 RFE/RL Headlines 8/2/2010 6:14:24 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: U.S. Atomic Envoy Says Iran Concerns Rising 'Tremendously' Iran is back in the international spotlight, with a fresh reminder that a U.S. military option on Iran remains "on the table" and with Iran's president renewing his occasional calls for direct talks with his U.S. counterpart. RFE/RL spoke to the U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Office in Vienna, Glyn Davies, about nuclear trust, military options, and rising levels of international concern. More  Iran Aims to Revive Silk Road, Escape Isolation Iran has announced plans for a spectacular festival celebrating the revival of the ancient Silk Road. While strained relations with the West have excluded it from a wider scheme to renew the historic trading route, a series of bilateral arrangements means Iran is playing an active role. More  Tajik Officials Keep Sharp Eye On Islamic Teaching Mullahs holding private religious classes not sanctioned by Tajikistan's government have been targeted by law enforcement in recent weeks, leaving many bewildered. More  After Decade In Obscurity, Modern Dance Steps Out In Russia Modern dance is relatively new in Russia. But a rising generation of young choreographers is blazing a trail in an effort to change the country's conservative attitudes toward the medium. More  Is Kyrgyz Media Providing The Whole Picture? Stark differences have emerged in how the Kyrgyz media have covered the origins and aftermath of the interethnic violence that erupted the Central Asian country in mid-June. More  Themes Of War And Reconciliation Featured At Sarajevo Film Festival Themes of war, remembrance, and reconciliation resonated in a city that still bears the scars from Bosnia-Herzegovina's 1992-95 war. More  Pakistan Flood Victims Struggle The unprecedented heavy rain has eased, but the misery goes on for an estimated 1 million people in northwestern Pakistan affected by the worst flooding the country has seen since independence. More  Chechen Site Claims Umarov Steps Down An unofficial website that serves as a mouthpiece for insurgents in Russia's North Caucasus region says Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov has stepped down and appointed Aslambek Vadalov as his successor. More  Brazil Offers Haven In Iran Stoning Case Brazil's president has offered refuge in Brazil to a woman who has been sentenced to death in Iran following her conviction for adultery. More  Kazakh Inmates Maim Themselves In Prison Protest Kazakh prison officials have said that six inmates in the Almaty detention center cut open their abdomens on July 30 to protest prison conditions. More  Belarusian Activists Detained For Flying Flag Two activists in the central Belarusian town of Barisau have been detained for publicly displaying the country's historic flag. More  Kyrgyz Communist Leader Resigns To Face Charges The chairman of the Kyrgyz Communist Party says he is resigning because of a pending criminal case against him. More  Azeri Journalists Barred From Office Due To Debt Journalists from the opposition newspaper "Azadliq" were not allowed to enter the paper's premises today due to unpaid debts to a state-owned publishing house. More  Manure Thrown At Almaty Court A Kazakh journalist threw dung at the Almaty city court building today to protest the court's rejection of her lawsuit against Prime Minister Karim Masimov and other politicians. More  Kyrgyz Panel Begins Probe Into Clashes A Kyrgyz government commission today began investigating the causes of the deadly clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in the southern Kyrgyz regions of Osh and Jalal-Abad in June. More  Thousands Of Iraqi Artifacts Recovered A senior Iraqi official says that international cooperation has resulted in the recovery of thousands of ancient artifacts stolen from the country's national museum and historical sites since 2003. More  Tajik Madrasah Leader, Students Detained The leader of a madrasah and dozens of his students at his religious school in southern Tajikistan have been detained. More  Tabriz Demonstrators Demand Right To Education In Azeri Turkish On August 1, some 2,000 to 3,000 people demonstrated in the northern Iranian city of Tabriz to demand the right to be educated in Azeri Turkish and to condemn what they called "discrimination against Azeri Turks in Iran." More  Medieval Georgian Sites Placed On UNESCO Endangered List The Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery, two jewels of medieval Georgian architecture, are under threat. That's according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), whose World Heritage Committee is holding its annual session this week in Brazil. More  When Crime Doesn't Pay Remember the local elections last October which were widely touted as being much “cleaner” than the ones held last March? Well, considering the nadir of post-Soviet election fixing that was reached in March, it wasn’t too hard to achieve some sort of improvement, I suppose. More  Jailed Former Iranian Vice President: 'We Had To Practice For The Court' Mohammad Ali Abtahi is a former Iranian vice president who was put on trial last year along with over 100 other key reformist figures, journalists, student activists, and others. He has for the first time publicly acknowledged that the trial was staged. More  Lawyer In Stoning Case Calls On Judiciary To Release His Wife, Brother-In-Law Prominent Iranian lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, who went into hiding more than a week ago, has called on the Iranian authorities to end the "hostage taking" of his wife and brother-in-law. More  Lawyers in Daghestan Demand Immunity From Police Violence The council of Daghestan's Chamber of Advocates has addressed an appeal to Interior Minister Major-General Ali Magomedov and Prosecutor-General Andrei Nazarov demanding immunity from police violence and guaranteed access to their defendants. More  Umarov Bows Out As North Caucasus Emir Doku Umarov announced in a two-minute video statement posted on August 1 that he is stepping down as emir of the North Caucasus because he is "tired." More  The Kosovo Precedent Kosovo, as observers were unanimous to observe in the wake of the International Court of Justice's ruling, forms the tip of the iceberg of global separatism, and the ruling may well have opened Pandora's box. More  The 'Joan Baez Stuff' Still Works At the opening of the 1980 Madrid Conference to review the 1975 Helsinki Final Act (which was signed 35 years ago, on August 1, 1975), a message was read by NGOs from a tiny scrap of paper with miniscule handwriting. More |
