The Moscow Times
Beslan Mothers Camp in Court
By Francesca Mereu and Yana Voitova
Special to The Moscow Times
Susanna Dudiyeva, center, speaking outside the North Ossetian Supreme Court after the protest ended Wednesday.
VLADIKAVKAZ -- Beslan mothers staged a 24-hour protest inside the North Ossetian Supreme Court to demand that senior officials be prosecuted over the school hostage-taking in September.
The 15 women, who spent the night in the courtroom where the only surviving Beslan suspect is on trial, left on Wednesday afternoon even though their request to meet with Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel, who is handling the case, was not fulfilled.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/25/001.html
Jet Bombers Remain at Large a Year On
By Nabi Abdullaev
Staff Writer
A view of the wreckage of a Tu-154 passenger jet scattered across a field in the Rostov region on Aug. 25, 2004.
A year after Chechen terrorists brought down two passenger jets, killing all 90 people on board, investigators have yet to identify the suicide bombers or capture those who masterminded the attacks.
Relatives attended memorial services Wednesday at the sites where the planes crashed in the Tula and Rostov regions as well as at a Volgograd cemetery where eight people are buried.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/25/012.html
Leader Says 2nd Beslan Prevented
The Associated Press
Karachayevo-Cherkessia President Mustafa Batdiyev said Wednesday that local authorities had prevented a terror attack against a school.
"Somewhat less than a month ago, a terrorist act similar to the one in Beslan was averted," Batdiyev said on NTV television. "It was in Karachayevsk that a school seizure was prepared."
News agencies, however, citing officials in Batdiyev's administration, reported that the attack had been planned for Cherkessk, the republic's capital, and that it had been foiled four months ago.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/25/017.html
Uzbek refugees in Romania include terrorists - Uzbek prosecutors
RIA NOVOSTI. August 25, 2005, 12:44 PM
TASHKENT, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Terrorists are among the Uzbek refugees a UN body sent to Romania in late July after bloodshed in their homeland, the Prosecutor General's Office of Uzbekistan said Thursday.
According to prosecutors, some of the 439 refugees the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) sent from the neighboring Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan to Europe were involved in the May 13 uprising in the border city Andijan, which officially claimed 176 lives.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Chavez Responds to U.S. Preacher's Call for Death
By Christopher Toothaker
The Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela condemned American religious broadcaster Pat Robertson for suggesting President Hugo Chavez should be killed, saying he committed a crime that is punishable in the United States.
Officials in Washington distanced themselves from Robertson, saying his statements did not reflect the position of the U.S. government.
On Monday, Robertson said on the Christian Broadcast Network's "The 700 Club": "We have the ability to take him [Chavez] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/25/252.html
Russia Rolls Out Best Wheels at Motor Show
By Conor Humphries
Staff Writer
Russia's largest carmaker, AvtoVAZ, is planning to go into full production with its Lada Priora model next year.
The ninth Moscow International Motor Show opened on Wednesday, with Russia's ailing auto industry putting on a brave face as foreign competitors make new inroads into the domestic market.
With no new models from Lada, the season's biggest Russian launch is UAZ's off-road Patriot. In a sign of the times, automakers Severstal-Avto and Izh-Avto are wheeling out South Korean cars made under license -- SsangYong's all-terrain Rexton and KIA's Spectra sedan, respectively.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/25/002.html
Arms, TNT Found in a Dead Convict's Flat
By Carl Schreck
Staff Writer
The cache was discovered in an apartment at 43 Ulitsa Pererva, police said.
A large cache of weapons and explosives was found late Tuesday in a Moscow apartment registered to a dead convict, police and prosecutors said Wednesday. Investigators said they were exploring a possible connection to the Dubrovka theater siege almost three years ago.
