http://www.rferl.orgRadio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countriesCopyright 2006 - RFE/RL, Inc.30Wed, 14 May 2008 12:18:23 GMTIn return for closer ties with Kazakhstan, visiting Tajik President Imomali Rahmon has hinted at support for a Kazakh plan to form a Central Asian Union -- an idea also backed by Kyrgyzstan but soundly rejected by Astana's main regional rival, Uzbekistan, and unlikely to please Russia.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/2304098b-94f9-4782-81cb-cbcb098eff05.htmlWed, 14 May 2008 12:18:23 GMTEuropean Union officials and experts will in the coming weeks be visiting Romania and Bulgaria to probe how well the union's two newest members are living up to their commitments to root out pervasive corruption.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/02df09c4-1d53-4caa-93bd-9f3d36f80793.htmlWed, 14 May 2008 11:47:37 GMTIs Serbia's pro-Western President Boris Tadic about to cut a deal with allies of former dictator Slobodan Milosevic?http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/56eeeb67-c0de-4d01-9cfe-fee8aed63d9c.htmlWed, 14 May 2008 11:33:50 GMTBAGHDAD -- After nearly two months of clashes, the Iraqi government and representatives of radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced a cease-fire for Baghdad's Al-Sadr City, where residents are said to be suffering from shortages of food and fresh water.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/da2de57d-5150-4b01-a33d-d724e8e8dada.htmlWed, 14 May 2008 11:16:50 GMTU.S. President George W. Bush has nominated John Beyrle to be Washington's next ambassador to Russia.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/19dd7c06-3f2f-4759-8497-35c20bedc3f9.htmlWed, 14 May 2008 10:58:46 GMTU.S. President George W. Bush has arrived in Israel to take part in celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state. During the visit, Bush is also expected to push for progress on his goal of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement before he leaves office in January 2009.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/557a29bc-b2d0-4698-a039-01e65a31fbd6.htmlWed, 14 May 2008 10:43:45 GMTSaudi Arabia has charged Iran with seeking a coup in Beirut, and Tehran is sharply rejecting the charges. The war of words, which directly follows the recent street fighting in Lebanon, highlights a growing sense in Riyadh and some other Mideast capitals that Iran is building its influence in the region at their expense.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/912a4441-1a98-4213-9416-e757ce6bc9a4.htmlWed, 14 May 2008 10:14:06 GMTAfter the April NATO-Russia summit in Bucharest, Russia's government promised to fight NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine in every possible way. Yet the issue at hand was not membership, but rather issuing Kyiv and Tbilisi Membership Action Plans (MAPs) whose implementation NATO would review before deciding about membership.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/d4a03aed-2e1f-408c-933c-ac2ef352ed63.htmlWed, 14 May 2008 08:23:59 GMTRelations between Tbilisi and Moscow remain tense over Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia following a visit to Georgia by a European Union delegation and a top Washington envoy.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/b30f45b3-a526-4a5d-a904-100791b2bd4b.htmlTue, 13 May 2008 15:11:32 GMTAs Western governments rushed to praise the victory of pro-Western parties in the May 11 parliamentary elections in Serbia, the initial reaction from Moscow was muted.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/146af84c-ac74-468f-9e25-788bc458b0a4.htmlTue, 13 May 2008 15:08:17 GMTFor once, the pessimists were wrong about the Balkans.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/328896e6-ce7d-4822-af24-645c913b0374.htmlTue, 13 May 2008 14:24:41 GMTIt started as a trickle in mid-May 2005, but became a deluge as Uzbek nationals fled the eastern city of Andijon after security forces opened fire on thousands of protesters on May 13.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/cab9e6c9-5373-44fe-b88c-5d930741bcc2.htmlTue, 13 May 2008 13:46:03 GMTItaly’s new right-wing government has unveiled plans to make illegal immigration a crime punishable by up to four years in jail. According to media reports, the plans could also lead to reimposing border controls on travelers from the passport-free Schengen zone.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/df977d72-aca2-49c8-b263-fa9e2cd6cdcd.htmlTue, 13 May 2008 12:19:52 GMTPakistan is in the midst of a political crisis after nine ministers from the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned from the cabinet because of a disagreement over reinstating sacked judges.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/b05b9309-b168-4263-8da1-99256106b0ce.htmlTue, 13 May 2008 11:03:09 GMTA group of European Union foreign ministers has announced a deal with Lithuania that effectively lifts Vilnius' veto on launching talks on a new partnership agreement with Russia.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/feb6c1e6-a473-4ea6-b6b4-6b0b13d316e2.htmlTue, 13 May 2008 07:25:05 GMTThree years after Uzbek security troops opened fire on a public square packed with peaceful demonstrators, President Islam Karimov's government maintains that the crackdown thwarted a plot to overthrow the government and establish Islamic rule.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/26a4002f-acf9-47cf-8565-608e15176d2e.htmlMon, 12 May 2008 14:44:58 GMTMOSCOW -- There were few surprises as newly confirmed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced his cabinet line-up.