Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 3/15/2011 9:25:41 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 WikiLeaks' Spokesman: We Have 'Changed The Landscape Of The Media' The pro-transparency organization WikiLeaks has itself been criticized for a lack of transparency about how it operates. In an interview with RFE/RL correspondent Kristin Deasy, WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson responds to these criticisms and talks about the organization's goals and methods. More   News EU To Hold Europe-Wide Stress Tests At Nuclear Plants The stress tests consist of computer simulations to determine how the facilities would cope with various natural disasters, including earthquakes and tsunamis. The test scenarios will differ, depending on whether the nuclear plant is situated on the coast or near places at risk of earthquake. More   Petraeus Cites 'Fragile' Afghan Success The commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan told a Senate committee that NATO forces have largely succeeding in halting the momentum of the Taliban and that U.S. plans to begin withdrawing troops this July remain on schedule. More   Japan Says Radiation Levels Drop After Earlier Spike Japan says radiation at a quake-striken nuclear plant has dropped after earlier reaching levels dangerous to human health. More   Uzbek Gov't Forces HRW Closure The global human rights group Human Rights Watch says Uzbek authorities have forced it to shut down its office in Tashkent, following years of harassment and pressure on representatives. More   From Our Bureaus Kosovar Serbs Honor Putin Radovan Nicic, a representative from the predominantly Serb-populated northern Kosovo, said Putin was given the award for his efforts to "safeguard the territorial integrity of Serbia" at the UN Security Council. More   Hoodwinked Kazakh Investors Spurned The demonstrators are mortgage holders and investors in apartment projects who complain they have been double-crossed by banks and developers. More   Mladic Pal Made Serbian Minister The fugitive Ratko Mladic's ability to evade capture has vexed the international community, and the elevation to a cabinet-level position of a man who is rumored to have helped an accused war criminal escape justice could affect Belgrade's relations with the West. More   Kyrgyz Plans New U.S., Russian Bases Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva says her country plans to host two new U.S. and Russian military training facilities in the south. More   Armenian Pol Launches Hunger Strike The leader of Armenia's opposition Zharangutyun (Heritage) party, Raffi Hovannisian, has vowed to go on hunger strike to protest the country's government. More   Russia, Belarus Ink $9Bln Nuke Deal The deal calls for Belarus's first nuclear facility, at a site near the border with Latvia, to come fully online by 2018. More   Kyrgyz Protesters Say 'Keep Rights Activist In Jail' A prominent ethnic Uzbek rights activist jailed over last year's deadly violence in southern Kyrgyzstan says he was jailed for speaking the truth. More   Clashes Reported In Kyrgyz Jail Clashes in a maximum security prison in northern Kyrgyzstan have left several prison guards injured. More   Kazakh Inmate Maims Himself An inmate of a maximum security penitentiary in Kazakhstan's northern Aqmola Oblast has maimed himself to protest being held in solitary confinement. More   Baha'i Leader Barred From Funeral One of seven Baha'i leaders serving prison terms in Iran is reported to have been refused permission to attend his wife's funeral. More   Tangled Web Forget WikiLeaks, We Need A WikiWitness Perhaps what's needed is some kind of website or portal, WikiWitness say, where data could be uploaded for posterity. More   Commentary Waiting To Exhale In Kabul As Afghans prepare for Norouz, the ancient Zoroastrian new year's festival heralding the beginning of spring, the stench of burning tires and leaded gasoline fills the air in lieu of the spirit of fertility and nature’s rebirth. More   Video Archive Tajikistan Joins War On Smoking On January 1, Tajikistan introduced a ban on smoking or chewing tobacco in public, and some Tajiks are already welcoming the fresh air. But businesses like restaurants are scrambling to keep up with the new requirements without losing business, while other entrepreneurs -- street venders selling tobacco -- are seeing their livelihoods disappear. More   'Free Talk', March 10, 2011(Part 3) In this week's "Free Talk," a joint television project between RFE/RL and Georgia's PIK public broadcaster, host Irina Lagunina of RFE/RL's Russian Service discusses the latest impasse in three-way talks on Nagorno-Karabakh. Joining Lagunina on the program are Ziya Majidli, Murtazali Dugrichilov, and Koba Liklikadze of RFE/RL's Azerbaijani, North C More   'Free Talk', March 10, 2011(Part 2) In this week's "Free Talk," a joint television project between RFE/RL and Georgia's PIK public broadcaster, host Irina Lagunina of RFE/RL's Russian Service discusses the enduring popularity of 13th century Persian Muslim poet and Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. Joining her on the program are Murtazali Dugrichilov, Koba Liklikadze, and Ziya More   "Free Talk", March 10, 2011(Part 1) In this week's "Free Talk," a joint television project between RFE/RL and Georgia's PIK public broadcaster, host Irina Lagunina of RFE/RL's Russian Service discusses Russian-Georgian talks on the WTO. Will Moscow listen to Tbilisi's concerns? Joining her on the program are Koba Liklikadze, Murtazali Dugrichilov, and Ziya Majidli of RFE/RL's Georgia More   Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz Music For "The Blender" Janyl Chytyrbaeva of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service More