City police officers, together with officers from the Federal Security Service, discovered about 65 kilograms of TNT in an apartment at 43 Ulitsa Pererva, in southeast Moscow near the Bratislavskaya metro station, after searching the apartment shortly after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, police spokeswoman Lidia Lagutkina said Wednesday.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/25/010.html
Resurrecting Regional Rotation
By Nikolai Petrov
To Our Readers
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As President Vladimir Putin continued his swing through Siberia in Barnaul and Irkutsk last week, he offered an assessment of the new mechanism for appointing governors. On the whole, the mechanism was working effectively, the president said, noting that procedural delays had been caused by problems in the way the presidential administration had selected candidates in the regions. In the future, the goal would be to ensure that regional leaders were closely tied to Russia's national interests, Putin said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/23/006.html
U.S. Diplomat Held by Belarussian Police
By Yuras Karmanau
The Associated Press
MINSK -- Belarussian police detained a U.S. diplomat, the U.S. Embassy confirmed Wednesday, and activists said the authorities' intention was to prevent him from meeting them.
A youth group leader said authorities also detained two pro-democracy activists from Georgia, one of three former Soviet republics where former opposition figures have come to power in the last two years.
The detentions occurred amid fears in the Belarussian government that the opposition may foment political change.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/25/014.html
Iraqi Draft Constitution Opposed by Sunni Arabs
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's new constitution must be for all the people of Iraq, not for a single community, and aspirations of Sunni Arabs should be met, President Jalal Talabani said Wednesday. Speaking after a meeting with parliament Speaker Hajim al-Hassani, Talabani said that stability could not be achieved without consensus among Iraq's Shiites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds.
Sunni members of the drafting committee opposed several parts of the document, which was handed to parliament Monday, forcing a delay in the parliament's vote. Their objections include federalism, references to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party and the description of Iraq as an Islamic -- but not Arab -- country.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/25/254.html
Reaction Like a Kick to the Yukos Head
By Yulia Latynina
Former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky wrote an article in Vedomosti, "Left Turn," in which he basically called for the Communists and liberals to unite and overthrow the Putin regime. Soon afterward, prison officials transferred him to a new cell with more cellmates where writing would be a whole lot harder.
To Our Readers
Has something you've read here startled you? Are you angry, excited, puzzled or pleased? Do you have ideas to improve our coverage?
Then please write to us.
All we ask is that you include your full name, the name of the city from which you are writing and a contact telephone number in case we need to get in touch.
We look forward to hearing from you. Then, Khodorkovsky announced that he might consider running for the State Duma seat in Moscow's Universitetsky single-mandate district, and the authorities threw former Yukos billionaire Platon Lebedev into solitary confinement.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/08/24/007.html
Expatica
Schroeder to make election
stop in Bavarian flood area
24 August 2005
MUNICH, GERMANY - In an apparent replay of his 2002 election campaign, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder plans to visit parts of Bavaria devastated by surging floodwaters this week, the government said Tuesday.
Schroeder will make a campaign stop at the Bavarian town of Augsburg Thursday to "get first hand information about the current (flood) situation," a government spokesman told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=23059&name=Schroeder+to+make+election%3CBR%3Estop+in+Bavarian+flood+area
Schroeder 'nominated for Nobel peace prize'
23 August 2005
OSLO - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize, well-informed sources said Tuesday when contacted by Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
Nobel literature laureate Guenter Grass of Germany, who won the 1999 literature prize, said Monday that he considered Schroeder a candidate for the peace prize over his opposition to allowing Germany to participate in the U.S. led attack on Iraq.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=23030&name=Schroeder+%27nominated+for+Nobel+peace+prize%27
EU trio cancel planned nuclear meeting with Iran
24 August 2005
PARIS - The three countries representing the European Union have cancelled the next scheduled meeting with Iran on its nuclear programme because of Tehran's decision to resume nuclear conversion, French media reported Wednesday.
