rferl--2020-03-07--Zelenskiy Defends Cabinet Shakeup, Gives Peace Ultimatum To Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has defended a major shakeup of his cabinet , which has rattled investors worried that his government is backing away from major economic and structural reforms .
In an interview with Bloomberg published on March 7 , Zelenskiy tried to reassure outside observers , who have voiced concern that he was returning to the murky governing practices of his predecessors .
`` We needed to react to the cabinet 's effectiveness , '' Zelenskiy was quoted as saying .
He said this week 's shakeup , which resulted in Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk losing his job @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Denys Shmyhal , was needed , since , he said , the existing cabinet was n't working well .
`` When you ’ re making such deep changes in the country , you ca n't fail .
It 's not about your personal ratings , it 's not that you can be kicked from power , it 's that Ukraine may not ever have a chance again to do this , '' he said .
Some experts have worried that Zelenskiy is giving in to pressure from oligarchs : the powerful , wealthy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy and have exerted outside influence .
One of the country ’ s most powerful oligarchs is Ihor Kolomoyskiy , who backed Zelenskiy in his previous career as a comic TV actor , but is now embroiled in a fight with the government for control of a bank called PrivatBank .
Zelenskiy insisted that oligarchs had no influence over his government .
`` They own 70-80 percent of assets in this country , '' he said .
`` Every manager in Ukraine worked for one of them or is somehow linked to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the best -- we should understand that . ''
In another interview also published March 7 , Zelenskiy said he was giving Russia a one-year ultimatum to find peace in the war in eastern Ukraine .
`` The government can spend one year on the entire agreement .
Then it should be implemented .
Any longer is prohibited , '' he was quoted as telling The Guardian newspaper .
Zelenskiy was elected last April in a landslide election , largely on a mandate to enact major reforms but also to end the conflict @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 13,000 people since it erupted in March 2014 .
His popularity has waned in recent months , as Ukrainians grow impatient with the pace of reforms .
The fighting in the east pits Ukrainian government troops against separatists supported by Russia .

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has defended a major shake-up of his cabinet, which has rattled investors worried that his government is backing away from major economic and structural reforms.
In an interview with Bloomberg published on March 7, Zelenskiy tried to reassure outside observers, who have voiced concern that he was returning to the murky governing practices of his predecessors.
"We needed to react to the cabinet's effectiveness," Zelenskiy was quoted as saying.
He said this week's shake-up, which resulted in Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk losing his job and being replaced by his deputy, Denys Shmyhal, was needed, since, he said, the existing cabinet wasn't working well.
"When you’re making such deep changes in the country, you can't fail. It's not about your personal ratings, it's not that you can be kicked from power, it's that Ukraine may not ever have a chance again to do this," he said.
Some experts have worried that Zelenskiy is giving in to pressure from oligarchs: the powerful, wealthy businessmen who control a large part of the economy and have exerted outside influence.
One of the country’s most powerful oligarchs is Ihor Kolomoyskiy, who backed Zelenskiy in his previous career as a comic TV actor, but is now embroiled in a fight with the government for control of a bank called PrivatBank.
Zelenskiy insisted that oligarchs had no influence over his government.
"They own 70-80 percent of assets in this country," he said. "Every manager in Ukraine worked for one of them or is somehow linked to one of them. And they hire the best -- we should understand that."
In another interview also published March 7, Zelenskiy said he was giving Russia a one-year ultimatum to find peace in the war in eastern Ukraine.
"The government can spend one year on the entire agreement. Then it should be implemented. Any longer is prohibited," he was quoted as telling The Guardian newspaper.
Zelenskiy was elected last April in a landslide election, largely on a mandate to enact major reforms but also to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 13,000 people since it erupted in March 2014.
His popularity has waned in recent months, as Ukrainians grow impatient with the pace of reforms.
The fighting in the east pits Ukrainian government troops against separatists supported by Russia.


rferl--2020-03-07--Reports: Russian Tally Of Coronavirus Cases Rises To 17

Russian news agencies say four new cases of coronavirus have been identified , bringing the country 's tally of confirmed cases to 17 .
RIA-Novosti and Tass cited the department overseeing the government 's coronavirus response on March 7 as saying that three of the new cases were in the city of Lipetsk , about 200 kilometers south of Moscow .
The other was reported in St. Petersburg .
Authorities said all four had returned to Russia from Italy in the last two weeks .
Three of the four have already recovered , officials said , though there was no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cases .
Russia has introduced mandatory screening of new arrivals from Italy at its airports .
Moscow city authorities , meanwhile , have ordered people coming to Russia from some of the worst-affected countries to self-quarantine for 14 days .
Authorities have also taken drastic measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus from China , where the virus first erupted .
The border with China has been all but shut down , leading to major economic disruption in the Amur River city of Blagoveshchensk , which has extensive trading ties with its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's military evacuated more than 140 Russian citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan , the epicenter of the outbreak , and then quarantined them outside a remote Siberian city .
It 's unclear if any of those people were ever diagnosed with symptoms .
Based on reporting by Tass and RIA-Novosti

Russian news agencies say four new cases of coronavirus have been identified, bringing the country's tally of confirmed cases to 17.
RIA-Novosti and Tass cited the department overseeing the government's coronavirus response on March 7 as saying that three of the new cases were in the city of Lipetsk, about 200 kilometers south of Moscow. The other was reported in St. Petersburg.
Authorities said all four had returned to Russia from Italy in the last two weeks.
Three of the four have already recovered, officials said, though there was no immediate explanation for the delay in announcing the cases.
Russia has introduced mandatory screening of new arrivals from Italy at its airports.
Moscow city authorities, meanwhile, have ordered people coming to Russia from some of the worst-affected countries to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Authorities have also taken drastic measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus from China, where the virus first erupted.
The border with China has been all but shut down, leading to major economic disruption in the Amur River city of Blagoveshchensk, which has extensive trading ties with its Chinese neighbor, Heihe
Earlier, Russia's military evacuated more than 140 Russian citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and then quarantined them outside a remote Siberian city.
It's unclear if any of those people were ever diagnosed with symptoms.
Based on reporting by Tass and RIA-Novosti


rferl--2020-03-07--Iranian Lawmaker Dies After Contracting Coronavirus As Fatality Toll Hits 145

Iran 's death toll from the coronavirus hit 145 on March 7 after another 21 people were confirmed to have died during the previous day , including a conservative lawmaker .
In a televised briefing , a Health Ministry official said the tally of confirmed infections in Iran had increased by more than 1,000 during the last 24 hours , bringing the total to 5,823 by March 7 .
Fatemeh Rahbar , a newly elected lawmaker from Tehran , was among those who died on March 6 , Iranian media earlier reported .
Iran is one of the countries outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The coronavirus has claimed the lives of several other Iranian officials , including an adviser to Iran ’ s supreme leader and a former envoy to the Vatican .
A number of other officials have tested positive for the virus , including Vice President Masumeh Ebtekar , Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi , and more than 20 parliament deputies .
Iran has closed schools and universities , suspended major cultural and sporting events , and reduced working hours across the country to slow the contagion , which has spread to all of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been battered over the past 10 days as fears rise of an economic slump amid declining consumer demand and travel because of the virus .
China says that nearly all of its new confirmed coronavirus cases outside of the epicenter city of Wuhan have originated abroad , including many who arrived on flights from Iran .
The authorities on March 7 said mainland China had 99 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections for the day , down from 143 cases a day earlier and the lowest daily number since January 20 , The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , outside of the central Hubei Province , there were 25 new confirmed cases reported for March 6 , of which 24 came from outside China .
It said that most of them were in northwestern Gansu Province from quarantined passengers who entered the provincial capital of Lanzhou on commercial flights from Iran between March 2 and March 5 .
The capital , Beijing , reported four new cases -- three of which came from Italy .
For the second day in a row , there were no new infections in Hubei @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The latest cases bring the accumulated number of confirmed infections in mainland China to 80,651 .
Deaths related to the COVID-19 virus in mainland China rose by 28 for the day to total 3,070 .
In recent days , the rate of new infections has risen higher outside of China than in the country where it started .
Iran and Italy , along with South Korea , have been the hardest-hit countries .
With reporting by Reuters , AFP , AP , and dpa

