 RFE/RL Headlines 7/26/2010 6:46:30 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  Tensions Continue To Rise In Southern Kyrgyzstan Despite residents' efforts to return to normal life in the crippled southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, ongoing threats and allegations of abductions and torture more than a month after deadly clashes are pushing ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks even further apart. More  Prosecutor Targets Forerunner's Son The son of former Tajik Prosecutor-General Bobojon Bobokhonov has been arrested on corruption charges, the latest in a string of moves initiated against current or former judicial officials by Bobokhonov's successor. More  Wary Locals Question Allegations Of Islamist Role In Kyrgyz Violence The authorities in Kyrgyzstan accuse Islamist militants of taking part in ethnic violence in the south of the country last month that killed more than 300 people and threatened to undermine the new government. But locals say religious groups weren't involved and that the government's accusations threaten to provoke further unrest. More  Project Boss Talks About Creating 'Russia's Silicon Valley' On his recent trip to the United States, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited California's techno-hub, Silicon Valley, to meet with high-profile IT and Internet companies and explore further U.S.-Russian business ties. The visit was consistent with Kremlin efforts to foster high-tech innovation and diversify Russia's oil- and gas-dependent economy. RFE/RL correspondents Valentin Baryshnikov and Owen Strong spoke recently with Viktor Vekselberg, manager of a project at Skolkovo that some are calling "the Russian Silicon Valley." More  Will New Diplomatic Service Help EU To Speak With One Voice? Might the EU's newly formed diplomatic service answer Henry Kissinger's famous quip that he didn't know whom to call when he wanted to speak to Europe? More  EU Offers Serbia-Kosovo Talks, Ratchets Up Iran Sanctions EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels for the last time before the summer recess, offered to host direct talks between Serbia and Kosovo. The ministers also approved a new raft of sanctions against Iran and discussed a number of other key regional and global problems. More  Afghans Welcome Wikileaks Revelations, While Pakistan Rejects Them Analysts in Kabul and Islamabad have had very different reactions to the thousands of leaked reports that detail alleged Western military failures in the Afghan war theater as well as Pakistan's alleged support of insurgents. More  Armenian Opposition Suit Against Gas-Price Hike Rejected An Armenian court has rejected an opposition lawsuit challenging a sharp rise in the price of natural gas that was approved by state regulators earlier this year. More  Jailed Journalist Files Complaint Against Iran's Leaders A jailed Iranian journalist has warned that if his complaint against Iran's supreme leader, president, and chief prosecutor is not pursued he will appeal to international bodies. More  Kirill Protests Quashed In Kyiv The protesters were detained as they tried to stage a play critical of the patriarch near St. Sofia's Cathedral. Patriarch Kirill visited the church earlier in the day, but the Kyiv district court ruled that no demonstrations either in support of or against the patriarch were permitted. More  Tajiks Up Marriage Age For Women Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has signed a law amending the country's Family Code to raise the legal age for women to marry from 17 to 18 years. More  Kyrgyz Protest International Police Plan Some 1,500 people have gathered in Kyrgyzstan's southern city of Osh to protest a government-backed plan to deploy international police in the turbulent region More  The Spy Scandal Is Over. Next Comes The Reckoning. The spy scandal has faded from the world's front pages. Now comes the time for the reckoning. More  'Convincing' Revolutionary Guards Who Support Green Movement 'Better Than Eliminating Them' The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has officially acknowledged that some members have been supportive of the country's opposition movement. Mohammad Ali Jafari said that it is better "to convince" guards who support the opposition than to get rid of them. More  Jailed Journalist Says He Was 'Dishonored' In Prison The comments to family have led to speculation that jailed journalist Abdolreza Tajik might have been sexually abused in prison. More Iranian bloggers are reporting that the Persian-language website of the collaborative "free encyclopedia" Wikipedia has been filtered in Iran, although it is unclear whether such blocks remain in place or have since been removed. They've posted this screen shot as evidence of the filtering. More  Ahmadinejad Asks, 'Is Mevedev A U.S. Agent?' Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has accused Russian President Dmitry Medvedev of kick-starting a "new Western scenario against Iran that is directed by the U.S." More  Another Wish From Suleyman's Hill Now, in late July, the shock is gone and animosity has taken over. The gap between the two peoples has widened; a darkness has settled over them. I've been hearing it in their voices and seeing it in their eyes all week long. More  Daghestan's Leaders Issue Ultimatum To Militants Senior officials in Daghestan issued a "final warning" last week to Islamic militants that if they refuse to lay down their arms, "they will be destroyed," a retreat from repeated earlier assurances by President Magomedsalam Magomedov. More  Abkhazia Does U-Turn Over Geneva Talks Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia apparently will, after all, send a delegation to attend the next round of internationally mediated talks in Geneva on security measures for Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the wake of the August 2008 war. More  Kazakhstan And The OSCE Can Take The Lead In Kyrgyzstan Analyst Roman Muzalevsky says that utilizing each other's capacities to address global and regional security threats, including by supporting reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in Kyrgyzstan, will position both Kazakhstan and the OSCE as serious actors in Central Asia, and particularly in Kyrgyzstan. More  On Being Alone With One's Thoughts RFE/RL correspondent Dan Alexe says we have grown used to filling our days with surfing, phoning, zapping... There are no gaps; we have forgotten how to be idle. More |