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/81165210-464f-4c19-a396-1ff560667812.htmlMon, 12 May 2008 13:30:27 GMTThe foreign ministers of Slovenia, Sweden, Poland, and Lithuania have begun a visit to Tbilisi, the second high-profile EU visit to the Georgian capital in less than a week. While Georgia interprets the visits as clear EU backing in its escalating standoff with Russia over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the bloc's representatives are keen to tell Tbilisi not to read too much into it.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/c1bcae2d-2391-4ec1-8c40-2990309c5486.htmlMon, 12 May 2008 10:42:28 GMTSerbia's pro-European alliance secured a surprisingly strong win in the May 11 parliamentary vote that had been widely expected to be swept by anti-EU nationalists.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/7401e245-fcc2-439d-a9f0-151dc8b92bef.htmlMon, 12 May 2008 10:33:02 GMTThe resurgence of violence in Lebanon has again raised the question of the motives and aims of Iran and Syria , which support Hizballah, one of the groups involved in the fighting. RFE/RL correspondent Andrew F. Tully put these issues before Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Cordesman is a leading Middle East authority who has served as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. State and Defense departments.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/68b3c0d5-48bd-4dec-b452-aba2cd3cc03f.htmlMon, 12 May 2008 08:53:00 GMTNot allowed to sing in Iran about the harsh treatment of women in society, the Iranian rap group Tapesh 2012 (Pulse 2012) is doing just that -- from its base in Germany. The group's latest song, "Ma Mard Nistim" ("We Are Not Men"), focuses on the Iranian feminist movement and its struggle to overcome violence against women.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/a026d84c-0ba3-405c-b770-8cca75159500.htmlSun, 11 May 2008 16:48:07 GMTSerbs flocked to vote at a record pace in parliamentary elections today, with a pro-Western alliance led by President Boris Tadic running neck-and-neck with the nationalist Radical Party. The vote is seen as crucial as it could decide whether the Balkan country heads toward integration with the European Union or returns to isolation.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/8154519b-d96e-41f4-9d6a-9096889d7f65.htmlSun, 11 May 2008 12:46:38 GMTThe White House has urged Iran and Syria to stop their support of Hizballah following three days of clashes between government and opposition supporters in Lebanon that left at least 18 people dead.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/6cba8c75-fc78-4178-88fe-0dd9cdd47de7.htmlSat, 10 May 2008 14:08:01 GMTSerbian nationalists narrowly missed victory in the country's presidential elections at the start of the year. Now, as Serbs prepare to go to the polls yet again, for early parliamentary elections on May 11, the nationalists have worked hard to ensure they don't miss twice. And as the campaign rhetoric grows hotter, so do worries that the Balkans are heading for a new period of instability.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/206aa69d-c355-4017-a0b2-e57303433194.htmlSat, 10 May 2008 11:51:44 GMTOne half of the city of Mitrovica, in northern Kosovo, is Serbian and the other is Albanian. Almost three months ago, Kosovo proclaimed its independence from Serbia, and the aftermath has left one side jubilant and the other side angry.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/9df34fe3-225f-4c4e-b7f1-738c88f942d2.htmlSat, 10 May 2008 04:24:39 GMTAn Albanian family in Kosovo talks of their happiness since Pristina declared Kosovo's independence in February and what life was like under Serbian leadership.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/aeb99f0f-a6da-44a7-8956-72af3d4bff2e.htmlSat, 10 May 2008 04:21:27 GMTAn ethnic Serbian family in Kosovo says independence is absurd and they will never accept it. They miss the days before the disintegration of Yugoslavia.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/ec2c85a8-f44b-423e-9913-4dac54fbffb5.htmlSat, 10 May 2008 04:18:06 GMTTensions are as high as they have been in 15 years over Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, where "frozen" conflict has given way to heated rhetoric, the downing of Georgian spy drones, and thinly veiled threats. The most serious verbal jousting has been between Moscow, which says it is boosting its peacekeeping presence in Abkhazia, and Tbilisi, which has urged international help to persuade Abkhaz sponsors in Russia to "back off.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/75f3c8dc-77f7-42f5-99ae-9eb40f2f304b.htmlFri, 09 May 2008 15:46:06 GMTMITROVICA -- Violinist Gezim Latifi, like most ethnic Albanians, was flush with optimism in the days immediately preceding Kosovar authorities' February declaration of independence from Serbia. To celebrate, the Pristina resident took the stage as part of the Kosovo Philharmonic for a gala concert that culminated in a performance of the EU anthem, Beethoven's "Ode To Joy."http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/adbb0581-4fa9-4ad9-bb4b-5421c55941f7.htmlFri, 09 May 2008 13:47:35 GMTIn Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan Province, Sharifa feeds rice and bread to her nieces and nephews. The six children are orphans who were left in Sharifa's care when her sister died.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/5b88dfec-e8f2-46a5-a67e-dc65095b54b4.htmlFri, 09 May 2008 12:39:41 GMTSeveral times this year, the United States has sought to rally its allies in the Arab world against what it calls Iran's continued meddling in the region.