The decision by France, Germany and Britain to cancel the August 31 meeting was announced late Tuesday by a spokesman for the French foreign ministry, who said Iran's action was in breach of a 2004 agreement in which it agreed to suspend the production of nuclear fuel while negotiating on a permanent agreement.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=23062&name=EU+trio+cancel+planned+nuclear+meeting+with+Iran
Renewed anti-EU demonstrations in Tehran
23 August 2005
TEHRAN - Hundreds of protesters - mainly students - staged demonstrations in Tehran Tuesday against the European Union's anti- Iran resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The students, mainly members of Islamic associations in the universities, gathered in front of the embassies of the E.U. trio involved in nuclear talks with Iran, shouting "death to the regimes of England, France and Germany".
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=23026&name=Renewed+anti%2DEU+demonstrations+in+Tehran
Piano Man's family, friends never recognised him
24 August 2005
HAMBURG - The mysterious Piano Man is back home in his quiet farm village in southern Germany, where his stunned family and friends insist they never for a second suspected he was the tall blond man whose picture was emblazoned in newspapers and on TV.
Reporters and TV crews from around the world have descended on the little Bavarian hamlet of Prosdorf, where the 21-year-old former Catholic altar boy has sought refuge with his family after being discharged from a mental hospital in Britain last Friday.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=23067&name=Piano+Man%27s+family%2C+friends+never+recognised+him
The USA is closing bases at home though.
US air base in Germany to be expanded: politician
24 August 2005
BERLIN - The United States plans to expand its air force base at Ramstein in Germany and make it the headquarters for the U.S. Air Force stationed in Europe, a member of the German parliament said Wednesday.
Elke Leonhard, a parliamentary member from Rhineland-Palatinate state where the huge base is located, said the U.S. Defence Department had made a decision in favour of Ramstein and against other U.S. bases in Britain and Italy.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=23061&name=US+air+base+in+Germany+to+be+expanded%3A+politician
Convicted 9/11 terrorist Motassadeq to appeal
23 August 2005
HAMBURG - Lawyers for the only man ever convicted in connection with the September 11 attacks Tuesday said they have filed an appeal of last week's re-trial guilty verdict.
Defence lawyers for Moroccan-born Mounir al-Motassadeq told Deutsche Presse-Agentur they had filed an appeal because the verdict had been based on purely circumstantial evidence linking the Moroccan-born defendant to the 9/11 attacks.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=23027&name=Convicted+9%2F11+terrorist+Motassadeq+to+appeal
A Catholic renaissance?
One million faithful came to the papal mass marking the end of World Youth Day in Cologne - the largest religious service in German history. We ask if Catholicism in Germany is on the brink of a renaissance.
Is Catholicism in Germany on the brink of a renaissance? The images of World Youth Day in Cologne were powerful indeed.
Hundreds of thousands of young people from around the globe cheered Pope Benedict XVI. They prayed fervently, went to confession in droves, and studied catechisms of their faith. Rosaries were passed around.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=52&story_id=22972&name=A+Catholic+renaissance%3F
German scientists discover new cancer diagnosis
22 August 2005
HEIDELBERG, GERMANY - A team of researchers at Heidelberg University in Germany have come up with a way of detecting certain calcium-binding proteins that are associated with prostate cancer.
The scientists at Heidelberg's DKFZ Cancer Research Centre say the new test allows physicians to spot prostate cancer far earlier than the conventional PSA antigen test.
The PSA test spots all tumours, including benign ones, leading to unnecessary surgery. The new method allows doctors to identify malignant growths.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=52&story_id=22985&name=German+scientists+discover+new+cancer+diagnosis
Very far away
Germany is off the radar screen for most US leaders, and needs to regain 'relevance' if it wants its voice heard in Washington, according to Gary Smith, executive director of the American Academy in Berlin. Leon Mangasarian talks to the man often dubbed America's secret ambassador to Germany.
