Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 9/16/2011 8:23:56 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.

Missing zone for Kosovo, EU Security Forces Deployed At Disputed Border Posts Missing zone for Activists Protest Karimova's Fashion Show In New York Features Ukrainian Political Tensions Resurface Over Irreverent Soccer Chants Long-simmering political tensions in Ukraine have resurfaced again recently, as soccer fans in Kyiv have taken to taunting their eastern countrymen in ribald, irreverent verse. More Karachi Schools Close In Fear Of Violence More than 50 schools in Pakistan's commercial capital have had to close their doors this year because teachers and students fear communal violence. More News Kosovo Deploys On Serbia Border Authorities in Kosovo began dispatching police and customs officers to two contested border crossings with Serbia in the predominantly Serb north of the country, amid concerns the move would provoke ethnic violence. More From Our Bureaus Kazakh PM: Kyrgyz Should Join CIS Union Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov has said Kyrgyzstan should join the Commonwealth of Independent States' Customs Union in order to simplify the border-crossing process for Kyrgyz labor migrants. More Ethnic Uzbek Leader's Trial Resumes In Kyrgyzstan The trial of six ethnic Uzbeks charged in connection with last year's deadly violence in southern Kyrgyzstan resumed today in Bishkek. More Tatar Activists' Premises Searched Police have searched the apartments and office of leading Tatar activists in the city of Chally. More Georgia Makes Russian Maestro A Citizen Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has granted a request by Russian conductor Mikhail Arkadyev to receive Georgian citizenship. More Tajiks Arrest Kyrgyz Murder Suspects At least three men who allegedly belong to a Kyrgyz criminal group have been detained in Tajikistan as suspects in the killing of a former Kyrgyz official. More Moldovan Church Leader Slams UN Envoy The influential Moldovan Orthodox Church has stepped up its criticism of a UN envoy for religious freedom who suggested last week that it wields too much power. More EU Commission Wants More Border Say The European Commission wants more say in the possible return of internal border controls within Europe's passport-free Schengen area. More EU Partnership Assembly Flounders The first proper session of an assembly bringing together lawmakers from the European Union and further east has ended in disharmony, with the 110 members failing to agree on their first resolution. More Afghans Promote Women In Public Life An Afghan nongovernmental organization has compiled a list of 1,400 women qualified to hold posts in national or local government in an effort to promote greater inclusion of women in politics and social life. More Murder Probe Eyes Kyrgyz Oppositionist Kyrgyz officials say opposition United Kyrgyzstan party leader Adakhan Madumarov will be interrogated in connection with the killing of the former head of the country's presidential office. More Transmission Subtle Diplomacy Barely Conceals UN Divisions Over Kosovo Diplomatic battles are often concealed in formal language, which rarely betrays the intense pressure and acrimony that exists between the disagreeing parties. More Russian Heavyweight Boxing Legend 'Fails To Find' Bigfoot In Siberian Cave Former Russian heavyweight boxing champion Nikolai Valuyev has failed to track down a yeti in Siberia’s Kemerovo region despite tip offs and "traces" leading to a cave in the mountains, local authorities said on September 16. More Persian Letters Iranian Doctoral Student Lashed In Connection With Postelection Arrest* A doctoral student of sociology and blogger who campaigned for defeated presidential candidate and opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi blogged that she had received 50 lashes at Tehran's Evin prison. On Facebook, Somayeh Tohidlou downplayed the physical pain of the sentence and highlighted the price that others have paid. More The Blender Podcast: 9/11 Conspiracy Theories, Plus Afghanistan's First Rock Fest Since '75 In Episode 36, we speak with Brian Viglione of The Dresden Dolls about Afghanistan's first rock music festival since 1975. Plus, author Jonathan Kay takes a hard look at 9/11 conspiracy theories. More Watchdog Belarusian Bandarenka In Elite Company For Sakharov Rights Award Belarusian civil activist Dzmitry Bandarenka is one of the nominees for the European Parliament's 2011 Sakharov Price for Freedom of Thought. While Bandarenka is likely to make it to the final three, he might just miss out on the ultimate prize. More At Large The Persistence of Conspiracy Theories Conspiracy theories have existed since the beginning of time, but they have found a newfound prominence in the last decade as a result of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. More

The Reaper Takes an Interest in Politics

Ian Millhiser examines some of the essential programs that leading Tea Partiers would declare unconstitutional.
More: What If the Tea Party Wins?
From the Cartoonist Group.

RFE/RL Caucasus Report 9/16/2011 7:09:19 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region. For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page .

