‘Even a soccer match needs two teams’: US questions credibility of Iran’s poll, sees ‘troubling signs’ of Internet denial

The disqualification of candidates for Iran’s presidential election confirms that the country’s leaders are trying to consolidate their regime rather than giving citizens a meaningful choice of candidates, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said today. “Even a soccer match

Nicaragua denies entry to International Democrats

 

 

Nicaragua’s Sandinista government has denied entry to a delegation from the International Democrat Union.

The group of four Latin American and European parliamentarians headed by Venezuelan former governor Henrique Fernando Salas (right) and opposition congressmen Carlos Berrizbeitia …

Turkey’s soft power ‘more soft than powerful’? Alcohol curbs raise fears of ‘creeping Islamization’

New restrictions on the sale and advertising of alcohol in Turkey are “prompting outcry from citizens concerned about the creeping Islamization of the country,” reports suggest.

Opposition lawmakers accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (above) and his ruling AK party

Russia’s new anti-Americanism at work, as oldest rights group fights ‘foreign agent’ label

 

A Moscow court today rejected two appeals by one of Russia’s oldest human rights groups over prosecutors’ raids on its offices during a widespread Kremlin crackdown on civil society groups in March.

“Memorial, which has fought to preserve the

Egypt’s NGO draft law ‘strikes fear’ into civil society, as cash-strapped Brotherhood ‘woos former regime tycoons’

Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood is trying to stifle civil society while pursuing reconciliation with bastions of the previous authoritarian regime.

“Almost three years after an uprising fuelled by the old regime’s venality, Egypt’s cash-strapped Islamist government is making amends with …

Still a Long Way to Go for Tunisian Democracy

In confronting Tunisia’s radical Islamists, the Nahda-led government is being forced to address a problem of its own making, says a leading analyst. Since they took over the reins of government early last year, Nahda leaders have focused on …

Burma: ‘democracy on prescription’?

Burma’s transition process has been “a top-down affair,” The Economist notes.

“This, more than anything, distinguishes it from other recent upheavals such as the ‘people power’ revolutions of the Arab spring, the fall of communism in Europe and the …

Egypt’s Brotherhood ‘normalizing’ relations with former regime, as court gives opposition a ‘gift from heaven’

Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood came under attack today for “normalizing” relations with corrupt elements of the former regime, as the non-Islamist opposition received “a gift from the heavens” from the courts and the US Ambassador to Cairo lamented the “high …

Call for nominations: Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize is awarded each year by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation to reward outstanding civil society action in the …

‘One fundamental failure’ explains lack of transition in central Asia and Caucasus

The latest forecasts show that central Asia and the Caucasus are the fastest-growing economies in the former Communist bloc, writes a leading analyst.

“Yet, given the low level of income and relatively high population growth of these countries, the numbers …