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/6ea4cc6d-6f5e-49ba-bf6e-59025b8bbcf7.htmlFri, 09 May 2008 11:23:45 GMTSerbia holds parliamentary elections on May 11 that are touted as crucial in determining the future of a country still deeply divided between European and nationalist, pro-Russian ambitions. On the eve of that vote, Gordana Knezevic, director of RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service, speaks with Janja Bec-Neumann, a rare voice in Serbia calling for recognition that a "genocide" was perpetrated against Muslims in the 1992-95 Bosnian war. Bec-Neumann, who was nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize, teaches a university course about the massacres and is the author of a book, "Darkness at Noon: War Crimes, Genocide, and Memory."http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/b9bbe715-1df9-4fff-bf55-eb43357fc03d.htmlFri, 09 May 2008 11:18:08 GMTMissile carriers rumbled across Moscow's Red Square and war planes roared overhead as Russia celebrated the 63rd anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/08c81a64-c6c1-484d-9b58-83661bc7dbf8.htmlFri, 09 May 2008 09:55:32 GMTNorman Stone, former regius professor at Oxford University and now modern history professor at Turkey's Bilkent University, has a reputation for upsetting conventional thinking with his short, sharp assessments. In this interview with RFE/RL correspondent Breffni O'Rourke, coinciding with the 63rd anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, Stone ponders the impact of that war and other wars of the 20th century on the Soviet Union, Turkey, and the Balkans.  http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/706ec6eb-e653-4772-99db-b56c3f91a8af.htmlFri, 09 May 2008 08:14:48 GMTWASHINGTON -- The U.S. government says Russia has expelled two U.S. military attaches. The order follows the expulsion of two Russians from Washington in the past six months.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/b94116f8-5e6f-4a16-bed8-691fc5775985.htmlFri, 09 May 2008 07:28:47 GMTAn extraordinary session of the State Duma on May confirmed former Russian President Vladimir Putin as prime minister, Russian and international media reported the same day. The vote was 392 in favor, with 56 Communist Party deputies voting against.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAlthough Putin has said in recent days that he has made the basic decisions on who will be in his cabinet, no official announcements have been made, newsru.com reported on May 8.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTPresident Medvedev will remain chairman of the board of directors of the state-controlled natural-gas monopoly Gazprom until June 27, "Vremya novostei" reported on May 8. Medvedev has headed the board since 2002.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTIn one of his last acts as president, Putin submitted to the Duma a bill that would weaken the independence of lawyers, gazeta.ru reported on May 8.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTA military parade was held on May 9 in Moscow and other cities to mark Victory Day, the 63rd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, with tanks, missiles, and other weaponry rolling through Red Square for the first time since the Soviet Union's breakup. Newsru.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTRussia has ordered two U.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTU.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe Extraordinary Congress of the People of Kalmykia has issued a statement, posted on May 7 on regnum.ru, announcing its intention to collect signatures in support of a demand that Kirsan Ilyumzhinov step down from the post of president that he has held for the past 15 years.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTChechen investigators are seeking to establish whether members of the Russian Defense Ministry's ethnically Chechen Vostok battalion were involved in the killing following their abduction in early February 2007 of Yusup and Yunus Arsamakov, brothers of Moscow-based banker Abubakar Arsamakov, and their driver, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported on May 8.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe Ulyanovsk Oblast Court on May 7 upheld the rejection last month by the Dmitrovgrad City Court of a request for parole by Colonel Yury Budanov, who has served five years of a 10 year sentence for the murder in March 2000 of 18-year-old Elza Kungayeva, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAll six members of an illegal armed formation have been apprehended in a series of raids in Makhachkala, Khasavyurt, Buynaksk, and in the Untsukul and Karabudakhkent districts, regnum.ru reported on May 8 quoting Interior Ministry deputy spokesman Mark Tolchinsky.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAbas Abasov, suspected of having ordered the November 2007 fatal shooting in Makhachkala of Farid Babayev, who headed the Daghestan organization of the opposition party Yabloko, has been released from detention after pledging not to leave Russia, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported on May 8.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTHalf a dozen armed masked men burst into a mosque in Pliyevo, northeast of Nazran, during afternoon prayers on May 5 and detained three worshippers on the pretext that their parked cars were obstructing traffic, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported on May 6.