Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Wednesday 31 August 2011


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 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 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 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' 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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) 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 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? 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 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



Getting Our Fix

John Podesta, Carl Pope, and Gene Karpinski lay out an agenda for cutting our oil dependence and investing in cleaner transportation.
More: Cleaner Cars, Less Foreign Oil
today's cartoon From the Cartoonist Group.