Russia registers first polio death in a decade

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MOSCOW, June 13 (Reuters) – Russia has confirmed its first death from polio in more than a decade, the country’s top public health official said on Sunday, Interfax news agency reported.

A citizen of the former-Soviet Central Asian country of Uzbekistan died of polio in the Urals Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in early June, Gennady Onishchenko was quoted as saying. “Tests have confirmed this,” he said.

Onishchenko’s spokeswoman was unavailable to comment on the report on Sunday.

Polio was practically eradicated as a public health problem in industrialised countries in the 1960s, but remains endemic in seven countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Russia last month confirmed its first case in 13 years in an infant visiting from Tajikistan, where at least 12 people have died from a polio outbreak this year.

State news agency RIA Novosti last week reported that an Uzbek man died of polio in Yekaterinburg on June 4, but Onishchenko’s office refused to comment on that report until additional tests in Moscow confirmed the diagnosis.

Onishchenko said four cases of polio had been confirmed in citizens from Central Asia and two other possible cases were being investigated, Interfax reported.

Polio, which spreads in areas with poor sanitation, attacks the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours of infection. Children under the age of three are most vulnerable. (Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Alison Williams)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Exiled Kyrgyz leader Bakiyev denies role in riots

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 13 (Reuters) – Exiled former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev denied on Sunday any involvement in a wave of ethnic violence in the south of Kyrgyzstan that has killed at least 82 people.

Bakiyev said in a statement that reports of his involvement were “shameless lies” and that the interim government that replaced him after an uprising in April were proving incapable of quelling the unrest.

(Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; Writing by Conor Humphries;

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stalin-era mass grave yields tons of bones

June 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Russia has uncovered at least 495 skeletons, many with head gunshot wounds, in a mass grave probably dating back to purges under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the 1930s, municipal authorities said Wednesday.

World | Russia

At least 3.5 tonnes of bones were extracted from the site on the outskirts of the Pacific Ocean port of Vladivostok after it was discovered by workmen building a road, the city government said in a statement.

Millions of Soviet citizens were executed or died in labor camps during Stalin’s rule from the 1920s until his death in 1953, but discoveries of mass graves became less frequent after a surge in finds that followed the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Experts were checking the hypothesis that the bodies were victims of Stalin’s purges.

“Practically all of the skulls have bullet wounds,” said Yaroslav Livanksy, the head of a group of volunteers who helped to excavate the site.

He said money and clothes from the 1930s had been found at the site. A crushed child’s skull was discovered close to a bead bracelet and a small slipper.

Irina Fliege, a senior researcher with Russian human rights group Memorial, which collects information about Stalin-era killings, said she had no doubt that the victims were shot by Stalinist forces.

She said far more bodies were likely to be found as adjacent sites are studied.

“This happens all over the country, it’s impossible to say how often,” Felige said. “All we can to is put up monuments to remember the dead.”

(Reporting by Alexei Chernyshov; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Russia Stalin-era mass grave yields tonnes of bones

June 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, June 9 (Reuters) – Russia has uncovered at least 495 skeletons, many with head gunshot wounds, in a mass grave probably dating back to purges under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the 1930s, municipal authorities said on Wednesday.

At least 3.5 tonnes of bones were extracted from the site on the outskirts of the Pacific Ocean port of Vladivostok after it was discovered by workmen building a road, the city government said in a statement.

Millions of Soviet citizens were executed or died in labour camps during Stalin’s rule from the 1920s until his death in 1953, but discoveries of mass graves became less frequent after a surge in finds that followed the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Experts were checking the hypothesis that the bodies were victims of Stalin’s purges.

“Practically all of the skulls have bullet wounds,” said Yaroslav Livanksy, the head of a group of volunteers who helped to excavate the site.

He said money and clothes from the 1930s had been found at the site. A crushed child’s skull was discovered close to a bead bracelet and a small slipper.

Irina Fliege, a senior researcher with Russian human rights group Memorial, which collects information about Stalin-era killings, said she had no doubt that the victims were shot by Stalinist forces.

She said far more bodies were likely to be found as adjacent sites are studied.

