 RFE/RL Headlines 9/30/2009 5:39:03 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  Iran 'On The Wrong Side Of The Law,' IAEA Chief Says Iran broke a transparency law of the UN nuclear watchdog by failing to disclose much earlier a nuclear plant being built for uranium enrichment, IAEA Director-General Muhammad el-Baradei said in a televised interview. More Former Czechoslovak Spy At RFE/RL Sentenced For Fraud A former Czechoslovakia spy who planned bomb attacks against RFE/RL's headquarters in Munich has been given a six-year jail term for insurance fraud, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  Turkmenistan Honors St. Petersburg Governor Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has bestowed an honorable order upon St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko during her visit to the Turkmen capital Ashgabat, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reports. More The first Ukrainian cosmonaut, Pavlo Popovich, has died, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  Belarusian Police Detain Activist For Distributing Leaflets The leader of the United Civic Party's branch in the eastern Belarusian city of Homel has been detained, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Mediators For Karabakh Press For Armenian-Azeri Summit International mediators say they will visit Armenia and Azerbaijan soon to prepare for the next meeting of the two countries' presidents, which they hope will pave the way for a framework peace accord on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Turkey Again Links Armenia Ties With Karabakh Peace Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again linked the normalization of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia with an acceptable resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Kazakh Weekly Offers Bank Debt Cancellation To Pay Fine The independent Kazakh weekly "Respublika" is offering the BTA Bank a mutual cancellation of debts in order to pay off a court ordered fine for libel, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Moscow Police Arrest Suspects In Daghestani Official's Killing Moscow's Cheremushinsky Court has arrested two men suspected of involvement in the killing of a Daghestani official, RFE/RL's Russian and North Caucasus services report. More  Moldovan Premier Wants 'Clear EU Perspective,' Financial Aid New Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat has asked the European Union to offer Moldovans "a clear perspective for joining the EU," RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More  Armenian Parties Join Forces To Fight Turkey Plan Two of Armenia's leading opposition parties will join forces to protest the proposed Turkish-Armenian agreement aimed at normalizing relations between the two countries, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More  Kazakh Official Urges Patience In Case Of Jailed Activist Kazakhstan is calling for an end to international pressure over the case of jailed human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  U.S. Preparing Large Aid Package For Moldovan Farmers U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Asif J. Chaudhry says the agricultural sector in Moldova could receive as much as $260 million in aid from the U.S. government, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More  Pastor Of Belarusian Evangelical Church Faces Trial The pastor of the New Life Evangelical Christian Church in Minsk will go to trial on September 30, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Iraqi School Year Begins With Classroom Shortages Iraqi Education Ministry officials say dilapidated schools, overcrowded classrooms, and a lack of funds are the major challenges as the school year started for millions of children on September 27, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports. More  KyrgyzGaz Says It Can't Repay Debt To Uzbekistan KyrgyzGaz head Salamat Aytikeev says the energy company is unable to pay Kyrgyzstan's natural gas debt to Uzbekistan, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More  Old Style, New Message The style is pure Soviet agitprop. But the message is something new. In 2003, Mongolian high-school students were invited to submit poster designs for an anti-corruption campaign. More  Like Father, Like Daughter Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's daughter, Ozoda Rahmonova, was appointed deputy foreign minister after two years in the ministry's consular division. More  No Winners An international report into the causes of the 2008 Russian-Georgian war suggests that both parties share the blame for the long-simmering conflict. But the report's conclusion that Georgia started the hostilities means that Russia seems to have achieved its main objective for this round in the post-war standoff. More  Pressure On Iran Grows Ahead Of Talks With UN Iran's top nuclear negotiator meets on October 1 with officials from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. The P5+1 meeting in Geneva comes amid international concern about the build-up of a covert Iranian nuclear program -- and ongoing suspicions that Iran is secretly trying to build nuclear weapons. More  Obama, Top Officials Meeting To Iron Out Afghan Strategy The top ranks of the White House's national security team meet today to discuss with President Barack Obama a request for 40,000 more troops in Afghanistan by U.S. and NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal. More  IMF Puts Lower Price Tag On Total Crisis Losses $3.4 trillion. According to the IMF, that's the likely extent of total losses arising from the global economic crisis. Staggering though the figure is, it's actually lower than the International Monetary Fund's last estimate. More  Moscow Snubs European Rights Court On Chechnya Human Rights Watch has accused Russia of repeatedly ignoring decisions by the European Court of Human Rights on Chechnya. The U.S.-based rights group said in a report released this week that Russia's failure to investigate and punish abuses under the court's rulings is fueling "unchecked violence" in the North Caucasus. More  Could Iran Trigger A New Cuban Missile Crisis? Jamsheed K. Choksy suggests the U.S. government could, in a worst-case scenario, live with a nuclear Iran; but could it politically accept another nuclear-weapons-wielding country in the Americas? More  RFE/RL Loses Respected Radio Farda Colleagues Two of the youngest and brightest faces of RFE/RL's Persian-language broadcaster died this week in a car crash, while another is battling grave injuries. More |
