 RFE/RL Headlines 4/27/2010 7:36:07 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty RFE/RL is looking for guest bloggers, preferably writing from and about our broadcast region. If you're interested, drop us a line at webteam@rferl.org. |
| Features  Reporter's Notebook: Battle Of The Flags In Oslo In an apparent coincidence, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his security detail are sharing an Oslo hotel with some of his harshest critics -- the dissidents, activists, and journalists attending a major human rights forum. More  Turkish Minister Says Gas Deal Reached With Azerbaijan Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz says Turkey and Azerbaijan have reached an agreement in principle for the price of natural gas, an issue linked to delays on the European Union-backed Nabucco gas pipeline project. More  UN Urged Not To Leave Kandahar A deteriorating security situation in Kandahar ahead of a major military offensive has prompted the United Nations to temporarily withdrawn foreign staff from its mission in the city. More  Brazil Urges Iran Nuclear Guarantee The foreign minister of Brazil, a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council, has demanded that Iran guarantee its nuclear program has no military aims. More  Draft Kyrgyz Constitution Would Empower Parliament At Expense Of President The interim Kyrgyz government, brought to power following the ouster of President Kurmanbek Bakiev earlier this month, has introduced a draft constitution that would give more power to parliament while reducing the president's role. More Russia, Norway In Arctic Compromise The leaders of Russia and Norway say they have reached a preliminary agreement on how to share a long-disputed area in the Barents Sea. More  New Russian Legislation Would Increase FSB's Authority A new bill submitted to parliament would give Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) the right to take "preventive measures" against citizens suspected of engaging in vaguely defined "extremist activity." More  New Protests Urged On Iran Anniversary Opposition websites reported that Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi issued the call after a meeting today. More  Greece At Precipice, Awaits EU-IMF Loan Time is running out for Greece to gain access to a multibillion-euro loan if it is to avoid default on its international debts. More  Iraqi Bloc Responds To Disqualifications A legal challenge has been raised to an Iraqi panel's disqualification of dozens of candidates that casts doubt on the slim lead of a Sunni-backed alliance. More  Ex-President Charged In Kyrgyz Deaths A leader of the interim authorities in Kyrgyzstan says Kurmanbek Bakiev, the ousted president of the Central Asian country, has been charged with organizing mass killings. More  Ukraine, Russia MPs Approve Black Sea Deal The Russian and Ukrainian parliaments have ratified a deal that will keep Russia's Navy based in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula until 2042, as thousands protested outside Ukraine's parliament building against the accord. More  UN Pulls Some Staff From Kandahar The United Nations has moved some staff members out of Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar and asked local staff to stay home due to the deteriorating security situation, but the UN said there were no plans to pull its staff out of Afghanistan. More  Iranian Kurdish Activist Faces Execution A Kurdish activist has been sentenced to death in Iran's northwestern city of Mahabad, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. More The European Union today welcomed Armenia's decision not to abandon its agreements on repairing relations with Turkey while expressing concern about "the loss of momentum" in the process." More  Rights Groups Concerned By Jailed Armenian's Death The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and three Armenian human rights groups today expressed "deep concern" at the suspicious death of a man in Armenian police custody. More  Tajik Police Arrested In Detainee's Death Two police officers have been arrested in northern Tajikistan in connection with the recent death in police custody of Usman Boboev, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More  Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General Gets Third Term The Azerbaijani parliament today approved a third consecutive five-year term for Prosecutor-General Zakir Qaralov. More  Ingushetia Creates Commission To Defend Public Morality A permanent state commission has been established in the Russia republic of Ingushetia to monitor the media and close down any newspapers seen as violating "accepted moral norms." More  Armenia Church Leader Meets Aliyev The leader of Armenia's Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II, met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and prayed in an abandoned Armenian church in Baku at the end of his landmark visit to Azerbaijan, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  CSTO Ends Exercises In Tajikistan Rapid-reaction forces of a regional security grouping have concluded military exercises in northern Tajikistan intended to combat insurgents. More  Veteran Russian Activist Backs Travel Ban In Lawyer Case The veteran Russian rights campaigner Lyudmila Alekseyeva has backed a call by a senior U.S. senator for Washington to deny entry to a group of Russian officials over the prison death of a lawyer. More Alleged Insurgents Retried For Deadly Ingushetia Attacks Preliminary hearings have begun in the retrial of 12 alleged insurgents accused of participating in attacks six years ago that killed dozens of police. More  Irkutsk Protests Demand Governor Quit Hundreds of protesters in the eastern Russian city of Angarsk have demanded the resignation of Irkutsk Governor Dmitry Mezentsev. More  Singer Recalls Performing In Ukraine After Chornobyl A well-known Tajik singer who was on tour in Ukraine at the time of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disaster says many of the members of her band have died at young ages. More  Bakiev's Female Entourage I was recently in southern Kyrgyzstan, in Jalal-Abad, and nearby Teyit, to watch ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiev's desperate attempt to cling to power. More Last year, after Joe Wilson's "liar" comments in the U.S. generated news for a couple of days, we put together the "Top Five Breaches Of Parliamentary Protocol." More  While No One Is Watching There is a timeless bit of Russian folk wisdom that says you should prepare your sled in the summer and your cart in the winter. In accordance with this adage, now is the time for the Kremlin to be preparing for the 2011-12 national-election cycle that will install a new Duma and culminate in a presidential election. And there are plenty of signs that that is exactly what is going on. More  Musavi, Karrubi Call for Fresh Protests On Anniversary Of Disputed Vote Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi have urged Iranians to take part in fresh protest demonstrations on June 12, the anniversary of the election that gave President Mahmud Ahmadinejad a second term. More  Georgian Opposition Mulls Legal Action Against President The three-party opposition Alliance for Georgia yesterday presented the conclusions of the British business intelligence and corporate investigation company GPW with regard to a taped telephone conversation implicating Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in the controversial broadcast on March 13 by the pro-government TV channel Imedi of a fake documentary about a purported new Russian invasion of Georgia. More  The Dynamics Of Apology And Forgiveness In The Balkans The conundrums of forgiveness and apology require a sustained debate – founded on mutual recognition, regardless of ethnicity – that involves often neglected and maligned voices. More |
