 RFE/RL Headlines 3/19/2010 8:54:15 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Features  Iraq's Kurds Lose Political Dominance In Kirkuk The results of Iraq's parliamentary elections could complicate Kurdish hopes of incorporating oil-rich area around the northern city of Kirkuk into their autonomous region. More  Kaliningrad Prepares To Take On The Kremlin, Again Russia's western exclave of Kaliningrad rattled the Kremlin with massive public protests in January. It's planning a repeat performance this weekend. More  Clinton: U.S., Russia Closer On Iran, START U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concluded her two-day visit to Moscow today with the two countries evidently inching closer to a united front on Iran's nuclear program. More  Russia Braces For Antigovernment Protests Russia has seen a growing wave of public protests in recent months. Now the country will witness a series of coordinated nationwide rallies in an estimated 50 cities. Most of the protests are meant to draw attention to poor economic conditions and rampant corruption. More  Security Council Supports UNAMA The UN Security Council has given its support to an extension of the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan for another year. A formal vote is expected March 22. Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently asked the council to allow UNAMA to provide logistical and technical support for parliamentary elections in September. More  Pardoned Azerbaijani Journalist Says 'Deserved' Freedom An Azerbaijani opposition journalist released from jail this week has told RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service that he "deserved" to be freed. More  Opposition: Armenians Leave Turkey An Armenian opposition leader has urged Armenian immigrants living in Turkey to return home, claiming a threat by Turkey's prime minister to expel them has put their security at risk. More  Environmentalists File Lake Baikal Lawsuit The opposition Solidarity movement's branch in Irkutsk and local environmentalists have filed a lawsuit against the Russian government with the Supreme Court. More  Permission Denied For Moscow Rally Moscow authorities have turned down an application by opposition and rights groups for permission to hold a public gathering on March 31 in Moscow's central Triumfalnaya (Triumph) Square. More  Belarus, Poland Discuss Group Dispute Belarus and Poland are holding talks in Minsk on resolving the conflict over a Polish cultural organization. More  Armenian 'Libel' Amendments Get Nod Armenia's parliament has given initial approval to a package of amendments that critics fear may be used stifle independent media. More  Eastern Kazakhstan Flood Evacuations Continue More people are being evacuated from villages in eastern Kazakhstan due to the danger of flooding. More  Kazakh Oil Workers End Strike Oil workers in the southwestern Kazakh town of Zhanaozen have ended a strike they began two weeks ago. More  Is Norouz Un-Islamic? Some religious leaders in Afghanistan and Tajikistan have said that Norouz celebrations should be banned as an "un-Islamic tradition." More  April Fools! Reports of Russian police corruption and human rights abuses have been a daily occurrence for a long time now. The litany of outrages has become so ardent and so insistent that President Dmitry Medvedev has been forced to intervene personally on numerous occasions. Just last month, he fired a few senior Interior Ministry officials and sternly ordered Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to come with a new plan for battling police corruption within a month. More  'A Government That's Afraid Of Gravestones' Iranians traditionally remember their dead on the last Thursday of the Iranian year. On March 18, the last Thursday of the current year, the families of those killed in the postelection crackdown went to Tehran's Behesht Zahra cemetery to remember their loved ones. More  Norouz Celebrations Usher In New Year Across Iran, Central Asia, and parts of South Asia and the Middle East, March 20 marks Norouz, the beginning of spring and the new year. People celebrate with spring cleaning, symbols of rebirth and renewal, and of course, traditional Norouz cuisine. More |