Georgia Makes Russian Maestro A Citizen Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has granted a request by Russian conductor Mikhail Arkadyev to receive Georgian citizenship. More EU Partnership Assembly Flounders The first proper session of an assembly bringing together lawmakers from the European Union and further east has ended in disharmony, with the 110 members failing to agree on their first resolution. More A Necktie A Day Keeps Autocracy Away Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has long since digested any fibers he may have consumed while nervously chewing on his necktie during the 2008 war with Russia. More than three years later, many Russians still associate Saakashvili with his famous chew -- and so it’s not too late, says Oleg Panfilov, to have a bit of fun. More Karabakh Says Shot Down Azeri Drone Defense officials of separatist-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh say its forces have for the first time shot down an unmanned Azerbaijani drone that was flying over the disputed region. More Armenian Court Rejects Libel Appeal By Opposition Daily Armenia's Court of Cassation has thrown out an appeal by the opposition daily "Haykakan Zhamanak" against a 6 million drams ($16,200) fine imposed on it earlier this year in a defamation case. More Azeri Journalists Refused Meetings in Naxcivan Azerbaijani journalists and human rights activists who travelled to the Azerbaijani exclave of Naxcivan were unable to meet with the region's ombudsman and National Security Ministry officials More EU Probes North Caucasus Terror Link The European Union is to look more closely into a possible link between the North Caucasus diaspora living in EU member states and the recruitment of jihadist fighters and the financing of terrorist activities. More Armenian Government Won't Adhere To Opposition Demand Armenia's governing coalition says it has no intention to expedite the release of an opposition activist and thus allow for renewed negotiations with the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK). More Chechnya Unveils State Symphony Orchestra The new Chechen State Symphony Orchestra has performed its first concert in Grozny after an absence of some 15 years. More Thousands Attend Armenian Church Mass In Turkey Thousands of ethnic Armenians attended a Mass held in a medieval Armenian cathedral in southeastern Turkey for the second time since its renovation in 2007. More Armenian Election Commission Chairman Dies Armenian Central Election Commission Chairman Garegin Azarian died of a heart attack on September 9 at the age of 50, just days after the publication by WikiLeaks of diplomatic correspondence alleging that the results of the February 2008 presidential ballot were falsified. More Leaked Document Reveals U.S. Anger With 'Dishonest' Ter-Petrossian U.S. diplomatic records disclosed by WikiLeaks show Armenian opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian angering the U.S. ambassador for being "dishonest" More Podcast: Remembering 9/11, And Other Days Like It As the world commemorates the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, Episode 35 of The Blender explores memory, pain, and consequence, as we examine the lives around the world affected by 9/11 and other tragedies like it. More Armenian Daily Hit By Another Libel Suit An independent Armenian daily has had its assets frozen by a court after a libel lawsuit was filed against it. More Armenian Officials Deny Election Rigged Armenian authorities has strongly denied a top U.S. diplomat's reported claims that the February 2008 presidential election was rigged in favor of Serzh Sarkisian, the ruling establishment's candidate. More Azeris Reject Visa Change For Eurovision An Azerbaijani official has defended the country's visa regime after Eurovision officials urged Baku to ease entry requirements into Azerbaijan. More Fears Of Ethnic Tensions Rise In Iran Amid Azeri Clashes, Kurd Offensive Renewed clashes between protesters and security forces have been reported in Azeri-speaking areas of Iran, amid demonstrations over the drying up of the country's largest lake. The reports coincide with the announcement of a fresh Iranian military offensive against a Kurdish separatist group. More CSTO Moves Into The Information Age Much of the analysis concerning the Collective Security Treaty Organization neglects significant internal dynamics and perpetuates organizational myths. More Interview: OSCE Protracted-Conflicts Ambassador Measures Progress In 'Millimeters' OSCE special representative for protracted conflicts Giedrius Cekuolis's arduous mandate includes the disputes over Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region, the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, and the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. He spoke with RFE/RL about the status of these seemingly intractable, 20-year-old disputes and the OSCE's ability to regulate and resolve them. More Daghestan's Silovik With A Human Face In most of Russia's 83 federation subjects, the second most powerful man is the prime minister or the parliament speaker. Not so in Daghestan, where Rizvan Kurbanov, 50, the first deputy premier with responsibility for police and security, is positioning himself as the eminence grise behind, and a possible successor to, republic head Magomedsalam Magomedov. More Russian Envoy Defends Program For Armenian Immigration Russian Ambassador to Armenia Vyacheslav Kovalenko has dismissed the public outcry over a Russian government program to encourage and aid Armenians to emigrate to Russia. More RFE Azerbaijani Reporter Deported An RFE/RL correspondent has been deported from the Azerbaijani exclave of Naxcivan through Iran after investigating the death of a man reportedly accused of spying for Tehran. More Podcast: '5 Days Of War' Is Hell, Plus Classic Iranian Psychedelic Rock Director Renny Harlin's latest movie is about the Russo-Georgian war of 2008 and is called "5 Days of Hell," but as one reviewer noted, it feels like an eternity if you're in the audience. Plus, Jamie Kirchick in Libya, psychedelic rock from Iran, and the world's 6th billionth person, once celebrated, now lives in poverty. More