http://www.rferl.org/archive/Features/latest/651/651.html RFE/RL features http://www.rferl.org/img/rssLogo.gif http://www.rferl.org/archive/Features/latest/651/651.html en-US Copyright 2009 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:38:05 +0000 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL With just five space shuttle flights remaining, the program that has come to symbolize U.S. space superiority for the last 30 years is coming to an end, with no replacement on the near horizon. The Obama administration is considering whether it should go ahead with efforts to further explore the moon and Mars -- a plan initiated by the previous administration in 2005 -- or scale back and stay closer to Earth. http://www.rferl.org/content/As_Shuttle_Nears_Retirement_US_Weighs_Options_For_Future_Space_Exploration/1884779.html http://www.rferl.org/content/As_Shuttle_Nears_Retirement_US_Weighs_Options_For_Future_Space_Exploration/1884779.html Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:44:42 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/As_Shuttle_Nears_Retirement_US_Weighs_Options_For_Future_Space_Exploration/1884779.html#relatedInfoContainer Tabloid journalism, with its screaming headlines, half-naked girls, and sensationalist news, has flourished in Russia for a number of years. But the king of the Russian tabloids, "Tvoi den" publisher Aram Gabrelyanov, is steadily building a media empire, and even offering a new school for budding muckrakers. http://www.rferl.org/content/Russias_Tabloid_King_Builds_An_Empire/1884265.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Russias_Tabloid_King_Builds_An_Empire/1884265.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:12:06 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Russias_Tabloid_King_Builds_An_Empire/1884265.html#relatedInfoContainer A decades-old conflict in Yemen between the government and northern rebels from the country's Shi'ite minority is heating up. As it does, Yemeni officials are charging Iran with supporting the rebels in a conflict that is also drawing in Saudi Arabia. RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel speaks with RFE/RL's Radio Farda correspondent Hossein Aryan about the fighting in Yemen and whether it risks sparking a larger regional crisis. http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_Conflict_In_Yemen_Widens_Amid_Charges_Of_Iran_Involvement/1883769.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_Conflict_In_Yemen_Widens_Amid_Charges_Of_Iran_Involvement/1883769.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:32:01 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_Conflict_In_Yemen_Widens_Amid_Charges_Of_Iran_Involvement/1883769.html#relatedInfoContainer Russia's antiracism youth movement, known as Antifa, has long endured violent attacks by nationalists, police harassment, and public indifference. Most recently, they suffered the murder of one of their most prominent activists. Now they are fighting back, staging their own violent assaults on known nationalist activists. http://www.rferl.org/content/Antifa_Takes_On_Nationalists_In_Russian_Youths_Civil_War/1883674.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Antifa_Takes_On_Nationalists_In_Russian_Youths_Civil_War/1883674.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:08:49 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Antifa_Takes_On_Nationalists_In_Russian_Youths_Civil_War/1883674.html#relatedInfoContainer Judging from the descriptions in news reports, the EU's first full-time president, Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy, doesn't exactly quicken the blood of the Brussels press pack. But there is one thing at least about van Rompuy that people find worthy of debate: how to pronounce his name. http://www.rferl.org/content/Herman_Van_Rompuy__Hows_That_Again/1883643.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Herman_Van_Rompuy__Hows_That_Again/1883643.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:52:45 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Herman_Van_Rompuy__Hows_That_Again/1883643.html#relatedInfoContainer The European Union picked two relatively low-profile personalities to the bloc's newly created top posts. Who are they? http://www.rferl.org/content/Who_Are_Herman_van_Rompuy_and_Catherine_Ashton/1883558.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Who_Are_Herman_van_Rompuy_and_Catherine_Ashton/1883558.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:43:31 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Who_Are_Herman_van_Rompuy_and_Catherine_Ashton/1883558.html#relatedInfoContainer U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, visiting Afghanistan for President Hamid Karzai's inauguration ceremony, discussed the numerous obstacles the Afghan leader faces in his second term. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Mujahid Jawad, Clinton speaks about security, corruption, and the prospects for international cooperation. http://www.rferl.org/content/Clinton_Says_Karzais_Inauguration_Speech_Demonstrated_Good_Faith_/1882773.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Clinton_Says_Karzais_Inauguration_Speech_Demonstrated_Good_Faith_/1882773.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:26:45 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Clinton_Says_Karzais_Inauguration_Speech_Demonstrated_Good_Faith_/1882773.html#relatedInfoContainer The European Union is set to pick its first-ever president to represent the 27 member states on the world stage, as well as a high representative for foreign policy. The long-awaited posts are expected to herald a new era in EU decision making. But the chaotic selection process has exposed deep divisions among the member states, and there are fears the bloc may emerge looking even more unwieldy than before. http://www.rferl.org/content/EU_Looks_To_Get_Its_Top_Ducks_In_A_Row/1882463.html http://www.rferl.org/content/EU_Looks_To_Get_Its_Top_Ducks_In_A_Row/1882463.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:35:57 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/EU_Looks_To_Get_Its_Top_Ducks_In_A_Row/1882463.html#relatedInfoContainer In Sarajevo, international negotiators are meeting to discuss the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which suffered through three years of war in the 1990s and has struggled ever since to overcome ethnic divisions and establish a peaceful, unified government. They'll discuss whether the time has come to close the international post responsible for supervising the country's elected officials. http://www.rferl.org/content/Brokering_Bosnias_Future_No_Easy_Task_/1882249.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Brokering_Bosnias_Future_No_Easy_Task_/1882249.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:36:17 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Brokering_Bosnias_Future_No_Easy_Task_/1882249.html#relatedInfoContainer Iran has rejected a UN-proposed deal under which it would export its lightly enriched uranium for further enrichment. What options does that now leave for the United States? http://www.rferl.org/content/US_Faces_Difficult_Decisions_After_Iran_Rejects_UN_Nuclear_Plan_/1882001.html http://www.rferl.org/content/US_Faces_Difficult_Decisions_After_Iran_Rejects_UN_Nuclear_Plan_/1882001.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:01:27 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/US_Faces_Difficult_Decisions_After_Iran_Rejects_UN_Nuclear_Plan_/1882001.html#relatedInfoContainer The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, emerged today from the 24th EU-Russia summit in the Swedish capital describing it as "one of the best meetings we have had." http://www.rferl.org/content/EURussia_Relationship_No_Longer_Worsening/1881799.html http://www.rferl.org/content/EURussia_Relationship_No_Longer_Worsening/1881799.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:28:45 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/EURussia_Relationship_No_Longer_Worsening/1881799.html#relatedInfoContainer A Russian lawyer representing the embattled Hermitage Capital investment fund has died in a Moscow prison after complaining for weeks that he was denied adequate medical treatment. http://www.rferl.org/content/Lawyers_Death_Puts_Spotlight_On_Kremlins_Battle_With_Investment_Fund/1881777.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Lawyers_Death_Puts_Spotlight_On_Kremlins_Battle_With_Investment_Fund/1881777.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:49:31 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Lawyers_Death_Puts_Spotlight_On_Kremlins_Battle_With_Investment_Fund/1881777.html#relatedInfoContainer Five people have been sentenced to death and 81 have received jail terms of up to 15 years in connection with the unrest that followed Iran's disputed June election. The country's Justice Department says those sentenced to death were affiliated to or members of "counterrevolutionary groups." But observers consider the heavy sentences to be a move by the Islamic establishment to put an end to the continued opposition against President Mahmud Ahmadinejad reelection. http://www.rferl.org/content/Iranian_Death_Sentences_Seen_As_Intimidation_Move_Over_Postelection_Unrest/1881487.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Iranian_Death_Sentences_Seen_As_Intimidation_Move_Over_Postelection_Unrest/1881487.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:57:10 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Iranian_Death_Sentences_Seen_As_Intimidation_Move_Over_Postelection_Unrest/1881487.html#relatedInfoContainer A grand inauguration ceremony on November 19 will mark the beginning of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s second term in office. Karzai is expected to use the opportunity to announce new anticorruption measures in an effort to quell criticism from both Afghans and his Western backers. http://www.rferl.org/content/Karzai_Inauguration_Brings_Anticipation_Of_Change/1881057.