Grozny, Russia
Another activist down: A human-rights worker and her husband were found shot to death this week after being abducted in Chechnya. Zarema Sadulayeva was the head of Save the Generation, a group that provides prosthetic limbs for the many children maimed in two Chechen wars. The killings came less than a month after the murder of prominent human-rights investigator Natalya Estemirova. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov called the latest murders “cynical and inhuman.” But most independent observers say that his regime is behind most of Chechnya’s kidnappings and executions.
Tbilisi, Georgia
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Blogger targeted: The massive cyberattack that shut down Twitter for several hours last week and also interfered with Facebook apparently grew out of a Russian effort to silence a Georgian blogger, Internet security experts say. The blogger known as Cyxymu—the Cyrillic spelling of Sukhumi, a Georgian city damaged during last year’s war with Russia—is famous for his anti-Russian posts. Security experts believe that Russian cyber-attackers sent out a huge volume of spam with links to Cyxymu’s sites on Twitter and Facebook; when the spam’s recipients clicked the links, the resulting traffic overwhelmed the sites. “I am not happy that blogs were attacked,” said the Georgian, who said he hoped the publicity would help focus world attention on simmering tensions between Russia and Georgia. “I think Obama knows about me, because he likes Internet news.”
Yangon, Myanmar
Suu Kyi convicted: Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to another 18 months of house arrest this week in a verdict condemned by international leaders. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was on trial for allowing a U.S. citizen, John Yettaw, into her lakeside home after he swam there uninvited. Yettaw, a Vietnam vet said to suffer from mental problems, was sentenced to seven years in prison, including four of hard labor. Suu Kyi, 64, has spent most of the past 20 years in detention under various pretexts cooked up by the ruling junta. Her party won the last elections, in 1990, but was never allowed to take power. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for Suu Kyi’s “immediate and unconditional release.”
Bangkok
‘Merchant of Death’ goes free: A Thai court has unexpectedly rejected a U.S. request to extradite a notorious Russian arms dealer. Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” is believed to have provided weapons for numerous African rebel groups. He is wanted in the U.S. for conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of missiles, helicopters, and guns to the Colombian rebel group FARC, classified in the U.S. as a terrorist group. Some arms trade experts—and some members of Congress—believe that the Russians may have bribed the Thai court because Bout has been acting partly for Russian intelligence. “The battle for justice for this international menace is not over,” said Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.). “It is unacceptable that this man goes free.”
Khazna, Iraq
Kurds vs. Arabs: A string of bombings killed more than 100 people in the province of Nineveh this week, raising fears that insurgents are trying to reignite an ethnic conflict that has been easing in recent months. The biggest attack came in Khazna, a village near Mosul that is claimed by Arabs but controlled by the Kurdish militia. Two huge truck bombs killed at least 35 people, wounded more than 175, and destroyed dozens of houses. The attack seemed aimed at sowing strife between Kurds and Arabs. It may have worked. The Arab provincial council called for Iraqi troops to be deployed in the region, but Kurds oppose such a move. “Some people, whether al Qaida or loyalist former Baathists, are trying to create a civil war in this province,” said Kurdish official Khasro Goran.
Goma, Congo
Rape as a weapon of war: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week announced a new U.S. initiative aimed at combating a rape epidemic in Congo. Rebels in Congo use rape as a weapon of war, systematically gang-raping women in the villages they plunder. Recently, the rebels have begun raping men, as well, in an effort to further humiliate and subjugate the villagers. The Congolese army is little better: Villagers say soldiers attack women more often than they attack rebels. Clinton, in Africa on a seven-nation tour, called the tactic “evil in its basest form.” She said a new $17 million program would pay for doctors and nurses to treat rape victims and also provide video cameras to enable victims to preserve evidence.
Kinshasa, Congo
Clinton bristles: During a town hall meeting in Congo this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton snapped at a Congolese student who appeared to ask her to relate former President Bill Clinton’s opinion about an international financial matter. “What does Mr. Clinton think, through the mouth of Mrs. Clinton,” the young man, speaking through a translator, asked Clinton. With evident anger, she shot back: “My husband is not secretary of state, I am. I am not going to be channeling my husband.” The questioner later said he’d asked about “Mr. Obama’s” opinion, and that the translator had made an error. State Department officials disputed speculation that Hillary Clinton is weary of the accolades her husband received for freeing two Americans held by North Korea.
