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12/13/2011 8:48:37 PM
A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio LibertyRFE/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. |
NEWS
 CERN Narrows Search For Particle European researchers say they've found "intriguing hints" that a theoretical subatomic particle believed to be a basic building block of the universe actually exists. While there is still not enough evidence to declare the discovery of the Higgs boson, or "God particle," scientists say that moment may be fast approaching. More  UN: Syria Death Count Tops 5,000 The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said more than 5,000 people have been killed during the uprising in Syria. More  How Many Demonstrated For The Kremlin? And How Willing Were They? Russian officials claimed as many as 25,000 people turned out to back the ruling party and its leader Vladimir Putin during the December 12 protests on Moscow's Manezhnaya Square. Photographs and eyewitness accounts, however, tell a different story. More  Clever Moscow Protest Signs Russian protesters who gathered on December 10 in Moscow and other cities created some amusing signs to demand their votes be heard, recounted, or given back. Some of them also featured clever plays on words to avoid using profanity for which they might be arrested and prosecuted for insulting officials. More  Jailed Belarusian Oppositionist To Remain In Solitary Confinement The jailed leader of the Belarusian opposition Youth Front organization has had his term in solitary confinement prolonged until April. More  Jailed Belarusian Activist Put In 'Closed Regime' Jailed Belarusian businessman and opposition activist Mikalay Autukhovich has been transferred to a so-called "closed-regime location." More  U.S., Allies 'To Keep Up' Iran Pressure U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States and its European partners have applied additional sanctions against Iran and will continue applying pressure against that country's leadership.More Iraq's deputy foreign minister says Iranian exiles living at a camp in Iraq may soon be allowed to leave for other countries or return to Iran without worrying about persecution. More  Kazakh Students Win Fight Against Hijab Ban Officials at a university in northwestern Kazakhstan have lifted a hijab ban for students after eight female students threatened to sue the school. More  Kyrgyz Prisoners On Hunger Strike Hundreds of inmates in seven Kyrgyz prisons started a hunger strike today to demand better living conditions and meals. More  4-Year Sentence Sought For 'Pearl Ensign' The prosecutor in the trial of a Russian policeman accused of verbally and physically abusing demonstrators asked the court today to sentence him to four years in jail. More  Prokhorov's Bid For Russian Presidency -- Kremlin Ruse Or Real News? Billionaire mogul Mikhail Prokhorov's announcement that he will seek the presidency next year has Russia's political world buzzing. But given his long-standing Kremlin ties, many are wondering whether his bid is a real challenge to Putin or if he is playing the role of the spoiler. More  Vote Coverage Sparks 'Kommersant' Firings Kremlin-friendly oligarch Alisher Usmanov has fired two senior managers of the respected Kommersant publishing group over one of its publications' coverage of alleged violations during the recent Duma elections. More  Stalin 'Beheaders' Sentenced In Ukraine Nine Ukrainian nationalists charged in the decapitation of a monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhya last year have received suspended sentences. More  HRW Scathing On Uzbek Abuses Human Rights Watch has leveled sharp criticism at Uzbekistan over its rights record and chided Western governments for turning a blind eye to such abuses in an effort to foster closer ties with the administration of President Islam Karimov. More |
