 RFE/RL Headlines 11/16/2009 5:12:26 PM A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Revolutions Of '89  Democracy Still Under Threat In 1989, British writer and Oxford historian Timothy Garton Ash reported on the wave of democratic revolutions that swept Europe. On the eve of celebrations marking Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution, Ash spoke to RFE/RL in Prague about the legacy of the events he witnessed 20 years ago. More 1989 was the year in which Vaclav Havel went from jailed dissident to revolutionary leader to president. Twenty years on, we profile the leading figure of then-Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution. More  For One Czech Family, Gains But Also Disillusionment As part of RFE/RL's series on the revolutions of 1989 that toppled communism in Central and Eastern Europe, RFE/RL visits one Czech family to hear how they remember 1989 -- and how they feel today. More  European Intellectuals Warn Of Democracy Crisis Public cynicism and corruption in politics are threatening democracy in Europe. That's according to a group of writers and scholars taking part in a conference today marking the 20th anniversary of the democratic revolutions that swept Central and Eastern Europe in 1989. More  World Leaders' Presence Missed At Rome Food Summit World leaders are meeting in Rome for a food summit aimed at bringing help to the estimated 1 billion people in the world who are suffering from hunger.But with most wealthy countries absent, there's been criticism that the summit is a missed opportunity. More  Kazakh Activist, Journalist Complain Of Pressure In Prison Yevgeny Zhovtis and Tohniyaz Kuchukov say that prison officials have put pressure on them to sign disadvantageous work contracts, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports. More  Kyrgyz Airport Director Hospitalized After Beating The director of Bishkek's Manas airport has been hospitalized after being attacked by unknown assailants, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports. More Automobile owners in more than 30 Russian towns and cities are protesting an increase in transportation taxes, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. More  Armenia 'Honoring' Gas Deal With Iran Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisian says that despite complaints by Iranian officials Yerevan is fully complying with an agreement to import natural gas from Iran, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More The Kurdish alliance will gather 14 parties, including the two biggest parties -- the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Kurdish regional government (KRG) President Masud Barzani. More Azerbaijani physicist Rashid Aliyev, who had worked for the Iranian Sazan Electronics Industry Company (SEIC), was arrested on October 5 upon arriving in Tehran from Azerbaijan. More  Vote Count Begins After First 'Sovereign' Ballot Vote counting has begun in Kosovo's first elections since the territory declared independence from Serbia nearly two years ago. But officials were already grappling with apparent irregularities in the landmark voting. More  Serbian Patriarch Presided Over Stormy Times The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Pavle, has died after a lengthy battle with age-related illness. The 95-year-old patriarch's death ends nearly two decades of leadership that spanned one of the most painful chapters in modern Serbian history. More  Tehran Detention Center Doctor's Death Arouses Suspicions Two opposition websites have reported a physician resident at the Kahrizak detention center has committed suicide. One said that he committed suicide following the revelation of events at the detention center that is being described by the opposition as "Iran's Guantanamo." More  'Pragmatic' EU To Keep Belarus Sanctions Suspended The European Union is set to continue what officials in Brussels describe as a "pragmatic" policy of keeping in place a travel ban on top Belarusian officials -- but not enforcing it, as long as Minsk continues to respond to the bloc's overtures. More  Pressure Grows For Kyrgyzstan To Reverse Ban More than 10 years since Kyrgyzstan became the first Central Asian state to suspend the death penalty, arguments for reinstating the punishment are gaining traction. More  International PEN Marks Day Of The Imprisoned Writer International PEN -- the worldwide association of writers -- marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer this time each year. Its aim is to recognize and support writers who resist repression of their basic human right to freedom of expression. While International PEN campaigns on behalf of hundreds of authors all year round, this November 15 the group is highlighting the cases of five authors in five countries, representing five geographical regions. The countries are Cameroon, Iran, China, Russia, and Mexico. RFE/RL correspondent Bruce Pannier spoke to Sara Wyatt, director of the writers in prison committee at International PEN, about the campaign. More  What's Coke.com In Arabic? Starting next week Internet users around the globe will be able to see addresses in their native languages. But experts caution that there are pitfalls on the road to the truly global Internet. More  Calling Time On Russia's Time Zones It's the biggest country in the world, a sprawling landmass stretching 11 time zones from Europe to the Far East. Now experts in Russia are studying a proposal to reduce the number of time zones after a speech by President Dmitry Medvedev this week. More |
