Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 6/13/2011 8:32:59 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 Russian Army Colonel Yury Budanov Buried Outside Moscow Former Russian Army Colonel Yury Budanov, who was shot dead three days ago, was buried outside the Russian capital on June 13. There was a strong police presence at the funeral. Budanov was released early from jail in January 2009. He was serving a 10-year jail sentence for murdering a Chechen teenager a decade ago. More   Features Georgia's Cycle Of Violence Reflects Dysfunctional Politics What will it take to get Georgian politics off the streets and into the parliament? Last month's violent protests and the ensuing police crackdown has left a bitter aftertaste for many Georgians. Will the latest round of violence lead to a catharsis? More   The Weary World Of An Osh Gravestone Carver Death is a reality in every part of the world, not least in a city like Osh, still reeling from clashes last year in which 470 people were killed. RFE/RL speaks to a gravestone carver about his life as an artist helping people at their time of deepest grief. More   Interview: Technology Expert Worries About Privacy Erosion And The State Of Democracy Sherry Turkle, a psychologist and professor with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), argues in her new book "Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology And Less From Each Other" that social networks and hyperconnectivity pose real threats to democracy. In a conversation with RFE/RL correspondent Robert Coalson, Turkle discusses the importance of privacy for democracy and the erosion of a culture that respects the need for privacy. More   In Age Of Arab Revolution, Iran's Election Anniversary Set To Go Off With A Whimper Iran's opposition Green Movement has called for demonstrations on June 12 to mark the second anniversary of the country's disputed presidential election of 2009. But in contrast to the revolutionary ferment enveloping the Arab world, the event is not expected to herald a new phase of Iranian protest. More   A Year After Kyrgyz Clashes, Some Signs of Peace In Ordinary Life It isn't hard to find anger still simmering in many corners of the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh. But in theaters, schools, and even the marriage bureau, there are plenty of signs that Kyrgyz and Uzbeks are bridging the divide left by last year's violence. More   News Turkey Ruling Party Wins Landslide Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's landslide victory leaves him just short of the two-thirds majority needed to meet his goal of replacing the constitution with a new presidential system. More   Silent Tehran Protesters Arrested On Anniversary Of Disputed Vote Arrests and clashes have been reported in Tehran on the anniversary of the disputed 2009 reelection of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad that led to mass street protests. Opposition websites and witnesses say dozens were arrested in the Iranian capital while marching silently to mark the anniversary. More   Convicted Colonel Killed In Moscow A Russian ex-army officer jailed for the murder of an 18-year-old girl in Chechnya in 2000 has been shot dead in Moscow. More   Russia Agrees To Rescind EU Ban Russia has agreed to lift a ban on imports of fresh vegetables from EU countries -- once it receives EU guarantees they are safe. More   Kyrgyz President Calls For Harmony Kyrgyzstan's president has appealed for harmony in her Central Asian country as it marks the first anniversary of a deadly wave of violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and minority Uzbeks. Her appearance was not greeted with universal approval. More   From Our Bureaus Torrential Thunderstorms Hit Tajikistan One man was killed in a landslide near the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, which was caused by heavy rains in recent days. More   Kazakh Strike Supporters Threatened Several visiting activists who went to support striking oil workers in western Kazakhstan have been threatened with arrest if they don't leave the area. More   Convicted Murderer Slain In Moscow Buried With Military Honors A Russian military expert says the military honors performed at the funeral today of convicted murderer and former Russian Army Colonel Yury Budanov violate the law. More   Self-Immolation Threats After Alleged Kazakh Prison Beatings Two inmates at the notorious Dolinka prison in central Kazakhstan threatened to self immolate themselves after allegedly being beaten by prison guards. More   Court Attacked Over Tajik Murder Case Tajik police have detained two men suspected of attacking a court and prosecutor's office in southwestern Tajikistan. More   McCain Backs Russian Moldova Pullout U.S. Senator John McCain said during a visit to Chisinau that Washington supports calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region. More   Belarusian Drivers Block Border Post Belarusian security forces used force on June 12 to disperse a protest by car owners against new gasoline restrictions on the Belarusian-Polish border. More   U.S. Energy Envoy In Turkmenistan Richard Morningstar, the U.S. secretary of state's special envoy for Eurasian energy, is in Turkmenistan. More   Armenia, Azerbaijan Say Closer To Deal Armenia and Azerbaijan have reported significant progress toward the resolution of the dispute over the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh following a meeting of their foreign ministers in Moscow. More   Legendary Russian Animation Studio Marks 75th Anniversary In Crisis Top employees at Soyuzmultfilm, Russia's oldest animation studio, have appealed to the Russian government for help as the company marks it 75th anniversary. More   Ukrainian Activists Want Sanctions Against Officials For Rights Violations Ukrainian rights activists have called on "democratic countries" to introduce sanctions against Ukrainian officials that they claim are involved in human rights violations. More   Protesters Demand Greater Role For Russian In Tatarstan's Schools Some 40 people have demonstrated in front of Tatarstan's parliament in Kazan to demand greater rights for the Russian language in the Russian republic's schools. More   Two Kidnapped Tajik Boys Released Two Tajik schoolboys kidnapped and taken to neighboring Afghanistan last week have been released and returned to Tajikistan without a ransom being paid. More   EP Raps Ukraine Over 'Selective Justice' The European Parliament has warned Ukraine to stop using criminal law as an instrument of pressure on the opposition. More   Groups Urge UN Action Against Iranian Rights Abuses Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi and four human rights organizations have jointly called on the UN Human Rights Council and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to more actively defend human rights in Iran. More   Tajik Regional Officials Ordered To Read More Books Officials in southern Tajikistan have been ordered to enroll at local libraries and read more books. More   Transmission Stalemate in Libya While Qaddafi loyalists outside of Misurata planned strategies against rebel fighters over the weekend, the Libyan leader was in Tripoli strategizing a game of chess against Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and former president of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia. More   And Vanuatu Makes Five Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific that is a member of the United Nations, has clarified its position on Abkhazia -- recognition. More   Tom De Waal: The Chances For Peace In Nagorno-Karabakh With an upcoming summit in Kazan on June 25, the festering Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is back in the spotlight. More   The Power Vertical The Powerless Vertical More   Persian Letters 'God, Please Rescue Him' The sister of blogger Hossein Derakhshan, whose 19 1/2-year prison sentence was confirmed last week by an appeals court in Iran, has reacted on “Justice For Hossein Derakhshan,” the blog which the family launched last year. More   Chaikhana Mr. Rahmon Goes To Europe Tajik President Emomali Rahmon was recently touring Europe but few seemed willing to meet with him. That was too bad for European officials, since Rahmon had an interesting comment. More   The Blender Podcast: Impressions Of Osh, One Year After Deadly Violence; Under The Bridge In Kabul In this week's show, correspondent Daisy Sindelar has the story of two neighbors in southern Kyrgyzstan. Both women -- a Kyrgyz and an Uzbek -- lived through the brutal ethnic violence that erupted one year ago. For both, sadness and suspicions have yet to fade. More   Gandhara Do Pakistan And Afghanistan Really Trust Each Other? It would be simplistic to expect Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, to resolve all these problems. In fact, they lack the power and resources to implement meaningful domestic reforms or to pull off a major regional breakthrough. More   Video Archive Thomas de Waal on Nagorno-Karabakh An expert on Caucasus security affairs Thomas de Waal's short interview on Nagorno-Karabakh talks. More   Photo Gallery Archive Photos Of The Week June 4-10 A Toast, A Tree, A Movie Star, And A Camel Caravan More   Osh Commemoration Ceremonies Pictures from the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, where commemoration ceremonies have been held to mark the first anniversary of ethnic clashes between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, which left 470 people dead. More   Armenia Armenian Church Leader Visits Georgia Armenia's visiting Catholicos Garegin II traveled by foot across the Georgian-Armenian border on June 10. More