A polytechnic school in Russia’s Tatarstan, a region some 900 kilometers east of Moscow, is using manufacturing facilities that are part of a nearby special economic zone to assemble Iranian attack drones and are increasingly turning to underage students as laborers, many of whom often work in exploitative conditions.
The revelations at Alabuga Polytechnic University raise troubling implications about the lengths that Russian authorities are going to in order to boost the war effort and how the advanced Iranian weaponry -- which is increasingly used to bombard Ukrainian cities and has only recently begun to be manufactured inside Russia -- could contribute to escalating tensions and rising civilian casualties.
The use of underage students as drone factory workers and the details of the manufacturing facilities were first reported by Russian independent media outlets Protokol and Razvorot, which published a series of investigations in July.
Since then, RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities has spoken with students who describe grueling working conditions and interviewed dozens of parents whose children have been enrolled at Alabuga Polytechnic University -- some as young at 15 -- who say that their children were forced to work exceedingly long hours, often without proper breaks or meals, and under hostile conditions that have deeply affected their mental health.
“My son enrolled and 2 1/2 months later he called for me to take him away,” Zhanna, who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect against reprisals for speaking about the operation, told RFE/RL. “He said to me on the phone, ‘Come and get me or I’ll die,’ so I picked him up immediately.”
Zhanna, who asked that her underage son’s name also not be used, says that she sent him from Nizhny Novgorod to study at Alabuga Polytechnic University in 2022 because of its reputation as a leading technical institution inside Russia.
The school offered students -- often between the ages of 15-18 -- an opportunity to get vocational training as part of a dual program that combines a classroom education with practical work experience. Students were also promised an opportunity to work and earn a locally competitive salary of up to 70,000 rubles ($700) a month as part of the work experience program that could further their career growth.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
But, instead, those enrolled were encouraged and in some cases pressured into working at the drone facility, where the salaries of the mostly underage laborers are contingent on meeting tough production quotas.
“This is a textbook definition of what constitutes exploitation,” Sergei Podsytnik, an investigative journalist at Protokol who worked on the series of reports, told RFE/RL. “[Students] assemble drones, with the work taking priority over their studies.”
The pressure to fulfill these quotas has allegedly led to strenuous back-to-back days -- with some shifts lasting up to 15 hours -- with little time for sleep or adequate sustenance. Overtime work is often unpaid, further highlighting potential labor violations. Exhausted students also reported not always meeting their quotas, which led to them not earning the salary initially promised by the school. Many students came from disadvantaged backgrounds and relied on their earnings to cover costs for tuition, room, and board and would send the remainder home.
Other parents, such as Marina, said she decided to take her daughter out of the program when she discovered that she was working in apparent unsafe conditions and that staff from the school had instructed students not to tell their parents about the drone assembly work.
“This was the last straw for me,” Marina, who also asked for her identity to be concealed, told RFE/RL. “This is a dangerous production process that involves dangerous chemicals. They also forbid the kids from telling everything to their parents.”
RFE/RL sent multiple requests for comment to various staff and administrators at Alabuga Polytechnic University but received no replies.
Making Iranian Drones In Russia
The complicated and concerning dynamic at Alabuga Polytechnic University stems from growing military cooperation between Iran and Russia that has accelerated since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Iran has said it provided drones to Russia before the start of the war, but not since. However, U.S. intelligence officials have warned for months of continued deliveries and deepening cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, saying the two sides were exploring how to set up a manufacturing plant for Iranian drones inside Russia.
According to The Wall Street Journal, an Iranian delegation visited Yelabuga in Tatarstan on January 5, touring a potential site for such a factory at the Alabuga special economic zone close to Alabuga Polytechnic University. U.S. officials released satellite images in April of the plant being built.
Russia already possesses an array of unarmed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, which are used mainly for surveillance and artillery spotting, but has turned increasingly to Tehran for attack drones.
After being forced to abandon Ukrainian territory that its troops captured in the early stretches of the war, Moscow shifted to a strategy of relentless air assaults on Ukrainian cities. These attacks often rely on a combination of cruise missiles and self-detonating drones packed with explosives to knock out electricity and running water for the civilian population in Ukraine.
So far, Iran has provided Russia mostly with so-called "suicide" drones, known as the Shahed-136, that contain a modest amount of explosives that can detonate when the drones crash into targets, military experts say.
In acquiring its own domestic assembly line, Russia could dramatically increase its stockpile of the relatively inexpensive but highly destructive weapons systems.
WATCH: Russia has resorted to using Shahed-136 drones from Iran in its war on Ukraine. Ukraine says it's already downed many of the drones, which work by slamming into their intended target, laden with explosives. Ordinary Ukrainians say they can already recognize the sound of the drones, which use two-stroke engines like lawnmowers or motorbikes. Iran has denied supplying the drones to Russia.
The arrangement also offers substantial economic and political benefits for Iran, which has sought to portray itself as neutral in the Ukraine war. The appearance of Iranian-made drones over Ukrainian cities, however, has triggered threats of new economic sanctions from the West. The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have also all issued rules in recent months designed to cut off the flow of drone components to Russia and Iran.
The Washington Post reported in November 2022, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, that the agreement to deliver Iranian drone schematics and materials for manufacture in Russia resulted from Iranian leaders believing that the arrangement would allow Tehran to avert new sanctions.
Foreign Recruitment And Patriotic Education
Alabuga Polytechnic University is formally not a college. All of its students are officially enrolled at nearby Yelabuga Polytechnic College, with the Alabuga institution existing on paper as a specialized program for students looking to break into high-tech industries.
Currently, about 1,000 students are studying at Alabuga Polytechnic University, with several hundred of them -- most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 17 -- involved in assembling the Iranian drones.
In addition to the work on the drones, there are other signs that point to blurred lines in Russia between the education system and the country’s military amid the war in Ukraine.
According to current and former Alabuga Polytechnic University students, team-building and organized extracurricular activities through the school often take on a “patriotic” character that may be designed to expose students to official government narratives of international events or echo talking points from state television.
Organized paintball games have become a mainstay for students, especially first-year arrivals, in which they are encouraged to compete against one another and then play together against more experienced outside players. Teachers and administration officials regularly refer to paintball as being part of a “patriotic” education needed to complement the technical aspect of their studies.
In one instance, a group of new students competed in paintball as Soviet soldiers against outside players who were dressed as troops from Nazi Germany in a capture-the-flag competition meant to simulate the World War II battle of Stalingrad. According to one student, the Nazi flag contained the compass symbol used by the NATO military alliance instead of the swastika used by Nazi Germany.
Other instances of political teachings from staff are more direct. In a recording obtained by RFE/RL from June 16, a senior administrator can be heard telling the teenagers that NATO launched a hybrid war against Russia back in 2011 and that it has slowly become more overt. The man then goes on to tell students that their hard work and exceeding long days at the drone factory are part of a nationwide struggle against the West and that their patriotism will be rewarded.
Several students and parents identified the man in the recording as Timur Shagivaleev, the director-general of the special economic zone where Alabuga Polytechnic University and the drone factory operate.
Shagivaleev did not respond to RFE/RL’s request for comment.
The man in the recording then goes on to tell students not to take holidays and to continue working “even if it's mom's birthday,” before ending his speech with, “Long live our great country.”
WATCH: Amid a new wave of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, analysts in Kyiv are gaining useful intelligence from a collection of downed Russian aerial weapons. They have been studying the remains of Iranian Shahed drones and Russian Kinzhal missiles, among others.
Multiple current and former students told RFE/RL that students who work in the drone factory are often praised by staff, while those who have refused or asked to be reassigned due to the high workload are often publicly shamed. In some instances -- according to recordings heard by RFE/RL -- staff even encourage students to bully others who are not deemed “patriotic” enough.
According to Protokol and Razvorot’s investigations, Alabuga Polytechnic University has also turned toward recruiting foreign students to enroll. The majority of them come from African countries, but also from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, where they are promised “world class” salaries as part of the dual-track world experience program.
However, these foreign students are then given low-skill and menial tasks around the campus and the special economic zone, such as janitorial work, and are also paid lower salaries than initially promised.
Written by Reid Standish based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities


rferl--2020-03-08--Afghan Provincial Council Member Killed In Kabul Gun Attack

Unidentified gunman have killed a local provincial council member and two of his bodyguards in a March 8 attack in @ @ @ @ @ .
A Kabul police spokesman said Logar Province council member Naser Ghairat and two bodyguards @ @ @ @ @ and a third bodyguard was injured .
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack @ @ @ @ @ after at least 32 civilians were killed and 180 injured by two gunmen who attacked @ @ @ @ @ the anniversary of the death of Shi'ite political leader Abdul Ali Mazari .
Mazari was @ @ @ @ @ 1995 .
The Islamic State extremist organization claimed responsibility for the March 6 attack .
@ @ @ @ @ that attack were ethnic Hazara .
On March 7 , Karim Khalili , a former @ @ @ @ @ of the High Peace Council , said the such attacks were aimed at the `` @ @ @ @ @ of an ethnic minority .
It was the third consecutive year the Mazari commemoration has @ @ @ @ @ on reporting by Reuters and dpa

