 RFE/RL Headlines 3/30/2010 7:56:15 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Features  In Wake Of Metro Bombings, Putin's War On Terror Is Under Fire In the aftermath of the March 29 metro bombings in Moscow, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is talking tough, vowing to drag terrorists "from the depths of the sewer." But a growing chorus of voices is saying that Putin's antiterrorist policies are a failure. Citizens have sacrificed their political rights and civil liberties, but are still not safe. More  Was Obama's Kabul Visit 'Politically Necessary'? U.S. President Barack Obama's surprise trip to Afghanistan last weekend lasted just six hours. But the debate continues over why he went, what he said, and what effect it might have. RFE/RL correspondent Heather Maher asked Raymond DuBois, a senior U.S. military and defense adviser at Washington's Center for International and Strategic Studies and a former aide to then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld*, to weigh in. More  UN: Many Afghans In ‘Absolute Poverty’ A new report says patronage, corruption, impunity, and over-emphasis on short-term security issues rather than targeted long-term development are exacerbating poverty in Afghanistan. More Relatives of the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre have lost their bid in a Dutch court to sue the United Nations for compensation. More Turkey's ruling AK Party has submitted to parliament a draft of constitutional changes, saying they would make it more democratic and strengthen the country's bid to join the European Union. More  Hadron Collider Set To Make Physics History Europe's Large Hadron Collider, the most expensive piece of scientific machinery in the world, has begun the first of a series of experiments that scientists say will open the door to a new period of discovery for mankind. More  UN Chief Looks To Improve Central Asian Cooperation Water distribution and regional cooperation will be high on the agenda as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon leaves for his first trip to Central Asia on March 31. More  Moscow Mourns Victims Of Attacks Moscow today is holding an official day of mourning for the 39 people killed in the twin suicide bombings on the city's metro. Flags on government buildings are flying at half-staff and mourners have lit candles and laid flowers at the site of the attacks, which also left more than 70 people injured, many seriously. More  Serbian Lawmakers Debate Srebrenica Apology Serbia's parliament today is debating a resolution that would apologize for the Srebrenica massacre of July 1995 -- when Bosnian Serb troops and Serbian paramilitary forces killed some 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys. With many Serbs still in denial about the killings, some say the debate is exacerbating tensions in the Balkans rather than moving the region toward reconciliation. More Iran says a diplomat kidnapped in northwestern Pakistan has been freed. More U.S. military officials say NATO forces in Afghanistan will begin their offensive against the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar in June. More  Amnesty: Death Penalty 'On Its Way Out' In a fresh report on executions worldwide, Amnesty International concludes that the death penalty is "on its way out," except for a "hard-core" of nations. More  Clinton: China Part Of Iran Sanctions Push U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says China will play a role in passing fresh UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. More  Jailed Azeri Blogger Wins Fellowship Jailed Azerbaijani blogger Emin Milli has been offered a place in a prestigious British fellowship program designed for future leaders, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More  Armenian Court Finds Activists Innocent Armenia's Constitutional Court today effectively ordered that opposition figures who were prosecuted for their alleged role in the 2008 postelection unrest but later cleared of all charges be officially declared innocent, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Georgia Releases Jailed Ossetians Georgian authorities have begun releasing Ossetians who were serving prison terms for criminal offenses or facing criminal charges, RFE/RL's Echo of the Caucasus Service reports. More  Ukraine Bans Some Russian Pork Imports Ukrainian authorities have banned the import of pork from Russia's Southern, Central, and Volga federal districts, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  Kyiv To Install Cameras On Metro Trains Kyiv officials say they are planning to install video cameras inside the city’s subway cars, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  Iraq Seeks Resources To Battle Illiteracy A senior Iraqi education official says the country needs to devote greater resources to teach millions of illiterate Iraqis how to read, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports. More  Ukrainian Communists Want Stalin Statue Communist Party officials in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya say they are planning to erect a monument to former Soviet leader Josef Stalin in early May, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  Young Belarus Group Denied Registration The Belarus Supreme Court has upheld a Justice Ministry decision not to register a youth opposition movement. More  Politician Inquires Into Cross-Border Killing The leader of the Kyrgyz opposition Fatherland (Ata-Meken) party has met with Kazakh investigators in connection with the December killing of prominent Kyrgyz journalist Gennady Pavlyuk. More  Azerbaijani Editor Appeals Police Libel Suit An Azerbaijani appeals court has begun hearing libel charges involving Interior Minister Ramil Usubov and an independent newspaper. More A man wanted by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) for alleged extremist acts has been apprehended in Chelyabinsk Oblast near the republic of Bashkortostan. More  Fatal Shooting On Kyrgyz-Uzbek Border One person has been killed and a second injured in a shooting incident in Kyrgyzstan's Jalalabad Oblast on the border with Uzbekistan. More Anatol Lyabedzka, the head of Belarus's opposition United Civic Party, says a recent letter to the European Union's leadership from the Belarusian ambassador is an example of "political blackmail" and "hysteria." More  Prominent Tajik Military Commander Dies A legendary former commander of the People's Front militia that brought Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to power in 1992 has died in the southern city of Kulob at the age of 84. More  Second Official Jailed Over School Tragedy A local education official in Russia's Orenburg Oblast has been jailed for negligence in connection with the fatal collapse of a school wall. More  Hermaphrodites And The Bailout A colleague was doing some research for a story about hermaphrodites in Pakistan and came across this December 2009 article from a conservative Rawalpindi-based daily "Nawa-e Waqt": More  Jailed Iranian Filmmaker Panahi Still ‘Being Questioned’ Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has not yet been officially charged a month after his arrest, his wife tells RFE/RL’s Radio Farda. More  Grim Statistics From Death Row In its new report, “Death Sentences and Executions in 2009,” Amnesty International cites Iran as one of the worst offenders worldwide in imposing the death penalty. More |
