 RFE/RL Headlines 9/22/2010 6:24:31 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  Iran's Ahmadinejad Harks Back To Koran, Cold War To Turn Tables On The West Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has adopted the old Cold War approach in charging the West with hypocrisy for expressing outrage over the fate of an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning while staying silent about an American woman on death row in Virginia. More  Kabul Launches Controversial Plan To Empower Militia Fighters As Police The Afghan government is pushing forward with plans to arm and pay militia fighters as local police in their home districts. But experts warn that the so-called Local Police Initiative could strengthen the power of warlords or plant the seeds of future conflict between rival Afghan tribes. More  Interview: Khodorkovsky's Mother Urges Medvedev To 'Realize He's President' Five years ago, the prison sentence against former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner, Platon Lebedev, came into force. Now serving eight-year sentences for fraud and tax evasion, they're currently facing a second trial on additional charges of embezzlement. RFE/RL spoke to Khodorkovsky's mother, Marina Khodorkovskaya. More  Russia Hosts International Arctic Forum Politicians, scientists, and business leaders from Arctic states and beyond have gathered in Moscow for a two-day forum. The event comes as Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, and Norway are trying to claim legal control over parts of the region, which could offer new oil and gas wealth as the polar ice cap shrinks. More  Nominee For U.S. Envoy To Azerbaijan Wins Key Backing U.S. President Barack Obama's choice for U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan has cleared a key congressional hurdle by winning approval from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. More  Kyrgyz Party Leader To Discuss Agreement With United Russia The Kyrgyz party led by former Prime Minister Feliks Kulov is discussing the signing of a cooperation agreement with Russia's ruling United Russia party. More  Five Killed In Tajik Counterterror Op The Tajik Interior Ministry says that at least five supporters of former opposition commander Mirzokhuja Ahmadov were killed during an counterterrorist operation in the Rasht district. More  Two Former Kyrgyz Officials Will Not Be Amnestied Two former Kyrgyz officials have been deemed ineligible for amnesty under a decree signed earlier this month by Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva. More  Kazakh Border Guard Accused Of Rape An investigation has been launched into the alleged rape of a Kyrgyz woman by a Kazakh border guard last week. More  Hate-Crimes Trial Postponed In Moscow Hearings have begun at the Moscow City Court in the case of four young men charged with hate crimes including murder. More  Cycle Protest At Russia's Khimki Forest Ecologists plan to cycle around the Khimki forest near Moscow, the focus of protests this year over a planned highway. More  Iran Establishes New Censorship Board Iranian Culture Minister Mohammad Hosseini has announced plans to create a new five-person board that will approve the content of all books prior to publication. More  Karabakh Armenians Expect No Progress From Peace Talks The ethnic Armenian leadership of the Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh has downplayed expectations from talks expected between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in New York this week. More  Armenian Opposition Leader Snubs Government Invitation Armenian opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian snubbed President Serzh Sarkisian's invitation to attend an official reception dedicated to the country's Independence Day and celebrated it with his supporters instead. More  Pakistan Province Complains Of Aid The government of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province has rejected the central government's formula for the distribution of U.S. aid money to Pakistan. More  Ahmadinejad in New York: Hardly Welcome But Hardly Noticed The seventh visit of Iran's president to New York is drawing its share of controversy, but the overall public perception seems to be more subdued compared to his previous appearances before the UN General Assembly. More  Hand To Mouth The EU's representative will address the 65th UN General Assembly in New York today as an "observer," relegated to the end of the speaker roster. More  Uzbekistan's President -- The Osh Mayor's Friend? You might think the president of a country called Uzbekistan -- literally, the land of the Uzbek -- wouldn't be well disposed to the mayor of a city in a neighboring country where scores of Uzbeks were killed last June. But you'd be wrong, at least according to the mayor of Kyrgyzstan's second city, Osh. More  Current Crisis Is Opportunity To Improve Roma Status Good can only come from the Roma being thrust into the European spotlight -- if the EU adopts a far more serious and long-term approach to improving the circumstances of a marginalized group of Europeans who are rapidly growing in number. More  Azerbaijan -- A Questionable Partner For The West Instead of futile and shortsighted efforts aimed at pleasing the ruling Azerbainjani dynasty, Elmar Chakhtakhtinski argues that Western policies should focus on supporting those forces within Azerbaijan that promote the shared values of democracy and individual liberties. More |
