Wikileaks founder Julian Assange may be the most famous person to be granted political asylum in Ecuador. But he isn't the only one. Alyaksandr Barankau fled Belarus in 2009 and was later granted asylum by Ecuador after claiming he was being persecuted for seeking to expose official corruption. But now, Ecuador may revoke his status and extradite him. Correspondents Eugen Tomiuc and Richard Solash report.
Other suggested RFE/RL reading:
# Last week, police in Kazakhstan's idyllic Ile-Alatau national park made a grisly discovery: the bodies of 11 people, including several forest rangers, all bearing multiple stab wounds and some burned beyond recognition. Officials have made no arrests and offered no motive for the bizarre killings, which have sparked comparisons to another unresolved crime -- the mass shooting in May of 14 border guards and another ranger on the remote Kazakh-Chinese border. RFE/RL correspondents Merkhat Sharipzhan and Daisy Sindelar report on Kazakhstan's season of unrest.
# The days of one-party rule are over in Turkmenistan. Well, at least the days of the one-party ballot are over as the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs hopes to make things interesting as a "challenger" to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.
# Don't fret for Uzbekistan's first daughter Gulnara Karimova. She has her music, her charities, and her "face by God" to confirm her unshakeable self-esteem in the wake of negative press coverage. The latest from our "Silly Dictator" series (also available on Twitter).
Other suggested RFE/RL reading:
# Last week, police in Kazakhstan's idyllic Ile-Alatau national park made a grisly discovery: the bodies of 11 people, including several forest rangers, all bearing multiple stab wounds and some burned beyond recognition. Officials have made no arrests and offered no motive for the bizarre killings, which have sparked comparisons to another unresolved crime -- the mass shooting in May of 14 border guards and another ranger on the remote Kazakh-Chinese border. RFE/RL correspondents Merkhat Sharipzhan and Daisy Sindelar report on Kazakhstan's season of unrest.
# The days of one-party rule are over in Turkmenistan. Well, at least the days of the one-party ballot are over as the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs hopes to make things interesting as a "challenger" to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.
# Don't fret for Uzbekistan's first daughter Gulnara Karimova. She has her music, her charities, and her "face by God" to confirm her unshakeable self-esteem in the wake of negative press coverage. The latest from our "Silly Dictator" series (also available on Twitter).