 RFE/RL Headlines 9/29/2010 5:11:48 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  Ousted Moscow Mayor 'To Challenge Dismissal' The quarrel between the Kremlin and Moscow's sacked mayor, Yury Luzhkov, has become still messier with the publication of a scathing letter by Luzhkov and reports of impending legal action from both sides. More  Kremlin's Ruling Party Boosts Ties Across The Former Soviet Union Following a model that seems to have worked in Ukraine, where a pro-Western president was replaced earlier this year by a pro-Russian one, United Russia is also now working actively with friendly parties in Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia -- all countries whose political vector is up for grabs in the next 18 months. More  Backers Of Baghdad Film Production Center Seek Iraqi Cinema Revival Oday Rasheed and Mohamed al-Daradji hope that by opening the country's first film production center in Baghdad next month, they will help usher in a new era for Iraqi film. More  Shourd: Iranian Official Offered To Pay Bail The American woman released on $500,000 bail by Iran after spending more than a year in jail on suspicion of spying has told RFE/RL that an Iranian official had offered to pay for her bail to secure her release from jail. Thirty-two-year -old Sarah Shourd and two companions were arrested by Iranian authorities in July 2009 while hiking near the Iran/Iraq border. Because her fiancé, Shane Bauer, and friend Josh Fattal remain in jail in Tehran’s Evin prison, Shourd says she doesn’t feel completely free. She also told RFE/RL that last week in New York, she provided Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad with evidence that proves their innocence. More  Serbia's Sandzak Becomes Balkans' Latest Hot Spot Tensions are rising in Serbia's Muslim-majority region of Sandzak, where local Bosniaks say their needs are being neglected by officials in Belgrade. More  U.S. Targets Iran Officials With 'Rights Sanctions' The United States has announced unprecedented economic sanctions aimed at punishing eight Iranian officials for human rights abuses since last year's disputed elections. More  World Chess Chief Reelected To Post Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the controversial president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), has won a new term after a challenge from former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov. More  Protests, Strikes Spread In Europe Workers from around Europe hold rallies and strikes to protest the tight austerity programs being implemented by governments in many European Union countries. More  'Terror Plot' Uncovered In Europe Reports say Western intelligence agencies have uncovered a plot to launch terrorist attacks in Britain, France, and Germany. More  EU: Afghan System 'Impedes' Democracy Vygaudas Usackas said the current Afghan system encourages voting for individuals, not parties. More  Iran Blogfather 'Gets 19-Year Sentence' Derakhshan, nicknamed Hoder, was a leading figure in the Persian-language blogosphere and was credited with helping blogs gain popularity in his native Iran -- so much so that he was dubbed Iran's "Blogfather." More  Karzai Unveils New Peace Council Afghan President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omar, said the new High Council for Peace will handle all future contact between the Afghan government and the Taliban. More  Russians To Patrol S.Kyrgyz Border Russian border guards stationed in Kyrgyzstan's northern Chui region will be transferred to a southern oblast to help with cross-border issues. More Kyrgyz Hostage Taker Apprehended An armed man who took 10 minibus passengers hostage in the Bishkek suburbs and demanded access to Kyrgyzstan's main government building is in police custody. More The Interior Ministry said that Russian national Gusein Suleimanov, 25, was killed by security forces in the Chanoro village of Faizobod district one day earlier. It is the same district in which Rahmiddin Azizov, another of the 25 prison escapees, was killed the previous day in a shootout. More  Court Backs Kazakh Health Minister A court in Astana has refused to issue an arrest warrant for Kazakh Health Minister Zhaqsylyq Dosqaliev over unspecified allegations stemming from an ongoing investigation. More  Tajiks Nab More Armed Militants Interior Ministry spokesman Mahmadullo Asadulloev told RFE/RL that the two were detained without any resistance on September 28 and that both admitted to being active members of Ahmadov's group. More Ulukbek Abdusalamov, who is vice president of the Uzbek Culture Center in Jalal-Abad, reportedly suffered a stroke on September 17 after being hospitalized several days earlier. He and three other defendants are charged with inciting interethnic hatred, separatist propaganda, and organizing mass unrest. More Authorities in Kyrgyzstan say the nephew of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiev is to stand trial in connection with deadly interethnic violence there in June. More  Iran Journalist Jailed For Three Years Opposition websites, including sahamnews.org, reported on September 28 that Isa Saharkhiz has also been banned from engaging in political and journalistic activities for five years and from leaving Iran for one year after his release. More  Armenia Opposition Says 'No Rift' Leaders of the two opposition parties represented in the Armenian parliament have dismissed media reports about mounting tensions within the country's ruling coalition. More Buriev said that a previous attempt on September 18 to arrest Rahmiddin Azizov -- who was convicted of belonging to an organized criminal group, kidnapping, and plotting to overthrow the government -- failed after Azizov injured two security officers and escaped. More  Georgia Rankles NY Philharmonic Lisa Batiashvili, an ethnic Georgian concert violinist who lives in Munich, said she is "still in a state of shock and unable to comprehend what has happened," after the Georgian government canceled two scheduled performances by the orchestra on October 21 and 22 in Tbilisi and Batumi, respectively. More Some 300 people have rallied against the policies of the ruling United Russia party in the western city of Izhevsk. More  Change Of Tone From Georgian Veterans On Anniversary Of Sukhumi's Downfall A surprising sentiment expressed by former Defense Minister Gia Qarqarashvili -- that the bloody war of 1992-93 resulting in some 16,000 deaths was a tragedy for all, and that Abkhaz victims also deserve respect and remembrance -- was echoed in the statements of other public figures and politicians who gathered in Tbilisi's Victory Park to mark the anniversary of Sukhumi's downfall. More  The Rundown - September 29 A review of news and opinion on RFE's broadcast region More  Iran Says Facebook And Twitter Are Country's 'Hidden Enemies' Iranian state-controlled television has accused Facebook and Twitter of being Iran’s “hidden enemies” and tools used by Western intelligence agencies in order to recruit new members and gather data on individuals. More  Paucity Of Turkmen Books At Ashgabat Book Fair Participants include some 90 publishing houses and authors from 25 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet states. But the book fair was something of a disappointment for those looking for works by Turkmen authors. More  Azerbaijan And The West: Beyond Interest, Toward Commitment The cooperation Azerbaijan forged with the West, especially with the United States, has over the years been characterized as strategic by many, short-term by some, and untruthful by others. However, even when relations reached an all-time low, Azerbaijan never wavered in its commitment to its partnership with the West. More  Why Malcolm Gladwell Is Wrong About Digital Activism Gladwell’s argument is that we have forgotten what real activism is and that social media and digital activism are poor approximations for traditional protest movements. He is wrong. More |