Even as Germany gears up for national elections, it remains off the radar screen for most US leaders and must regain "relevance" if it wants to be heard in Washington, according to the head of Berlin's American Academy.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=52&story_id=22399&name=Very+far+away%3C%2FA%3E%3CBR%3EAmerican+Academy+executive+director+Gary+Smith+on+how+Washington+sees+Germany%3CBR%3E
The International Herald Tribune
Radical cleric calls for end to clashes between Shiite groups
BAGHDAD Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Thursday to an end to armed clashes between his followers and supporters of a rival Shiite group, saying Muslims should not be fighting each other.
''I call upon all the believers to save the blood of the Muslims and to return to their homes,'' said speaking to reporters in his home in the holy Shiite city of Najaf.
The clashes broke out Wednesday when al-Sadr's offices in Najaf were attacked and torched by rival groups.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/25/africa/web.0825iraq.php
Powerful typhoon set to hit Tokyo
TOKYO A powerful typhoon disrupted air traffic and oil shipments in Japan on Thursday as it churned northward over the Pacific Ocean, heading toward the nation's capital.
The storm, with winds up to 144 kilometers per hour (89 mph), was expected to land in the Tokyo area Thursday evening, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.
Local media reported no injuries, but heavy rain and winds halted oil deliveries from refineries in Yokkaichi in Chiba prefecture (state), and grounded 14 flights of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/25/asia/web.0825typhoon.php
EU backpedals on textile quotas
PARIS In an embarrassing reversal, Peter Mandelson, the European trade commissioner, acknowledged Wednesday that a system of quotas the European Union imposed on Chinese textile imports had a "serious glitch," and he dispatched officials to Beijing to try to renegotiate a deal that has left 75 million Chinese-made sweaters, pants, bras and other garments piled up in European ports.
With his team scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Thursday, retailers warned that European shoppers could face shortages in stores if a new deal was not struck soon. The clothing has been blocked from entering the EU after retailers rushed to order in anticipation of the quotas, causing the limits to be hit quickly.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/24/business/textile.php
Outside America, others look to sue over Vioxx
ROME Outraged patients around the world who suffered heart attacks or strokes while taking the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx are lining up to sue its embattled U.S. manufacturer Merck, exponentially increasing the company's potential liability.
Last Friday, a Texas jury found that Merck was liable in the death of Robert Ernst, saying the drug maker had not released information about the heart risks. The panel awarded his widow $253.4 million.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/24/business/vioxx.php
TOL
by TOL
22 August 2005
Could a new vision for the Black Sea area yield new ideas about how to promote democracy on Russia’s fringes?
So it seems that Europe may soon have a new organization to become used to, an alliance of democracies stretching from the Baltic to the Black and the Caspian seas intent on acting as “a strong tool to free our region from all remaining dividing lines, from violations of human rights, from any spirit of confrontation, from frozen conflicts.” That, at least, is the vision for a "Community for Democratic Choice" put forward by Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko and Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili on 12 August
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=129&NrSection=2&NrArticle=14413
Serial Abuse
by Igor Jovanovic
22 August 2005
A cabinet minister’s outburst shows how fragile the freedom of expression is five years after the demise of the Milosevic regime.
BELGRADE, Serbia and Montenegro Serbia’s ruling coalition has always had a rocky relationship with the media, but a new low point was reached on 15 August, when Capital Investment Minister Velimir Ilic insulted and threatened staff of Belgrade radio and TV station B92.
Ilic’s bad temper has not only resulted in legal action but is also likely to hasten the decline in the government’s already waning popularity.
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=129&NrSection=1&NrArticle=14410
Going Deeper Underground
by Risto Karajkov
17 August 2005
Statistics on trafficking indicate that the number of victims is declining – but is the whole trade just going deeper underground?
A common misconception about the Balkans is that it is a coherent region. From a business perspective, though, the countries of the Balkans are quite different from one another.
The business of human trafficking is no exception.
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=129&NrSection=3&NrArticle=14385
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