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTPeter Semneby, who is the EU special representative for the South Caucasus, met in Yerevan on May 7 with former President Levon Ter-Petrossian and with parliament speaker Tigran Torosian, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Semneby told Torosian that the EU considers it imperative that the Armenian authorities release detained Ter-Petrossian supporters and launch an independent investigation into the March 1-2 clashes in Yerevan between police and Ter-Petrossian supporters in which 10 people died.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTIn a written statement on May 8, Lieutenant General Manvel Grigorian, who was dismissed last month from the post of deputy defense minister (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 2, 2008), denied that he supported Ter-Petrossian in his presidential bid either during the election campaign or, as Ter-Petrossian himself claimed, during the subsequent protests at vote rigging and other violations, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 22, 2008). Grigorian further downplayed the involvement of members of the influential Yerkrapah union of veterans of the Karabakh war, which he heads, in Ter-Petrossian's election campaign and in the postelection protests that culminated in the March 1-2 violence.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe Russian Defense Ministry released a statement on May 8 saying that the recent deployment of additional peacekeeping troops to the Abkhaz conflict zone raised the total figure from 1,997 to 2,542, Interfax and civil.ge reported.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTSpeaking on May 8 in Batumi, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili denied that a fifth Georgian spy drone has been shot down over Abkhazia, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTGeorgia plans to reduce military spending over a five year period to 2012 from 5.6 percent to 2.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTRussian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko and Kazakhstan's Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Sauat Mynbaev have reached agreement on more than doubling by 2012 the throughput capacity of the export pipeline that transports Kazakh oil from the Tengiz field to Novorossiisk, Interfax reported on May 7. Formally commissioned six years ago (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 28, 2001), the CPC pipeline, the only one crossing Russian territory that is not state-owned, currently has an annual throughput capacity of 32 million tons; this will rise to 67 million tons.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe staff of the Kyrgyz radio and television company OshTV have appealed to President Kurmanbek Bakiev to amend the draft law on television and radio broadcasting passed by parliament in the first reading on April 24, the websites ferghana.ru and 24.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe so-called Institute for the Development of Civil Society subordinate to the president's office has drafted the program and statutes of an ecological party, the website uzmetronom.com reported on May 8.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAmnesty International has issued an appeal calling for support for U.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/3-cee/cee-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTOleh Dubyna, the head of the state-owned Naftohaz Ukrayiny, told journalists in Kyiv on May 7 that the Odesa-Brody oil pipeline will start pumping oil from the Ukrainian port of Odessa to Brody "by the end of the first half of 2008," Interfax-Ukraine reported. Dubyna added that "485,000 tons of light crude will be bought to use [the pipeline in] the other direction.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/3-cee/cee-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe Bulgarian government has ratified agreements on visa-free travel with Ukraine and Moldova, AP reported on May 8. The government press center said the same day that Bulgarians can now visit the two countries for up to 90 days without entry visas.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/3-cee/cee-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTOne of the leaders of Kosova's ethnic Serb minority, Marko Jaksic, said that Serbs in Kosova will form their own assembly after May 11, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Service reported on May 8. Jaksic said this would be the only way for Serbs to continue living in Kosova.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/4-see/see-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe Central Election Commission of Bosnia-Herzegovina has set October 5 as the date for the country's next local elections, local and international media reported on May 8. Bosnia's parliament recently amended the election law to allow pre-war residents of the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica to choose whether to vote there or in the municipality where they currently reside, in a move aimed at preventing an election win by a majority Serb local government.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/4-see/see-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAt a time when Moscow appears to be increasingly sensitive to any criticism of the Soviet or Russian past, two very different Central Asian countries -- Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan -- have taken dramatic steps to call attention to the impact of Russian and Soviet imperialism on their societies. Last month, the Kyrgyz parliament called for "A Day of Memory of the National Uprising of the Kyrgyz People" to commemorate the events of 1916, when the Kyrgyz and other Central Asians rose in revolt after the tsarist authorities attempted to draft them for service in World War I.