Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Headlines 2/14/2011 8:44:13 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 World To Valentine's Day: I Love You, I Love You Not Where's the love for Valentine's Day? The holiday, whether it's seen as a licentious love fest or an imperialist cultural tradition imposed by the West, can be controversial -- particularly in some Muslim states. More   Armenia Rocked By Pedophilia Scandal Before the arrival of Serop Der-Boghossian, this unassuming town in northern Armenia was marked by poverty and widespread unemployment. More   Displaced Again: Georgian IDPs Face Eviction From Temporary Shelters Nearly 250,000 Georgians were driven from their homes in the conflicts in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Now, as the government seeks a more cost-effective way of caring for them, thousands face eviction from temporary shelters in the capital, Tbilisi. More   Whose Side Is History On After Egypt's 'Berlin Moment'? Egypt is in a state of revolutionary euphoria after President Hosni Mubarak capitulated to the wave of popular protests by resigning. For millions of celebrating Egyptians, it is a joyful moment of great promise. But it is also freighted with great uncertainty and risk. More   Kazakhstan, Not Practicing What It Preaches, Puts Minority Religions Under Pressure Religious experts say there has been a sharp decline in legal, social, and political protections over the last several years for religious minorities in Kazakhstan, driven by government propaganda and discrimination, despite the state's depiction of itself as a country where all of its diverse religious communities feel at home. More   News Hundreds March In Tehran Protest Clashes have taken place in the Iranian capital between security forces and thousands of antigovernment protesters who took to the streets following a call by opposition leaders, and despite government warnings. More   Assistant: Judge In Khodorkovsky Trial Was 'Pressured' Russia's political community is reeling over allegations by a court employee that high officials pressured a judge into convicting former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky on fresh fraud charges. An aide to the judge who presided over the recent trial of jailed former oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky says the court was pressured from above into delivering a guilty verdict. More   Egyptian Workers Carry On Protest Antigovernment protests in Egypt have quieted down following the military's promise to dissolve parliament and suspend the constitution. But the revolt, which ousted authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak after more than two weeks of street protests, has spawned a series of strikes and rallies by disgruntled workers. More   From Our Bureaus Uzbek Refugees Turn To Kazakh Parties The wives of 29 Uzbek asylum seekers currently held in detention in Almaty have appealed to opposition parties and the presidential Nur-Otan party for help for their husbands. More   Kazakh Candidate: I Have 'No Chance' The leader of a Kazakh environmental group says he will run for president even though he has "no chance" of winning. Mels Eleusizov, the head of the Nature Environmental Union, made his announcement today at the National Press Club in Almaty. More   Belarus Campaign Manager Arrested The campaign manager of former Belarusian opposition presidential candidate Vital Rymasheuski has been arrested. The opposition Christian Democratic Party (BKhD) said today Vadzim Kabanchuk was arrested at the Kamenny Loh border checkpoint while returning by bus to Belarus from Lithuania on February 13. More   Two Belarus Activists Held In Hrodna Police in the western Belarusian city of Hrodna have detained two young activists after they distributed leaflets calling for the immediate release of other activists from jail, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. Nadzeya Krapivina and Veranika Lemyanouskaya are in police custody following their detention late on February 13. More   The Power Vertical Blowing The Whistle On The Khodorkovsky Case Russia's latest whistle blower says the judge who recently convicted former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky on fraud charges was pressured to do so. More   Caucasus Report Chechnya's Youngest Insurgents Despite the threats and reprisals meted out over the past couple of years by the pro-Russian Chechen leadership to the parents of young men and women who "head to the forest" to join the insurgency, there are few signs of that exodus abating. More   Chechnya's Youngest Insurgents Despite the threats and reprisals meted out over the past couple of years by the pro-Russian Chechen leadership to the parents of young men and women who "head to the forest" to join the insurgency, there are few signs of that exodus abating. More   Commentary Charting A New Way Forward In The Middle East To stop the nascent protest movements in the Middle East from being hijacked by Al-Qaeda fringe groups, the West must engage in fresh thinking and work on a long-term future vision for the region instead of merely engaging in endless crisis management. More   Dictators, They Aren’t Kissing Your Hand Because They Love You The Egypt scenario that has shaken the world could spread to many post-Soviet countries where some aging presidents have been ruling for more than two decades. Seemingly tranquil now, Egypt-style civil disobedience cannot be ruled out in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, or Belarus – all countries where dictatorship, nepotism, and corruption are flourishing. More   At Large Interview: Barry Rubin Says Muslim Brotherhood 'Not A Moderate Group' While the events over the past several weeks in Egypt have captivated people around the world, they are being followed particularly closely in Israel, which has enjoyed a "cold peace" with its giant Arab neighbor for nearly 30 years. More