Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 2/23/2011 7:34:21 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 Oil Prices Rise On Libya Crisis Oil prices are rising rapidly amid the unrest in Libya, a major oil exporter. And there is little sign they may come down again soon. More   Interview: Australia Ex-PM Hails Absence Of 'Contrived Element' In Mideast Protests John Howard, who was Australia's prime minister for almost 12 years before leaving office in 2007, visited RFE/RL this week to share his thoughts about the rising democratic tide in the Middle East and what the West can do to change authoritarian regimes.  More   Trial Of Russian Citizens Puts Moscow-Minsk Relations To The Test The seemingly endless rollercoaster of Russian-Belarusian relations is taking another sharp dip as Minsk brings two Russian citizens to trial in connection with a December protest against the disputed reelection of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. More   News Kazakh President Energized After China Trip Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev wraps up a visit to China and heads home with lucrative contracts to supply China with energy resources and promises of some $7 billion in Chinese loans for projects in Kazakhstan. More   Libyan Protests Rage As Army Divisions Emerge A week into Libya's antigovernment uprising and one day after embattled leader Muammar Qaddafi made a defiant televised speech, demonstrations have spread across the country and there are reports of divisions within the army. More   UN Security Council Condemns Libya Violence The United Nations Security Council has condemned the crackdown on protesters by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's regime. More   From Our Bureaus Tajiks Seek Russian Help In Libya Tajik officials say they are trying to evacuate their citizens from Libya because of the dangerous unrest there. More   Arrests In Ukraine Acid Attack A police officer and another man have been arrested in Kyiv in connection with an acid attack last week on Kyiv Oblast deputy head Yuriy Chyzhmar. More   Belarus Opposition Sues Justice Ministry The Belarusian Supreme Court has suspended hearings into a lawsuit filed by the nonregistered opposition Christian Democratic Party of Belarus (BKD) against the Justice Ministry. More   Azerbaijani Parliament Approves Pro-Government Election Commission Azerbaijan's Milli Meclis has confirmed a new Central Election Commission (MSK) that strengthens the ruling party's control of the body. More   Ukrainians Honor Dissident Patriarch A plaque was placed on the building housing the Kharkiv City Transport Inspection Police, site of a former Soviet-era transit jail in which Patriarch Yosyp spent several weeks in 1961 en route to a Siberian prison camp. More   Kyrgyz Demand Credible Probe Of Bloodshed Residents in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh have urged parliament speaker Akhmatbek Keldibekov to ensure that the investigation into ethnic clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in June is thorough and fair. More   Balkan Nationals Flee Libya More than half of the 1,500 Bosnians, half of the estimated 1,000 Serbians, and nearly all of the some 300 Croatians living in Libya had applied to their governments to be evacuated. More   Transmission 'The Role Of Civil Society In the Democratisation Of Global Governance Institutions.' Yes, Qaddafi Jnr. Wrote That Odd that the man who vowed Libya's regime will fight antigovernment protesters "until the last bullet" is the same guy who authored a thesis on democratization and helped finance a virtual democracy center for his alma mater. More   Maxing Out The Hypocrisy Meter Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad -- whose fiercely disputed reelection in June 2009 sparked unprecedented street protests that were met with a brutal response that included killings, mass roundups and show trials, and alleged torture and disappearances of detainees -- talking about Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi's response to mounting unrest targeting his 42-year hold on power. More   Persian Letters Where Are Iranian Opposition Leaders Musavi, Karrubi? Both Mehdi Karrubi and Mir Hossein Musavi have remained defiant despite numerous calls for their trial and, most recently, their execution. Their wives, who are reportedly also under house arrest, have also been outspoken and both have criticized Iran's leadership and human rights abuses. More   Chaikhana Turkmenistan Opens New Grand Bazaar In The Desert The new bazaar, Altyn Asyr, opened earlier this month, is a source of pride for Turkmenistan's government. The government has invested over $150 million to build it on the sands of the Kara-Kum Desert. More   Caucasus Report Abkhazia Asks Georgia To Hand Over Former Guerrilla Commander The Abkhaz delegation to confidence-building talks has demanded that Georgia hand over Dato Shengelia, commander of the now-disbanded Forest Brothers guerrilla group. More