Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 6/17/2011 9:08:30 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 Saudi Women Demand Right To Drive Thousands of Saudi women have joined Facebook groups challenging a prohibition on women driving cars and urging women with foreign licences to drive on June 17. The kingdom has no such written ban, but Saudi law requires citizens to use a locally issued licence while in the country and such licenses are not issued to women. Video by Reuters. More Making of - Kyrgyz bread Making of - Kyrgyz bread More Features Specialist Ed Reed: Shale Gas 'Has Been A Game Changer In North America' Is the world on the cusp of a shale-gas revolution? Who will be the leaders in using this new technology? And what are the upsides and the downsides? For some answers, RFE/RL correspondent Bruce Pannier spoke to Ed Reed, senior editor at Scotland-based NewsBase Ltd., which tracks global energy developments. More Europe Sees American Experience With Shale Gas As Cautionary Tale As European countries grapple with how -- and in some cases, whether -- to exploit their own natural-gas deposits, the U.S. experience is being watched carefully. Foul-smelling drinking water, kitchen faucets that spurt flames, and alleged illnesses in people who live near drilling sites have led some to conclude that the American gas industry is moving too fast, with too little oversight. Others, however, say the promise of shale is too great to ignore. More Poland's Shale-Gas Dream Could Dramatically Change Continent's Energy Game Poland reportedly has Europe's largest deposits of shale gas. If these can be tapped, the continent's energy equation could be altered beyond recognition. More From Our Bureaus Russia Probes Kyrgyz-Uzbek Clashes The municipal authorities in central Russia have launched an investigation into a fight this week between several migrant workers from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. More Kyrgyz Deputy Renounces Immunity The head of the Ata-Jurt (Homeland) party in the Kyrgyz parliament, Kamchybek Tashiev, has surrendered his immunity from prosecution as a member of parliament. More Azerbaijani Activist's Mother Arrested The mother of jailed youth activist Bakhtiyar Haciyev was briefly detained on June 17 after leaving her membership card from the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party (YAP) on the grave of former President Heydar Aliyev to protest the jail term given her son. More Russian Energy Giants Invest In Armenia Armenian officials say Russian energy companies have pledged to invest a total of 26.7 billion drams ($71.2 million) in the natural gas and electricity distribution networks they own in Armenia in 2011. More U.S. Urges Better Azeri Rights Record A visiting U.S. State Department official said in Baku that Washington is urging Azerbaijan to improve its rights record and "open up" its political process. More Iraq Admits Summer Power Shortage An Iraqi official says power generated by the country's national grid will fall far short of demand this summer despite additional government funds allocated to the energy sector. More Armenia, Georgia Churches Fail To Agree The historic meeting of Armenian and Georgian religious leaders in Georgia did not result in any concrete agreements on disputes between the quasi-official churches after nearly one week of talks. More Belarus: Activists' Convictions Upheld A Minsk city court has upheld the convictions of two Belarusian activists sentenced on charges of "hooliganism" ahead of December's presidential election. More Belarus: Journalist's Trial Postponed The trial of Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut on charges of insulting Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in the western Belarusian city of Hrodna on June 17 but was postponed until June 23 More Imam Slams Mosque Ban For Kids A prominent Tajik religious leader and former deputy prime minister has criticized the proposed parental responsibilities law as being "openly against the will of God." More Kyrgyz President Praises Report Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva has said the work of the international Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission that investigated the deadly ethnic clashes in southern Kyrgyzstan last year was "important and necessary." More 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 Transmission Lukashenka: "There is no crisis - only panic and anxiety." Belarusian President Alyaksander Lukashenka has been under pressure recently as his country grapples with a major economic crisis that has led to a 36 percent currency devaluation and soaring inflation. More Putin’s New Photographer A Picturesque Choice Picture this: Vladimir Putin, the most powerful man in Russia, lets his eye wander in the direction of a volumptuous, plump-lipped former Miss Moscow participant. More The Power Vertical Medvedev Talks Reform In St. Petersburg More Podcast: Oligarchy 2.0? Mikhail Prokhorov And Russia's Emerging Party System Kirill Kobrin, managing editor of RFE/RL's Russian Service, talks about a topic that has been in the news for much of the past month and has been covered extensively by the Power Vertical blog: the return of oligarchs to Russian politics and what it means for the future of the political system. More Persian Letters Another Iranian Sentenced To Prison Over Facebook Activities Several Iranian news websites are reporting that Mostafa Akhavan, a student pilot and member of the National Trust party (established by opposition leader Mehdi Karrubi in 2005) has been sentenced to one year in prison on security- related charges connected to his activities on Facebook. More Chaikhana Video Game Upsets Tajik Parliamentarian A Tajik lawmaker has called on the country's parliament to ban the sale of a video game depicting a fictional antiterrorism operation carried out by U.S. and Chinese troops on Tajik territory. More The Blender Podcast: Belarus Sinks Deeper; Top Obama Adviser Talks Russia; Plus, 'You Singin' To Me?' -- Uzbek Taxi Driver Serenades Chicago On this week's show, the deepening financial crisis in Belarus, an interview with U.S. President Barack Obama's top Russia adviser, and a Chicago cab driver who sings for his fares -- in Uzbek. More Video Archive Authorities Remove Baghdad Blast Walls Workers used giant cranes to remove the concrete walls that have long lined Baghdad's streets and surrounded whole neighborhoods. More Photo Gallery Archive Photos Of The Week -- June 11-17 A swan stops traffic in England, Greek demonstrations, Syrian refugees, a heatwave in Lahore and a mortar attack in Afghanistan. More