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Karzai_Inauguration_Brings_Anticipation_Of_Change/1881057.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:36:16 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Karzai_Inauguration_Brings_Anticipation_Of_Change/1881057.html#relatedInfoContainer There were outsized symbols of the revolution. And there were actors playing "riot police officers" juggling their truncheons. All to show those too young to remember Czechoslovakia's communist rule that some things they take for granted were once in short supply. http://www.rferl.org/content/Czechs_Mark_Velvet_Revolution_With_Humor_Music_Remembrances/1880821.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Czechs_Mark_Velvet_Revolution_With_Humor_Music_Remembrances/1880821.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:18:41 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Czechs_Mark_Velvet_Revolution_With_Humor_Music_Remembrances/1880821.html#relatedInfoContainer An EU-Russia summit in Stockholm is set to be a low-key affair, with neither side holding out hopes of major breakthroughs in a relationship that stalled after the Russian-Georgian war more than a year ago. http://www.rferl.org/content/EU_Russia_Gear_Up_For_Unambitious_Summit/1880819.html http://www.rferl.org/content/EU_Russia_Gear_Up_For_Unambitious_Summit/1880819.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:00:58 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/EU_Russia_Gear_Up_For_Unambitious_Summit/1880819.html#relatedInfoContainer Transparency International has just released its annual index of corruption in countries across the globe. The Corruption Perceptions Index 2009 finds that high levels of corruption in some countries could slow international efforts to help them cope with, or recover, from the global economic crisis. We speak with Jana Mittermaier, head of Transparency International's Brussels office, to learn more. RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel conducts the interview. http://www.rferl.org/content/Transparency_Campaigner_Warns_Corruption_Could_Slow_Recovery_In_Fragile_Countries/1880774.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Transparency_Campaigner_Warns_Corruption_Could_Slow_Recovery_In_Fragile_Countries/1880774.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:46:35 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Transparency_Campaigner_Warns_Corruption_Could_Slow_Recovery_In_Fragile_Countries/1880774.html#relatedInfoContainer In 1989, British writer and Oxford historian Timothy Garton Ash reported on the wave of democratic revolutions that swept Europe, and witnessed some of its key events. In Prague to take part in a conference on the state of freedom in Europe 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he spoke to RFE/RL on the eve of the day marking the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. http://www.rferl.org/content/Timothy_Garton_Ash_Democracy_Still_Under_Threat_20_Years_After_Velvet_Revolution/1879744.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Timothy_Garton_Ash_Democracy_Still_Under_Threat_20_Years_After_Velvet_Revolution/1879744.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:22:52 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Timothy_Garton_Ash_Democracy_Still_Under_Threat_20_Years_After_Velvet_Revolution/1879744.html#relatedInfoContainer The European Union continues 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. http://www.rferl.org/content/Pragmatic_EU_To_Keep_Belarus_Sanctions_In_Suspension/1879712.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Pragmatic_EU_To_Keep_Belarus_Sanctions_In_Suspension/1879712.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:02:28 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Pragmatic_EU_To_Keep_Belarus_Sanctions_In_Suspension/1879712.html#relatedInfoContainer 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 Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution. http://www.rferl.org/content/Revolutions_of_89_Vaclav_Havel/1879569.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Revolutions_of_89_Vaclav_Havel/1879569.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:11:22 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Revolutions_of_89_Vaclav_Havel/1879569.html#relatedInfoContainer 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. http://www.rferl.org/content/Pressure_Grows_In_Kyrgyzstan_For_Return_Of_Death_Penalty/1879349.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Pressure_Grows_In_Kyrgyzstan_For_Return_Of_Death_Penalty/1879349.