The education of girls and women is universally accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, including nearly 50 Muslim-majority nations.
But Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers have banned teenage girls from attending school after the sixth grade since they returned to power two years ago. The ban was extended in December to women in universities.
Countless protests by Afghans inside the country, pressure from the international community, and lobbying by Muslim scholars and clerics have failed to convince the fundamentalist Taliban leaders to reopen schools.
Experts are divided over whether the ban is rooted in how the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam is shaped by conservative Pashtun tribal customs and cultural practices or if it is prompted by how senior Taliban ideologues interpret Islamic teachings.
Most Taliban leaders are ethnic Pashtun, Sunni Muslim clerics. Many were educated in Deobandi madrasahs in neighboring Pakistan. Deobandism emerged as a puritanical Islamic revivalist movement in 19-century British Colonial India. Based on the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, it is a prominent strain among Islamists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tribal Influences
Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, argues that the Taliban restrictions against women are linked to social customs and cultural practices in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Most Taliban leaders come from various Pashtun rural tribal communities in these regions bordering Pakistan.
"They believe that a woman's place is either inside a house or in a grave," Yousafzai said of the basic Taliban belief influenced by the status of women in the families of clerics and religious leaders in these Pashtun regions.
“Women living in the households of the current Taliban policymakers were never educated and never left their homes,” said Yousafzai, who has tracked the Islamist group since it emerged as a ragtag militia in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in late 1994. “These women never performed any government or nongovernmental jobs.”
Yousafzai says the Taliban backs policies shaped by this worldview by leaning on Islamic teachings supporting such ideas. He says Taliban leaders rely on sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that discourage women from leaving their homes.
“Their primary belief is that pubescent girls should not leave home under any circumstance,” he said. “This is why they view women leaving home for education or work as engaging in moral corruption.”
In Afghanistan, a Muslim nation of some 40 million people, activists and rights advocates accuse the Taliban of implementing "gender apartheid" by denying women education, work, freedom of movement, and deciding how they can appear in public.
Most Muslims agree that Islam allows women to get an education. Yet the Taliban publicly says that it will allow girls access to education only after ensuring complete gender segregation and other unspecified conditions.
Almost all Afghan secondary schools were gender segregated and universities imposed a strict separation between men and women after the Taliban takeover.
Yousafzai says in conservative and traditional Muslim societies around the world, some clerics also favor restrictions on women's education, work, and their role in public life. But the governments in those countries usually oppose or limit such ideas.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia -- one of the most conservative Sunni Muslim nations -- has allowed women to drive and granted them freedom of movement without a male guardian. These steps are part of a reform and modernity drive by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
The Taliban ban on education has invited universal condemnation from Muslims globally.
“The Taliban's ban on women's education is not rooted in [the Islamic] Shari’a law but rather reflects cultural biases that contradict the teachings of Islam,” said Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States.
He said that contrary to Taliban practices, “Islam emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge and encourages all individuals, regardless of gender, to acquire an education.”
Historical Conflict
But Islamic scholars and those who have attempted to convince the Taliban about reopening girls schools offer a different explanation.
John Mohammad Butt, an Islamic scholar and former BBC broadcaster who is the only Westerner to graduate from India’s Darul Uloom Deoband, argues that the Taliban's policy on girls' education is not tribal but shaped by the century-old conflict over modern education.
“The problem is that girls' education in Afghanistan -- indeed, contemporary education in general -- has generally been introduced in Afghanistan in line with a secular agenda,” he said.
In the 1920s, a coalition of conservative clerics and tribal and community leaders deposed reformist King Amanullah Khan. He wanted to modernize Afghanistan along Turkish leader Kamal Ataturk's secular lines and championed modern education and rights for women.
This opposition to modernity and secularism continued, and conservative clerics opposed women's education and work. It became a key part of the Islamist opposition to the pro-Soviet Afghan communist governments after the April 1978 military coup that ended the Afghan monarchy. The mujahedin accused the communists of spreading immorality by promoting women’s education and empowerment.
“This has led to particular wariness on the part of conservative circles in Afghanistan with regard to girls' education,” Butt said.
'Deep Ideological Conviction'
Obaidullah Baheer, a political science lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, became part of an effort to rescind the ban by talking to the Taliban last year.
But he says the effort failed because “the ban is a matter of deep ideological conviction” for the current supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Baheer says that the most prominent Taliban leaders have studied in Pakistani madrasahs and were thus disconnected from village and tribal life.
“They have been indoctrinated by the Deobandi school of thought so that they now enforce the strictest version of Islam on the Afghan population,” he said.
He argues that the ban on girls’ schools is a deliberate policy championed by Akhundzada, who he says has endorsed Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani's Arabic language book The Islamic Emirate And Its System. In this book, Haqqani supports a fringe Islamic opinion of preferring the choice of one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives, Sawdah Bint Zam'ah, who chose to stay at home until her death.
Baheer says Haqqani ignores his other wives and other female companions that played an active role in many sectors of society and how they served as students and teachers for men.
“This fringe opinion is not held by all Taliban leaders but is one that the current absolute sovereign, the Taliban emir, seems to be convinced of,” he said.
Butt says that even Haqqani has acknowledged the principle that if there is something that women need to act upon, then that is also something that women need to learn about.
“I hope the Taliban authorities will come to realize in the not-too-distant future that education for women will make Afghan women into better Muslims,” he says. “It will enable them to make a stronger contribution to the well-being of their country.”
Two years after grappling with the issue, Western diplomats appear to be encouraging Afghan conservative and clerical circles to find ways to end the ban.
Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, recently tweeted that Afghan women must be educated and contribute to the economy to help their country stand on its own two feet.
“If change to policies is made, it will be because Afghans have asked for it, not a result of foreign requests,” he wrote.


rferl--2020-03-08--Hooligans Attack Women's Day Demonstration In Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK – A group of masked men attacked a demonstration against domestic violence in the Kyrgyz capital , Bishkek .
There were no immediate reports of injuries in the March 8 incident .
Police arrived at the scene after most of the assailants had fled and detained several dozen demonstration organizers and participants .
A local journalist told the AFP news agency that as many as 70 people were detained .
RFE/RL 's Kyrgyz Service reported that journalists and human rights activists were among the detainees .
A police spokesman told AFP that the protesters were detained for their own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been approved in advance by the government .
The spokesman also said three suspected attackers were also in custody .
The demonstration was scheduled to mark the International Women 's Day holiday .
The assailants , wearing traditional Kyrgyz hats , attacked as protesters were just beginning to organize the demonstration and hand out banners .
The event was subsequently canceled .
Several dozen people gathered outside the police station where the detainees were being questioned , calling for their release .
Several detainees , including some foreigners and minors , were freed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court banned all demonstrations in the center of the capital until July 1 , purportedly to constrain the spread of the coronavirus , although the country has not reported any confirmed infections .
A March 8 demonstration last year angered social conservatives in the Central Asian country , who claimed the protesters were advocating gay rights .
The country sees thousands of cases of bride-napping each year , although the practice was criminalized in 2013 .
Activists say the widespread practice often leads to marital rape , domestic violence , and other traumas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2019 that about 14 percent of Kyrgyz women under the age of 24 are married under some form of coercion .
With reporting by AFP and VOA

BISHKEK – A group of masked men attacked a demonstration against domestic violence in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.
There were no immediate reports of injuries in the March 8 incident.
Police arrived at the scene after most of the assailants had fled and detained several dozen demonstration organizers and participants.
A local journalist told the AFP news agency that as many as 70 people were detained.
RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported that journalists and human rights activists were among the detainees.
A police spokesman told AFP that the protesters were detained for their own safety and because the demonstration had not been approved in advance by the government. The spokesman also said three suspected attackers were also in custody.
The demonstration was scheduled to mark the International Women's Day holiday.
The assailants, wearing traditional Kyrgyz hats, attacked as protesters were just beginning to organize the demonstration and hand out banners. The event was subsequently canceled.
Several dozen people gathered outside the police station where the detainees were being questioned, calling for their release. Several detainees, including some foreigners and minors, were freed.
Earlier in the week, a court banned all demonstrations in the center of the capital until July 1, purportedly to constrain the spread of the coronavirus, although the country has not reported any confirmed infections.
A March 8 demonstration last year angered social conservatives in the Central Asian country, who claimed the protesters were advocating gay rights.
The country sees thousands of cases of bride kidnapping each year, although the practice was criminalized in 2013. Activists say the widespread practice often leads to marital rape, domestic violence, and other traumas.
The United Nations Development Program estimated in 2019 that about 14 percent of Kyrgyz women under the age of 24 are married under some form of coercion.
With reporting by AFP and VOA


rferl--2020-03-08--Bulgaria, Moldova Report First Coronavirus Cases

Bulgaria and Moldova have confirmed the first cases of the coronavirus in those countries .
Bulgarian health officials have confirmed a total of four cases of the coronavirus even as the country battles to contain an outbreak of influenza .
Officials said on March 8 that two men from the northern city of Pleven and two women in the central city of Gabrovo have tested positive .
The government was expected to hold an emergency meeting later in the day to discuss measures to contain the outbreak .
Bulgaria has already introduced temperature screening at all airports and border crossings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the disease .
After the first two cases were announced earlier in the day , chief state health inspector Angel Kunchev said the patients apparently had not traveled anywhere or come into contact with anyone who had returned from a country with a coronavirus outbreak .
Todor Kantardzhiev , director of the National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases , said the 27-year-old man and the 75-year-old woman were tested for the infection as a preventive measure after being hospitalized several days ago with severe respiratory problems .
Health officials said they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been in contact with the two , about 40 people in total .
Bulgaria is already battling an influenza epidemic , with hospitals full of flu patients .
The government has declared a nationwide influenza epidemic and closed all schools from March 6-11 .
Hospitals were ordered to postpone elective surgeries and ban patient visits .
`` The health system is already overburdened even before a single case of coronavirus has been detected , '' Kunchev was quoted as saying on March 6 .
Almost 5,000 cases of type B flu were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Authorities in Moldova , meanwhile , have reported that country 's first confirmed case of coronavirus .
The Health Ministry said late on March 7 that a 48-year-old woman tested positive in Chisinau after being hospitalized upon arriving from Italy .
Italy is one of the countries hardest hit by the epidemic .
`` The person was taken from the airport…with bilateral pneumonia , acute respiratory failure , fever , cough , and general weakness , '' the ministry 's statement said .
Health , Labor , and Social Services Minister Viorica @ @ @ @ @ @ @ woman fell ill in Italy on February 28 and had been hospitalized there .
`` However , she irresponsibly left the hospital and got on a plane and came back home , '' Dumbraveanu said during a meeting of a special commission set up to deal with the coronavirus situation .
According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ) , the novel coronavirus has been identified in 103 countries and territories around the world .
More than 106,000 infection cases have been identified globally and about 3,600 people have died .
With @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Reuters , Interfax , AFP , TASS , and The Sofia Globe