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/5-not/not-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTTwo adults and one child died in explosions in the eastern Afghan province of Khost, bordering Pakistan, on May 7, AFP reported. Khost deputy police chief Colonel Mohammad Yaqoub said that a roadside bomb destroyed the car of a provincial police administrator, killing him and his driver.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTA grandson of the late former king Mohammad Zaher has said that Afghanistan should set up a transitional government that includes members of the Taliban once President Hamid Karzai's term ends next year, Reuters reported on May 7. Prince Mostafa Zaher, 44, who lived for three decades in exile in the West, heads a department overseeing conservation issues in Karzai's government.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTNATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on May 8 appointed Fernando Gentilini of Italy as NATO'S senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, Xinhua reported. Gentilini, 46, has had a long career in the Italian Foreign Ministry.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe 5+1 powers -- the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany -- may try a "face to face appeal" to persuade Iran to accept their most recent package of incentives, intended to curb its contested nuclear program, AP reported on May 7 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 5, 2008). Those six countries recently upgraded their 2006 package of incentives for Iran intended to persuade it to abandon its nuclear fuel-making activities.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTForeign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini on May 8 criticized a British court ruling removing the designation "terrorist" from the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), a left-wing militant group opposed to Iran's government, Radio Farda reported, citing agency reports. Hosseini said there is clear evidence of the group's "extensive activities" against Iranian officials and civilians, and that the ruling, which he called politically motivated and baseless, will "promote terrorism and violence," IRNA reported.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTIranian officials reported on May 7 that suspects in the April 12 bombing of a mosque in Shiraz, southern Iran, have been arrested, Radio Farda reported on May 8 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 15 and 17, 2008). The announcements contradicted earlier official conclusions that the mosque explosion was an accident.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe authorities at Tehran's Evin prison hanged four men convicted of murder on May 7, AFP reported the following day, citing the daily "Etemad-i Melli." The convicts' crimes, which took place as far back as 2002, arose out of financial or marital disputes, or in connection with robberies, AFP reported.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTU.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAl-Arabiyah television reported on May 7 that a police chief in Hadithah has revealed the identity of the head of the Islamic State of Iraq, known as Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, who replaced Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi as the organization's leader in October 2006 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," October 16, 2006). The Hadithah police chief, who was not identified by name, told the news channel: "Through intelligence information, it was revealed that [al-Baghdadi] is Hamid Dawud Muhammad Khalil al-Zawi.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAhmad Abu Rishah, chairman of the Al-Anbar Awakening Movement, has accused Syria of aiding gunmen who have attacked security forces in Al-Anbar Governorate, Al-Arabiyah television reported on May 7. Abu Rishah said gunmen killed two military officers and nine policemen in Al-Qa'im before fleeing across the border into Syria.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTGovernment forces closed down the radio station run by Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on May 8, the Aswat Al-Iraq website reported. The station's manager, Abid Abu Zahra, said a U.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-090508.asp Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAfter a two month lull in the violence that has plagued Pakistan's border regions, Islamist militants appear to have resumed the violence when a recent suicide-bomb attack in the northwestern city of Bannu killed five.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/7e31d8ac-98a1-4298-90dd-1a34a5249f92.htmlThu, 08 May 2008 16:25:40 GMTThe only gynecological clinic operating free-of-charge in Russia's republic of Daghestan has been ordered to close.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/2055d46c-7ed2-45b6-9941-16dd3f25308f.htmlThu, 08 May 2008 16:04:50 GMTThe U.S. State Department says Russia has ordered the expulsion of two U.S. military attaches from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/9c55b704-b268-488d-8d18-99f7514ddcaf.htmlThu, 08 May 2008 15:56:29 GMTThe official line on the transfer of power in Russia is continuity. Incoming Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his successor in the presidency, Dmitry Medvedev, have stressed that they are like-minded leaders who are ready to work together under the existing structures to continue the policies of the last eight years.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/ccf7d073-05fa-45fd-af62-3ebb201fc682.htmlThu, 08 May 2008 15:32:15 GMTMOSCOW --  Russia's State Duma has confirmed Vladimir Putin as prime minister by an overwhelming vote of 392 to 56, just one day after Dmitry Medvedev succeeded him as the country's president.