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:11:05 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Pressure_Grows_In_Kyrgyzstan_For_Return_Of_Death_Penalty/1879349.html#relatedInfoContainer 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. http://www.rferl.org/content/Revolutions_Of_89_For_One_Czech_Family/1878877.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Revolutions_Of_89_For_One_Czech_Family/1878877.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:22:32 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Revolutions_Of_89_For_One_Czech_Family/1878877.html#relatedInfoContainer 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, ... http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_International_PEN_Marks_Day_Of_The_Imprisoned_Writer/1878857.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_International_PEN_Marks_Day_Of_The_Imprisoned_Writer/1878857.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:25:28 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_International_PEN_Marks_Day_Of_The_Imprisoned_Writer/1878857.html#relatedInfoContainer 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. http://www.rferl.org/content/European_Intellectuals_Warn_Of_Democracy_Crisis_20_Years_After_Berlin_Walls_Fall/1878366.html http://www.rferl.org/content/European_Intellectuals_Warn_Of_Democracy_Crisis_20_Years_After_Berlin_Walls_Fall/1878366.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:07:36 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/European_Intellectuals_Warn_Of_Democracy_Crisis_20_Years_After_Berlin_Walls_Fall/1878366.html#relatedInfoContainer 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. http://www.rferl.org/content/Experts_Warn_Internet_Internationalization_Will_Increase_CyberSquatting/1878118.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Experts_Warn_Internet_Internationalization_Will_Increase_CyberSquatting/1878118.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:37:20 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Experts_Warn_Internet_Internationalization_Will_Increase_CyberSquatting/1878118.html#relatedInfoContainer 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. http://www.rferl.org/content/Time_Could_Be_Up_For_Russian_Time_Zones/1878070.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Time_Could_Be_Up_For_Russian_Time_Zones/1878070.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:33:37 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Time_Could_Be_Up_For_Russian_Time_Zones/1878070.html#relatedInfoContainer A Baku court this week sentenced two young Azerbaijani bloggers, Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli, to two and 2 1/2 years in prison on hooliganism charges, in a case that has brought international attention to declining media freedoms in the oil-rich South Caucasus state. RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service discussed the issue with Thorbjorn Jagland, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe. http://www.rferl.org/content/Council_Of_Europe_Head_Very_Concerned_About_Human_Rights_In_Azerbaijan/1877804.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Council_Of_Europe_Head_Very_Concerned_About_Human_Rights_In_Azerbaijan/1877804.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:13:18 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Council_Of_Europe_Head_Very_Concerned_About_Human_Rights_In_Azerbaijan/1877804.html#relatedInfoContainer More than 1 million Internet users have now viewed the videos posted by a former Russian police officer denouncing corruption in his old place of work. Two other former policemen and a former prosecutor have since posted videos on YouTube complaining about rampant police abuse. The clips highlight a growing trend among Russians of taking their grievances to the Internet. http://www.rferl.org/content/YouTube_Police_Videos_Highlight_Internets_Mounting_Civic_Role_In_Russia/1877745.html http://www.rferl.org/content/YouTube_Police_Videos_Highlight_Internets_Mounting_Civic_Role_In_Russia/1877745.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:10:43 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/YouTube_Police_Videos_Highlight_Internets_Mounting_Civic_Role_In_Russia/1877745.html#relatedInfoContainer Voters in Kosovo go to the polls to participate in the first elections since the region declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. The municipal elections are seen as a critical opportunity to engage Kosovo's minority Serbs in the political process, despite objections from Belgrade. http://www.rferl.org/content/Serbian_Candidates_On_Ballot_In_Kosovos_First_Postindependence_Vote/1877565.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Serbian_Candidates_On_Ballot_In_Kosovos_First_Postindependence_Vote/1877565.