Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Iraq Report 8/31/2011 8:26:40 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Iraq

 

Islamic History Series Makes Waves In Iraq During Ramadan A TV series released in Iraq at the start of Ramadan has caused widespread debate in the country due to its portrayal of an extremely sensitive historical period of Islam and its personification of the Prophet Muhammad's family and companions. More   U.S. Providing Iraq With Phone, SMS Monitoring Devices A U.S. military official says Washington will provide Iraqi authorities with technology to monitor and record phone calls and phone-text messages with the aim of preventing terrorist attacks, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports (RFI). More   Iraqi Politicians Condemn Turkish Bombing Of Iraqi Kurds Iraqi politicians in Baghdad are joining Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials in condemning three days of Turkish air strikes on Kurdish rebel bases that have hit border villages in Iraq. More   Iraqi Parliament Debates New 'Strategic Policy Council' A draft law on the establishment of Iraq's controversial National Council for Strategic Policy had its first reading in parliament as disagreements over details of the council persist. More

RFE/RL Afghanistan Report 8/31/2011 8:27:33 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Afghanistan. For more stories on Afghanistan, please visit and bookmark our Afghanistan page .

 

The Dangers Of Conducting Live Interviews On Iranian State Television Live interviews are rare on Iranian state television, for obvious reasons. Going off-script means there's a chance to evade the censors, which give the audience only the version of the news that is approved by authorities. More   Afghan Aid Worker Not Blind To Taliban Threats Afghan civilians associated with Western-funded aid projects are under increasing threat from Taliban insurgents as Western forces transfer security responsibilities to Afghans. The life of one blind aid worker in eastern Afghanistan has been disrupted by a letter threatening death "anytime, any place." More   Karzai Sends Child Bombers Home Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered that eight would-be child suicide bombers be sent back to their families. More   Podcast: What Now In Libya? Plus, The Taliban's Destructive Legacy In Pakistan's Swat Valley In Episode 33 of "The Blender," we look at the challenges Libya's rebel leaders face in getting the country back on its feet. The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan talks about the best ways to challenge extremism in the region. And we have a report on the terrible impact the Taliban have had on women's rights and the music culture of Pakistan's Swat Valley. More

RFE/RL Headlines 8/31/2011 8:29:13 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 Rosneft Takes Major Step With Multibillion-Dollar Oil-Exploration Deal Russian state-owned oil and gas company Rosneft and the U.S. company Exxon Mobil signed a deal on August 30 that will see them explore vast untapped energy reserves in Russia's Arctic Ocean and Black Sea. More   Turkey's Akyol, An Apostle Of The Third Way He has been hailed by many in the West as the voice of a new moderate Islam. Now Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish writer and religious thinker, seeks to reconcile the traditional tenets of the Islamic faith with liberal democracy. More   As State Media Loses Credibility, Belarus's Independent Press Struggles To Fill Void Belarusians are quickly losing faith in the country's tightly controlled state media, creating an opportunity for the feisty independent press to shape public opinion. But seizing this opportunity will be difficult for the nonstate media, which survive on a shoestring budget and face constant harassment from the authorities. More   News U.S. Panel: Up To $60 Billion Wasted In Afghanistan, Iraq The United States has lost as much as $60 billion due to contractor waste and fraud over the last decade in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a report issued today by an independent, bipartisan commission charged with overseeing the U.S. contractors in wartime. More   Royal Dutch Shell Looking To Develop Ukrainian Shale Gas The head of Ukraine's presidential administration Serhiy Lovochkin has said the Dutch-British company Royal Dutch Shell could invest some $600 million in developing shale gas deposits in Ukraine. More   Environmentalists, Police Clash In Iran Demonstrators have clashed with security forces in western Iran during a protest to demand greater care for one of the world's biggest saltwater lakes. More   Suicide Bombers Blamed In Chechnya Nine people have been killed in Grozny by what authorities say was a triple suicide attack during Eid al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. More   From Our Bureaus Kazakh Rapper Forced To Cancel Concert For Striking Workers Famous Kazakh rapper Takezhan Oteghaliev has been pressured into canceling a concert in support of striking oil workers in western Kazakhstan. More   Tajik Newspaper Editor Assaulted In Dushanbe The chief editor of an independent Tajik newspaper says he and his relatives were beaten by unknown attackers while going to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. More   Two Held Over Armenian Soldier Death An officer and a soldier have been arrested in connection with the latest noncombat death in the Armenian Army. More   RFE/RL Kazakh Reporter, Rights Activist Acquitted Of Libel A rights activist and RFE/RL reporter in northwestern Kazakhstan has been acquitted of libel. More   Young Tajiks Barred From Eid Prayers Tajik police stopped young people under 18 from entering mosques on August 31 for Eid al-Fitr prayers celebrating the end of Ramadan. More   Kuchma 'Ordered' Gongadze Death The prime suspect in the killing of a Ukrainian journalist more than ten years ago has reportedly told his trial that former President Leonid Kuchma was among those who ordered the murder. More   Armenian Police Chief On Graft Charges The chief of the Armenian traffic police has been arrested in a corruption investigation launched by law-enforcement authorities last week. More   Karabakh Declares Amnesty To Mark Independence Declaration Authorities in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh have declared a general amnesty they say will lead to the release of about 20 percent of the territory's prison population. More   Tajik Bank Co-Owned By President's Relative Ordered To Pay Debt A Tajik company has won a case against a bank partly owned by President Emomali Rahmon's brother-in-law. More   Kyrgyzstan Investigates Gold Mine Attack Officials in northern Kyrgyzstan are investigating the recent beating of three Chinese workers and three policemen at a gold mine. More   Uzbek AIDS Activist Freed From Jail An Uzbek HIV/AIDS activist whose imprisonment was widely condemned by international rights groups has been released from jail in Uzbekistan. More   Tajik Teachers Quit To Protest Wage Arrears The General-Prosecutor's Office in Tajikistan's Khatlon Province has opened some 20 criminal cases in connection with wage arrears that have caused some teachers to quit their jobs in desperation. More   Transmission Kazakh Currency Earns Minsk's Confidence The Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange says that country's national bank has more than doubled the list of foreign currencies it officially wants to get its hands on. In addition to the Polish zloty, Czech koruna, Hungarian forint, Chinese yuan/renminbi, and Israeli shekel, among others, the additions include the Kazakh tenge. More   The Power Vertical Meet The New Boss (Different From The Old Boss) So Russia's second city has its new governor, and nobody is quite sure what to expect of him. More   Persian Letters The Dangers Of Conducting Live Interviews On Iranian State Television Live interviews are rare on Iranian state television, for obvious reasons. Going off-script means there's a chance to evade the censors, which give the audience only the version of the news that is approved by authorities. More   Caucasus Report Who Was Behind The Grozny Attacks? The North Caucasus insurgency perpetrated a series of terrorist attacks in Grozny last night, killing at least eight people and injuring 22. No faction has yet claimed responsibility. The modus operandi suggests the attacks were the work of the Gakayev brothers. More   Uzbekistan What The Uzbek President Won't Say On Independence Day There are some events and names the presidents won't be mentioning in the speeches, and I thought, for the sake of balance, I'd recall some of them. More

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