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/c4a9d107-ef5b-49cf-9ae4-4e7e5d254918.htmlThu, 08 May 2008 12:26:34 GMTMOSCOW -- Dmitry Medvedev looked solemn as he was sworn in as Russian president under the watchful eye of his powerful mentor, Vladimir Putin.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/33cc821a-d829-4b02-8987-e0ef1fdeeae5.htmlWed, 07 May 2008 14:13:55 GMTBAGHDAD -- U.S. troops and Shi'ite militants are clashing daily in Baghdad's volatile Al-Sadr City as fighters tied to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr try to stop, or at least delay, construction of a 5-kilometer barrier to keep them from firing rockets on the International Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/8b6ca814-629d-4cc2-bdcd-65a5c86b6db6.htmlWed, 07 May 2008 13:51:44 GMTTwo Iranian men have been detained in Afghanistan in separate incidents on suspicion of spying near NATO and Afghan military installations.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/ddc8645b-8071-4e2d-a1b2-ee926744d6e0.htmlWed, 07 May 2008 13:31:43 GMTA Sunni Arab tribal leader in restive Diyala Governorate announced this week that tribal fighters obtained Al-Qaeda records documenting the names of 6,000 suicide bombers who have carried out attacks in Iraq since the fall of the Hussein regime.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/0edf7107-bf7e-45e8-b8ef-a21a16c75f9f.htmlWed, 07 May 2008 13:09:35 GMTAt a grand ceremony broadcast live across the nation, Russia's president of the last eight years, Vladimir Putin, formally stepped down and his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, was sworn in.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/04b3e981-61aa-4abe-b0e9-f5bc339c0457.htmlWed, 07 May 2008 12:32:09 GMTDmitry Medvedev, in a lavish Kremlin ceremony on May 7, took the oath of office and officially became the third elected president of the Russian Federation, Russian and international media reported. In a speech before the handover, outgoing President Vladimir Putin thanked the Russian people for their support over the last eight years and urged them to support Medvedev.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT"Vremya novostei" on May 7 asked leading political analysts to comment on the situation following the end of President Putin's term of office. "Under Vladimir Putin, the presidential administration and the government were essentially one mechanism," Center for Political Technologies Deputy Director Boris Makarenko said.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTA poll by the Levada Center has found that 67 percent of Russians believe President Medvedev will "act under the control" of Putin and his inner circle, "Vedomosti" reported on May 6. When Russians were asked who should have power, 47 percent answered Medvedev; but when they were asked who they think will have real power in the country, only 22 percent said Medvedev.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTIn one of his last acts as president, Putin on May 6 signed into law a measure that limits the access of foreign investors to 42 so-called strategic sectors of the economy, newsru.com reported on May 7.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAnalysts from three leading Western investment firms are predicting that the Russian government will move to strengthen the ruble in the next six months, "RBK Daily" and "Vremya novostei" reported on May 6, citing a report by Bloomberg. The analysts from Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank believe the ruble is seriously undervalued and that the government will strengthen it by 2 percent in the next three months and another 2 percent in the following three months.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe director-general of the Russian state-owned nuclear power monopoly Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, and U.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTUltimate approval of the U.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTIn an interview with "The Daily Telegraph" published on May 7, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev charged that the United States is deliberately quashing hopes for permanent peace with Russia. "We had 10 years after the Cold War to build a new world order and yet we squandered them," the British daily quoted Gorbachev as saying.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTSpeaking at a press briefing in Washington on May 6, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the United States has repeatedly called on Russia to "de-escalate and reverse" recent "provocative" moves that threaten Georgia's territorial integrity and reiterate its commitment to Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty. She said those moves have "significantly and unnecessarily heightened tensions in the region.