Bulgaria and Moldova have confirmed the first cases of the coronavirus in those countries.
Bulgarian health officials have confirmed a total of four cases of the coronavirus even as the country battles to contain an outbreak of influenza.
Officials said on March 8 that two men from the northern city of Pleven and two women in the central city of Gabrovo have tested positive.
The government was expected to hold an emergency meeting later in the day to discuss measures to contain the outbreak.
Bulgaria has already introduced temperature screening at all airports and border crossings in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease.
After the first two cases were announced earlier in the day, chief state health inspector Angel Kunchev said the patients apparently had not traveled anywhere or come into contact with anyone who had returned from a country with a coronavirus outbreak.
Todor Kantardzhiev, director of the National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, said the 27-year-old man and the 75-year-old woman were tested for the infection as a preventive measure after being hospitalized several days ago with severe respiratory problems.
Health officials said they have identified and begun testing those who had been in contact with the two, about 40 people in total.
Bulgaria is already battling an influenza epidemic, with hospitals full of flu patients.
The government has declared a nationwide influenza epidemic and closed all schools from March 6-11. Hospitals were ordered to postpone elective surgeries and ban patient visits.
"The health system is already overburdened even before a single case of coronavirus has been detected," Kunchev was quoted as saying on March 6.
Almost 5,000 cases of type B flu were reported during the last week of February.
Authorities in Moldova, meanwhile, have reported that country's first confirmed case of coronavirus.
The Health Ministry said late on March 7 that a 48-year-old woman tested positive in Chisinau after being hospitalized upon arriving from Italy.
Italy is one of the countries hardest hit by the epidemic.
"The person was taken from the airport…with bilateral pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, fever, cough, and general weakness," the ministry's statement said.
Health, Labor, and Social Services Minister Viorica Dumbraveanu said on March 8 that the woman fell ill in Italy on February 28 and had been hospitalized there.
"However, she irresponsibly left the hospital and got on a plane and came back home," Dumbraveanu said during a meeting of a special commission set up to deal with the coronavirus situation.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the novel coronavirus has been identified in 103 countries and territories around the world. More than 106,000 infection cases have been identified globally and about 3,600 people have died.
With reporting by RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service, Reuters, Interfax, AFP, TASS, and The Sofia Globe


rferl--2020-03-08--Three Russians, Ukrainian Separatist Face MH17 Trial In The Netherlands

The trial of three Russians and a Ukrainian citizen over the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine is due to begin in the Netherlands on March 9 .
The suspects -- Russian citizens Igor Girkin , Sergei Dubinsky , and Oleg Pulatov , and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko -- are charged with the murders of 298 passengers and crew who were killed when Flight MH17 , flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur , was shot down by a Russian-made antiaircraft missile .
The victims included 193 Dutch citizens as well as 43 Malaysians and 38 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positions with Russia-backed separatist militia formations that have been fighting Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine since the spring of 2014 .
Girkin had been the so-called defense minister of a Russia-backed separatist group that calls itself the Donetsk People ’ s Republic .
The other suspects were members of the formation ’ s military intelligence unit .
Despite evidence that Russia 's military was directly involved in shooting down Flight MH17 with a missile fired from separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine , the Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement .
The Kremlin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support to Ukraine 's pro-Russia separatists , despite evidence assembled by the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team ( JIT ) and the Bellingcat open-source investigative group .
None of the suspects is expected to attend the opening of the trial on March 9 .
If they fail to appear and do not send legal representatives , the Dutch court is expected to order their trial in absentia .
On the eve of the trial , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Twitter that he believes `` justice will prevail and that those responsible will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 298 innocent people . ''
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on March 6 that the trial was `` a very important step toward uncovering the truth and seeking justice for the victims and their survivors . ''
Rutte also said there will likely be other trials in connection with the MH17 tragedy .
`` The investigation into the involvement of other individuals is ongoing , '' Rutte said .
The governments of Malaysia and Australia also have welcomed the opening of the trial .
A Malaysian Foreign Ministry statement said the trial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toward `` finding justice '' for those killed .
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on March 7 that his government `` remains steadfast in its commitment to pursuing justice and accountability for MH17 . ''
Dutch-led investigators who probed the incident for several years have charged that the four suspects colluded to carry out the attack , although they did not actually shoot down the airliner .
The JIT also concluded in May 2018 the Buk antiaircraft system that shot down MH17 belonged to Russia 's 53rd Antiaircraft Missile Brigade .
Investigators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ almost daily telephone contact '' between the Donetsk separatists `` and their contacts in the Russian Federation using secure phone provided by the Russian security service . ''
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova charged on March 6 that an `` unprecedented '' media campaign in the run-up to the trial was `` accusatory toward Russia…and its citizens . ''
On March 8 , relatives of the MH17 victims set up 298 empty chairs in front of the Russian Embassy at The Hague to symbolize those killed by the Russian missile attack and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's refusal cooperate with the international investigation .
The trial is expected to last through most of 2020 .
With reporting by AP , Reuters , dpa , AFP , and CNN

The trial of three Russians and a Ukrainian citizen over the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine has opened in the Netherlands.
The four suspects on March 9 were not present in the dock of the high-security court located near Schiphol Airport from where the doomed flight took off, but judges ruled that the hearing could continue in their absence.
In a somber moment, a prosecutor read out the names of each of the 298 passengers and crew who were killed when MH17, flying to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down by a Russian-made antiaircraft missile.
"Many people have long waited for this day," Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said in opening remarks.
The four men accused of murder -- Russian citizens Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko -- remain at large despite the issuance of international warrants for their arrest.
The victims included 193 Dutch citizens as well as 43 Malaysians and 38 Australians.
The suspects all held senior positions with Russia-backed separatist militia formations that have been fighting Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine since the spring of 2014.
Girkin had been the so-called defense minister of a Russia-backed separatist group that calls itself the Donetsk People’s Republic. The other suspects were members of the formation’s military intelligence unit.
Despite evidence that Russia's military was directly involved in shooting down MH17 with a missile fired from separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement.
The Kremlin also denies providing any military or financial support to Ukraine's pro-Russia separatists, despite evidence assembled by the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) and the Bellingcat open-source investigative group.
Pulatov, the only suspect whose defense attorneys were present at the trial, denied his guilt, his lawyer, Sabine ten Doesschate, said on March 9.
According to the lawyer, her client decided to defend himself because he insists he bears no responsibility for the MH17 crash and all its consequences.
The other three suspects weren't represented in the courtroom.
On the eve of the trial, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Twitter that he believes "justice will prevail and that those responsible will be held accountable for the deaths of 298 innocent people."
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on March 6 that the trial was "a very important step toward uncovering the truth and seeking justice for the victims and their survivors."
Rutte also said there will likely be other trials in connection with the MH17 tragedy.
"The investigation into the involvement of other individuals is ongoing," Rutte said.
The governments of Malaysia and Australia also have welcomed the opening of the trial. A Malaysian Foreign Ministry statement said the trial would be "a significant milestone" toward "finding justice" for those killed.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on March 7 that his government "remains steadfast in its commitment to pursuing justice and accountability for MH17."
Dutch-led investigators who probed the incident for several years have charged that the four suspects colluded to carry out the attack, although they did not actually shoot down the airliner.
The JIT also concluded in May 2018 that the Buk antiaircraft system that shot down MH17 belonged to Russia's 53rd Antiaircraft Missile Brigade.
Investigators said in 2019 that there was "almost daily telephone contact" between the Donetsk separatists "and their contacts in the Russian Federation using secure phones provided by the Russian security service."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova charged on March 6 that an "unprecedented" media campaign in the run-up to the trial was "accusatory toward Russia…and its citizens."
On March 8, relatives of MH17 victims set up 298 empty chairs in front of the Russian Embassy at The Hague to symbolize those killed by the Russian missile attack and to protest what they described as Moscow's refusal to cooperate with the international investigation.
The trial is expected to last through most of 2020.
Dutch authorities have not ruled out the possibility that more suspects will be named in the case and additional charges pressed.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, AFP, and CNN


rferl--2020-03-08--Taliban Says Intra-Afghan Talks Unlikely To Start On Schedule

The Taliban says talks scheduled this week with Afghanistan ’ s government are unlikely to take place on time because of plans by two rivals for the Afghan presidency to conduct parallel swearing-in ceremonies .
Since the United States signed a conditional peace agreement on February 29 with Taliban negotiators in Doha , Washington has been trying to push the Afghan government toward direct talks with the Taliban .
The so-called intra-Afghan talks are meant to bring together negotiators from the Taliban and the Afghan government as well as representatives from a cross section of Afghan society .
The Doha @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be completed before the start of the intra-Afghan dialogue on March 10 .
But Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says he doesn ’ t think officials in Kabul will complete the prisoner exchange in time because of a disagreement between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his main rival in the September 2019 presidential election , Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah .
In February , after months of delay , Afghanistan 's Independent Election Commission announced that Ghani had been reelected with just over 50 percent of the first-round vote .
Afghan election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with just over 39 percent of the vote .
But Abdullah , alleging widespread fraud during the vote count , insists that he won the election and has vowed to form his own government .
Both Ghani and Abdullah have issued invitations to parallel swearing-in ceremonies on March 9 .
`` Instead of swearing in , we want them to focus on intra-Afghan talks , ” Mujahid , the Taliban spokesman , told Reuters on March 8 .
“ We call upon them to leave the internal disagreements , stop the swearing in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mujahid said no practical steps have been taken by Kabul for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners held in Afghan jails .
Ghani has publicly rejected the proposed release of the Taliban prisoners , despite pressure from Washington and the Taliban ’ s promise to reciprocate by releasing 1,000 Afghan troops and civilian government employees it has detained .
Nevertheless , Mujahid said meetings between prison keepers from both sides took place in Doha on March 7-8 .
Those meetings were the first known official formal contacts between the Afghan government and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signed by the Taliban and Washington .
With reporting by Reuters , AP , AFP , and RFE/RL 's Radio Free Afghanistan


rferl--2020-03-08--Relatives Of MH17 Victims Set Up 298 Empty Chairs To Protest Kremlin Denials