“This happens all over the country, it’s impossible to say how often,” Felige said. “All we can to is put up monuments to remember the dead.”

(Reporting by Alexei Chernyshov; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

EU chief raps Russia on human rights, media freedom

June 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia, June 1 (Reuters) – European Union President Herman Van Rompuy on Tuesday said Europe was seriously concerned about the difficulties faced by human rights activists and journalists in Russia.

“The situation for human rights defenders and journalists in Russia is of grave concern to the European public at large,” Rompuy said at a briefing following an EU-Russia summit in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. (Reporting by Conor Humphries, writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Steve Gutterman)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Russia, EU demand flotilla inquiry, Gaza opening

June 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia, June 1 (Reuters) – Russia and the European Union called on Tuesday for an impartial probe into the Israeli operation against an aid flotilla and urged the opening of crossings into Gaza for the flow of aid, goods and people.

The EU and Russia regret the loss of life and “demand a full and impartial inquiry” into the incident, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a declaration released during a Russia-EU summit in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. (Reporting by Conor Humphries, writing by Steve Gutterman, editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kremlin tells Iran to stop ‘political demagoguery’

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Kremlin’s chief foreign policy adviser on Wednesday told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to refrain from “political demagoguery” after Tehran admonished Russia for supporting new sanctions.

The public clash came after Ahmadinejad chided Russia for bowing to U.S. pressure over new sanctions against Tehran and bluntly warned Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev to be more cautious.

But Medvedev’s top foreign policy advisor, Sergei Prikhodko, dismissed the criticism, saying Russia was neither pro-American nor pro-Iranian and that Moscow’s policy was governed by the national interest.

“No one has ever managed to preserve one’s authority with political demagoguery. I am convinced, the thousand-year history of Iran itself is evidence of this,” Prikhodko said in a statement.

“The Russian Federation is governed by its own long-term state interests. Our position is Russian: it reflects the interests of all the peoples of greater Russia and so it can be neither pro-American nor pro-Iranian,” he said.

In a clear rebuke to Tehran over its failure to allay fears about its nuclear programme, Prikhodko said that Russia could not accept inconsistency and a lack of transparency in resolving major world issues.

“Any unpredictability, any political extremism, lack of transparency or inconsistency in taking decisions that affect and concern the entire world community is unacceptable for us,” he said.

“It would be good if those who are now speaking in the name of the wise people of Iran… would remember this,” Prikhodko said.

(Reporting by Denis Dyomkin, writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Conor Humphries)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Russia’s Khodorkovsky declares hunger strike – report

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has declared a hunger strike to protest against the extension of his detention in a notorious Moscow prison, a Russian radio station reported on Monday.

Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, was arrested in 2003 after falling foul of Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin, and is serving an eight-year sentence for tax evasion after a trial his supporters dismissed as a farce.

Last week Khodorkovsky’s detention in Moscow’s notorious Sailor’s Rest prison was extended by three months by the judge in a second trial which could lead to him being sentenced to an additional 22 years on charges of theft and money laundering.

The Russian News Service radio station posted a letter on its website (www.rusnovosti.ru), addressed by Khodorkovsky to the head of the Russian Supreme Court, demanding that President Dmitry Medvedev be informed about the illegality of the decision to extend his detention.

“I declare an indefinite hunger strike until I get confirmation that Medvedev has received … comprehensive information” about the decision, the letter says.

Khodorkovsky last year went on hunger strike for almost two weeks in protest at the treatment of a jailed colleague who was gravely ill with HIV/AIDS. He ended the protest when Vasily Alexanian was moved to a civilian clinic.

Representatives of Khodorkovsky did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.

(Writing by Conor Humphries; editing by Andrew Roche)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Russia says enrichment still issue in Iran fuel swap

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday he was studying an Iranian fuel swap deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey but that questions remained, including whether Iran intended to continue enriching uranium.

“One question is: will Iran itself enrich uranium? As far as I understand from officials of that state, such work will be continued. In this case, of course, those concerns that the international community had before could remain,” Medvedev said.

Iran agreed with Brazil and Turkey on Monday that it would send some of its uranium abroad, abruptly ending its refusal to countenance such a deal just as the U.N. Security Council readied tougher sanctions.

