Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 10/3/2011 9:28:01 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 Politics As Unusual For A Pakistani Woman Amid The Taliban In Pashtun-dominated areas of Pakistan under the heavy influence of the Taliban, women think twice before getting a job outside their homes, let alone becoming a politician. The reasons why are readily obvious -- hundreds of girls' schools, the wearing of the hijab has been imposed, and women are forbidden from leaving their houses without male relatives. But despite the dangers, there are some women who defy the militant threat by entering politics More   Fatullayev: 'I'm Still Here -- Alive, Working, and Telling the Truth' Eynulla Fatullayev relied on Yesenin, Solzhenitsyn, and his own will to survive four grueling years in Azerbaijani prisons. Now he's free, newly married, and ready to keep his country from turning into a "political desert." More   Two Leading Russian Bands Say They Will Not Rock For Putin In a sign of the artistic community's growing disillusionment with micromanaged Russian politics, some leading Russian rock musicians say they will not perform in honor of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin if he wins next year's presidential election. More   'Black Raven' Author Shklyar On Ukraine's New Dissident Writers Vasyl Shklyar is the author of "Black Raven," a novel about the frequently overlooked anti-Bolshevik Ukrainian resistance of the 1920s. His novel was selected for the Shevchenko Prize, a top honor in Ukraine. But in March Shklyar declined the award and the accompanying $32,000 prize money to protest what critics describe as the "Ukrainophobic" policies of Education Ministry Dmytro Tabachnyk. Contributor Brian Spadora interviewed Shklyar while the writer toured the United States to raise funds for a film adaptation of his novel. More   Why Are Pakistan's Militant Groups Splintering? A strange thing is happening to terrorist groups in Pakistan. They keep fragmenting into smaller bands. More   News Iran's Leader Speaks Out On Bank Scam Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged Iranian authorities to "show no mercy" toward those implicated in a fraud case described as the biggest financial scam in the country's history. More   Nobel Dilemma After Prizewinner Dies One of three scientists who have been named as a 2011 Nobel laureate in medicine died on September 30 -- making him technically ineligible to be a candidate for the award according to the Nobel Foundation's statutes. More   Russia's Glonass Satellite Navigation System Hits Major Milestone Russia has successfully launched the 24th satellite of its Glonass satellite navigation system, giving the high-profile project the full constellation needed for global coverage. It's been a rocky road for the system, which was adopted in the early 2000s as a showcase for Russia's modernization. More   From Our Bureaus Police Disperse Protest By Belarusian Convicts' Mothers Police in Minsk have dispersed some 20 prisoners' mothers who attempted to stage a protest on the city's Liberty Square. More   Tatar Leader Warned Over 'Extremism' A prominent Tatar nationalist leader has been taken to the local prosecutor's office and warned against propagating "extremism." More   'Final Warning' For Belarus Activist Former Belarusian presidential candidate Uladzimer Nyaklyaeu received "a final warning" from a parole officer on October 3 after leaving Belarus to visit Poland last week. More   Belarusian Opposition Leader's Wife Appeals To Russia's First Ladies The wife of jailed Belarusian opposition leader Andrey Sannikau has asked the wives of Russia's president and prime minister to help secure his release. More   Uzbek Doctors 'Told To Pick Cotton' Authorities in Uzbekistan are reportedly ordering clerics, school teachers, police officers, and others to pick cotton. More   RFE/RL Turkmen Reporter To Go On Trial An RFE/RL correspondent in Turkmenistan is to go on trial for allegedly urging a relative to attempt suicide, in a case his family says is retaliation for his journalistic activities. More   Protest Held For Detained Kyrgyz Police Some 400 protesters blocked a highway in southern Kyrgyzstan on October 3 to demand the immediate release of four local policemen detained over the death of a Russian citizen in August. More   Language Protest Held In Kazakhstan Hundreds of members of Kazakhstan's nationalist State Language movement have held a gathering in Almaty to demand that the Kazakh language be used more widely instead of Russian. More   Three Azeri Opposition Figures Jailed Three Azerbaijani opposition figures have been jailed for 2 1/2 years over an antigovernment protest in April that was broken up by police. More   Chaikhana Tajikistan's Hajj Dress Code It seems Tajik pilgrims will stand out from the crowd when the annual Hajj pilgrimage begins in Makkah (Mecca) next month. More