Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 6/16/2011 8:29:39 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 Q&A: Why Is Pakistan Arresting Those Who Helped Find Osama Bin Laden? Pakistan's military has reportedly arrested five Pakistani informants who helped give information to the CIA about activities at Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan ahead of the raid that led to his death in May. RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz speaks about the implications of the arrests with Sebastian Gorka, a military affairs analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy in Washington who advises the United States and its NATO allies, as well as the British military and the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). More   Iran, Long Seen As An Economic Basket Case, Wins Praise From IMF Iran hardly seems a likely candidate to earn the praises of the International Monetary Fund. But now the organization has issued a surprisingly upbeat assessment of the Islamic regime's economic policies, including its efforts to reduce inflation and a radical program to end subsidies. Not all economists recognize the picture the IMF paints. More   UN Considers Splitting Al-Qaeda-Taliban Blacklist The UN Security Council is set to decide whether to split up a sanctions blacklist and treat Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as separate entities, and remove some names from the list entirely. The Afghan government believes this will give it more leeway in its efforts to reconcile with moderate Taliban members. More   Moscow Mayor Initiates Anti-Xenophobia Campaign Moscow appears to shift gears in the battle against racism with the launch of a new anti-xenophobia program. Is the new mayor really ready to take on racism? More   Qaddafi's Options Narrow As Libyan Stalemate Continues Four months after the uprising against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi began, and three months after the first NATO air strikes, the situation on the ground has reached stalemate. Why have the NATO air raids failed to break the stalemate? More   News Greek Crisis Shakes Global Markets Greece's financial and political crisis has sent shock waves through global markets amid growing fears that the country will default on its debt obligations. More   From Our Bureaus U.S. Journalist, British Activist Assaulted In Azerbaijan An American journalist and British human rights activist were reportedly attacked and beaten in Baku late on June 15. More   Greece Slams Skopje Over Statue Greece has criticized Macedonia's erection of a bronze statue of Alexander the Great as a provocation that could further strain relations with the country with which it is locked in a name dispute. More   Jailed Belarusian Activist 'Tortured' The Belarusian opposition Youth Front has said that a jailed activist has been "tortured" in the prison where he is serving a 3 1/2 year jail term. More   Iran: Students Urge Punishment For Raid Tehran University's Islamic Association has published an open letter to the head of the country's judiciary demanding punishment for those involved in a violent raid on university dormitories two years ago. More   Kyrgyzstan: Bakiev Trial Adjourned The trial of ousted Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev's brother Akmat in connection with ethnic clashes in southern Kyrgyzstan last year has been adjourned for one week. More   Russia Probes Bizarre Soldier Deaths On June 9, three dead soldiers were found in a fuel tanker at the military unit in Kinel, which is in Samara Oblast. It is unclear how the soldiers' bodies ended up in the tanker. The bodies have been sent for forensic examination. More   Kyrgyz Deputy Refutes 'Hooligan' Charge The leader of the ruling coalition's Ata-Jurt (Homeland) party faction in the Kyrgyz parliament, Kamchybek Tashiev, says government charges being brought against him are politically motivated. More   Belarus: Activist Starts Hunger Strike A member of the embattled Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB) who was sentenced to five days in jail on June 15, has started a hunger strike. More   Russian Ultranationalists Get Life A major leader of ultranationalist groups in St. Petersburg and another member have been sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in a series of murders of foreigners. More   The Power Vertical Podcast: Oligarchy 2.0? Mikhail Prokhorov And Russia's Emerging Party System More   Caucasus Report South Ossetian Supreme Court Nixes Proposed Referendum On Third Presidential Term The campaign launched last month to enable Eduard Kokoity, de facto president of Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia, to serve a third consecutive presidential term has suffered two setbacks within two days. More   Commentary Mladic's Long Shadow The day before his extradition to The Hague to face charges of war crimes and genocide, Ratko Mladic requested permission from the Serbian authorities to visit the grave of his daughter Ana. More