“The question arises — is the level of this swap operation sufficient? Will all members of the international community be satisfied? I don’t know,” Medvedev said. “We need to see what follows this declaration.”

Medvedev said consultations were needed with Iran and all major powers involved in the negotiations about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.

“After this, we need to decide what to do: Are those proposals sufficient or is something else needed? So I think a small pause on this problem would not do any harm,” he said.

Medvedev spoke by phone to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva late on Monday to discuss the issue, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Medvedev “positively assessed joint efforts by Brazil and Turkey to promote a political and diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear problem,” the statement said.

“Russia will use all opportunities to support a joint search for, and the development of, a constructive resolution (to the Iranian nuclear problem) that satisfies the international community,” the statement said.

(Reporting by Denis Dyomkin, writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Conor Humphries, editing by Jon Boyle)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Humphries vows to be 100 per cent

May 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

In a major shot in the arm for the wounded Reds, Queensland lock Van Humphries has declared himself a certain starter for their Super 14 clash with the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday.

Humphries had missed the last two games with an ankle injury but returns to the Reds pack in its time of need.

Smarting from their last round 32-12 thumping at the hands of the Brumbies in Canberra, the Reds had many wounds to lick after a remarkable injury rate in the nation’s capital.

In the opening quarter of the match, the Reds incredibly lost starting locks Rob Simmons (fractured cheekbone) and Adam Byrnes (knee ligament) while Daniel Braid suffered a knee complaint.

Simmons and Byrnes join fellow lock and captain James Horwill on the sidelines for the Reds.

Braid still has a question mark over him before the team flies out on Wednesday – but Humphries declared on Tuesday that he would be “100 per cent” for the crunch clash over the ditch.

“It’s coming along well. We’ve had a checklist to tick off over the last couple of days and I’ve passed everything so far,” Humphries said.

“I’ll be 100 per cent come Friday.”

Humphries sustained the ankle injury in the final line-out of the Reds’ 19-12 victory over the Bulls.

He looks set to be packing down alongside late season recruit and former Wallaby Radike Samo.

“He (Radike) has been training for the past two or three weeks,” Humphries said.

“From what we have done so far, and the way we trained this morning, he was very good.

“He’s done a lot and he’s a good guy to actually come into the squad at the moment.”

The Reds need to regroup before taking on a Hurricanes outfit that are poised to jump Queensland in the finals race.

Wellington is just one point behind the Reds in fifth.

But Humphries insisted that the team had moved on from its 12th straight loss to the Brumbies.

“It’s sort of a chink to our pride, so the boys are really looking to make up for it,” he said.

“(But) we’ve done our analysis and we’ve generally done well on the short turnaround all year – this should be no different.”

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kyrgyzstan to hold election on Oct 10

April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Kyrgyzstan will hold elections on October 10 after a referendum aimed at reducing the powers of the president, the interim government said on Thursday.

The interim government has struggled to restore order after an April 7 uprising ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, leaving at least 85 people dead and disrupting flights through a key U.S. airbase supporting operations in Afghanistan.

Omurbek Tekebayev, a deputy prime minister who is in charge of constitutional reform, said joint parliamentary and presidential elections could take place on October 10 after a referendum on constitutional change to be held on June 27.

“A referendum will take place on June 27 and parliamentary elections on October 10, possibly jointly presidential,” Tekebayev said by telephone. “The government has approved the timetable.”

Tekebayev has said the government plans to reduce the power of the president and create a parliamentary republic with strong checks and balances.

But diplomats say that the new leaders of Kyrgyzstan will have an uphill battle to create a beacon of democracy in Central Asia, a region dominated by authoritarian leaders.

Bakiyev, in Belarus after fleeing Kyrgyzstan last week, claims he is still president. The interim government says he has resigned, but has not appointed a replacement.

(Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko, writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Conor Humphries)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bakiyev aide says ordered fire at Kyrgyz protesters

April 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MOSCOW, April 11 (Reuters) – Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s security chief said on Sunday he and not the ousted leader ordered guards to shoot at protesters during clashes last week in which 81 were killed, Russian news agency RIA reported.