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTKazbek Tavbulatov, who has been investigating the discovery on May 4 of a grave containing six bodies near the town of Gudermes, died in a traffic accident in Gudermes on May 6, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTPresidential national-security adviser Garnik Isagulian told journalists in Yerevan on May 6 that opposition groups that supported the failed presidential bid by former President Levon Ter-Petrossian bear a share of the responsibility for the postelection violence on March 1-2 in which 10 people died, RFE/RL's Armenian Service. Referring to the violence as "a great tragedy," he said he considers it inappropriate "to look for the guilty," thereby implicitly rejecting the demand by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for an "independent, transparent and credible inquiry" into the clashes (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 18 and 28, 2008).http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAzerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met for the first time late on May 6 in Strasbourg on the sidelines of a meeting of Council of Europe foreign ministers with Eduard Nalbandian, who was named last month to succeed Vartan Oskanian as Armenian foreign minister, the Armenian Foreign Ministry announced. Both ministers subsequently described their talk as constructive, and reaffirmed their countries' commitment to seeking a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTSpeaking in Brussels on May 6, Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Iakobashvili told journalists that as a result of the deployment of additional Russian troops to Abkhazia, Georgia is "very close to a war" that it is trying to avert, Caucasus Press reported. On May 1, Iakobashvili was quoted as saying in Tbilisi "there will be no war," and as giving the number of additional Russian troops sent to Abkhazia as 700 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 2, 2008).http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTA group of over five dozen Kazakh soldiers were stricken on May 5 with food poisoning after eating contaminated food in a military mess hall in Astana, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. According to an official of the Emergency Situations Ministry, the 67 servicemen were under close medical supervision but were reported to be in satisfactory condition.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTKalibek Yelshibekov, the deputy police chief in the town of Semey in the East Kazakhstan Oblast, announced on May 5 that Kazakh police have arrested an Uzbek citizen whom they suspected of being a potential suicide bomber, Kazakh Television reported. The unidentified man was said to be wearing in a belt laden with live explosives and was arrested after being stopped by police in a routine traffic check.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTIn Moscow on an official visit, Foreign Minister Marat Tazhin met on May 6 with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to prepare the details of the planned visit to Kazakhstan by new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, according to ITAR-TASS. At a joint press conference following the meeting, Tazhin explained that Medvedev's visit will focus on "issues of energy policy" as well as "transportation issues and security problems," while Lavrov added that the visit is a reflection of the significance of the "strategic partnership" between Kazakhstan and Russia.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTIn a statement released by its office in Dushanbe, the U.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/2-tca/tca-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTSlovenia, which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency, on May 6 issued a statement expressing its regret over Minsk's recent move to declare 10 U.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/3-cee/cee-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTDavid Merkel, the U.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/3-cee/cee-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, which sent a formal note of protest on May 6 over an airborne antisubmarine torpedo of the Russian Black Sea Fleet found in Crimea last month (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 6, 2008), said later the same day that the incident will not change Kyiv's attitude to the fleet, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "The incident involving the missile cannot provide a pretext for considering the Black Sea Fleet's early withdrawal," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vasyl Kyrylych told journalists.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/3-cee/cee-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTA survey conducted by the pollster FOM-Ukraine has found that 66.8 percent of respondents say the relations between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko are "conflicting" or "strained," while 16.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/3-cee/cee-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTSixteen EU member states plus Norway are to offer visas to most Serbian citizens free of charge, the French government announced on May 6, just days before early parliamentary elections in Serbia on May 11 that may decide the country's future relations with Brussels, local media reported. The bulk of the 17 countries are members of the EU's Schengen zone, which has no internal border controls, and a visa to any one Schengen state normally entitles the holder to unimpeded travel within the zone.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/4-see/see-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTIn its annual report to Congress on terrorism around the world, the U.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/4-see/see-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTRichard Boucher, the U.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTU.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTGovernment officials in Badakhshan Province, one of the major opium-poppy-producing regions in Afghanistan, have said that poppy cultivation in the province will be totally eradicated by the start of next year, the Bakhtar news agency reported on May 6. Badakhshan Governor Munshi Abdul Majid said that poppy cultivation decreased 70 percent last year, and that farmers in the district of Darayim, which was formerly a main hub of poppy cultivation and trafficking, have completely stopped growing the crop.