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:29:15 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Serbian_Candidates_On_Ballot_In_Kosovos_First_Postindependence_Vote/1877565.html#relatedInfoContainer Adam Michnik, the editor in chief of Poland's "Gazeta Wyborcza" and a leading member of the Polish democratic opposition from 1968 to 1989, was in Prague this week to attend a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain. He spoke to Irina Lagunina of RFE/RL's Russian Service about Russia, the West, and the post-Soviet letdown felt in the former Eastern bloc countries. http://www.rferl.org/content/Twenty_Years_After_Communisms_Fall_Polish_Dissident_Says_Life_Probably_Not_A_Paradise_But_Its_Not_Hell_Anymore/1877551.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Twenty_Years_After_Communisms_Fall_Polish_Dissident_Says_Life_Probably_Not_A_Paradise_But_Its_Not_Hell_Anymore/1877551.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:58:06 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Twenty_Years_After_Communisms_Fall_Polish_Dissident_Says_Life_Probably_Not_A_Paradise_But_Its_Not_Hell_Anymore/1877551.html#relatedInfoContainer The 18 candidates who have been registered for Ukraine's presidential election in January can be divided into three tiers. It's interesting to take a look at the domestic- and foreign-policy programs of the first- and second-tier candidates. The platforms reveal many similarities, particularly in the realm of populist social initiatives, while a few bear distinct hallmarks of Soviet nostalgia. http://www.rferl.org/content/Ukraines_Presidential_Hopefuls_Lay_Out_Their_Programs/1877436.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Ukraines_Presidential_Hopefuls_Lay_Out_Their_Programs/1877436.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:38:39 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Ukraines_Presidential_Hopefuls_Lay_Out_Their_Programs/1877436.html#relatedInfoContainer President Barack Obama has begun a nine-day tour of Asia at a time when the U.S. economy is struggling to emerge from a deep recession. He'll be visiting Japan, China, Singapore, and South Korea. The focus of his trip will be trade, but economists say progress in that area might boost global security. http://www.rferl.org/content/Trade_Issues_Key_To_Obamas_Asia_Trip_Agenda/1877242.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Trade_Issues_Key_To_Obamas_Asia_Trip_Agenda/1877242.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:03:08 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Trade_Issues_Key_To_Obamas_Asia_Trip_Agenda/1877242.html#relatedInfoContainer Federal prosecutors in the United States have taken steps to seize four Islamic centers and a New York City skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization thought to be secretly controlled by Iran and accused of trying to help Tehran obtain nuclear weapons. If completed, the property seizures could be among the largest in the history of U.S. counterterror operations. http://www.rferl.org/content/US_Moves_To_Seize_NY_Skyscraper_From_Iran_Firms/1877044.html http://www.rferl.org/content/US_Moves_To_Seize_NY_Skyscraper_From_Iran_Firms/1877044.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:02:27 +0000 News Before the autumn revolutions in Eastern Europe, there was the Moscow Spring in the Soviet Union. In 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev's reform policies hit their high-water mark, as the USSR held its first competitive elections, press freedom flourished, and civil society awakened. http://www.rferl.org/content/Revolutions_of_89_The_Moscow_Spring/1876450.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Revolutions_of_89_The_Moscow_Spring/1876450.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:14:45 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Revolutions_of_89_The_Moscow_Spring/1876450.html#relatedInfoContainer As the United States' special inspector-general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR), Arnold Fields has the arduous task of preventing the "waste, fraud, and abuse" of U.S. funds appropriated for Afghanistan. In an interview with RFE/RL correspondent Abubakar Siddique, the retired Marine Corps major general weighs in on the rising concerns over corruption in Afghanistan. http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_US_Special_Inspector_Says_Afghan_Corruption_A_Mix_Of_External_Internal_Factors/1876279.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_US_Special_Inspector_Says_Afghan_Corruption_A_Mix_Of_External_Internal_Factors/1876279.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:12:30 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_US_Special_Inspector_Says_Afghan_Corruption_A_Mix_Of_External_Internal_Factors/1876279.html#relatedInfoContainer Moldovan lawmakers this week tried and failed to elect a new president. The Communist opposition boycotted a vote after the ruling Alliance for European Integration nominated Democratic Party leader and former Communist parliament speaker Marian Lupu. Now legislators must make one more attempt to elect a head of state in the next month, and a failure to choose a president would automatically trigger another round of national legislative elections next year -- in the wake of two inconclusive ... http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_Moldovan_Presidential_Hopeful_Says_There_Is_Still_Time/1876166.