 RFE/RL Headlines 3/18/2010 8:16:58 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
Features  Russian Activist Takes Less Traveled Road In Fight For Civil Rights Thousands of Russians are preparing to take to the streets on March 20 for nationwide rallies against worsening living conditions and official corruption. But not all activists will join in. Some, like prominent civil rights lobbyist Vyacheslav Lysakov, say civil disobedience is the wrong tactic. More News  Amnesty International Says EU States Exporting Torture Instruments The London-based human rights body Amnesty International has claimed that some European Union states are selling torture equipment to foreign countries that are known to mistreat prisoners. More  Putin: Bushehr To Start Up In Mid-2010 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said that Iran's first nuclear power plant is due to come online this summer. More  Armenia: Turkish Threat 'Rings Of 1915' Armenia has compared a threat by Turkey's prime minister to expel thousands of illegal Armenian immigrants to the language that preceded the World War I mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. More  Iran Reformist Among Those Out On Bail Iranian authorities have reportedly released on bail a top reformist who has been jailed since last June, along with a filmmaker and a reformist journalist. More  Belarus, Venezuela Boost Key Ties Venezuela and Belarus have reached a series of agreements aimed at strengthening their energy and trade ties during Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's visit to Caracas. More  Moscow And Washington 'Close To Finish Line' On START U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov say Washington and Moscow are very close to reaching an agreement on a new strategic arms pact. More From Our Bureaus  Communists In Russia's Perm Protest Price Hikes At least 100 protesters picketed the local Duma today in the Russian city of Perm to demand cuts in utility fees. More  Iran Activist 'Transferred To AIDS Ward' The mother of jailed Iranian labor activist Mansour Osanlou has told RFE/RL's Radio Farda he has been transferred to a prison ward for drug addicts and prisoners suffering from Hepatitis and AIDS. More  Moldova Communists Boycott Parliament Communist Party members in Moldova have begun a boycott of parliament sessions More Chief Architect Of Russia's Solikamsk Assassinated The chief architect in the Russian town of Solikamsk has been shot dead. More  Answers Wanted On Iran Journalist Death The Paris-based media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, has asked for a full investigation into the case of Omidreza Mirsayafi, an Iranian journalist and blogger who died in prison one year ago. More  Kazakh Warden Charged With Extortion The warden of a notorious Kazakh jail and one of his subordinates have been arrested on suspicion of extortion, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  U.S. Urges Armenia, Turkey To Honor Historic Accord A senior U.S. official has reiterated Washington's call for Armenia and Turkey to unconditionally adhere to their U.S.-brokered agreements to normalize bilateral relations, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Floods Hit Eastern Kazakhstan More  RSF 'Dismayed' By Kyrgyz Media Clampdown The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says it is "dismayed" at the "unprecedented wave of harassment" directed toward independent and opposition news media in Kyrgyzstan. More  Tajik, Turkmen Presidents Meet The talks reportedly focused on the use of water resources, including for hydroelectric power. More  Ethnic NGO In Russia Under Pressure A nongovernmental group in Russia that unites ethnic Ukrainians is under threat of closure. More  EU Official Chides Bosnian Serbs European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has accused Bosnia's Serb entity of obstructing the peace process in that Balkan country. More  PACE Wants Early Armenian Vote Reforms The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has agreed to give Armenia until the end of this year to reform its electoral system. More  Russian Opposition Activists, Journalists On Hunger Strike In Astrakhan Several opposition politicians and journalists have begun a hunger strike in the Caspian city of Astrakhan to demand a halt to what they say is the persecution of opposition activists in the southern Russian region. More  Armenian PM Welcomes Economic Plan Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian has welcomed the economic program unveiled last month by the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK). More  Moldovan Early Elections 'Unavoidable' Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat has warned that early elections are "unavoidable" despite his government's attempts to prolong its six-month tenure. More Transmission The Week In Facebook Inspired by "The Atlantic's" mock "World Leaders" Facebook group, RFE/RL presents a Facebook-style summary of last week's events. More  Yes, Russia Today, But What Do You Really Think? Russia's international English-language broadcaster apparently thought better of a video report on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit, titled "Hillary Clinton In Moscow To Pay Lip Service To New Arms Reduction Deal." More  Chavez Relocates Eastern Europe In a video from December 2009, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez proudly shows his knowledge of geography to a visiting delegation of Belarusian dignitaries. Chavez claims that Belarus -- considered to be part of Eastern Europe -- is in fact located in Central Europe More  The Rundown - March 18 A comprehensive review of news and opinion on RFE/RL's broadcast region. More The Power Vertical  Letting The Air Out? Readers of this blog will know that we have taken a skeptical view of Vladimir Putin’s lofty popularity ratings in Russia. For many years it was standard to report that about three-quarters of Russians express support for Putin without analyzing the context of Russia’s “managed” political system. More Persian Letters  Call To Release Iran's 'Blogfather' For Norouz The mother of a controversial, well-known blogger, Hossein Derakhshan, who is often described as Iran's "blogfather" because he helped popularize blogging in Iran, has called on the head of Iran's judiciary to release her son for the Iranian New Year, or Norouz, marked on March 21. More Watchdog  Bloggers In Bashkortostan Charged With Extremism Five bloggers in Bashkortostan have been charged with extremist activities. More  Bishkek Court Suspends Publication Of Two Independent Newspapers A court in Bishkek has ordered two independent newspapers to suspend publication for the duration of court proceedings against them. More  Ukraine Activists Protest Planned Closure Of Ministry Human Rights Section The Ukrainian human rights community has strongly objected to the planned abolition of the Interior Ministry's department for monitoring human rights. More Commentary  A Turkish Role Model For Iran? As Ankara has worked to improve relations with Iran, person-to-person bilateral contacts have blossomed in recent years. The experience, Abbas Djavadi writes, has been good for both sides. More |
