 RFE/RL Headlines 6/25/2010 5:44:00 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  As Generals Change, Will Washington Again Weigh Its Strategy In Afghanistan? Switching top generals in the middle of a war -- even at the best of times -- can't help but raise broader questions about how the war is going, even when the general is fired for reasons unrelated to his battlefield performance. More  Labelle Of Transparency International Says Pressure Should Be On Governments Experts gathered in New York this past week for the UN Global Compact Leader Summit. Among the issues they discussed was how the world can come together in the fight against corruption. RFE/RL correspondent Nikola Krastev talked to Huguette Labelle, chair of the Transparency International watchdog group, about what can be done to fight corruption in Russia. More  Despite Boost In U.S. Support, Russia's WTO Bid Still Faces Opposition In Georgia U.S. President Barack Obama says Russia is on its way to winning full U.S. support for its long-delayed bid to join the World Trade Organization. But what the U.S. president failed to mention is that another WTO member, Georgia, has threatened to block Russian accession. How significant a threat does Tbilisi pose to Moscow's bid to join the global trade group? More  Iran's Musavi Tiptoes Across The Rubicon -- Maybe Supporters of Iran opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi greeted his latest statement -- labeled as a "charter" for the Green Movement -- as a radical departure from his previous caution. Finally, they believe, Musavi has broken with his loyalty to the Islamic republic and declared his desire for a secular state and a changed constitution. But has he? Other observers insist that, far from being radical, the statement is hedged and heavily qualified - and that Musavi's aims remains fundamentally distinct from those of many of his followers in the Green Movement. More  G8 & G20: Can World Leaders Agree On Strengthening Economic Recovery? Two of the world's major power groupings – the G8 and the G20 – are meeting back-to-back in Canada starting on June 25. One of the biggest questions on their agendas is also the most difficult: How much should governments intervene to try to strengthen the still fragile global economic recovery? More  Bakiev's Nephew Accused In Unrest Kyrgyz security forces have detained a nephew of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiev whom they accuse of playing a key role in recent ethnic unrest. More  Belarus Threatens To Cut European Gas Belarus has threatened to suspend Russian oil and gas deliveries to Europe unless Russia pays what Minsk says is a $32 million debt in gas transit fees. More  Stalin Statue Removed In Georgian Hometown The 6-meter-high statue was removed in the dead of the night in an unannounced operation. Georgian media said police tried to prevent journalists from filming the process, beating some of them. More  Kyrgyzstan To End Curfew Amid UN Warning Of Risk Of Violence Kyrgyzstan prepares to lift a state of emergency imposed in the wake of ethnic violence in its south, amid UN concerns about the risk of fresh tensions in the area. More  Wiesel Seeks Khodorkovsky Release Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel has launched a global campaign to free imprisoned Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whom he calls a "political prisoner." More  Obama, Medvedev Seal Successful 'Reset' With Burgers And Fries U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said today that they have "succeeded in resetting" the relationship between their two countries and marked their burgeoning friendship over a lunch of cheeseburgers and fries at a local restaurant. The Russian leader also won a major victory when Obama endorsed Russia's membership in the World Trade Organization. More  Iraq 'Needs More Psychiatrists' Iraqi Health Minister Salih Mahdi al-Hasnawi says the country needs to increase the number of psychiatrists several times over to deal with a growing number of mentally ill patients. More  Uzbek Exclave In Kyrgyzstan Opens Borders An exclave of Uzbekistan surrounded by Kyrgyzstan's southern Batken Oblast has been opened for transit of Kyrgyz vehicles and citizens. More  Russian Servicemen Demand Military Reforms Be Suspended Some 300 demonstrators gathered in the northeastern Russian town of Pskov on June 24 to protest ongoing reforms of the Russian military. More  Jailed Belarus Activist Ends Hunger Strike Jailed businessman and opposition activist Mikalay Autukhovich has abandoned his hunger strike after Belarusian authorities discussed Autukhovich's health problems with him. More  Russian Oligarch's Sights On 'Le Monde' A spokesman for Russian business tycoon Gleb Fetisov's FFF-Holding company says Fetisov is serious in his aim to buy the French newspaper "Le Monde." More Some 30 representatives of the All-Russian Union of Students gathered on June 24 outside the Russian parliament building in Moscow to demand the passage of legislation that would give university students more control over their education. More  Belarusian TB Patients Start Hunger Strike Dozens of tuberculosis patients at a clinic in the central Belarusian town of Volkavychy say they have begun a hunger strike to protest against their living conditions. More  Michael Jackson Flash Mob Thrills Moscow Russian RIA-Novosti has posted video of a flash mob to honor the late King of Pop on the first anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. More  Vladimir Voronin: The Great Communist Landowner During the eight year rule of Moldova's Communist Party, which ended last July, there was a popular anecdote about the nature of Moldovan communists: The Communist President Vladimir Voronin and his wife Taisia are driving around the capital city to see how Chisinau has changed. Taisia keeps asking who owns this bank, this restaurant, that supermarket, this car dealership, those mansions. “Our son, Oleg, owns them all,” Voronin replies. “I fear the Communists will come into power and expropriate them,” his wife concludes. More  The Limits Of Europe Here's one for those pondering why the EU doesn't do more in the world -- when it so evidently could (or so it seems). More  The Rundown - June 25 A review of news and opinion on RFE/RL's broadcast region. More Obama's Burger Diplomacy The U.S. president ordered a cheddar-cheeseburger with onions, lettuce, tomato, and bread-and-butter pickles. The Russian leader went for a cheddar-cheeseburger with onions, jalapenos, and mushrooms. More  A Voice From Under The Bus? With Russian President Dmitry Medvedev making his triumphant tour of the United States and everything looking rosy for the U.S.-Russia reset, it seems almost curmudgeonly to be skeptical. Fellow Power Verticalist Brian Whitmore, in a piece about how the reset is being viewed from Georgia, quotes U.S. President Barack Obama’s senior Russia adviser, Michael McFaul, as stating forcefully that “we’re not ending our assistance to Georgia, throwing the Georgians under the bus….” More  A Wish From Suleyman's Hill I came to Osh for the first time in 1992 and fell in love with Kyrgyzstan's second city. Everyone lives here -- Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Turkmen, as well as Arabs, Turks, Uyghurs, Slavic peoples, and many others. For me, it is the most Central Asian of Central Asia's cities. I've been here many times since 1992, and people have told me repeatedly that if I climb Suleyman Tau and make a wish, it will come true. More  Abkhazia 'Temporarily Suspends' Participation In Geneva Talks Abkhazia will not attend the next round of talks scheduled for July 27 in Geneva on security issues in the wake of the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war, Abkhaz presidential administration head Nadir Bitiyev announced on June 23. More |