Government troops opened fire on a crowd of more than 5,000 protesters in the capital Bishkek in the clashes that ended Bakiyev’s five years of rule and forced him into exile in the south of the Central Asian country.

Bakiyev on Sunday told Reuters he did not order his guards to shoot, and called for an international commission to investigate.

But his brother, presidential bodyguard chief Dzhanibek Bakiyev, said on Sunday that he had ordered guards to shoot at armed protesters and towards the legs of people throwing stones.

“I gave the order to shoot at those with weapons,” Dzhanibek Bakiyev told RIA in an interview in Kyrgyzstan’s Jalalabad region, where the president is in hiding.

“I said over the radio that if anyone is approaching with weapons, to open fire in return,” he said.

“We tried not to shoot at those without weapons. When they went beyond the limit, when they started to throw stones and Molotov cocktails and threaten the lives of our staff, we opened fire towards their legs,” he said.

Witnesses said many protesters were shot dead by government forces. Other protesters, armed with weapons seized from Bakiyev’s security forces, fought back, and witnesses said some people may have been killed in the ensuing crossfire. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For more stories on Kyrgyzstan, click on [ID:nLDE6360UW] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

(Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bakiyev aide says ordered fire at Kyrgyz protesters

April 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

MOSCOW, April 11 (Reuters) – Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s security chief said on Sunday he and not the ousted leader ordered guards to shoot at protesters during clashes last week in which 81 were killed, Russian news agency RIA reported.

Government troops opened fire on a crowd of more than 5,000 protesters in the capital Bishkek in the clashes that ended Bakiyev’s five years of rule and forced him into exile in the south of the Central Asian country.

Bakiyev on Sunday told Reuters he did not order his guards to shoot, and called for an international commission to investigate.

But his brother, presidential bodyguard chief Dzhanibek Bakiyev, said on Sunday that he had ordered guards to shoot at armed protesters and towards the legs of people throwing stones.

“I gave the order to shoot at those with weapons,” Dzhanibek Bakiyev told RIA in an interview in Kyrgyzstan’s Jalalabad region, where the president is in hiding.

“I said over the radio that if anyone is approaching with weapons, to open fire in return,” he said.

“We tried not to shoot at those without weapons. When they went beyond the limit, when they started to throw stones and Molotov cocktails and threaten the lives of our staff, we opened fire towards their legs,” he said.

Witnesses said many protesters were shot dead by government forces. Other protesters, armed with weapons seized from Bakiyev’s security forces, fought back, and witnesses said some people may have been killed in the ensuing crossfire. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For more stories on Kyrgyzstan, click on [ID:nLDE6360UW] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

(Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kyrgyz opposition says Bakiyev rallying supporters

April 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

BISHKEK, April 8 (Reuters) – The head of Kyrgyzstan’s self-proclaimed government on Thursday said President Kurmanbek Bakiyev had returned to his home region of Jalalabad in the south to rally supporters and defend his position.

“We want to negotiate his resignation,” Roza Otunbayeva, who led opposition to Bakiyev’s government, told reporters in Bishkek. “His business here is over.”

“The people who were killed here yesterday are the victims of his regime,” she said. (Reporting by Maria Golovnina; Writing by Conor Humphries and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Louise Ireland

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kyrgyz opposition leader says dissolves parliament

April 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

BISHKEK, April 8 (Reuters) – The head of Kyrgyzstan’s new self-proclaimed government on Thursday said she was dissolving parliamment after forcing President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital Bishkek.

“Under the decree on the handover of power … we are dissolving parliament,” Roza Otunbayeva, who led opposition to Bakiyev’s government, told reporters in Bishkek. (Reporting by Maria Golovnina, Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Opponents of Kyrgyz president take Osh govt building

April 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, April 8 (Reuters) – Opponents of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on Thursday took control of the government building in the sothern town of Osh, where Bakiyev is staying after fleeing the capital, a Reuters witness said.

At least 2,000 people had earlier gathered on the town’s main square, the witness said. Supporters and opponents of Bakiyev scuffled on the square. (Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

McKenzie punts on mobile Reds

April 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie has continued to tinker with the rebuilding Reds by making four changes to his starting side for Sunday morning’s Super 14 clash with the win-less Lions.