Relatives of victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 have set up 298 empty chairs in front of the Russian Embassy in The Netherlands to protest the Kremlin ’ s continued refusal to admit its role in shooting down the passenger airliner in July 2014 .
The March 8 protest in The Hague was staged a day before a trial is due to begin in the Netherlands against three Russian citizens and a Ukrainian separatist who are charged with murdering all 298 passengers and crew members aboard the ill-fated flight .
`` This is for me a very beautiful symbol for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protester Piet Ploeg , whose older brother Alex was killed when a Russian antiaircraft missile struck MH17 in July 2014 while it was flying from the Netherlands to Malaysia .
“ They are gone .
My brother never returned , '' Ploeg said .
`` The idea of the action is to make perfectly clear to the Russian state that they have to cooperate with the investigation . ''
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in the MH17 tragedy – despite dossiers of evidence collected by a Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigative group .
Moscow also continues to deny that it has provided any military or financial support to pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine .
The independent investigators determined that MH17 was shot down over separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine by a Russian antiaircraft missile that was sent to help the Moscow-backed separatists fight Ukrainian government forces .
Russia has been held politically responsible by the Netherlands and Australia .
The suspects going on trial on March 9 are Russian citizens Igor Girkin , Sergei Dubinsky , and Oleg Pulatov , and Ukrainian separatist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so-called defense minister of a Russia-backed separatist group that calls itself the Donetsk People ’ s Republic .
The other suspects were members of the formation ’ s military intelligence unit .
None of the suspects is expected to attend the opening of the trial on March 9 .
If they fail to appear and do not send legal representatives , the Dutch court is expected to order that their trial be conducted in absentia .
Based on reporting by Reuters , AP , AFP , and dpa

Relatives of victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 have set up 298 empty chairs in front of the Russian Embassy in The Netherlands to protest the Kremlin’s continued refusal to admit its role in shooting down the passenger airliner in July 2014.
The March 8 protest in The Hague was staged a day before a trial is due to begin in the Netherlands against three Russian citizens and a Ukrainian separatist who are charged with murdering all 298 passengers and crew members aboard the ill-fated flight.
"This is for me a very beautiful symbol for 298 people who perished,” said protester Piet Ploeg, whose older brother Alex was killed when a Russian antiaircraft missile struck MH17 in July 2014 while it was flying from the Netherlands to Malaysia.
“They are gone. My brother never returned," Ploeg said. "The idea of the action is to make perfectly clear to the Russian state that they have to cooperate with the investigation."
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in the MH17 tragedy – despite dossiers of evidence collected by a Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) and the Britain-based Bellingcat open-source investigative group.
Moscow also continues to deny that it has provided any military or financial support to pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The independent investigators determined that MH17 was shot down over separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine by a Russian antiaircraft missile that was sent to help the Moscow-backed separatists fight Ukrainian government forces.
The victims included 193 Dutch citizens, 43 Malaysians, and 38 Australians.
Russia has been held politically responsible by the Netherlands and Australia.
The suspects going on trial on March 9 are Russian citizens Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian separatist Leonid Kharchenko.
Girkin had been the so-called defense minister of a Russia-backed separatist group that calls itself the Donetsk People’s Republic. The other suspects were members of the formation’s military intelligence unit.
None of the suspects is expected to attend the opening of the trial on March 9.
If they fail to appear and do not send legal representatives, the Dutch court is expected to order that their trial be conducted in absentia.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa


rferl--2020-03-08--Several Injured As Conservatives Throw Stones At Women's Day March In Pakistan

Several people were reportedly injured as social and religious conservatives clashed with International Women 's Day demonstrators in Islamabad on March 8 .
RFE/RL 's Radio Mashaal reported that participants in a conservative demonstration called Modesty Walk threw stones at demonstrators holding a march to mark International Women 's Day .
Ismat Shahjahan , head of the Women 's Democratic Front , which organized the march , said four participants suffered head injuries , while three others were less seriously hurt .
Police intervened to stop the violence .
About 1,000 people participated in the Islamabad Women 's March .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the slogan , `` My body , my choice . ''
Conservative groups , including the Jamaat-e-Islami political party , criticized the initiative as threatening traditional Muslim values .
Many women participating in the rival Modesty Walk wore burqas and chanted , `` Our bodies , Allah 's choice . ''
Women 's March events were also held in Quetta , Lahore , Karachi , and other cities .
Much of Pakistani society is strictly patriarchal and dominated by strict codes of `` honor '' that control women 's choices regarding marriage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issues .
About 1,000 Pakistani women each year are murdered in so-called `` honor '' killings , often by their own relatives .

Several people were reportedly injured as social and religious conservatives clashed with International Women's Day demonstrators in Islamabad on March 8.
RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal reported that participants in a conservative demonstration called Modesty Walk threw stones at demonstrators holding a march to mark International Women's Day.
Ismat Shahjahan, head of the Women's Democratic Front, which organized the march, said four participants suffered head injuries, while three others were less seriously hurt.
Police intervened to stop the violence.
About 1,000 people participated in the Islamabad Women's March.
The Women's March was being held under the slogan, "My body, my choice." Conservative groups, including the Jamaat-e-Islami political party, criticized the initiative as threatening traditional Muslim values.
Many women participating in the rival Modesty Walk wore burqas and chanted, "Our bodies, Allah's choice."
Women's March events were also held in Quetta, Lahore, Karachi, and other cities.
Much of Pakistani society is strictly patriarchal and dominated by strict codes of "honor" that control women's choices regarding marriage, reproduction, education, and other issues.
About 1,000 Pakistani women each year are murdered in so-called "honor" killings, often by their own relatives.
With reporting by AFP


rferl--2020-03-08--Iran Reports Nearly 50 New Coronavirus Fatalities, Stops Flights To Europe

Iran 's Health Ministry has reported 49 new coronavirus fatalities in the last 24 hours , bringing the total deaths from the illness in the country to 194 .
Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on March 8 that there are over 6,500 confirmed coronavirus infections in Iran .
About 1,800 infections have been confirmed in the capital , Tehran , while cases have been confirmed in all of the country 's 31 provinces .
Jahanpour urged Iranians to avoid traveling around the country and to stay at home as much as possible .
The country will soon celebrate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iranians traditionally travel to the provinces .
IranAir , the country 's civilian air carrier , announced the same day that it was suspending all flights to Europe because of `` the restrictions that have been placed on [ IranAir ] flights by Europe for unclear reasons . ''
The coronavirus has claimed the lives of several other Iranian officials , including an adviser to Iran ’ s supreme leader and a former envoy to the Vatican .
A number of other officials have tested positive for the virus , including Vice President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harirchi , and more than 20 parliament deputies .
Iran has closed schools and universities , suspended major cultural and sporting events , and reduced working hours across the country to slow the contagion .
Based on reporting by AP , Reuters , dpa , and IRNA


rferl--2020-03-08--Masked Men Attack Women's Day Demonstration In Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK – A group of masked men attacked a demonstration against domestic violence in the Kyrgyz capital , Bishkek .
There were no immediate reports of injuries in the March 8 incident .
Police arrived at the scene after most of the assailants had fled and detained several dozen demonstration organizers and participants .
A local journalist told the AFP news agency that as many as 70 people were detained .
RFE/RL 's Kyrgyz Service reported that journalists and human rights activists were among the detainees .
A police spokesman told AFP that the protesters were detained for their own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been approved in advance by the government .
The spokesman also said three suspected attackers were also in custody .
The demonstration was scheduled to mark the International Women 's Day holiday .
The assailants , wearing traditional Kyrgyz hats , attacked as protesters were just beginning to organize the demonstration and hand out banners .
The event was subsequently canceled .
Several dozen people gathered outside the police station where the detainees were being questioned , calling for their release .
Several detainees , including some foreigners and minors , were freed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court banned all demonstrations in the center of the capital until July 1 , purportedly to constrain the spread of the coronavirus , although the country has not reported any confirmed infections .
A March 8 demonstration last year angered social conservatives in the Central Asian country , who claimed the protesters were advocating gay rights .
The country sees thousands of cases of bride kidnapping each year , although the practice was criminalized in 2013 .
Activists say the widespread practice often leads to marital rape , domestic violence , and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ estimated in 2019 that about 14 percent of Kyrgyz women under the age of 24 are married under some form of coercion .
With reporting by AFP and VOA


rferl--2020-03-07--Zelenskiy Defends Cabinet Shake-Up, Gives Peace Ultimatum To Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has defended a major shake-up of his cabinet , which has rattled investors worried that his government is backing away from major economic and structural reforms .
In an interview with Bloomberg published on March 7 , Zelenskiy tried to reassure outside observers , who have voiced concern that he was returning to the murky governing practices of his predecessors .
`` We needed to react to the cabinet 's effectiveness , '' Zelenskiy was quoted as saying .
He said this week 's shake-up , which resulted in Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk losing his job @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Denys Shmyhal , was needed , since , he said , the existing cabinet was n't working well .
`` When you ’ re making such deep changes in the country , you ca n't fail .
It 's not about your personal ratings , it 's not that you can be kicked from power , it 's that Ukraine may not ever have a chance again to do this , '' he said .
Some experts have worried that Zelenskiy is giving in to pressure from oligarchs : the powerful , wealthy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy and have exerted outside influence .
One of the country ’ s most powerful oligarchs is Ihor Kolomoyskiy , who backed Zelenskiy in his previous career as a comic TV actor , but is now embroiled in a fight with the government for control of a bank called PrivatBank .
Zelenskiy insisted that oligarchs had no influence over his government .
`` They own 70-80 percent of assets in this country , '' he said .
`` Every manager in Ukraine worked for one of them or is somehow linked to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the best -- we should understand that . ''
In another interview also published March 7 , Zelenskiy said he was giving Russia a one-year ultimatum to find peace in the war in eastern Ukraine .
`` The government can spend one year on the entire agreement .
Then it should be implemented .
Any longer is prohibited , '' he was quoted as telling The Guardian newspaper .
Zelenskiy was elected last April in a landslide election , largely on a mandate to enact major reforms but also to end the conflict @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 13,000 people since it erupted in March 2014 .
His popularity has waned in recent months , as Ukrainians grow impatient with the pace of reforms .
The fighting in the east pits Ukrainian government troops against separatists supported by Russia .


