 RFE/RL Headlines 7/19/2010 8:00:41 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  Interview: Ukraine An 'Example Of Democratization' To Region, But 'Threats To Progress Emerging' The Washington-based organization Freedom House, which measures the degree of liberty in countries around the world, says Ukraine is setting an example for its region in the progress it is making in democratization. But Freedom House's director of studies, Christopher Walker, warns of possible dangers ahead. More  Interview: Amiri 'Was Not Who He Pretended He Was' Amir Farshad Ebrahimi -- an Iranian journalist, former member of the Basij militia, and founding member of hard-line pressure group Ansar-e Hizbullah -- has claimed on his blog that Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri contacted him last year and asked for help in defecting to the West. More  Has Moscow Had Enough Of Belarus's Lukashenka? An ongoing conflict between authoritarian Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his erstwhile Kremlin allies has intensified markedly, leading to speculation that Russia may seek to remove him from power. More  Kabul Wants To Change The Way Foreign Aid Is Spent Kabul will host a major conference with its international partners on July 20. High on the agenda are deciding how much control the Afghan government should have over foreign aid and how to reduce corruption. More  Former KGB General Kalugin Calls U.S.-Russia Spy Saga 'A Farce' Oleg Kalugin headed overseas counterintelligence operations for many years at Russia's KGB secret services, where he oversaw operatives including future Russian President and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He spoke to RFE/RL's Nik Krastev about his KGB career and the recent spy scandal in which 10 alleged Russian agents were expelled from the United States. More  Russian Activists Camp Out As Battle For Khimki Forest Heats Up Environmental protesters have set up a round-the-clock watch in a forest close to Moscow's biggest airport after they expelled workers felling hundreds of trees as part of the planned construction of a highway linking Moscow to St. Petersburg. More  Bashkortostan Swears In Kremlin Pick Republican lawmakers unanimously backed Rustem Khamitov, a former executive with Russia's largest hydroelectric power producer, RusHydro. More  Belarusian Opposition Activist Released A leading member of the opposition Belarusian People's Front (BNF) has been released from jail. More  Osh Protest Against International Police Several dozen demonstrators have rallied in the southern city of Osh, demanding that the government revise its approval for an international police force for Kyrgyzstan. More  Baku Appeals Europe Ruling On Reporter Azerbaijani authorities have appealed the verdict handed down by the European Court of Human Rights with regard to jailed journalist Eynulla Fatullayev. The ECHR has ordered that Fatullayev be released and paid compensation. More The Hazards Of Swimming In Russia A group of Russian teens make a grisly discovery while beating the heatwave at the Nefedevskih ponds outside Moscow. More  Campaign Backs Student Photographer Arrested Over Protest Pix More than 70 award winning Iranian university graduates have called for the release of one of their friends and colleagues, photographer Hamed Saber, who was jailed approximately one month ago apparently over pictures he took at last year's street demonstrations protesting the reelection of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. More  Blogger: People Are Victims Of A 'Bloody Game' One of the first bloggers in Sistan- Baluchistan, Amin Sabeti tells RFE/RL that the attacks there have caused shock and grief among the local population. He says the government response is likely to backfire More  ‘Weren’t The Sanctions Not Supposed To Hurt Ordinary Iranians?’ ETS, the U.S.-based organization that administers the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and other exams, has said on its website that it is suspending temporarily registration in Iran as a result of the UN resolution affecting banks and financial institutions that do business with Iran. More  Lessons In Morality In Eastern Tajikistan Schools have been closed for the summer holidays, but learning hasn't stopped for many children in the eastern Tajik valley of Rasht, a picturesque and remote mountainous area once known as a bastion of the country's Islamic opposition. More  Not A Very Happy Place Not a single Central Asian nation is among the ten of the happiest countries in the world. More  Almaty Meeting Fails To Break Deadlock In Karabakh Talks Talks on July 16-17 on the sidelines of the OSCE foreign ministers' meeting in Almaty failed to galvanize the apparently deadlocked Karabakh peace process. More  New Video Address By North Caucasus Insurgency Leader Fresh video footage posted on websites connected with the North Caucasus insurgency shows Doku Umarov, self-styled emir of the North Caucasus, together with veteran Chechen fighter Supyan Abdullayev, admitting the capture last month of veteran Ingush commander Akhmed Evloyev (aka Magas). More  Iran's Ethnic Azeris And The Language Question Call it discrimination or even chauvinism: Millions of Iran's ethnic Azeris have no right of education in their mother tongue. But, surprisingly, it appears the majority of them don't care much about this inequality. More |
