 RFE/RL Headlines 6/22/2010 6:07:02 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  Why Has Drug Use Increased So Dramatically In Afghanistan? A UN report that Afghanistan has one of the highest drug-use rates in the world gives a new and disturbing look at the grip opium and heroin hold on the country. More  Does Iraq Have Secret Deals With Its Neighbors On Kurdish Rebels? The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has been carrying out a threat to launch attacks within Turkish cities following the deployment of Turkish forces along the border with Iraq -- where PKK militants have established hideouts. More  Kyrgyzstan's Uzbeks Say 'Our Voices Are Not Heard' Contributor Sam Khan says it will go down as one of the crueler ironies of the interethnic clashes convulsing southern Kyrgyzstan that the violence was fueled, in part, by ethnic Uzbeks' concerted effort to integrate into Kyrgyz political life. More Kyrgyz To Supply Fuel To U.S. Directly Kyrgyz authorities say they plan to set up a state-owned company to provide a U.S. air base with fuel, replacing a series of private intermediary firms set up under the recently deposed government. More  Belarus Gas Threat Follows Russia Cut President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus says he has ordered a halt to all transit deliveries of Russian gas to Europe, in the latest move in the worsening energy dispute between Minsk and Moscow. More  Iraq Debates Resignation Amid Riots Iraq's cabinet is meeting today to discuss the resignation of Electricity Minister Karim Waheed amid continuing street protests against power shortages in central and southern Iraq. More  General To Explain White House Criticism The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has been ordered to appear at the White House on June 23 to explain his searing criticism of top Obama administration officials. More  U.S. Lawmakers On New Iran Sanctions U.S. lawmakers say they have agreed on a proposal for a series of new U.S. sanctions against Iran aimed at pressuring Tehran to curb its nuclear program. More  Otunbaeva: Kyrgyz Referendum Is On Kyrgyzstan's interim leader Roza Otunbaeva says authorities are still planning to go ahead with a planned referendum on a new constitution on June 27, despite hundreds of thousands of displaced residents and continuing security concerns linked to the deadly clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. More  U.K.'s Afghan Envoy Taking 'Leave' Britain has announced that its special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan is taking an "extended leave" of absence from the post -- amid reports that the diplomat has disagreed with U.S. and NATO officials over strategy to counter Taliban insurgents. More  Armenian Police Drop Case Against Pro-Opposition Businessman Police in Yerevan have closed a controversial criminal case against a brother of Khachatur Sukiasian, a prominent Armenian opposition businessman and politician. More  'Forbidden Art' On Trial In Russia Russian state prosecutors have asked for a three-year jail sentence for the organizers of a controversial art exhibition three years ago. More  Uzbeks Return En Masse To Kyrgyzstan Thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have begun returning to Kyrgyzstan's Osh and Jalal-Abad regions from refugee camps in Uzbekistan. More  Russia Pushes Own 'Cash For Clunkers' Russia's Industry and Trade Ministry has distributed nearly 200,000 vouchers in an effort to encourage drivers to trade in their old cars for new models. More  Probe Targets Kyiv Police Actions Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office has announced the creations of a special group of prosecutors to review several detentions by Kyiv police. More  Kyrgyz Probe Security Forces' Actions The Kyrgyz authorities have launched an investigation into reported cases of beatings and robberies of Osh residents by security forces. More  Moldovan Election Official Briefly Detained In Transdniester Moldovan Central Electoral Commission (CEC) head Eugen Stirbu says he was briefly detained by officials in the breakaway Transdniester region More  Kazakh Convicts Escape From Prison Kazakh police have caught eight convicts who escaped from jail on June 22, but 13 are still at large. More  Kyrgyz Officials Visit Refugee Camps An official delegation from Kyrgyzstan's Jalal-Abad region visited ethnic Uzbeks in refugee camps in neighboring Uzbekistan on June 22 and urged them to return home. More  Armenian Party Loses Another Minister A political party led by one of Armenia's wealthiest and most influential businessmen, Gagik Tsarukian, has announced another resignation of a minister representing it in the government. More  Kazakh Journalist Detained For Staging Protest Kazakh police have detained journalist Yekaterina Belyaeva for holding an unsanctioned protest. More  Pakistan: 20 Militants Killed In Strike Pakistani security forces have reported killing 20 Taliban militants in the Mohmand tribal agency, a strategic district bordering Afghanistan. More  Clashes Continue In Nagorno-Karabakh Intense skirmishes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh continued on June 21. More  ODIHR Head Buoyed By Turkmen 'Willingness To Engage' A top official from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has praised what he calls a "new readiness" by Turkmen officials to "engage and cooperate" with his organization. More  EU's Foreign Policy Arm Taking Shape, But Still Mired In Bureaucracy The birth pains of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the long-awaited single foreign policy arm of the EU, may be over. Well, maybe. More  Troubled Bridge Over Russian Water Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has just ordered officials in Volgograd Oblast to once again thoroughly check the safety of a bridge across the Volga River after it began undulating and swaying in the wind last month. He's also asking them to look into the construction and financing of the span. More  The Rundown - June 22 A review of news and opinion on RFE/RL's broadcast region. More  Georgian Opposition Wants Saakashvili Barred From Becoming Prime Minister Representatives of Georgia's opposition Labor Party met on June 21 in Tbilisi with Avtandil Demetrashvili, chairman of the commission that drafted Georgia's proposed new constitution, but failed to persuade him to accept their alternative provision that would bar incumbent President Mikhail Saakashvili from assuming the post of prime minister after his second term expires in 2013. More  OSCE, EU Condemn 'Unacceptable' Azerbaijani Attack The French, Russian, and U.S. co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group issued a toughly worded statement on June 21 condemning the reconnaissance mission by Azerbaijani forces late on June 18 across the Line of Contact separating Azerbaijani and Karabakh Armenian forces east of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic. More  Eurovision Renegade: Still Paying The Price? Remember Rovshan Nasirli, the Azerbaijani man who drew unwelcome attention from Baku security officials when he voted for rival Armenia in the 2009 Eurovision song contest? RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports the 26-year-old was detained and beaten by police after attending a June 19 pro-democracy rally organized by the Freedom Bloc opposition group in Baku. More |
