international community, rather than to address the existential fears, and win the trust of, the population of the regions in question. More  Karzai Says Afghanistan Ready To Stand On Its Own - With Help At an international conference on Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai said his government is ready to take on greater security responsibilities, but cautioned against an overly hasty withdrawal of foreign troops. More  What Do We Know About The Election Crisis In Iraq? Iraq is embroiled in a crisis over the banning of more than 500 candidates from the March elections over their alleged ties to the banned Ba'ath Party. What's behind the crisis and where does it go from here? More  Frank Talk On NATO's Aid Delivery Role In Afghanistan The international community has been examining the role of NATO's Provincial Reconstruction Teams in delivering aid to Afghanistan. Focusing on lessons to be learned from mistakes of the past, a conference in Prague this week featured frank and open talks between NATO officials, donor countries, aid workers and the Afghan government. More  Interview: McFaul On U.S., Russian Stereotypes And His Controversial Co-Chair The first meeting of the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission’s Civil Society Working Group was held in Washington on January 27. The group is part of a larger effort begun last summer by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to reset relations between the two countries and explore new opportunities for partnership. More  Chekhov Was A Master In An Age That Needed No Geniuses January 29 marks the 150th birthday of Russian writer Anton Chekhov. And Boris Paramonov says it's a most appropriate jubilee. More  What Georgia Can Learn From The Melian Dialogue Georgians must not just continue to look to distant powers to solve their problems with Russia. They must address them themselves. That requires understanding of what both Georgians and Russians want, and seeking ways of building confidence and cooperation. More  Iran’s Protesters Must Keep Their Eyes On February 11 The recent statement of the sheikh of reforms (as the supporters of Mehdi Karrubi call him) prompted doubts among many protesters. But they have resulted in a situation that has many lessons for all of us. More  Two Executions, Karrubi's Clarification More |
