RFE/RL Headlines

RFE/RL Headlines 5/25/2011 8:14:45 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 Comic Strip Casts Putin, Medvedev As Superheroes A new comic strip casting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev as superheroes has taken the Internet by storm. But some viewers suspect the work was commissioned by the Kremlin. More   The Timeless Beauty Of Afghanistan's Blue Mosque Afghanistan once attracted thousands of tourists. At the Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, it is easy to see why. More   Azerbaijan Joins Ranks Of Non-Aligned Movement Azerbaijan's move to join the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) comes with relations strained with the European Union over Baku's human rights record, and some observers suggest it could indicate a shift away from the West. More   Pakistan Provokes Deep Divisions In Washington More than three weeks after the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by United States commandos, U.S. policymakers, military leaders, and legislators remain deeply divided when it comes to defining relations with Pakistan. More   Russia's Public Chamber Calls For Banning 'Protocols Of Elders Of Zion' Pressure in Russia is mounting to get "The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion" declared “extremist," which would lead to the 20th-century propaganda pamphlet being banned. But some rights activists question the wisdom of such a move. More   A Street Poet At A Court Poets' Feast: Remembering Bob Dylan's Visit To Soviet Georgia As Bob Dylan turns 70 on May 24, his fans in Georgia are remembering a few strange days in July 1985 -- days which their idol spent in Tbilisi, the capital of what was then the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. More   News Ex-Miss Russia Faces U.S. Deportation A former Russian beauty queen is facing deportation from the United States over drug and shop-lifting charges. More   Amnesty Revises Khodorkovsky Stance Amnesty International has recognized Russian businessmen Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev as prisoners of conscience after a Moscow court upheld the men's convictions on money laundering. More   Lagarde Announces IMF Candidacy Christine Lagarde of France has become the first candidate to announce a bid to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the International Monetary Fund. More   EU Pledges More Funding As It Unveils Revamped Neighborhood Policy The EU will commit an additional 1 billion euros in its immediate neighborhood in a move that comes as a direct response to the Arab Spring but it will also shape Brussels' political and economic relationship with its eastern neighbors. More   Russia's Top Internet Company, Yandex, Makes U.S. Debut With IPO Yandex is going public. The popular Russian search engine will hold a highly anticipated initial public offering in New York this week and will list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. More   From Our Bureaus Afghan War Veterans Oppose Kazakh Participation In ISAF Kazakh veterans of the Soviet-era war in Afghanistan are protesting a parliament decision to send troops to serve with the NATO-led international force in Afghanistan (ISAF). More   Russian Mayor Charged With Abuse Of Office Police and Federal Security Service (FSB) personnel searched the offices of Abakan Mayor Nikolai Bulakin on May 25 after he was officially charged with abuse of office. More   Moldova To Review Islam Registration The Justice Ministry registered the Islamic League in mid-March, after Moldova's tiny Muslim minority had tried in vain for years to obtain some kind of official recognition, triggering a wave of protests from the dominant Orthodox Church. More   Tbilisi Armenians 'Not Taking Sides' In Georgian Standoff The leader of the Armenian community in Tbilisi says its members are doing their best to remain neutral in the current standoff between Georgian authorities and the opposition. More   Russian Human Rights Activist Held A veteran Russian human rights activist has been sentenced to 48 hours' detention in the western Siberian city of Novosibirsk after he failed to show up at a police station where he had been summoned for questioning. More   Labor Union Activist Jailed In Kazakhstan A Kazakh labor union activist has been jailed for eight days for taking part in a weekend protest by striking oil workers. More   Kyrgyz Parliament Deputy Requests Police Protection A Kyrgyz parliament deputy has asked the legislative assembly to provide her and her family with security guards after video footage from her personal archive on last summer's ethnic clashes in southern Kyrgyzstan was screened for lawmakers. More   Kyrgyz Deputy PM 'Guilty Of Graft' A Kyrgyz parliamentary commission says it has evidence that First Deputy Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov was involved in illegal financial activity. More   Indonesia Jails Kyrgyz Woman For Drug Trafficking A court in Indonesia has sentenced a Kyrgyz woman to 10 1/2 years in jail for illegal drug-trafficking. More   Released Uzbek Poet Says Torture Common In Uzbek Jails Yusuf Juma, 53, who was jailed in 2008 for "resisting police and injuring two policemen" during an antigovernment protest in the city of Bukhara, was released on May 18 after serving three years of his five-year prison term. He left for the United States the next day. More   Transmission Summer In Paris, Or Jail In Tbilisi? Hmm… What little suspense there might have been surrounding the current antigovernment protests in Tbilisi revolved around two grandiose ultimatums. More   Persian Letters Iranian Soccer Legend Nasser Hejazi Laid To Rest Iranian soccer legend Nasser Hejazi was laid to rest today at Tehran's Behesht Zahra cemetery following a funeral ceremony at the Azadi stadium that was attended by thousands of his supporters. More   Chaikhana Tallest Flag Raised in Dushanbe A new flagpole erected in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, this week looks set to enter the Guinness Book of Records. More   Watchdog Amnesty Launches Campaign To Free Azerbaijani Journalist; Pro-Regime Youth Fight Back The U.K.-based Amnesty International has just launched a smart Twitter campaign, led by some prominent British media personalities holding up signs calling for Fatullayev's release. More   Tangled Web Facebook To Launch Global Policy Offensive (And How It Might Start Looking Like McDonald's) Instead of a state, there is perhaps a better analogy for Facebook’s future model: McDonald’s. More