rferl--2020-03-09--Romania Cancels Italy Flights Over Coronavirus Outbreak

Romania has suspended all flights to and from Italy for at least two weeks in a bid to limit the @ @ @ @ @ .
Interior Minister Marcel Vela said late on March 8 that the measure would start @ @ @ @ @ , with the possibility of being extended .
No measures have been taken for ground @ @ @ @ @ coming from Italy , China , South Korea , and Iran would need to be @ @ @ @ @ said .
Earlier , the Romanian Football Federation ( FRF ) announced that all Romanian @ @ @ @ @ without spectators because of the coronavirus outbreak .
Romania has confirmed 15 cases in people @ @ @ @ @ , where about 1.3 million Romanians work .
In Italy , the number of coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ , with 366 fatalities – the highest death toll after China , where the disease @ @ @


rferl--2020-03-09--At Least 21 Killed In Northern Pakistan As Bus Falls Into River

A passenger bus plunged into a river in Pakistan ’ s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region , killing at least 21 people @ @ @ @ @ The accident occurred in the Rodu area of the Skardu district early on March 9 @ @ @ @ @ bus was traveling from the city of Rawalpindi to Skardu , a famous tourist destination @ @ @ @ @ of the Pakistani capital , Islamabad .
The victims included women and children .
Several @ @ @ @ @ The cause of the accident is not yet known , and rescue workers were still @ @ @ @ @ the injured and the dead .
Such accidents are common in Pakistan , particularly in @ @ @ @ @ to careless driving , poorly maintained vehicles , and a lack of adequate infrastructure .
@ @ @ @ @ reported in the country every year , killing around 4,000 people , according to official @ @ @ @ @ dpa and AP

A passenger bus plunged into a river in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, killing at least 21 people and injuring several others.
The accident occurred in the Rodu area of the Skardu district early on March 9, officials say.
The bus was traveling from the city of Rawalpindi to Skardu, a famous tourist destination located around 240 kilometers north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
The victims included women and children. Several people were also injured.
The cause of the accident is not yet known, and rescue workers were still working at the scene recovering the injured and the dead.
Such accidents are common in Pakistan, particularly in the mountainous north, due to careless driving, poorly maintained vehicles, and a lack of adequate infrastructure.
Some 9,000 road accidents are reported in the country every year, killing around 4,000 people, according to official statistics.
With reporting by dpa and AP


rferl--2020-03-09--Pakistani Colonel, Two 'Terrorists' Killed In Army Operation In Northwest

A Pakistani Army colonel and two suspected terrorists have been killed in an exchange of fire in the northwestern province @ @ @ @ @ fighting took place in the Tank district on March 9 as security forces conducted an @ @ @ @ @ terrorist hideout , ” according to the military ’ s media wing .
The statement @ @ @ @ @ arms and ammunition was recovered from the hideout .
The Pakistani military launched a massive @ @ @ @ @ s northwest to cleanse the tribal regions of militant groups .
But the area bordering @ @ @ @ @ the scene of violent attacks , targeted killings , and land-mine blasts .

A Pakistani Army colonel and two suspected terrorists have been killed in an exchange of fire in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The fighting took place in the Tank district on March 9 as security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation against a “terrorist hideout,” according to the military’s media wing.
The statement said a large cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the hideout.
The Pakistani military launched a massive operation in the country’s northwest to cleanse the tribal regions of militant groups.
But the area bordering Afghanistan has continued to be the scene of violent attacks, targeted killings, and land-mine blasts.


rferl--2020-03-09--U.S. Cements Position As Largest Arms Exporter, With Russia A Lagging Second

The United States has supplied more than one-third of global arms over the past five years , cementing its position as the world 's top weapons seller , according to a Swedish based research institute .
In a report published on March 9 , the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute ( SIPRI ) said that global volumes of arms transfers increased by nearly 6 percent in the 2015-19 period , compared with 2010-14 .
Exports of weapons from the United States grew by 23 percent during the latest period , raising its share of total exports to 36 percent .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with 21 percent of global arms deliveries , but Russian exports were 18 percent lower than in 2010-14 .
`` Russia has lost traction in India -- the main long-term recipient of Russian major arms -- which has led to a sharp reduction in arms exports , '' said SIPRI researcher Alexandra Kuimova .
“ This decrease was not offset by the increase in Russian arms exports to Egypt and Iraq in 2015-19 , ” she added .
France was the third-largest exporter , followed by Germany and China .
Saudi Arabia remained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2015-19 , with 12 percent of the global total .

The United States has supplied more than one-third of global arms over the past five years, cementing its position as the world's top weapons seller, according to a Swedish based research institute.
In a report published on March 9, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said that global volumes of arms transfers increased by nearly 6 percent in the 2015-19 period, compared with 2010-14.
Exports of weapons from the United States grew by 23 percent during the latest period, raising its share of total exports to 36 percent.
Russia was the world's second-largest exporter with 21 percent of global arms deliveries, but Russian exports were 18 percent lower than in 2010-14.
"Russia has lost traction in India -- the main long-term recipient of Russian major arms -- which has led to a sharp reduction in arms exports," said SIPRI researcher Alexandra Kuimova.
“This decrease was not offset by the increase in Russian arms exports to Egypt and Iraq in 2015-19,” she added.
France was the third-largest exporter, followed by Germany and China.
Saudi Arabia remained the world's top arms importer in 2015-19, with 12 percent of the global total.
With reporting by dpa


rferl--2020-03-09--Ruble, Oil Prices Tumble Amid Market Chaos After OPEC-Russia Deal Collapses

The Russian ruble fell to a four-year low after oil prices collapsed following a breakup of talks between OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and Moscow .
The ruble tumbled on March 9 by more than 7 percent to nearly 74 to the U.S. dollar , its weakest rate since early 2016 .
Meanwhile , the benchmark Brent oil futures were down 25 percent , at $ 33.89 a barrel , as concerns of an oversupply in the market resurfaced after the so-called OPEC+ grouping , which includes Russia and Kazakhstan , failed to reach an agreement in Vienna last week on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Compounding the sour mood for equities are fears over the spread of the deadly coronavirus and its effects on the global economy .
Stocks in Tokyo closed down more than 5 percent , while markets in London , Paris , and Frankfurt dropped more than 6 percent at the open of European trading .
OPEC has pushed to cut production amid an expected decline in demand as the coronavirus epidemic threatens to wreak havoc on the world economy .
The Kremlin has resisted extending cuts to the amount and length of time sought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Russia , Saudi Arabia launched the start of a price war , cutting prices by $ 4 to $ 6 a barrel to Asia and $ 7 to the United States .
The price of benchmark Brent crude was trading at $ 36 a barrel , while the traditionally lower-priced U.S. benchmark was at $ 32 a barrel .
In a 2014 price war , oil prices fell to below $ 30 a barrel .
As the Russian ruble crashed to a four-year low , the country 's central bank said it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next 30 days to “ increase the predictability of actions of monetary authorities under the conditions of significant changes on global oil markets.
” The collapse in the oil price could push Russia 's budget into a deficit for the year , while the subsequent ruble drop may lead to higher inflation as foreign goods become more expensive in local currency .
With the ruble between 70 and 75 to the dollar , Russia 's budget would balance at an oil price of $ 40 to $ 45 , according to Moscow-based Macro-Advisory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for an external shock like a drop in oil prices and has built up its foreign currency reserves to about $ 570 billion , giving it financial power to weather the sharp drop .
Jeffrey Halley , a market analyst at OANDA , told AFP that `` Saudi Arabia seems intent on punishing Russia.
” `` Oil prices ... will likely be capped over the next few months as the coronavirus stalls economic growth , and Saudi Arabia opens the pumps and offers huge discounts on its crude grades . ''
Masayuki Kichikawa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told Reuters : “ I do n't think the end goal of the Saudis is to collapse the oil market .
This is more likely a tactic to get Russia back to the negotiating table .
`` I am sure that behind the scenes , the United States and Saudi Arabia are trying to get Russia to return to negotiate .
The problem is we do not know how long this will last , so investors have no choice but to sell risk.
” With reporting by RFE/RL 's Todd Prince , AFP @ @ @ @ @