Firebrand lock Adam Byrnes has been dumped from the Reds’ 22-man squad entirely while speedster Rod Davies has been picked to start in Johannesburg.

Melbourne-bound Byrnes has paid the price as McKenzie looks for more mobility in his pack following Queensland’s 30-28 Durban loss to the Sharks.

Youngster Rob Simmons will start in the second-row alongside Van Humphries, while Saia Faingaa takes over from Sean Hardman at hooker and bustling number eight Leroy Houston replaces Jake Schatz.

Although the Lions are last on the Super 14 table and possess the worst defence (conceding 45 points per match), McKenzie rates them a “complicated” opponent.

“They play a physical brand of rugby but they move the ball a lot, so mobility is key,” he said.

“They’ve got amazing statistics in terms of how much they move the ball and how many metres they run with the ball.

“They use the width of the field and they use their direct play so it’s a complicated game.”

The Reds’ need for extra mobility is reflected in McKenzie’s decision to revert to a traditional 4-3 split on the bench after taking five forward reserves in against the Sharks.

Among the four forwards are back-rowers Ezra Taylor and Schatz, while young centre Ben Tapaui is set to play his first match in 2010 off the bench.

Will Chambers, who scored two tries in Durban, remains at outside centre while Wallabies tourist Luke Morahan has made way for another young gun in Davies, who started the first three rounds before copping a broken cheekbone against the Blues.

“(Davies) exited through injury and he has played a couple of games off the bench,” McKenzie said.

“In glimpses off the bench he has shown he is a real speed asset.

“We’re not unhappy with Luke (Morahan), we’re just looking for more energy and we think Davies is starting to show that.”

The Reds sit fifth on the table, two behind the fourth-placed Stormers, and victory is vital to their hopes of an unlikely finals finish.

Although the Lions have been cellar-dwellers, Queensland has not beaten the Johannesburg-based team since 2006.

Reds: Peter Hynes, Rod Davies, Will Chambers, Anthony Faingaa, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Will Genia (capt); Leroy Houston, Daniel Braid, Scott Higginbotham, Van Humphries, Rob Simmons, Laurie Weeks, Saia Faingaa, Ben Daley. Res: Sean Hardman, Greg Holmes, Ezra Taylor, Jake Schatz, Ben Lucas, Ben Tapuai, Luke Morahan.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Falling population stats ‘fanciful’

April 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New population projections from the New South Wales Government show every local government area in the New England/north-west, with the exception of Tamworth, will suffer population decline over the next 25 years.

The projections say Moree, Narrabri and Gunnedah will experience the biggest falls, with Moree dropping from 14,200 to 10,900; Narrabri down from 13,200 to 9,900 and Gunnedah’s population sliding from 12,000 to 9,400.

But the department cautions the new regional projections are not targets and do not reflect policy positions.

The Mayor of Moree Plains Shire Council, Katrina Humphries, has described the figures as “absolutely fanciful”.

The Mayor of Gunnedah Shire Council, Adam Marshall, says he does not know why the Department of Planning does not leave the gathering of population figures to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

He says the last time the State Government released projections for Gunnedah, the numbers then were way off the mark.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kyrgyzstan death toll rises to 65 – Health Ministry

April 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

At least 65 people died and 400 were injured as a result of clashes between police and anti-government protesters in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

“We have 65 dead in Bishkek as of now and about 400 injured,” a Health Ministry official said. On Wednesday evening, the ministry said at least 47 people had died.

(Reporting by Maria Golovnina; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Robin Paxton)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Putin’s rating slips after bomb attacks in Russia

April 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s approval rating fell slightly after a series of suicide bombings killed at least 50 people last week, a poll showed on Wednesday.

The number of people who trust Putin fell from 53 to 51 percent in the week to Saturday, the poll from the VTsIOM agency said. The agency questioned 1,600 people across Russia in the first major opinion poll since the bombings.

Putin cemented his power in 1999 by launching the second war in the mainly Muslim North Caucasus region of Chechnya. While president, he took credit for securing a lull in Islamist violence.

(Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts