 RFE/RL Headlines 5/28/2010 5:40:16 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  Albright Presents Strategic Concept For NATO’s Next Decade Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright, the chair of an expert committee advising NATO, says that the alliance must work quickly to become versatile, efficient, and capable of operating far from home and in partnership with others. Presenting the expert group's findings in New York, Albright also said that no one should be excluded from NATO membership -- even Russia. More  Kyrgyz Interim Government Winds Its Way Through Obstacles Kyrgyzstan's interim authorities have maintained from the start that they have no intention of holding power indefinitely, marking a break with the authoritarian practices of almost all Central Asian rulers. Instead, they are focusing on conducting parliamentary elections to ultimately bring a democratically elected government to power. But some experts are wondering if the new leaders can hold on long enough to implement even their short-term plans. More  NPT Review Conference Struggles To Find Common Ground As the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference wraps up in New York, the treaty's 189 signatories are struggling to find common ground. The idea of a nuclear-weapons-free Middle East is a hot topic, but setting things in motion to reach that goal has proven contentious. More  YouTube Sensation Becomes Russia's Low-Glamour Eurovision Candidate Peter Nalitch first won public attention when a low-budget but engaging video clip of his song "Guitar" went viral on the Internet three years ago. Now he's become Russia's candidate for the Eurovision Song Contest, whose final in Norway on May 29 will feature 25 performers from across Europe. For fans accustomed to the glitzy showmanship of past Russian finalists like Dima Bilan, Nalitch is a decidedly low-tech alternative. More  Top Russian Official Rejects Belarus Pipeline Offer Amid Deepening Rift A top Russian official today rejected Belarus's proposal to give Moscow control of the country's gas-pipeline network and a top oil refinery in return for cheaper energy supplies. More  Gulf Of Mexico Oil Flow 'Halted' For Now The U.S. Coast Guard says the flow of oil and gas from the broken well in the Gulf of Mexico has been stopped by pumping mud into it, but the challenge will be whether that can be sustained. More  70 Dead As Gunmen Attack, Occupy Pakistan Mosques Pakistani police say gunmen have killed at least 20 people in attacks on two mosques where a minority Islamic sect worships in the northeastern city of Lahore. More Gulf Oil Spill Biggest In U.S. History Efforts are continuing to stop the massive oil leak in the Gulf Of Mexico -- a spill that U.S. scientists have confirmed as the biggest ever in U.S. history. More  New U.S. Security Strategy Breaks With Past The White House has unveiled a new National Security Strategy that distances the Obama administration from the Bush-era doctrine of preemptive war. More  1,000th U.S. Death In Afghanistan The United States military is reported to have suffered its 1,000th death in the eight-year-old war in Afghanistan. More  Czechs Open Voting For New Parliament The Social Democrats, who have promised more welfare benefits for ordinary Czechs and higher taxes for high earners, are being challenged by the center-right Civic Democrats, who have warned of the possibility of a Greek-style financial crisis in the Czech Republic and have called for cuts in public spending. More Reports from India say at least 71 people have died from injuries they suffered when a passenger train in West Bengal state derailed due to suspected sabotage, then was smashed into by another train. More  Kyrgyz Politician Transferred From Jail The jailed leader of the Kyrgyz Communist Party was released from detention today and transferred to house arrest, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More Floodwater forced more than 260 people to evacuate the Saryagash district in South Kazakhstan Oblast today, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Armenia, Azerbaijan Mark Republic Day Armenia today marked the 92nd anniversary of the establishment of the first independent Armenian republic that emerged from the Russian Empire at the end of World War I. More  Former Belarusian Leader: $1 Pension Is 'A Mockery' Former Belarusian leader Stanislau Shushkevich has urged the government to increase the size of his pension, which he said totals less than 1 euro per month. More  Wife Of Jailed Transdniester Journalist Complains Of International 'Indifference' The wife of an independent journalist jailed in Moldova's separatist Transdniester region has told RFE/RL's Moldovan Service that the international community has become indifferent to the fate of her husband. More  Negligence Seen In Stavropol Attack Security officials in Stavropol are being investigated for negligence in connection with a bomb blast that killed seven people in the southern Russian city on May 26. More  Nobel Laureate Says Iranian Rights Situation 'Deteriorating' Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi says a recently released report underscores Iran's weakening human rights situation, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. More  Kyrgyzstan Offers Rewards For Bakiev Kin Kyrgyz authorities are promising cash rewards for help in locating fugitive relatives of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiev. More  Armenian-American Group Seeks Scrutiny Of Bryza Nomination An influential Armenian-American group has called for careful scrutiny of the record of a diplomat nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan. More  Four Police Killed In Pakistan's Quetta Unidentified assailants have gunned down four policemen in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta. More  Armenia Cops Fired Over Suspect Death A local Armenian police chief and three officers have been fired over the death of man in custody. More  Wolf-Dog Hybrid To Fight Crime In Ukraine Steppe gray wolf Akella has been living in the police canine section for over a year, after local police took him in as month-old cub. Akella lives side by side with a female German shepherd, and Luhansk police hope this pair will produce a new breed of talented sniffer dog. More  Moldova Hits The Gas When Moldova's acting president, liberal Mihai Ghimpu, was recently asked by a reporter, "Who is going to pay Gazprom for the natural gas consumed by the Transdniester separatist region?" Ghimpu took a big pause before answering. More  'Bestsellers' That No One Reads Book lovers in China have a rather unusual new addition to their collections. More |