The Russian ruble fell to a four-year low and global markets plunged after oil prices collapsed following a breakup of talks between OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and erstwhile partner Russia.
The ruble tumbled on March 9 by more than 7 percent to nearly 74 to the U.S. dollar, its weakest rate since early 2016.
Meanwhile, the benchmark Brent oil futures crashed more than 30 percent, the most since the Gulf War in 1991.
Compounding the sour mood for equities are fears over the spread of the deadly coronavirus and its effects on the global economy.
Just minutes after the opening bell at 9:30 a.m. in New York, share trading was halted, triggered by a 7 percent drop in the S&P 500 index. Under trading rules, the market will reopen after a 15-minute pause.
The last time the so-called “circuit breaker” was tripped was at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.
When trading resumes, the next circuit breaker is triggered at 13 percent. The final trip wire is 20 percent, which would close New York markets for the day.
The bloodbath in the United States came after stocks in Tokyo closed down more than 5 percent.
European equity markets suffered hefty losses with London, Frankfurt, and Paris tumbling between 7 percent and 8 percent. Italy's main index slumped 11 percent after the government ordered a lockdown of large parts of the north of the country, including the financial capital Milan.
OPEC has pushed to cut production amid an expected decline in demand as the coronavirus epidemic threatens to wreak havoc on the world economy. The Kremlin has resisted extending cuts to the amount and length of time sought by the cartel.
Following the dispute with Russia, Saudi Arabia launched the start of a price war, cutting prices by $4 to $6 a barrel to Asia and $7 to the United States. The price of benchmark Brent crude was trading at $31.02 a barrel, while the traditionally lower-priced U.S. benchmark was at $27.34 a barrel.
In a 2014 price war, oil prices fell to below $30 a barrel.
As the Russian ruble crashed to a four-year low, the country's central bank said it was halting foreign-currency purchases for the next 30 days to “increase the predictability of actions of monetary authorities under the conditions of significant changes on global oil markets.”
The collapse in the oil price could push Russia's budget into a deficit for the year, while the subsequent ruble drop may lead to higher inflation as foreign goods become more expensive in local currency.
With the ruble between 70 and 75 to the dollar, Russia's budget would balance at an oil price of $40 to $45, according to the Moscow-based Macro-Advisory.
Russia has been preparing its economy for an external shock like a drop in oil prices and has built up its foreign currency reserves to about $570 billion, giving it financial power to weather the sharp drop.
Jeffrey Halley, a market analyst at OANDA, told AFP that "Saudi Arabia seems intent on punishing Russia.”
"Oil prices...will likely be capped over the next few months as the coronavirus stalls economic growth, and Saudi Arabia opens the pumps and offers huge discounts on its crude grades."
With reporting by RFE/RL's Todd Prince, AFP, AP, and Reuters


rferl--2020-03-09--Afghan Political Rivals Both Declare Themselves President In Dueling Ceremonies

Both Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival , Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah , have declared themselves president in parallel ceremonies held in Kabul on March 9 .
Hundreds of guests attended the inauguration ceremonies of both teams at palaces located next to each other in central Kabul .
The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan , Zalmay Khalilzad , and U.S. General Scott Miller , the commander of the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan , attended Ghani ’ s inauguration .
Many foreign dignitaries also attended Ghani 's ceremony at the Arg presidential palace .
The sides had earlier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talks to negotiate an end to their standoff .
But marathon discussions , which involved Khalilzad , failed to resolve the crisis .
The dispute stems from the results of Afghanistan ’ s bitterly disputed September 28 presidential election .
Election authorities in February declared Ghani the winner , but Abdullah rejected the result , declared himself the winner , and vowed to form his own government .
The election crisis has triggered a political crisis that has threatened to spill over into violence and derail a historic peace deal between the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Atta Noori told AFP that the dispute would `` gravely affect the government 's position in the upcoming intra-Afghan talks . ''
`` Unity is the only way [ forward ] if they want to win on the negotiating table , '' he said .
The Taliban , meanwhile , had earlier said talks scheduled this week with Afghanistan ’ s government are unlikely to take place on time because of the dispute .
With reporting by RFE/RL 's Radio Free Afghanistan , Radio Mashaal , AFP , AP , Reuters , and @


rferl--2020-03-08--MH17 Trial Begins In Netherlands While Four Defendants Remain At-Large

The trial of three Russians and a Ukrainian citizen over the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine has opened in the Netherlands .
The suspects -- Russian citizens Igor Girkin , Sergei Dubinsky , and Oleg Pulatov , and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko -- are charged with the murders of 298 passengers and crew who were killed when flight MH17 , flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur , was shot down by a Russian-made antiaircraft missile .
All four remain at large and were not at the high-security court , located near Schiphol Airport where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the issuance of international warrants for their arrest .
The victims included 193 Dutch citizens as well as 43 Malaysians and 38 Australians .
The suspects all held senior positions with Russia-backed separatist militia formations that have been fighting Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine since the spring of 2014 .
Girkin had been the so-called defense minister of a Russia-backed separatist group that calls itself the Donetsk People ’ s Republic .
The other suspects were members of the formation ’ s military intelligence unit .
Despite evidence that Russia 's military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a missile fired from separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine , the Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement .
The Kremlin also denies providing any military or financial support to Ukraine 's pro-Russia separatists , despite evidence assembled by the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team ( JIT ) and the Bellingcat open-source investigative group .
On the eve of the trial , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Twitter that he believes `` justice will prevail and that those responsible will be held accountable for the deaths of 298 innocent people . ''
Dutch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 6 that the trial was `` a very important step toward uncovering the truth and seeking justice for the victims and their survivors . ''
Rutte also said there will likely be other trials in connection with the MH17 tragedy .
`` The investigation into the involvement of other individuals is ongoing , '' Rutte said .
The governments of Malaysia and Australia also have welcomed the opening of the trial .
A Malaysian Foreign Ministry statement said the trial would be `` a significant milestone '' toward `` finding justice '' for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Morrison said on March 7 that his government `` remains steadfast in its commitment to pursuing justice and accountability for MH17 . ''
Dutch-led investigators who probed the incident for several years have charged that the four suspects colluded to carry out the attack , although they did not actually shoot down the airliner .
The JIT also concluded in May 2018 that the Buk antiaircraft system that shot down MH17 belonged to Russia 's 53rd Antiaircraft Missile Brigade .
Investigators said in 2019 that there was `` almost daily telephone contact '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contacts in the Russian Federation using secure phones provided by the Russian security service . ''
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova charged on March 6 that an `` unprecedented '' media campaign in the run-up to the trial was `` accusatory toward Russia…and its citizens . ''
On March 8 , relatives of MH17 victims set up 298 empty chairs in front of the Russian Embassy at The Hague to symbolize those killed by the Russian missile attack and to protest what they described as Moscow 's refusal to cooperate with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to last through most of 2020 .
With reporting by AP , Reuters , dpa , AFP , and CNN


rferl--2020-03-09--IAEA Demands Iran 'Immediately' Provide Access To Suspected Nuclear Sites

The head of the United Nations ’ nuclear watchdog has demanded that Iran stop blocking its investigation into three possible nuclear sites .
Speaking in Vienna on March 9 , International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) chief Rafael Grossi told the nuclear watchdog ’ s governing board that Iran should “ cooperate immediately and fully with the agency.
” Grossi said Tehran ’ s cooperation should include “ providing prompt access to the locations specified ” by the IAEA .
Grossi said in February that Tehran is refusing to answer questions about three locations where nuclear material may have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers .
Grossi said that without Tehran ’ s cooperation , it will be difficult for the IAEA to confirm whether or not Iran has declared all of its nuclear materials .
Speaking to journalists after the March 9 meeting , Grossi said : “ This is a serious matter.
” Iran ’ s diplomatic mission in Vienna said last week that Tehran did not allow the visits because the IAEA ’ s probe is based on fabricated information that Israel claims it has smuggled out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vienna said Tehran is “ ready to enter into a political dialogue ” with the IAEA on the issue .
But Grossi on March 9 rejected the Iranian statement .
He said the IAEA only requests access based on information that has been validated in a painstaking , scientific process .
He said the IAEA “ never ” takes any information at face value .
“ What we need is access ” rather than political talks , Grossi said .
Grossi also said on March 9 that Iran has so far not implemented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all provisions in the nuclear accord , which is meant to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons .
The United States abandoned the nuclear deal with Iran in 2018 and has reimposed crippling economic sanctions on Iran .
With reporting by Reuters , AP , dpa , and AFP


rferl--2020-03-09--U.S. Official Says U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan Has Begun

