Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 9/13/2011 8:04:57 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 Weight Problem Could Squander New Afghan Roads Afghanistan's new roads cost millions to build. Now they're being destroyed by overweight trucks. More   As Crisis Continues, Euro's Future Hinges On Merkel As Europe slides closer toward economic crisis, all eyes are on Germany, which would have to lead any plan to save the sinking euro. But as Angela Merkel approaches a decision over greater EU fiscal union, opposition from within her coalition is threatening her chancellorship. More   News Tadic Warns Over Kosovo Border Plan Serbian President Boris Tadic has warned that any attempts by Kosovo to deploy police and customs officials at border outposts in its Serb-populated north could reignite tensions that led to violence and the death of a police officer in July. More   U.S. Issues Religious Freedom Report The U.S. State Department's "Report on International Religious Freedom" identifies Iran, Uzbekistan, China, and Burma among "countries of particular concern" and says Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan also face significant challenges in securing religious freedom. More   Taliban Claims Daring Attack In Central Kabul Taliban suicide fighters in Kabul have stormed a multistory building that is under construction, taking over the structure and using it as a fortress tower to fire rockets toward several nearby embassies and NATO compounds. More   Iran's Ahmadinejad Says Jailed Americans Should Be Freed Soon Hopes have been raised that two Americans jailed in Iran on spying charges are about to be released after President Mahmud Ahmadinejad told U.S. news organizations that Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal -- sentenced last month to eight years in prison -- would be freed in two days. More   From Our Bureaus Azeri Delegation Snubbed 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 Urged To Get Tougher On Belarus The colleague of a prominent Belarusian rights defender whose arrest drew international condemnation has called on the European Union to tighten sanctions against Minsk. More   Belarus Activist Given 10 Days In Jail A coordinator for the opposition Belarusian Christian Democratic party has been sentenced to 10 days in jail for his role in an unsanctioned protest near a labor camp in eastern Belarus. More   Kyrgyz Students 'Forced To Work' Local prosecutors in southern Kyrgyzstan are investigating after parents complained that schoolchildren were made to work at a construction site. More   Jailed Iranian Journalist Subjected To 'Inhumane Treatment' The family of jailed Iranian journalist Isa Saharkhiz has written to Iran's judiciary chief to complain that he is being subjected to "inhumane treatment." More   Kyrgyz Schoolgirls 'Face Hijab Bias' A Kyrgyz Muslim women's NGO claims that female students who wear the traditional Islamic headscarf are being subjected to discrimination. 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   Tymoshenko Trial Delay Seen As Favor To EU Political allies of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko say that a Kyiv court's adjournment of her trial is an attempt to gain leverage with international partners. 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   Uzbek Students Used To Pick Cotton Thousands of university students in Uzbekistan are being mobilized to help with the annual cotton harvest and some say they are working under abusive conditions. More   Transmission Qaddafi’s Gone, But What About The Bulgarian Nurses? As reports emerge about sharp splits within Libya’s National Transitional Council, the country’s new rulers are additionally facing possible complications in the arena of international diplomacy.Bulgaria, for one, has already declared its intention to seek the recovery of “forgiven” debt, which the current Bulgarian government says was actually a ransom paid to the Qaddafi regime for the release of five Bulgarian nurses that Sofia maintains were arrested on trumped up charges. More   Gandhara Pakistani Journalists Face Karachi's Wrath Karachi, Pakistan's mega-port city has been wracked by political and ethnic violence. Now, the politicking has turned to marathon Skype sessions and sniping on TV talk shows. More

RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report 9/13/2011 8:02:49 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. For more stories on Eastern Europe, please visit and bookmark our Eastern Europe page .

 

