 RFE/RL Headlines 2/24/2010 9:05:10 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Poland Takes Belarus Offensive To EU The European Parliament today was the epicenter of an ongoing campaign in which Belarusian civil-society activists are seeking greater EU support in their struggle with that country's autocratic authorities. More  'Crimes Of Communism' Forum Opens Prague is hosting a "Crimes of Communism" conference aimed at exploring the legacy of communism in Europe -- and considering threats to democracy today. More  Gates Says NATO In 'Crisis' U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that the NATO alliance faces a "crisis" as European countries have failed to invest in defense for years and grown averse to military force. More  Iranian Ex-Diplomat 'Being Threatened' A former Iranian diplomat who resigned to protest Tehran's crackdown against opposition demonstrators says he and his family are being threatened and harassed by Iranian officials, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. More  Armenia Amnesty 'Applies To Jailed Journalist' Armenia's human rights ombudsman says jailed opposition journalist Nikol Pashinian should have his prison sentence cut by half in line with the amnesty declared by the parliament last year, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  UN Details Afghan Recruiting Problems A memo from the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to his staff describes the poor recruitment rate months after a deadly attack on the UN compound in Kabul, RFE/RL reports. More  Kyrgyz Confirm Iran Intercepted Plane Kyrgyzstan has confirmed that Iran forced one of its planes to land and arrested two of the passengers, apparently confirming Tehran's claim that it seized a top Sunni militant on a flight to the Central Asian country. More  EU Envoy, In Baku, Says Media Freedom High On Agenda The EU's special representative for the South Caucasus has told RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service that media freedom issues are high on his agenda as he begins a visit to Baku. More  Anti-AIDS Campaigner Serving 7-Year Sentence In Uzbekistan Evidence has emerged that an anti-AIDS campaigner in Uzbekistan was sentenced to seven years in prison after authorities deemed his brochure incompatible with local traditions. More  World Press Photo Winner Criticized As Coward The winner of this year's World Press Photo prize has reportedly been criticized for not photographing street demonstrations in Iran last year. More  Catherine Ashton's Teething Problems There's nothing quite like language to trip up a diplomat. The EU's high representative for foreign policy, Catherine Ashton -- a relative diplomatic novice -- found out the hard way. More  The Rundown - February 24 A comprehensive review of news and opinion on RFE/RL's broadcast region. More  The State Of Play With public discontent rising and struggles in the Kremlin intensifying, it's as good a time as any to take the pulse of the Russian body politic and make some educated guesses about where things might be going. More  South Ossetian Leader Rejects Opposition Criticism In an interview on February 22 with RFE/RL's Echo of the Caucasus, Eduard Kokoity downplayed reports of mounting political tensions in South Ossetia. More  Defeated Abkhaz Presidential Candidate Calls On Opposition To Close Ranks Three months after his defeat in the presidential election, former Abkhaz Vice President Raul Khajimba has called on the opposition to begin new consultations with the aim of closing ranks and coordinating its activities. He called among other things for the creation of a coalition government; for parity representation for the opposition on the Central Election Commission; and for the passage by parliament of a law on opposition parties. More  Unloved But Unbowed, Ukraine's Viktor Yushchenko Leaves Office Five years after Ukraine's Orange Revolution put him in power, Viktor Yushchenko is stepping down as president. Yushchenko overcame great odds to lead the country during a pivotal time in its history. But he leaves with Ukraine in economic crisis, and paralyzed by a bitter political standoff that has Ukrainians disillusioned and wondering what the Orange Revolution was all about. More  No Fanfare For Turkmenistan's Greatest Musical Son Nury Halmamedov, who died in 1983, would have been 70 years old today. But he remains alive in the hearts and music of the Turkmen people. More  Leader Says South Ossetia 'Building Independence' Eduard Kokoity, the leader of South Ossetia, has denied speculation that the breakaway Georgian region will merge into Russia. Kokoity sat down with RFE/RL to discuss the future of the region, work to rebuild its tattered infrastructure, and local politics. More  A Dialogue Of The Unhearing And Unheard Radio jamming is the classical music of dictatorship. Now that music is being played in Iran, being played at full volume: Western radio stations broadcasting in Persian can no longer be heard there. I have my own history of relations with this classical music. More  The Road To Resetting Moscow Ties Passes Through Berlin There is a compelling reason for a U.S.-EU May summit: to formulate a common Western response to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s proposal that a new European security system be constructed to replace the existing, “dysfunctional” one. More |
