Roberto Abraham Scaruffi: http://www.rferl.org/

Friday 26 June 2009

http://www.rferl.org/

RFE/RL Headlines
RFE/RL Headlines
25.06.2009
A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

News

Iraq Bombing Meant To Rattle Authorities As U.S. Pulls Out Iraq Bombing Meant To Rattle Authorities As U.S. Pulls Out
A major bomb blast in Baghdad has killed at least 69 people and injured more than a hundred others. The bombing is the most serious in a series of explosions to hit Iraq in the run-up to the withdrawal next week of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities. The attacks on Shi'ite targets appear aimed at provoking new sectarian strife with the minority Sunni community. More
Ahmadinejad Tells Obama Not To Interfere In Iran Ahmadinejad Tells Obama Not To Interfere In Iran
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has called on Barack Obama not to interfere in Iran's internal affairs after the U.S. president said he was "appalled and outraged" by postelection violence in the Islamic state. More
Senior Turkmen Visit Highlights U.S. Dilemma Senior Turkmen Visit Highlights U.S. Dilemma
Turkmenistan is, for all practical purposes, a closed country, and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov rules it with an authoritative hand. But the Obama administration has noted the importance of being pragmatic at a time when his country is struggling in a deep recession and has limited sources of energy. More
Government Intensifies Crackdown Government Intensifies Crackdown
Iran is in the midst of one of the toughest security crackdowns in the history of the Islamic republic. Police have arrested dozens of former high-ranking officials and academics, in addition to the hundreds of protesters detained during rallies. More
Kyrgyz Parliament Ratifies U.S. Base Agreement Kyrgyz Parliament Ratifies U.S. Base Agreement
Kyrgyzstan's parliament has unanimously approved a deal with the United States to keep open the only U.S. air base in Central Asia. More
Politkovskaya Acquittals Overturned Politkovskaya Acquittals Overturned
Russia's Supreme Court has overturned the acquittals of three defendants in the shooting of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, ordering a retrial. It's a case that many regard as a key test of authorities' commitment to the rule of law. More
Roadside Bomb Kills At Least Seven In Iraq Roadside Bomb Kills At Least Seven In Iraq
A roadside bomb has killed five Iraqi policemen and two civilians in the once turbulent but recently secure western city of Fallujah, police said, a day after at least 72 people died in a market bombing in Baghdad. More
From Our Bureaus

Armenian President Praises Georgian Counterpart Armenian President Praises Georgian Counterpart
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has bestowed the Medal of Honor, Armenia's highest award for foreign dignitaries, upon Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More
Iraqi Party Seeks Turkoman-Majority Province Iraqi Party Seeks Turkoman-Majority Province
An official with a party representing Iraq's ethnic Turkic minority has said the predominantly Turkoman district of Talafar in northwestern Iraq should be detached from Nineveh province and declared a province in its own right, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports. More
Kyrgyzstan Says Slain Militants Were Uzbek Nationals Kyrgyzstan Says Slain Militants Were Uzbek Nationals
A Kyrgyz parliament deputy has said that five armed individuals killed by Kyrgyz national security forces near Jalal-Abad on June 23 were citizens of neighboring Uzbekistan, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More
Salafi Cleric Detained In Tajikistan Salafi Cleric Detained In Tajikistan
Police in Dushanbe have detained the alleged leader of the banned Salafi movement, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. More
Detained Kazakhs Citizens Allowed To Return Home  Detained Kazakhs Citizens Allowed To Return Home
Twenty-seven Kazakh citizens accused of illegally crossing into Uzbekistan in February will be allowed to return home, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More
Fugitive Armenian Oppositionist To Surrender Fugitive Armenian Oppositionist To Surrender
Nikol Pashinian, the outspoken newspaper editor who played a leading role in postelection protests in Yerevan last year, has said that he will surrender to law enforcement authorities after spending nearly 16 months on the run, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reports. More
Russian Court Convicts Berezovsky Again Russian Court Convicts Berezovsky Again
Fugitive former Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has been convicted of embezzlement, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More
Kazakh Leader A No-Show At NATO Forum In Astana Kazakh Leader A No-Show At NATO Forum In Astana
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev did not attend the third forum of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in Astana, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More
Opposition Group To Rally In Yerevan Opposition Group To Rally In Yerevan
The opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) will hold a rally in Yerevan on July 2, despite a three-month moratorium on protests that was recently announced by the party’s leader, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reports. More
Kazakhstan Adopts Controversial Internet Law
Kazakhstan's parliament has adopted controversial amendments to the Law on Information and Communications Networks, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More
Iran Election Diary

'They Came To His Place At About 2 Or 3 In The Morning'
Voicemails sent to Radio Farda on June 25 More
'Our Silence Is The Answer To Your Violence'
E-mails and voicemails sent to Radio Farda on June 24. More
Transmission

What Are The U.S. Options On Iran? What Are The U.S. Options On Iran?
On June 24, the Brookings Institution held an interesting event, "Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy Toward Iran." More
Kadyrov Vows To Wipe Out Islamic Militants  Kadyrov Vows To Wipe Out Islamic Militants
In an interview with the TV station Vesti-24 on June 23, one day after the assassination attempt on Ingushetian President Yunusbek Yevkurov, Ramzan Kadyrov vowed -- again -- to intensify the combined efforts of Chechen and Ingushetian Interior Ministry forces to wipe out "terrorists." More
Caucasus Report

Is The White Legion Back In Business? Is The White Legion Back In Business?
The White Legion, and a second such group, the Forest Brothers, continued their low-level attacks on both Russian peacekeepers and Abkhaz civilians until early 2004, when the new leadership of President Mikheil Saakashvili moved to demobilize and disarm them. More
Chechen Leader Seeks To Strong-Arm Ingush Leadership Chechen Leader Seeks To Strong-Arm Ingush Leadership
Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov traveled unannounced on June 24 to Magas, where he announced that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has tasked him with coordinating all counterterror activities in both Chechnya and Ingushetia following the assassination attempt on Ingushetian President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov two days earlier. More
Features

Imprisoned In Iran Imprisoned In Iran
At least 450 people have been arrested for disputing Iran’s presidential election results. Many put the count in the thousands. To those arrested 10 years ago, in Iran’s last great wave of student demos, what the new detainees face next is clear. Ali Fathi was one of those students arrested in 1999. This is his story. More
Inside The Mind Of Belarus's Cocksure President Inside The Mind Of Belarus's Cocksure President
In a recent interview with Russian media, Belarus's Alyaksandr Lukashenka displayed the pugnacious, didactic stance that has fascinated Belarus-watchers throughout his 15-year presidency. So what's going on in his mind? For help in drafting a psychological portrait of "Europe's last dictator," RFE/RL's Belarus Service spoke to two political analysts: Uladzimir Padhol in Minsk and Leonid Radzikhovsky in Moscow. More
Woman Fights To Preserve Georgian-Abkhaz Heritage Woman Fights To Preserve Georgian-Abkhaz Heritage
Georgia's separatist region of Abkhazia has asserted its right to statehood, but a key aspect of its heritage is missing: language. Few Abkhaz have mastered their own language, preferring to use Russian instead. One exception is Lela Avidzba. Half-Abkhaz and half-Georgian, she's working to promote the use of the Abkhaz language, even as she seeks to bridge the divide between her two nations. More