Belarus EU Urged To Get Tougher On Belarus The colleague of a prominent Belarusian rights defender whose arrest drew international condemnation has called on the European Union to tighten sanctions against Minsk. More   Belarus Activist Given 10 Days In Jail A coordinator for the opposition Belarusian Christian Democratic party has been sentenced to 10 days in jail for his role in an unsanctioned protest near a labor camp in eastern Belarus. More   Jailed Belarusian Presidential Candidate Hospitalized Jailed Belarusian presidential candidate Mikalay Statkevich was sent to a prison hospital after sustaining injuries in a prison carpentry shop in eastern Belarus. More   Ukraine Tymoshenko Trial Delay Seen As Favor To EU Political allies of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko say that a Kyiv court's adjournment of her trial is an attempt to gain leverage with international partners. More   Yanukovych's Selective Use Of Justice Barring an unlikely reprieve, it now looks certain former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko can expect a lengthy prison sentence. Yet prison bars will not silence her or those campaigning for freedom and democracy in Ukraine; a realization that is now dawning on authoritarian President Viktor Yanukovych. More   Tymoshenko Trial Adjourned The judge presiding over the trial of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on charges of abuse of power has adjourned the trial until September 27. More   My Twin Towers There was always something about the Twin Towers that made me feel they were my buildings. They were a seminal part of my new American life, they grew as my American sense of self grew. More   Medvedev Demands Probe Into Air Crash As Russia, World Hockey Fans Mourn Three days of mourning is declared for the 43 victims of a passenger airliner crash there that devastated a top-league Russian ice-hockey team, including elite international players and coaches. More   Lviv's Jewish Dead Now Buried Under Discos And Car Parks Last month, I watched as bulldozers began to demolish parts of the remnants of what was once one of Europe’s most beautiful synagogue complexes, the 16th-century Golden Rose in Lviv. Most of the rest of the synagogue was burned down, with Jews inside, by the Nazis in 1941. More   Khodorkovsky, Tymoshenko Revive Old Tradition Of Prison Correspondence The recent publications of letters and columns by high-profile prisoners Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Yulia Tymoshenko have resurrected interest in the importance of prison correspondence. Methods of communication have become more sophisticated since the Soviet era, when political prisoners' writings were closely scrutinized and rarely published. But even with the growing reach of Facebook and Twitter, the impact of the printed word in traditional media is still proving surprisingly powerful. More   Kyiv Prepares Suit In Russia Gas Dispute With Ukraine threatening to take Russia to international court over a natural gas deal, it's clear the thaw in relations brought on by the election of Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych last year has ended. More

RFE/RL Russia Report 9/13/2011 7:51:20 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about domestic and foreign-policy developments in Russia. For more stories on Russia, please visit and bookmark our Russia page .

U.S. Issues Religious Freedom Report The U.S. State Department's "Report on International Religious Freedom" identifies Iran, Uzbekistan, China, and Burma among "countries of particular concern" and says Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan also face significant challenges in securing religious freedom. More Russians Mourning Plane Crash Victims The Russian city of Yaroslavl begins three days of official mourning today for the victims of an airplane crash that left 43 people dead and killed almost every member of the local ice-hockey team. More Yaroslavl Plane Crash Raises Old Safety Issues The crash of the Yakovlev-42 passenger plane on September 7 near the city of Yaroslavl is the fourth in a series of plane crashes in Russia this year, earning the country the unwanted distinction of having the worst air safety record in the world for 2011. The Russian air industry's woes illustrate the major obstacles in the country’s broader bid to modernize itself. More New Russian Hockey League Reeling After Tragic Plane Crash The September 7 plane crash that wiped out virtually the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team has put a focus on the fledgling Continental Hockey League (KHL). We examine the young league's history and its prospects. More European Hockey Fans In Shock, Disbelief After Plane Crash Devastates Yaroslavl Club The Russian city of Yaroslavl is in shock at the loss of nearly the entire local hockey team in an air crash on September 7. Thousands of ice hockey fans gathered outside the local club stadium to chant in memory of the 36 members of the Lokomotiv team who died. More Medvedev Demands Probe Into Air Crash As Russia, World Hockey Fans Mourn Three days of mourning is declared for the 43 victims of a passenger airliner crash there that devastated a top-league Russian ice-hockey team, including elite international players and coaches. More Russian Plane Crash Wipes Out Hockey Squad A Russian passenger jet carrying a top local hockey team has crashed in Yaroslav Oblast killing at least 43. The crash has again shone a spotlight on Russia's patchy air-safety record. More EU Wants More Energy Deal Oversight The European Commission is proposing that it should have the power to supervise European Union member states' energy agreements with third countries. More Tajikistan Under The Russian Security Umbrella The deal is done. Russia's military presence in Tajikistan is there to stay -- at least for another 49 years. Now the question is what Dushanbe can get for allowing Moscow to extend leases on its bases on Tajik soil. More Khodorkovsky, Tymoshenko Revive Old Tradition Of Prison Correspondence The recent publications of letters and columns by high-profile prisoners Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Yulia Tymoshenko have resurrected interest in the importance of prison correspondence. Methods of communication have become more sophisticated since the Soviet era, when political prisoners' writings were closely scrutinized and rarely published. But even with the growing reach of Facebook and Twitter, the impact of the printed word in traditional media is still proving surprisingly powerful. More