A U.S. official says U.S. forces have begun leaving Afghanistan under the first phase of an initial troop withdrawal required under the newly signed U.S.-Taliban peace agreement .
The official , who spoke on condition of anonymity , told the Associated Press on March 9 that hundreds of U.S. soldiers are now heading out of Afghanistan .
He said the soldiers originally were meant to leave under a rotation plan created before the peace deal was signed in Doha on February 29 .
With the peace deal , however , the official said the departing U.S. soldiers will not be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is now effectively moving ahead with an initial reduction of U.S. troops in Afghanistan from about 13,000 to 8,600 soldiers .
The long-term plan is for the United States to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan within 14 months if security conditions are met .
But a political dispute over the official results of Afghanistan 's September 2019 presidential election threatens to complicate Washington 's attempts to move forward on the U.S.-Taliban agreement and end Afghanistan 's 18-year war .
Afghanistan 's rival leaders -- President Ashraf Ghani and former Chief Executive Officer Abdullah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president in separate , parallel ceremonies on March 9 .
Ghani has been declared the official winner of last September 's election .
But Abdullah , claiming widespread election fraud , insists that he is Afghanistan 's legitimate president .
He has vowed to set up his own government .
The creation of parallel Afghan governments threatens to undermine the next key steps under the peace accord and could lead to new violence .
Washington has not tied the U.S. withdrawal to political stability in Afghanistan or any specific outcome from intra-Afghan peace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March 10 .
Instead , it depends on the Taliban meeting its commitment to prevent “ any group or individual , including Al-Qaeda , from using the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.
” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said March 2 that he had already approved the start of a U.S. withdrawal that is to be coordinated by U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan .
Esper has said the top U.S. commander in Kabul , General Scott Miller , will pause the withdrawal and assess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 8,600 .
Based on reporting by AP , RFE/RL 's Radio Free Afghanistan , Reuters , AFP , and dpa


rferl--2020-03-09--Georgian Parties Sign Election-Reform Memorandum After Months Of Talks

Leaders of Georgia ’ s ruling and opposition parties have agreed to a deal on election reforms after months of foreign-brokered talks and sometimes violent public unrest .
The March 8 agreement “ represents a crucial step towards depolarization and normalization of the political environment in Georgia in the run-up to the parliamentary elections later this year , ” the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi said .
Opposition parties have complained that Georgia 's current electoral system unfairly favors the ruling Georgian Dream party .
Changing it to a proportional one from 2020 was one of the demands of the thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tbilisi in June and July 2019 .
A memorandum of understanding signed on March 8 says the two sides agreed that parliament will consist of 120 members elected through a proportional voting system , while 30 members will be elected through a majority system , where the party or candidate winning more than 50 percent of the vote in a constituency is awarded the contested seat .
It also says that the electoral threshold for proportional elections will be set at 1 percent and that a capping mechanism will mean that no single @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the votes cast will be allowed to hold a majority of seats in parliament .
Under the current electoral system , 73 of 150 parliamentary seats are claimed by candidates who finish first in district races .
The remaining seats are distributed proportionally to the national share of the vote that a party wins .
This led to Georgian Dream , led by its billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili , winning 76 percent of the legislature ’ s seats even though it won just less than half of the popular vote .
“ Further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the legislation with the aim of facilitating a more proportional distribution of mandates relative to the votes received by the parties , ” the memorandum says .
The United States and the European Union had called on the Georgian government , political parties , and civil society to engage in a `` calm and respectful dialogue '' after the protests , which were suppressed forcefully by law enforcement officers .
“ Now key is implementation -- making [ the ] 2020 election [ the ] most free and fair ever !
” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former executive director of the McCain Institute , on Twitter .

Leaders of Georgia’s ruling and opposition parties have agreed to a deal on election reforms after months of foreign-brokered talks and sometimes violent public unrest.
The March 8 agreement “represents a crucial step towards depolarization and normalization of the political environment in Georgia in the run-up to the parliamentary elections later this year,” the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi said.
Opposition parties have complained that Georgia's current electoral system unfairly favors the ruling Georgian Dream party. Changing it to a proportional one from 2020 was one of the demands of the thousands of demonstrators who rallied for weeks in Tbilisi in June and July 2019.
A memorandum of understanding signed on March 8 says the two sides agreed that parliament will consist of 120 members elected through a proportional voting system, while 30 members will be elected through a majority system, where the party or candidate winning more than 50 percent of the vote in a constituency is awarded the contested seat.
It also says that the electoral threshold for proportional elections will be set at 1 percent and that a capping mechanism will mean that no single party receiving less than 40 percent of the votes cast will be allowed to hold a majority of seats in parliament.
Under the current electoral system, 73 of 150 parliamentary seats are claimed by candidates who finish first in district races. The remaining seats are distributed proportionally to the national share of the vote that a party wins.
This led to Georgian Dream, led by its billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, winning 76 percent of the legislature’s seats even though it won just less than half of the popular vote.
“Further caps and provisions will be introduced in the legislation with the aim of facilitating a more proportional distribution of mandates relative to the votes received by the parties,” the memorandum says.
The United States and the European Union had called on the Georgian government, political parties, and civil society to engage in a "calm and respectful dialogue" after the protests, which were suppressed forcefully by law enforcement officers.
“Now key is implementation -- making [the] 2020 election [the] most free and fair ever!” said Kurt Volker, a foreign-policy expert and former executive director of the McCain Institute, on Twitter.


rferl--2020-03-09--Azerbaijan Catches Smugglers Trying To Sneak Out 1 Million Medical Masks

Azerbaijan says it has confiscated more than 1 million medical masks from several groups , including foreigners , who planned @ @ @ @ @ of the South Caucasus nation as countries around the world scramble for equipment to help @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus .
The Interior Ministry said on March 9 that the smugglers , who have @ @ @ @ @ included Iranian , Chinese , and Azerbaijani nationals .
Shortages of medical masks have arisen @ @ @ @ @ deadly coronavirus has been reported since the outbreak was first detected in December in China @ @ @ @ @ than 80,000 coronavirus cases and more than 3,000 deaths linked to it .
Iran 's @ @ @ @ @ 8 that COVID-19 , the illness caused by the coronavirus , has killed 194 people @ @ @ @ @ the number of confirmed coronavirus infections at over 6,500 .
Based on reporting by Turan @ @

Azerbaijan says it has confiscated more than 1 million medical masks from several groups, including foreigners, who planned to illegally smuggle them out of the South Caucasus nation as countries around the world scramble for equipment to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The Interior Ministry said on March 9 that the smugglers, who have been detained by police, included Iranian, Chinese, and Azerbaijani nationals.
Shortages of medical masks have arisen in many countries where the deadly coronavirus has been reported since the outbreak was first detected in December in China, which has reported more than 80,000 coronavirus cases and more than 3,000 deaths linked to it.
Iran's Health Ministry reported on March 8 that COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, has killed 194 people in the country, with the number of confirmed coronavirus infections at over 6,500.
Based on reporting by Turan and APA


rferl--2020-03-09--Jailed Former Armenian President Kocharian Hospitalized

YEREVAN -- Armenia ’ s former President Robert Kocharian , who is currently in pretrial detention , has been hospitalized to undergo medical examinations , according to his lawyer and one of his aides .
Lawyer Hovannes Khudoyan told RFE/RL that Kocharian “ will probably need to stay in hospital for several days , ” without saying what medical condition he has .
However , the head of Kocharian ’ s office , Viktor Soghomonian , said that the 65-year-old former president was taken to a hospital late on March 8 with fluctuating blood pressure .
Kocharian , who ruled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ currently on trial on charges stemming from his alleged role in a 2008 postelection crackdown on the opposition , as well as for taking bribes .
He rejects the charges as politically motivated .
Since his arrest in July 2018 , Kocharian has twice been released from pretrial detention following court decisions , but in both cases he was rearrested after prosecutors ’ appeals .
In October , Kocharian underwent what medics described as a successful surgery .
His son Levon has said he was operated on for a benign tumor , without @ @ @ @

YEREVAN -- Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharian, who is currently in pretrial detention, has been hospitalized to undergo medical examinations, according to his lawyer and one of his aides.
Lawyer Hovannes Khudoyan told RFE/RL that Kocharian “will probably need to stay in hospital for several days,” without saying what medical condition he has.
However, the head of Kocharian’s office, Viktor Soghomonian, said that the 65-year-old former president was taken to a hospital late on March 8 with fluctuating blood pressure.
Kocharian, who ruled Armenia from 1998 to 2008, is currently on trial on charges stemming from his alleged role in a 2008 postelection crackdown on the opposition, as well as for taking bribes.
He rejects the charges as politically motivated.
Since his arrest in July 2018, Kocharian has twice been released from pretrial detention following court decisions, but in both cases he was rearrested after prosecutors’ appeals.
In October, Kocharian underwent what medics described as a successful surgery. His son Levon has said he was operated on for a benign tumor, without giving further details.


rferl--2020-03-09--Kazakhstan To Cut State Budget Following Sharp Drop In Oil Prices

Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has ordered the resource-rich Central Asian nation 's government to cut spending following a sharp drop @ @ @ @ @ .
The presidential press service said in a statement that during an extraordinary government session @ @ @ @ @ stressed that Kazakhstan 's government will fulfill all of its obligations , protect jobs , @ @ @ @ @ financial and currency markets .
Toqaev set up a special group to examine where spending @ @ @ @ @ the statement added , giving no further details .
Meanwhile , Kazakhstan 's national currency @ @ @ @ @ 4.5 percent of its value to trade at 382 tenges to the U.S. dollar after @ @ @ @ @ cut in its prices in two decades .
The Saudi move on March 8 came @ @ @ @ @ failed to reach a deal to reduce the volume of oil production .

Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has ordered the resource-rich Central Asian nation's government to cut spending following a sharp drop in the price of oil.
The presidential press service said in a statement that during an extraordinary government session on March 9, Toqaev stressed that Kazakhstan's government will fulfill all of its obligations, protect jobs, and preserve the stability of financial and currency markets.
Toqaev set up a special group to examine where spending cuts could be made, the statement added, giving no further details.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's national currency, the tenge, lost 4.5 percent of its value to trade at 382 tenges to the U.S. dollar after Saudi Arabia enacted its biggest cut in its prices in two decades.
The Saudi move on March 8 came after OPEC and its allies failed to reach a deal to reduce the volume of oil production.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service