RFE/RL Headlines
11/30/2010 9:43:38 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. |
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Features
Interview: UN's Ban Favors Expanded Security Council
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is in favor of adding more members to the UN Security Council. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, Ban said it was the prevailing view among UN members that the current format of 15 council countries -- including five permanent veto-wielding members -- needs to be reformed. More 
Foreign Gov'ts Shrug Off WikiLeaks
Governments around the world have tended to downplay the United States' embarrassing problem over the ongoing release of hundreds of thousands of its confidential diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks. More 
Medvedev's Speech Sets Priorities
In his annual speech to parliament, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for a closer partnership with the West, pledged to improve the lives of the nation's children, and vowed to combat corruption. More Kyrgyz officials have blamed Islamic militants for an explosion in the capital, Bishkek, as well as clashes this week in the southern city of Osh. More 
Five Hospitalized After Shootout In Southern Russia
Five residents of the North Caucasian town of Zelenokumsk remain hospitalized after a shootout between ethnic Russians and Chechens. More 
Activists Question Ossetian Suicides
Some rights activists are blaming authorities in South Ossetia for a string of prison deaths in the breakaway Georgian region. More 
No Yerevan Comment On 'Arms To Iran'
According to one of the thousands of leaked alleged State Department cables publicized by WikiLeaks, one document alleges that top officials in George W. Bush's administration raised "deep concerns" with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and were unconvinced by his denial of "the arms re-export case," which dated back to 2003 when Sarkisian was defense minister. More 
Rights Activists Urge Council Of Europe Action On Azerbaijani's Release
Officials from four human rights organizations will meet with Council of Europe officials in Strasbourg to discuss the case of imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Eynulla Fatullayev. More 
Russia Downplays Sochi Boycott Call
The head of the Russian Olympic Committee says Georgia's call for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi will fail. More 
Belarusian City To Commemorate Blast Victims Annually
The victims of a deadly explosion at a plywood plant in the southwestern Belarusian town of Pinsk will be commemorated every year. More 
Cities As Barometers Of Socioeconomic Change -- Both Good And Bad
A city's population may be the Rosetta Stone for studies in everything from public policy to global economic predictions, says a reports by two professors at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico. More 
Stagnation And Reform
It has becomes increasingly evident that Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev are trying to pull off what Mikhail Gorbachev could not -- initiate needed reforms to overcome economic and social stagnation while not losing control of the political system in the process. It's a far cry from democratization. But it is also less banal than just a cheap stunt to keep Putin in charge. More 
How The WikiLeaks Leaks Could Backfire
One of the biggest ironies, though, is that a WikiLeaks world could end up being a world with less transparency rather than more. More 
Bella Akhmadulina's Poetics Of Survival
Mikhail Berg says the poetics of Bella Akhmadulina, who died on November 28 in Moscow at the age of 73, clearly shows how hard it was to live and breathe if one remained inside the Soviet space and didn't allow oneself any indulgences. More |
