 RFE/RL Headlines 7/9/2010 6:06:08 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  Tehran Bazaar Dispute May Herald New Regime Crackdown Tehran's sprawling Grand Bazaar, a giant trading market and long a bastion of traditional conservatism, has erupted into open discontent against President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's government. Wary of the bazaar's symbolic importance, the government has backed down -- for now. More  Interview: Sutyagin's Father Says News Of Exchange Was 'Like A Cold Shower' Former arms-control researcher Igor Sutyagin is one of the four Russian prisoners being exchanged for 10 suspected members of a Russian spy ring. Earlier this week, Sutyagin was transferred from a remote penal colony near the Arctic Circle to Moscow's Lefortovo prison before being exchanged for the Russian agents. RFE/RL asked Sutyagin's father, Vyacheslav, about his son. More  U.S., Russia Go Forward With Spy Swap The United States and Russia carried out their biggest spy swap since the Cold War through the exchange of a total of 14 prisoners at the Vienna airport. More  Mattis Picked For Iraq, Afghan Command The U.S. Central Command, which oversees the U.S. war effort in both Iraq and Afghanistan, is about to get a new leader to replace General David Petraeus. More  Iran Halts Woman's Stoning Execution Iranian authorities say a woman will not be stoned to death after being convicted of adultery. More  Russian Opposition Protests FSB Bill Six members of the Russian opposition party Yabloko have been arrested while protesting outside the State Duma. More Ten people were arrested when police broke up a protest on the main Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod highway to demand that their purchased apartments be finished. More  Kyrgyzstan: Violence Cost $71 Million Kyrgyz officials say recent ethnic violence in the south of the country caused some $71 million worth of damage. More  Russian Group Says Hate-Crime Drop Shows Extremist Group Transformation A Russian rights organization says that although the official number of hate crimes in the country has recently decreased, it is because nationalist groups have gone underground or transformed into "terrorist" organizations. More  Belarus To Start Eurobond 'Road Show' Belarus is to hold presentations starting on July 12 for potential buyers of its first-ever Eurobond. More  Bank Of Georgia Sells Stake In Belarusian Bank The Bank of Georgia, the country's leading universal bank, says the International Finance Corporation has purchased a stake in the Belarusky Narodny Bank More  Tajiks Hand Over Kyrgyz Terror Suspects A Kyrgyz police official says two men detained by Tajik law enforcement officials and returned to Kyrgyzstan are members of terrorist groups More  Tajik Air In Fuel-Debt Dispute Flights by the state airline Tajik Air from Dushanbe to various domestic and Russian destinations were delayed for more than 10 hours on July 8 because the company that provides gas refused to refuel Tajik Air's planes More  Belarus Opposition Leader Attacked The leader of the opposition Young Belarus movement has been hospitalized after being beaten by unknown attackers on a Minsk street. More What's The Price Of Love? According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, you first have to calculate the inflation rate. More  Russian 'Spies' Cool In Courtroom The seemingly scripted proceedings, presided over by Judge Kimba Wood, left an eerie feeling of a well-rehearsed performance. All defendants quickly admitted their guilt and answered all questions with seeming self-assurance. More  Georgia's Main Gas Pipeline Up For Grabs Georgia's parliament has now passed in the first reading a draft law on the privatization of state assets that abolishes existing restrictions on the sale of the main North-South gas pipeline. The Georgian opposition has already expressed concern that Russia might acquire a controlling stake in the pipeline, giving it huge economic leverage. Meanwhile, there is concern in Armenia, which receives a large share of its gas via that pipeline, that Azerbaijan, which already manages much of Georgia's gas distribution network, might seek to acquire it. More  Why The Russia Spy Story Really Matters Dismissing the latest spy scandal as indication the Russians are ineffectually still fighting the Cold War is to miss the big picture. In fact, Moscow is skillfully advancing its interests in the West, not through intelligence but business, often supported by crafty industrial espionage, influence-buying, and under-the-table deal-making. More |
