 RFE/RL Headlines 7/21/2010 5:48:52 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  Russian Patriarch Kicks Off Second Ukraine Visit A year after his first controversial trip to Ukraine, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill is back in the country for a visit that is once again dividing Ukrainians. While some welcome him as their spiritual leader, others see his visit as part of an aggressive campaign to reassert Russian domination over the predominantly Orthodox Christian nation. More  Legal Scholar Previews ICJ Ruling On Kosovo's Independence The International Court of Justice at The Hague is due to issue an advisory ruling on the legality of Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence on July 22. Dragan Stavljanin of RFE/RL's Balkan Service spoke to Marc Weller, a lecturer on International Law at Cambridge University, about what to expect and about the possible implications of the ICJ's conclusions. More  Ceausescu, Wife Exhumed For ID Check Officials in Romania have exhumed what are believed to be the remains of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena in order to verify their identities. More  UN Court Orders Kosovo Ex-PM Retrial The UN's Yugoslav war crimes tribunal has overturned the acquittal of former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj of war crimes charges and ordered that he be retried. More  Attack Targets Russia Power Station Police in Russia say at least two people were killed when assailants attacked a hydropower station in the country's volatile North Caucasus region. The attack occurred at a plant located on the Baksan River, in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic. More  Cameron: Lockerbie Release 'Wrong' British Prime Minister David Cameron says Scotland's decision to release the Lockerbie airliner bomber was ''completely wrong." More  Moscow Police Arrest 'Blue Bucket' Protesters Thirteen members of the "blue bucket brigade" were detained by Moscow police for staging a small "protest walk" through the Russian capital. More  Kyrgyzstan Restores Mandatory Military Duty For Young Men The Kyrgyz government has adopted a decree restoring the mandatory one-year military service for young men. More  Former Kyrgyz Official Turns Himself In A former top Kyrgyz security official wanted for his role in the April shootings in Bishkek that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded has turned himself in to police. More  Armenia Warning On Karabakh An Armenian opposition official says any resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that includes an Armenian withdrawal from occupied districts of Azerbaijan would lead to President Serzh Sarkisian's resignation More  Iraq 'Not Told' About Iranian Wall Plan Iraqi officials say Tehran has not informed Baghdad about Iran's reported intention to build a security wall along its borders with Iraqi Kurdistan More  Kyrgyz Activists Demand Ousted President, Relatives Be Punished About 50 Kyrgyz activists picketed parliament to demand that former President Kurmanbek Bakiev and members of his family be prosecuted. More  Armenian Defense Chief Discusses Regional Security In Iran Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian discussed Armenian-Iranian cooperation and regional security issues with Iranian political and military leaders during an official weekend visit to Tehran. More  Police Bombed In Russian City Officials in the western Russian city of Orel say they are concerned by recent attacks on a local police station and prosecutor's office More  Former Russian Mayor Acquitted The former mayor of the southwestern Russian city of Samara has been acquitted of criminal charges related to the illegal privatization of city property. More  Christians' Killing Sparks Pakistan Unrest The situation in the east-central Pakistani city of Faisalabad is tense after the killing of two Christians accused of distributing anti-Islamic leaflets. More  Transdniester Spy Suspects Face Trial A man arrested in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region on espionage charges four months ago has been remanded in pretrial detention for two more months, his parents say. More  Tajik FM Hopeful Of OSCE Help In Disputes With Uzbekistan Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi says he is optimistic that meetings with 13 counterparts from other OSCE members will help free the movement of people and goods across Central Asia. More  Official: Iran Faces Rise In HIV/AIDS Cases Iranian Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi says the spread of HIV/AIDS is increasingly being spread in Iran through sexual contact. More  Iran Polit. Prisoners 'Denied Treatment' A spokesman for the Paris-based watchdog Reporters Without Borders says "political prisoners" in Iran have been routinely denied medical treatment. More  Hard-Body Diplomacy Tajik musclemen have found a valuable ally from none other than the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, whose International Narcotics and Law Enforcement program recently sponsored a one-day bodybuilding tournament in the capital. More New Kabardino-Balkaria Militant Commander Suspected Behind Power Plant Attack Balkar fighter Asker Djappuyev (nom de guerre Amir Abdullakh) has already been identified as the putative mastermind behind the overnight attack on the Baksan hydropower plant north of Nalchik. More  Pakistan's Tribesmen Have Nowhere To Turn Radio Mashaal's Daud Khattak says that since 2001, the Wazir and Mehsud tribesmen of the South and North Waziristan tribal agencies have been virtually enslaved by Al-Qaeda and their Taliban supporters, on the one hand, and the security forces and the state political administration, on the other. More |
