Pravda:Chechnya receives four hairs of Phrophet Muhammad
Prophet Muhammad's three hairs were delivered to Russia's Chechnya Republic from Turkey yesterday. The relic will rest in the republic for good
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rferl.org:Member Of Public Commission Probing Oil Town Clash Charged With Crime
A fifth Kazakh activist has been charged with "inciting social hatred" in southwestern town of Zhanaozen, where at least 16 people were killed in clashes between police and protesting oil workers in mid-December.
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rferl.org:Kyrgyz Seek Culprits Over Imported Radioactive Coal
Kyrgyzstan's government has vowed that officials responsible for allowing radiation-contaminated coal to be imported from Kazakhstan will be "punished."
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rferl.org:Kazakh Police Raid Opposition Paper
Kazakh police interrogated the deputy editor of an opposition newspaper and raided its offices in Almaty over her support for an arrested journalist.
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rferl.org:Berdymukhammedov Campaigns In North Turkmenistan
Incumbent Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has visited the northern Dashoguz Province and used a visit to hydroelectric workers there to do some campaigning for a second term in office.
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rferl.org:U.S. Official Says Kazakh Pledge To Liberalize 'Largely Unmet'
A high-ranking U.S. State Department official says at an event to mark two decades of Kazakh independence that Kazakhstan's promises to reform its political system and uphold human rights remain "largely unmet."
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ABC:Turkey and Hamas Grow Close
Turkey's ties with Hamas deepen amid questions about the influence of sponsors Iran and Syria
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Yahoo!:Turkey and Hamas grow close
(AP)
AP - Ties between Turkey, NATO's biggest Muslim member, and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that says Israel should not exist, are blossoming.
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rferl.org:The Rundown - February 2
RFE/RL In The Media
# "The Wall Street Journal" cites RFE/RL reporting on Kazakhstan
# Radio World on Radio Azadi's 10th anniversary (video here )
# Abbas Atilay has won the Transitions Online photo contest
# Registan cites RFE/RL reporting on shamans on trial in Kyrgyzstan
International Press Review
Russia
# UN diplomats continue to haggle over a resolution on Syria
# " Why Honesty Is the Best Policy for Putin ...
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Yahoo!:Middle East turmoil draws Turkey and Iraqi Kurds closer
(Reuters)
Reuters - Upheaval in the Middle East and mutual economic interests are drawing together two unlikely partners; rising powerhouse Turkey and an entity whose name Turkish leaders hardly dare mention - Kurdistan, the semi-autonomous region of northern Iraq.
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rferl.org:Kazakhstan: Jailed Human Rights Defender Amnestied
The prominent Kazakh human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis has been granted an amnesty after serving more than half of a four-year jail sentence for manslaughter.
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rferl.org:Kazakh Air Carrier To Buy New Planes For Over $1 Billion
Kazakhstan's leading carrier, Air Astana, says it has placed orders for 15 new planes worth more than $1 billion.
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rferl.org:French Constitutional Council Asked To Examine Armenia Genocide Bill
More than 140 French deputies and senators have asked the Constitutional Council to examine the legality of the new bill that makes it a criminal offense in France to deny that a genocide of Armenians by Ottoman Turks occurred a century ago.
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