Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 3/16/2011 9:06:22 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 Taliban Employs Modern Weapons In 'War of Words' The Taliban, which while in power in Afghanistan banned photography, movies, and the use of the Internet as un-Islamic, now makes full use of those media for propaganda and recruitment purposes. More   No Recognition For Libyan Rebels The rebel leadership in Libya desperately wants other countries to recognize it as a government but only France has done so. Why? More   Five Nuclear Disasters Waiting To Happen In light of the Japanese nuclear crisis, RFE/RL takes a look at five other reactor complexes where safety has been an issue in the past and which prompt concern for the future. More   News Despite Official Reassurances, Russians In Far East Worry About Radiation Residents of Russia's Far East are scrambling to buy iodine, red wine, vodka, and seaweed amid fears about windblown radiation from Japan, even as officials assure them there is no threat. More   Blood Money Frees CIA 'Shooter' A U.S. man accused of murdering two Pakistanis is reported to have been freed, after a deal in which "blood money" was paid to the victims' families. The announcement came just hours after a court in Lahore formally charged Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor, with two counts of murder. More   Japan Struggles To Avoid Further Radioactive Leaks Workers at a Japanese nuclear power plant damaged by last week's earthquake and tsunami are struggling to prevent further leaks of radioactive material. A mix of white smoke and steam rose from the stricken facility as desperate attempts to cool down a plutonium-fueled reactor reportedly were aborted. More   From Our Bureaus Russians Jailed For Killing Korean Three young men in the central Russian city of Barnaul have been found guilty of killing of a Korean student and sentenced to heavy jail terms. More   Azeris Will 'Shoot Down' Karabakh Flights Azerbaijan has threatened to shoot down civilian planes flying to Nagorno-Karabakh if the sole civilian airport in the disputed region reopens as planned. More   Kazakh Activist Jailed Over Homeowners' Protest The leader of a Kazakh NGO has been jailed for 15 days for organizing a protest that saw hundreds of disgruntled homeowners rally in the capital, Astana. More   'Pearl Ensign's' Trial Postponed Again A St. Petersburg court has again postponed hearings in the case of alleged abuse by former policeman Vadim Boiko. More   'Fleeing' Belarusian Opposition Figure Says Doing Fine A former Belarusian opposition presidential candidate who apparently fled Belarus this week in defiance of an order barring him from leaving town has sent an audio message saying he is out of the country and doing well. More   Tajik Commander Describes 'Good' Prison Conditions A former Tajik opposition commander has described as "good" the conditions in the prison in Dushanbe where he served three years of a nine-year term prior to being amnestied last month. More   'New Crackdown' On Iran Students A former student activist of Tehran's Sharif University of Technology told Radio Farda on March 13 that 16-18 students of that university have been detained since mid-February. More   Tajik Official Rules Out Return Of Russian Border Guards A senior Tajik border guard official has ruled out the renewed stationing of Russian border guards along Tajikistan's borders. More   The Power Vertical Podcast: Regional Elections Kick Off Political Season Were the March 13 regional elections a victory or an embarrassment for the ruling United Russia party? In the second edition of the Power Vertical Podcast, I spoke with Kiril Kobrin, managing editor of RFE/RL's Russian Service, and Gregory Feifer, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL. More   Outpost Washington A Eulogy for Pakistan Last week Outpost attended the Washington memorial ceremony for murdered Pakistani politician Shahbaz Bhatti. The eulogy by Pakistan's Ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani, turned into a powerful plea to continue the fight for a liberal Pakistan. More   Commentary If Libya's Qaddafi Hangs On... Western governments seem to have reconciled themselves to Muammar Qaddafi remaining in power. Now they need to prepare for the reemergence of a global threat: resumption of the Libyan dictator's WMD program. More   The Balkans -- All Talk And No Listening Every time I publish a commentary on RFE/RL's English-language website or on the website of our Balkans Service, I watch in amazement as the reader comments begin to come in. But it isn't because I am so brilliant or even controversial. It is because my topics attract an audience that knows how to speak, but is incapable of listening. More