4 June 2007

Stories from 4 June 2007

Kazakhstan: Extraditing Aliev

With Rakhat Aliev, the son-in-law of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev, having been arrested in Austria and released on bail awaiting extradition to Kazakhstan to face kidnapping and other criminal charges, Bonnie Boyd examines some of the possible outcomes of his extradition hearing and what they might mean for relations between...

Kazakhstan: So Long, Mr. Vassilenko…

neweurasia reports on a notable departure from Kazakhstan's embassy to the United States. Embassy spokesman Roman Vassilenko, whom the post's author calls Kazakhstan's “most useful person in Washington, DC,” will be moving on to a new post in Kazakhstan along with the ambassador.

Israel: Mind Boggling Solution

“The big news today is the announcement that the Israeli Defense Ministry has decided to take a pass on one of the only fully deployed/fielded solutions available today against the ongoing kassam/ketyusha threat faced by Israel in the south and north. Instead they have decided in favor of an unproven...

More on Moldovans in Italy

Lyndon Allin translates another blog comment about Moldovans living and working in Italy - this time by a commenter named Snejana: "…when I write about Moldova I get very emotional, because I don’t understand why life is so difficult. On every corner in Italy there are Moldovans looking for work which they hope will make them some money and allow them to pay off their debts and send some money home to their children."

Lebanon: Explosion Rocks Beirut Suburb

“An explosion has been reported in the Sid el Baucherieh suburb of Beirut, next to the Mar Ta2la church. The exact time of the explosion was 8:15 pm, coinciding with a meeting of security officials at the Prime Minister's offices in the Saraya. The number of wounded has been increased...

Slovenia: “Self-Absorbed Bike Lane-Parking Morons”

Outraged – and inspired – by Ljubljana’s “Self-Absorbed Bike Lane-Parking Morons,” Piran Cafe creates a Flickr group and encourages readers to get involved in some activism: “The idea is a simple one. Snap a pic of the offending self-absorbed bike lane-parking moron(s) with the license plate clearly identifiable –like this...

Moldova: “Last Bell” Ceremony

Peter Myers of Doi Ani de Zile: Adventures in Moldova posts a moving and detailed account of the “last bell” ceremony, which marked the end of his second – and final – school year in Moldova: “I got through the speech well, although my voice stuck in my throat numerous...

Estonia: Varbla Cemetery

Itching for Eestimaa is on the road again, this time visiting his wife's great-grandparents’ graves in Varbla: “Anna learned of her impending deportation — for being the wife of a Estonian Liberation War veteran — and hid in the forests with her youngest daughter for enough time that they stopped...

Russia: The New Times Money Laundering Text

Robert Amsterdam posts a translation of the article that started the scandal of “alleged money laundering operation between the Vienna-based Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB) and Diskont Bank in Russia,” published in the Russian magazine The New Times on May 21.