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTPakistan agreed on May 6 to export 50,000 tons of wheat to Afghanistan to avert a food crisis there, and said it will reach an agreement on further exports with the Afghan government, Reuters reported. Pakistan's highest economic decision-making body, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), approved the export to Afghanistan at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTIran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said in Geneva on May 6 that Iran will continue to cooperate with the IAEA and abide by the provisions of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), but will not surrender its right under the treaty to produce nuclear fuel, Fars news agency reported. Soltanieh was addressing a preliminary committee for a conference to review the NPT.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTA group of 77 members of parliament on May 6 called on Iran's intelligence minister to take unspecified action against former President Mohammad Khatami for his recent remarks criticizing terrorism and state-sponsored violence, Radio Farda reported, citing Iranian news agencies (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 5, 2008). Khatami told students in Gilan, northern Iran, on May 2, that the legacy of late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini does not include acts of violence abroad in an attempt to export Iran's revolutionary regime.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTThe Iranian parliament's presidium formally accepted on May 6 an interpellation motion presented by 16 lawmakers to summon Trade Minister Masud Mirkazemi to appear in parliament to answer questions, which could lead to his dismissal, Radio Farda reported on May 6, citing Iranian media. The signatories want Mirkazemi to provide the chamber with explanations on eight areas, including what were termed unsuitable trade policies; permission given for the importation of sugar in recent years, which has gravely harmed domestic producers and farmers; and the failure to support domestic manufacturing firms.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTParliament speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel urged Iranians to save water and electricity, and he warned in parliament on May 6 that Iran will face a drought in coming months, ISNA reported. Haddad-Adel said Iran experienced a harsh winter and now faces drought, and thrift is both rational and a moral duty for Iranians.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAl-Sadr Trend parliamentarian Nasir al-Sa'idi told the Aswat Al-Iraq website on May 7 that Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iraq. Al-Sadr reportedly left Iraq months ago and was rumored to be studying in Iran under the patronage of the government.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTAl-Sadr Trend lawmaker Hasan al-Rubay'i announced on May 6 that he is suspending his position in parliament in protest against the U.S.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTArkan al-Hasnawi, a battalion commander in the Al-Mahdi Army militia, reportedly died on May 6 from wounds sustained during fighting in Al-Sadr City the previous day, according to Iraqi media reports. Al-Sharqiyah television described al-Hasnawi as the most important wanted commander of the Iranian Qods Force's special groups.http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/6-swa/swa-070508.asp Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTMOSCOW/PRAGUE -- Dmitry Medvedev has been sworn in as Russia's third president since the collapse of the Soviet Union 17 years ago in an elaborate ceremony at the Kremlin that was broadcast live across the country and around the world.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/fb134ac2-a197-4de8-b092-a84118309402.htmlTue, 06 May 2008 13:37:29 GMTBRUSSELS -- Worried about its dependency on Russian natural gas, EU officials have met in Brussels with energy officials from Turkey and six Mideast countries in an effort to fill Nabucco, a planned gas pipeline running from Turkey to Austria and beyond.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/cbf88c99-56c5-4010-a104-f17f8b4a1bf2.htmlTue, 06 May 2008 12:43:22 GMTBRUSSELS -- Georgia is warning Western governments that there is a real risk of war with Russia unless Moscow is persuaded to reverse recent decisions to strengthen ties with the separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/253f95b0-9511-4b72-a759-db69d19c525c.htmlTue, 06 May 2008 11:44:35 GMTWASHINGTON -- Debate has been postponed indefinitely on a nonbinding resolution in the U.S. Congress that accuses Russia of being responsible for "provocative and dangerous statements and actions" against Georgia.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/5/f091ca7c-1a96-43c7-893e-3fd6808604ef.htmlTue, 06 May 2008 07:21:10 GMTPresident Vladimir Putin marked the last day of his second term as president on May 6, Russian media reported. On May 7, President-elect Dmitry Medvedev will take the oath of office; on May 8, Putin is expected to be confirmed by the Duma as prime minister; and on May 9 a major military parade will be held in Red Square to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in World War II (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 5, 2008).http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/05/1-rus/rus-060508.asp Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT