Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 3/7/2011 5:56:31 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.

 

Picks "Free Talk", March 5, 2011, part 3/3 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 Azerbaijani president's announcement of rising oil revenues and economic growth. What is the secret of the “Azerbaijani economic wonder”? Critics say the economy is purely dependen More   "Free Talk", March 5, 2011, part 2/3 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 rapidly changing situation in the North Caucasus, and asks why Boris Ebzeyev resigned as the president of Karachayevo-Cherkessia. The republic's parliament has confirmed Rashid Tem More   "Free Talk", March 5, 2011, part 1/3 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 Georgian Orthodox patriarch's call for dialogue. Will Moscow hear him and respond? More   Afghans Protest Against Civilian Casualties Hundreds of people rallied in Kabul on March 7 to denounce the killing of civilians in coalition operations. The protest was sparked by the recent deaths of nine children in a NATO strike in Kunar Province on March 1. More   Features Women's Day Forgotten In The West Make no mistake, commemorations of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day on March 8 will be truly international in nature, with celebrations planned in more than 100 countries worldwide. But despite the holiday's high-profile anniversary, Women's Day is virtually unheard of in the West, even in the countries where the holiday has its origins. More   Rock 'N' Roll Is Dead (Wrong) In Uzbekistan Rock 'n' roll and rap music have been added to Uzbek media's unofficial list of cultural forms to be wary of. The contemporary forms of music are only the latest victims of a campaign to mold model citizens in Uzbekistan, citizens who avoid the excesses of both the East and the West. More   Georgian FM: 'I Don't See What Idealism Has To Do With Foreign Policy' Grigol Vashadze is Georgia's foreign minister and a close ally of President Mikheil Saakashvili. During a recent visit to Prague, RFE/RL correspondent Salome Asatiani asked him about the conflict over Georgia's separatist regions, its troubled relations with Russia, and the country's contribution to the war effort in Afghanistan. More   News Cash Missing From Putin Benefit Show The Russian government says it's investigating reports that money raised at a recent charity concert attended by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has gone missing. Actress Sharon Stone and other Hollywood stars raised eyebrows during the concert by applauding Putin's singing. More   From Our Bureaus Journalist Sanobar Shermatova Dies Well-known Central Asian specialist and prominent Russian-Uzbek journalist Sanobar Shermatova has died in Moscow of cardiac arrest at the age of 59. More   Probe Launched Into Tajik's Death Following Detention By Police Tajik authorities have opened an investigation into the death of a Dushanbe man whose relatives say was beaten by police. More   Kyrgyz Woman Arrested For Smuggling Police in southern Kyrgyzstan have arrested a woman who allegedly tried to smuggle heroin to Russia. More   Posters Call For Release Of Detained Belarusian Activist Posters calling for the immediate release of detained Belarusian activist Zmitser Dashkevich were pasted on walls and fences in Minsk over the weekend. More   Azeri Activists Under Pressure Youth activists in Azerbaijan say they are coming under pressure over a Facebook campaign calling for a day of antigovernment protests on March 11. More   Transmission In Brussels, Women's Day Never Goes Out Of Fashion The March 8 International Women's Day holiday was supposed to be a relic from the ancient regime, but in the Brussels corridors it has never really gone out of fashion. More   Persian Letters Iran Says It Welcomes Hackers Who Work For Islamic Republic An official with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has said that Iran welcomes hackers who are willing to work for the Islamic Republic. More   Caucasus Report Reflections On A Special EU Special Envoy Peter Semneby, with his quiet manner and understated style, who speaks five languages in addition to his native Swedish, was uniquely placed to promote dialogue not only between regional states, but also between rival domestic political factions. More   Tangled Web Azerbaijani Authorities Attempt To Clamp Down On 'Protests' With the organizer of an antigovernment Internet campaign behind bars, the authorities are trying to minimize the risks of any social-network-fuelled protests. More   Outpost Washington Caldwell Continued: The Rebuttal More   Commentary Bhatti Killing Should Alarm Pakistan's Minorities The murder last week of Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's minority affairs minister and the only Christian in the cabinet, is a reminder of how dangerous it can be to voice one's opinion in violence-riddled Pakistan. More   Azerbaijan Azerbaijanis Flow Into Iran To Buy Food As food prices rise around the globe, more than 3,000 Azerbaijanis cross the border into Iran each day to buy basic foods that have become prohibitively expensive in their own country. The Astara border checkpoint is ill-equipped to deal with the numbers, and people spend hours stuck behind iron bars or in huge crowds. RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service More