 RFE/RL Headlines 10/8/2009 5:30:19 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| News  EBRD Economist Says Eastern Europe Lags On Recovery Although many parts of the world are seeing a return to growth after the global financial crisis, Central and Eastern Europe are seeing a much slower recovery. That's the assessment of Erik Berglof, the chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. More Lack of progress by Azerbaijan and Armenia toward resolving their dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh would affect Turkey's parliamentary approval of separate accords to normalize ties with Armenia, a senior AK Party MP said. More "Mowjcamp," which gave no source for the report, said a judge had informed Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani about the verdict on October 5. It said Ali-Zamani is a member of a pro-monarchist group, but did not give details about the charges against him. More  Moscow 'Black Hawks' Sentenced To Prison Terms A Moscow court has sentenced six men from the Caucasus to prison terms of between four and seven years for hooliganism and assault, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Ukrainian President Concerned By State Of Press Freedom Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is calling on journalists to be more active in protecting freedom of speech in the country, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More Iraq's top anticorruption official says only about one-third of Iraqi lawmakers have disclosed their financial assets as required, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports. More  EU May Grant $150 Million To Crisis-Hit Moldova An EU envoy says the European Commission could give Moldova at least 100 million euros ($147 million) to help it cover its growing budget deficit, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More Dozens of Afghan women protested against the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IECA) for allegedly allocating less seats for women on the country's provincial councils, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reported. More World Anti-Torture Group Criticizes Azerbaijan The World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) has criticized the Azerbaijani government for its use of arbitrary detentions, torture, and ill treatment of detainees in the country, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reported. More A new animated campaign aims to raise awareness about rights abuses against those following the Baha'i faith in Iran. More  Writer Herta Mueller Describes Her Literary Landscape Romanian-born author Herta Mueller today won the 2009 Nobel prize for literature. Mueller, whose parents were members of the German-speaking minority in Romania, spoke to RFE/RL's Romania-Moldova Service in 1999 about growing up under Ceausescu and how it shaped her work. More When it comes to many social issues -- from religious tolerance to gay rights to opportunities for the disabled -- the Czech Republic stands ahead of many of its post-Communist counterparts. More  Ahmadinejad Jewish? Wouldn't Matter If He Was With recent debate in the Western media over claims that Iran’s President Mahmud Ahmadinejad might have Jewish ancestry, in Iran several reformists, journalists, and bloggers have responded by saying that even if true, it wouldn't matter anyway. More  Pakistani Military, Government Divided Over U.S. Aid Bill With U.S. legislation that would triple aid dollars to Pakistan awaiting a presidential signature, the Pakistani military's top brass has publically aired "serious concerns" over parts of the bill, arguing that it would harm national security. More  Soccer, Hate Speech, And War As Western officials prepare for talks with Bosnian Serb, Croat, and Muslim leaders, the mood in the country is growing more tense and fractious by the day. Many inside Bosnia say the West may be the only thing standing between the unstable country and a new war. More  Iran Establishment Looks To Beef Up Domestic Security Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Kamenei's military reshuffle, coming amid reports of greater formal IRGC control of the all-volunteer Basij militia, initially looked to some like an attempt to soothe public anger over postelection violence attributed to the two forces. But in the end, the changes are unlikely to placate administration critics. More Erik Berglof, the chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, joined other officials from international financial institutions at meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund this week in Istanbul, where one of the central topics was the global financial crisis. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, he discusses how Central and Eastern European countries are faring amid the crisis. Berglof also discusses the conditions that the IMF is attaching to loans that it is giving to governments in the region. More  Grandfathers And Grandsons Moscow-based journalist Anton Orekh asks: What if Moscow judges in a defamation suit decide Stalin did not sign execution orders and that this remarkable man is not guilty? Will "Novaya gazeta" have to publish a retraction and an apology? More  A New Strategy For The Balkans? Clearly, Brussels needs to devote much more energy to the problems of the Balkans and it needs to be prepared to bring sticks to the table as well as carrots. The EU already has the instruments it needs -- it has a legal framework for making decisions and a police/military force to implement them. But over the years, EU action in Bosnia has consistently been too little and too late. More |