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_Moldovan_Presidential_Hopeful_Says_There_Is_Still_Time/1876166.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:49:55 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_Moldovan_Presidential_Hopeful_Says_There_Is_Still_Time/1876166.html#relatedInfoContainer The U.S. media organization Forbes has for the first time issued a list of those who it views as the most powerful people in the world. Not surprisingly, President Barack Obama tops the list, but there are some unexpected rankings further down. First, Forbes attempts to define what it means by "power.” http://www.rferl.org/content/Forbes_Index_Lists_Worlds_Most_Powerful_Players/1876109.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Forbes_Index_Lists_Worlds_Most_Powerful_Players/1876109.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:01:09 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Forbes_Index_Lists_Worlds_Most_Powerful_Players/1876109.html#relatedInfoContainer Pakistani officials have reacted harshly to a recent U.S. media report that questioned the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Pakistani experts don't discount the threat extremism poses to the stability of the nuclear-armed Muslim state, but express confidence that adequate measures are in place to ensure that Pakistan's nukes remain in safe hands. http://www.rferl.org/content/Pakistani_Officials_Say_Nuclear_Arsenal_In_Good_Hands/1875399.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Pakistani_Officials_Say_Nuclear_Arsenal_In_Good_Hands/1875399.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:32:17 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Pakistani_Officials_Say_Nuclear_Arsenal_In_Good_Hands/1875399.html#relatedInfoContainer As his allegations of widespread police corruption shake Russia's political elite, police major Aleksei Dymovsky has arrived in Moscow to elaborate on his claims. The police officer claimed to have hours of incriminating recordings proving that his superiors and colleagues ordered false arrests and drug plants on innocent suspects. http://www.rferl.org/content/feature/1874494.html http://www.rferl.org/content/feature/1874494.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:14:36 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/feature/1874494.html#relatedInfoContainer As the swine-flu virus continues to spread through the Balkans and the former Soviet Union, the measures taken by some governments range from bizarre and befuddled to possibly political. http://www.rferl.org/content/Swine_Flu_Follies_A_Regional_Roundup/1874396.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Swine_Flu_Follies_A_Regional_Roundup/1874396.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:11:26 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Swine_Flu_Follies_A_Regional_Roundup/1874396.html#relatedInfoContainer On November 10, 1989, one day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Todor Zhivkov, Bulgaria's longtime communist dictator, stepped down amid a so-called "palace revolution" staged by the reformist wing of the Communist Party. Journalist Ekaterina Boncheva, a member of the Bulgarian lustration committee tasked with opening the country's communist-era secret police files, spoke to RFE/RL about her memories of that day, and her view of how Bulgaria is faring 20 years later. http://www.rferl.org/content/Remembering_Bulgarias_Palace_Revolution/1873558.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Remembering_Bulgarias_Palace_Revolution/1873558.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:21:43 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Remembering_Bulgarias_Palace_Revolution/1873558.html#relatedInfoContainer With two remarkable YouTube videos that have drawn hundreds of thousands of viewers, Aleksei Dymovsky, a police major in Novorossiisk, has accused local law enforcement officials of widespread corruption. Dymovsky has since been fired, but the case has reignited the debate in Russia about corrupt cops. http://www.rferl.org/content/YouTube_Police_Whistle_Blower_Fired/1873545.html http://www.rferl.org/content/YouTube_Police_Whistle_Blower_Fired/1873545.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:52:59 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/YouTube_Police_Whistle_Blower_Fired/1873545.html#relatedInfoContainer Nowhere was the fall of the Berlin Wall celebrated more enthusiastically than in East Germany's "restricted zone," a high-security area that ran the length of the East-West border. For more than 40 years, people caught in the zone faced harsher limitations than ordinary East Germans, including nightly curfews and travel bans that prohibited them from visiting even neighboring villages. http://www.rferl.org/content/Berlin_Walls_Fall_Ended_Life_In_Prison_For_Family_In_Restricted_Zone/1873128.