 RFE/RL Headlines 3/25/2010 8:40:59 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Features  After Delays, New START Pact Might Bring Fringe Benefits With Russia and the United States on the verge of finalizing a nuclear weapons treaty that slashes arsenals to their lowest level in half a century, analysts say the pact's benefits should stretch well beyond arms control. More  Iran Considers Cutting Subsidies, But At What Cost? A recent pronouncement by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appears to have settled a long-standing row between President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's government and parliament on how to reduce and gradually eliminate government subsidies of basic goods and services. More  Shaimiyev's Long Reign Ends In Tatarstan An era ends in Tatarstan as Mintimer Shaimiyev steps down as the Russian republic's president after serving for nearly two decades. More  Britain’s Prince Charles Visits Afghanistan Britain's Prince Charles made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan today, stopping in Helmand Province where his younger son, Harry, served for 10 weeks until his secret deployment was leaked to the media. More  Ukraine PM Seeks Fresh Start With Russia Ukraine's new Prime Minister Mykola Azarov today called for a fresh start in ties with Moscow as he met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss lowering gas prices. More  NATO Reassures Georgia On 'Open Door Policy' NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen today told Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili that Georgia will be able to realize its longtime goal of joining NATO once it meets benchmark criteria. More  At Least 50 Killed In Pakistan Air Strikes Pakistani military air strikes today killed at least 50 suspected militants in a northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border, news agencies report. More  Merkel Wants Better Euro Protection Chancellor Angela Merkel has suggested ahead of an EU summit that Germany may be ready to make a deal to help Greece out of its debt crisis. More  Merkel Warns Of Greek 'Risk To Europe' German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that debt-stricken Greece poses a financial risk to all members of the European Union. More  New Bin Laden Threat To Americans An new audio message purportedly of the voice of Osama bin Laden has been released, threatening that Al-Qaeda will kill Americans if Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged planner of the 2001 terrirust attacks on the United States, is executed. More  EU Economy Summit Overshadowed By 'Greek Tragedy' Normally dedicated to strategic thinking about the future of the economy, this EU spring summit has more of a crisis feel to it, with Greece's financial troubles raising concerns about the euro. More  Russia, Ukraine PMs Talk Gas, Investment The prime ministers of Russia and Ukraine are meeting in Moscow for talks on natural gas supplies and prospects for Russian investments in Ukraine. More  Jordanian King Warns Israel 'Playing With Fire' King Abdullah II of Jordan has said the Middle East peace process is "at a crossroads" because of Israel's plans to extend construction in East Jerusalem. More French police say they have detained a 25-year-old man who allegedly hacked into the Twitter microblogging accounts of numerous well-known figures. More  Netanyahu Wraps Up U.S. Visit Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appears to have concluded a visit to the United States without any breakthrough to resolve differences with U.S. officials over Israeli settlement plans and getting peace talks with Palestinians back on track. More  'Violation' Sends Health Reforms Back A procedural "violation" in the historic U.S. health care reform bill means the legislation must be returned to the House of Representatives for a new vote. More  Pakistan Hails U.S. 'Partnership' Visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi emerged from the first of two days of strategic talks with U.S. officials to say the two countries' relationship is now a full partnership. More  China Joins Talks On Iran Sanctions China has taken part in a discussion with five other world powers to discuss a proposal for a fourth round of United Nations sanctions on Iran. More  Minister Says Moldova Frustrated With EU 'Waiting Room' Moldovan Economy Minister Valeriu Lazar said his government is unhappy with the degree of integration offered to the country by the European Union. More Several Russian opposition groups in St. Petersburg signed a cooperation agreement today, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Armenian Court Green-Lights Mining Deal An Armenian court has rejected a lawsuit against a controversial mining project that ecologists say would further harm Armenia's shrinking forests, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Kyrgyz Official 'Attacks Newspaper Office' An independent Kyrgyz newspaper today said the leader of a progovernment party came to its offices and damaged some equipment, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More An Armenian nongovernmental organization is holding its second annual Turkish film festival in Yerevan as part of its efforts to promote Turkish-Armenian dialogue, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Kazakhstan Urged To Quit Customs Union Kazakh opposition parties, nongovernmental organizations, and both pro-government and opposition journalists have urged the country's leaders to quit the CIS Customs Union that unites Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. More  Kyrgyz Independent Journalists To Create Union The chief editors of independent Kyrgyz media outlets gathered in Bishkek today to discuss the establishment of a union to protect their rights, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Tatarstan's New President Sworn In Tatarstan's Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov has been inaugurated as the Russian republic's new president in a ceremony in Kazan. More  Belarusians Mark Freedom Day The Belarusian opposition has called on the country's population to actively mark Freedom Day. More  Top UN Envoy Meets Afghan Militant Delegation The top UN envoy for Afghanistan has met with delegates from one of the country's main militant groups. More Googoosh Draws Thousands Of Iranians In Dubai Famed Iranian pop star Googoosh drew a crowd of over 5,000, most of them Iranians, at a concert in Dubai on March 23, with attendees spending anywhere from $100 to $800 per ticket. (Full disclosure: the concert was sponsored in part by RFE/RL's Radio Farda.) More  No Grounds For Terrorism, Only 'Single-Hearted Unity,' In North Korea According to Sin, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is “one large harmonious family where all people live in single-hearted unity." It is also a “politically stable country where there are no social or institutional sources that may give rise to terrorism." More  Fallout From Fake Georgian News Report Continues Georgia's opposition parliamentary Christian Democratic Party has called for the creation of an ad hoc parliament commission to assess the authenticity of two tape-recorded telephone conversations relating to the screening on March 13 by the pro-government television station Imedi of a fake news report about a purported new Russian invasion. More  Daghestan's Leaders Move To Placate One Ethnic Group As Moscow Antagonizes A Second As widely anticipated, Daghestan's parliament has unanimously approved the appointment of Magomedsultan Magomedov as its new speaker. The crucial factor in the choice of Magomedov was, however, his nationality: he is a Kumyk. The Kumyks are Daghestan's third-largest ethnic group after the Avars and Dargins; the Lezgins rank fourth and the Laks fifth. More  Kabardian Insurgent Leader Killed In Nalchik The website of the Kabarda, Balkaria, and Karachai jamaat of the North Caucasus insurgency this morning confirmed Russian military claims that its leader, Anzor Astemirov (nom de guerre Amir Seyfullakh), was killed late on March 24 in a shoot-out with police on the street in Nalchik. More |
