 RFE/RL Headlines 5/31/2010 7:54:45 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty RFE/RL is looking for guest bloggers, preferably writing from and about our broadcast region. If you're interested, drop us a line at webteam@rferl.org. |
| Features  Assault On Aid Ship Sounds Death Knell For Israeli-Turkish Strategic Ties It was once the key strategic relationship of the Middle East. Now, following the deadly Israeli commando raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship, tensions between the erstwhile allies have strained to breaking point. More  Cargo Trains Line Up In Latest Uzbek-Tajik Row Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, two Central Asian neighbors with long-standing disagreements over a variety of issues, are now engaged in a new row over Tashkent's stoppage of Tajik railway cars. More  Interview: 'We Are Not Terrorists,' Gaza Activist Says At least 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed after Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of ships carrying supplies for the Gaza Strip on May 31. Greta Berlin, co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement, an organizer of the convoy, spoke with RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service correspondent Anna Zamejc about the deadly event. More  What Would You Ask Putin? Rock Veteran Shevchuk Makes Most Of Rare Opportunity Opportunities to see Russia's Vladimir Putin confronted by his critics are rare. But at a charity event in St. Petersburg, the prime minister was on the receiving end of surprisingly harsh questions about media repression and government's crackdown on public protests. More  Kyrgyz Regimes Share Same Bloody Entrances, But Profoundly Different Inheritances In early April, when the people of Kyrgyzstan chased their president from power for the second time in five years, it appeared spasmodic regime change was becoming a permanent fixture of Kyrgyz politics. But while there are similarities in the root causes of the March 2005 Tulip Revolution that ushered in Kurmanbek Bakiev's presidency, and the bloody unrest that led to his ouster, there are also stark differences in the way things are playing out. More  EU-Russia Summit To Steer Forward Course, Without Rocking The Boat At the EU-Russia summit May 31 in Rostov-na-Donu, the Russians will be looking to secure guarantees of visa-free European travel. The EU, for its part, will be looking for opportunities to guide Russia's economic development. Both goals are a reflection of a pragmatic new stage in EU-Russian relations -- the desire to look to the future, while keeping controversy to a minimum. More  New Tajik Polio Outbreak Prompts Swift Measures From Moscow As new cases of polio appear in Tajikistan, a war of words is heating up between the Central Asian country and Russia, where officials have barred young Tajik children from entering for fear that they will spread the virus. More  EU Plans To Scrap South Caucasus, Moldova Envoys EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has reportedly proposed abolishing the positions of EU special representatives for the South Caucasus and Moldova. If approved by the EU's member states, the move would signal a drastic downgrading of the EU's involvement in its eastern neighborhood. More  International Reaction To Israeli Raid At least 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed after Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla of ships carrying supplies for the Gaza Strip, a raid that sparked sharp international criticism. More  Conscientious Objector Acquitted In Belarus The central court in the Belarusian city of Homel has acquitted a Jehovah's Witness who had been charged with avoiding mandatory military service. More  Activists Concerned Over Treatment Of Conscripts In Russian Army Rights activists in Russia have raised fresh concerns over the treatment of conscripts in the army. More  Iran Labor Activist In Drug Ward Mansur Osanlu, the jailed head of Tehran's bus drivers union, has been transferred to a prison section where drug addicts are kept. More  Kyrgyz Protesters Block Road From Uzbek Enclave About 500 residents of the town of Batken in southern Kyrgyzstan today blocked the main highway connecting an Uzbek enclave with Uzbekistan. More  Afghan Aid Groups Suspected Of Proselytizing Afghanistan says it has suspended the activities of two foreign aid groups after local television said they were promoting Christianity. More  Russians Rally For Freedom Of Assembly Human rights activists across Russia stage protests on the 31st day of January, March, May, July, August, October, and December to focus attention on Article 31 of the Russian Federation Constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly. More  'No Plan' To Ban Moldova Communists Moldova's interim President Mihai Ghimpu has told RFE/RL's Moldovan Service he has no plans to ban the symbols of the opposition Communist Party or the party itself. More  Turkmen Officials Prevent Opening Of Art Exhibit An art exhibit in Ashgabat for a well-known Turkmen artist has been canceled by Turkmen authorities without explanation. More  Jailed Student Activist Breaks His Hunger Strike Jailed student Majid Tavakoli has broken his hunger strike and been transferred to the general ward of Tehran’s Evin prison, according to his brother, Ali Tavakoli. More  Iran’s Counternarcotics Canine Clone War The head of Iran’s Royan Research Institute, Mohammad Hossein Nasr-Esfahani, says Iran is cloning 4,000 drug-sniffing dogs to help its antinarcotics campaign. More  Google Reportedly Briefly Filtered In Iran Some Iranian blogs and websites, including the conservative site Tabnak, are reporting that the search engine Google was briefly filtered in Iran on the evening of May 28. More  In A First, Kazakhstan's Shvedova Reaches Fourth Round At French Open For the first time, a female player from Central Asia -- Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan -- has reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. More  Fear 'Very Palpable' Inside Iran As Election Anniversary Approaches As the first anniversary of Iran's disputed presidential election nears, human rights activists in Washington are pushing Congress to support stronger action against human rights violations that have occurred in Iran within the past year. More |