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Berlin_Walls_Fall_Ended_Life_In_Prison_For_Family_In_Restricted_Zone/1873128.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:29:06 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Berlin_Walls_Fall_Ended_Life_In_Prison_For_Family_In_Restricted_Zone/1873128.html#relatedInfoContainer Iranian-American Azadeh Moaveni, is the author of the best-selling memoirs "Honeymoon in Tehran" and "Lipstick Jihad." She spoke to RFE/RL correspondent Kristin Deasy about Iran's strict Islamic dress code on one hand, and the banning of Islamic headscarves in Uzbekistan on the other. http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_IranianAmerican_Author_Discusses_Islamic_Dress/1872445.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_IranianAmerican_Author_Discusses_Islamic_Dress/1872445.html Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:13:19 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_IranianAmerican_Author_Discusses_Islamic_Dress/1872445.html#relatedInfoContainer Lebanese-born Aheda Zanetti, now an Australian citizen, is a Muslim fashion designer who created the "burqini" after reading about how difficult it was for women to swim in full burqas. She spoke to RFE/RL correspondent Kristin Deasy about the politics of Islamic fashion. http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_Muslim_Fashion_Designer_Discusses_The_Burqini/1872438.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_Muslim_Fashion_Designer_Discusses_The_Burqini/1872438.html Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:47:54 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_Muslim_Fashion_Designer_Discusses_The_Burqini/1872438.html#relatedInfoContainer Islamic female clothing has become as much a political statement as it is a religious statement in many countries. http://www.rferl.org/content/Bans_Burqinis_And_Bad_Hijab/1872428.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Bans_Burqinis_And_Bad_Hijab/1872428.html Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:13:54 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Bans_Burqinis_And_Bad_Hijab/1872428.html#relatedInfoContainer A new survey indicates that the number of endangered Siberian tigers living in the Russian Far East is dwindling, primarily due to poaching. http://www.rferl.org/content/Environmentalists_Raise_Alarm_Over_Russias_Siberian_Tiger/1872050.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Environmentalists_Raise_Alarm_Over_Russias_Siberian_Tiger/1872050.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:36:04 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Environmentalists_Raise_Alarm_Over_Russias_Siberian_Tiger/1872050.html#relatedInfoContainer In the wake of his reelection, President Hamid Karzai is facing intense international pressure to move decisively against the corruption that affects all aspects of life in Afghanistan. But what is the scale of corruption in the country, how does it systematically undermine efforts to establish stability, and what would it take to stem the growing menace? http://www.rferl.org/content/Afghanistans_Karzai_Faces_Pressure_To_Confront_Corruption_Menace/1871516.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Afghanistans_Karzai_Faces_Pressure_To_Confront_Corruption_Menace/1871516.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:34:13 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Afghanistans_Karzai_Faces_Pressure_To_Confront_Corruption_Menace/1871516.html#relatedInfoContainer The board of directors of U.S. automaker General Motors (GM) has decided not to sell its shares of Opel, putting an end to months of talks that seemed to be leading to the acquisition of Opel by a consortium consisting of Canada's Magna and Russia's Sberbank. http://www.rferl.org/content/Analyst_GM_Scared_Off_By_Partners_In_Proposed_Opel_Deal/1871465.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Analyst_GM_Scared_Off_By_Partners_In_Proposed_Opel_Deal/1871465.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:47:18 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/Analyst_GM_Scared_Off_By_Partners_In_Proposed_Opel_Deal/1871465.html#relatedInfoContainer Members of the Green movement opposed to Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad voiced a clear demand to U.S. President Barack Obama this week. http://www.rferl.org/content/What_Does_Irans_Green_Movement_Want_From_Obama_/1871445.html http://www.rferl.org/content/What_Does_Irans_Green_Movement_Want_From_Obama_/1871445.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:35:14 +0000 Features http://www.rferl.org/content/What_Does_Irans_Green_Movement_Want_From_Obama_/1871445.html#relatedInfoContainer