Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 2/10/2011 6:34:31 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 Egyptian City Of Alexandria Prepares For Fresh Protests Alexandria, Egypt's second city after Cairo, is gearing up for a massive protest on February 11 against the continued rule of President Hosni Mubarak. More   News Military Coup Said To Be Under Way In Egypt As Reports Say Mubarak Will Step Down The Egyptian Army has announced that it is taking "necessary measures to protect the nation and support the legitimate demands of the people," a move that observers say signals the military is now in control of the country. More   Transdniester Jails Moldovan 'Spy' In the second such case in recent months, a man has been sentenced to a heavy prison term in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester after being found guilty of spying for Moldova. Ilie Cazac's supporters have denounced the trial as a sham. More   Egyptian Military Addresses Protesters The Egyptian Army says the military will "take the necessary measures to protect the nation and support the legitimate demands of the people." The announcement came as Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq told the BBC that President Hosni Mubarak could step down and that the situation will be clarified soon. More   From Our Bureaus Kyrgyz President Replaces State News Chief After Journalists Strike Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva replaced the controversial chief of the Kabar National News Agency today. More   Petition For Jailed Iranian Lawyer Some 700 civil activists have signed a statement condemning the sentencing of a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer to 11 years in jail and calling for her immediate release. More   Belarus KGB Searches Opposition Office The lawyer representing jailed Belarusian opposition presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich says officers from the Committee for State Security (KGB) searched his office today. More   Lawyers Protest In Iraq Hundreds of lawyers took to the streets in cities across Iraq today to protest widespread corruption and unemployment. More   Aliyev Steps Up Corruption Fight Azerbaijan's president has called for more vigilance in the fight against corruption and urged people to help heal what he called the "wounds" of sleaze. More   Another Iranian Athlete Defects An Iranian mountaineer has failed to return from a competition in France, apparently becoming the latest in a growing number of Iranian athletes to defect while abroad, More   Mladic Friend May Be New Serb Minister A close friend and doctor of the family of alleged Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic has been nominated to be Serbian health minister. More   Rally Against Iran Held In Baku A rally took place on February 9 in front of the Iranian Embassy in Baku to protest what are widely perceived to be anti-Azerbaijani statements appearing in the Iranian media and Iran’s warmer ties with Armenia. More   Irish Mum On Kyrgyz Extradition The Kyrgyz Prosecutor General's Office says Irish officials have not responded to Bishkek's request to extradite former Energy Minister Saparbek Balkybekov. Kyrgyzstan made the request on January 28, two days after an announcement by authorities that Balkybekov had been detained in Dublin on an Interpol warrant. Irish police have not confirmed the detention. More   Facebook Lands Activist In Hot Water An Azerbaijani opposition activist has been questioned by police after using his Facebook page to call on people to protest against the government. More   Transmission American Arrested In Pakistan Appears In Video According to a video purporting to show his interrogation by police, an American arrested in the deaths of two Pakistanis says he's a consultant for the U.S. consular-general in Lahore. More   The Power Vertical Bearing False Witness Russia's latest whistle blowing cop, who testified that his superiors ordered him to falsify a police report incriminating an opposition leader, has changes his tune. More   Persian Letters Opposition Leader's Son Posts Pictures Of Father's Bruises Mohammad Hossein Karrubi, the son of opposition leader Mehdi Karrubi, has posted on his Facebook pages pictures of his father after he was beaten up by security forces during last year's state-sponsored demonstration marking the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution. More   WikiLeaks: U.K. University Traded Iran Information For U.S. Funds A recently released WikiLeaks cable suggests that Durham University in northeast England may have been involved with the U.S. State Department in gathering information on Iran, in return for $300,000. More   Iran Opposition Warned Not To Protest Iranian officials have renewed their verbal attacks and warnings against the opposition movement. The warnings came just a few days after opposition leaders Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi asked the Interior Ministry for permission to demonstrate on February 14 to show solidarity with uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. More   Commentary The Failure Of Pakistan's 'Clear And Hold' Strategy Despite the casualties and sacrifices of the security forces, their strategy is simply not working. And the repeated reemergence of Taliban militants in areas that have been victoriously proclaimed "cleared" has led ordinary Pakistanis to question the government's sincerity. More