Marking Ukraine's Great Famine
A candle-lit commemoration on November 16 of the victims of the 1932-33 famine KYIV/PRAGUE -- Kindrat Murzak was born in 1925 in Sarny, a village in the heart of what was then Soviet Ukraine. She was only 7 years old when the Great Famine swept acrossmore
European online library crashes
Thousands of users were searching for 'Mona Lisa' at the time when the Europeana site crashed A new digital library launched by the European Union has crashed within hours of opening - forcing its closure. The Europeana website was attracting more thanmore
The Benevolent KGB In Belarus
There's been a lot of talk recently about Belarus opening up to the West. Even the KGB seems to be behaving themselves. Here's an anecdote from the director of our Belarus Service: 'When I visited my mother in the city of Brest this weekend, I saw on themore
Russia OKs German Transit For Afghan Mission
German troops in Afghanistan BRUSSELS -- Germany has became the first NATO nation to win Russian permission to use the country's railways to transit military goods bound for Afghanistan. NATO officials see the Russian-German transit deal as anmore
New twist in Politkovskaya trial
The judge has ordered the trial be held behind closed doors The trial of three men suspected of involvement in the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya has been suspended, amid deepening controversy. Judge Yevgeny Zubov postponed it for 10more
U.S. Wary Of Chances For Normal NATO-Russia Ties
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- The United States has raised doubts about the prospect of a fast return to normal ties between NATO and Russia after the Georgian war, despite a European Union move to restart partnership talks with Moscow. The 26-nation militarymore
Activists Demand Probe Into Russian Journalist's Savage Beating
Colleagues and supporters of Russian journalist Mikhail Beketov held a press conference in Moscow to demand an immediate and transparent investigation into his savage beating. An open letter has been sent to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, urging himmore
EU Will Be Globally Weak 'Hobbled Giant' by 2025: Report
Europe will have completed its institutional reforms by 2025, but will remain weak on the world stage while the economic and political clout of the United States will decline, the spread of nuclear weapons and cyber-terrorism will emerge as the mostmore
Men deny French student murders
The bodies of the two students were found at a bedsit in New Cross Two men have denied murdering two French students who were found dead in a blazing bedsit in London. Gabriel Ferez and Laurent Bonomo, both 23, were found bound and gagged and sufferedmore
Sevastopol Refuses To Help Finance First Ukrainian-Language School
KYIV -- The Sevastopol City Council has voted against partially financing the construction of the first Ukrainian-language school in this Black Sea port, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. Of the more than 80 schools in Sevastopol -- which houses bothmore
European Court Asks Moldova To Reverse Election Law
The European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) has asked Chisinau to reverse a law barring Moldovans with multiple citizenship from seeking public office, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. The law was passed by Moldova's parliament in 2007 and is consideredmore
Asian Markets Recover, Europe Posts Modest Advances
HONG KONG: Asian stock markets rebounded from early declines Friday after Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa of Japan described recent turbulence in currency and equity markets as undesirable and said that governments should be prepared to take action.more
Moldova's Breakaway Region Feeling The Pain Of Global Crisis
TIRASPOL, Moldova -- Several industrial facilities in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region have had to suspend their operations and are asking employees to take mandatory vacations. Sergei Melnichenko, a reporter for the government-run weeklymore
Hooligans Confess In Church After Beating Belarusian-Speaking Artist
Artist Alyaksandr Pushkin Five Belarusian youths who were arrested for beating up two men because they were speaking Belarusian were sent to church for their punishment. Artist Alyaksandr Pushkin and his friend were severely beaten by the men in the townmore
Russian MPs Vote For Longer Presidential Term
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russia's lower house of parliament has approved on final reading a constitutional amendment extending the presidential term of office from four to six years. The amendment was passed by the State Duma lower house by 392 votes to 57.more
Russian Juror Defies Attempts to Close Trial
MOSCOW, Nov. 20 -- The trial of three men accused of helping to organize the murder of one of Russia's most prominent investigative reporters, Anna Politkovskaya, took a surprise turn Thursday as a juror publicly challenged the court's decision to holdmore
EU's online renaissance
It has been likened to the quest to build ancient Alexandria's famous library, a formidable repository of knowledge held in one place. But this time, they hope it will be indestructible. The EU yesterday launched the prototype of Europeana, its boldmore
French Socialists in run-off vote
Either Ms Aubry and Ms Royal would be the first woman to lead the Socialists France's opposition Socialists face a run-off vote for a new leader, after a first ballot failed to give a winner. The second vote on Friday, which comes amid bitter partymore
Polish tests 'confirm Copernicus'
By Adam Easton BBC News, Warsaw Researchers in Poland say they have solved a centuries-old mystery and identified the remains of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. A comparison of DNA from a skeleton in Poland and strands of the astronomer's hair found in amore
Mafia film 'out' early in Naples
Italian police displayed pirated copies of the film confiscated in Naples Pirated copies of the Italian anti-mafia film Gomorra have gone on sale in Naples, heartland of the Camorra mob at the centre of its storyline. Police have seized copies of themore
Ukraine PM Offers To Quit To Form New Coalition
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko KYIV (Reuters) -- Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko issued a fresh appeal to Ukraine's politicians on November 20 to form a new 'grand coalition' in parliament and offered for the first time to step down if that would helpmore
Kosovo Fights Serbia -- As Serbia Fights Everybody
Thousands of angry Kosovars demonstrated in central Pristina on November 19. Carrying banners and chanting 'No division -- we want to be sovereign,' the crowd protested recent steps by the United Nations to weaken the mandate of the incoming Europeanmore
Serbia To Launch Genocide Countersuit Against Croatia
BELGRADE (Reuters) -- The Serbian government said on November 20 it would file a counter lawsuit to the International Court of Justice against Croatia alleging genocide during the 1991-95 war. The legal tussle, which follows Croatia's original lawsuitmore
No collapse coming, Putin tells Russia
MOSCOW: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, mindful that Russians have been traumatized by two other financial crises in the last two decades, tried to assure the country Thursday that it would be able to weather the current one. In a keynote speech to themore
Starovoitova Killing 'Beginning Of End' In Russia
Galina Starovoitova threw her weight behind reformers Most of all I remember the crowds. The angry and bewildered masses gathered on St. Petersburg's Palace Square the morning after the assassination. The throngs of grieving ordinary people lining up tomore
Commentary: Kosovo At Another Crossroads
Kosovars protest the six-point plan on November 19. Nine months after it declared independence, Kosovo is facing a new challenge: the deployment of the European Union's largest civilian mission, EULEX. The mission is intended to mentor police, themore
Unified Russia Vows Stability Despite Financial Crisis
President Medvedev (left) and Prime Minister Putin in the thick of things at the United Russia congress Russia's ruling Unified Russia party has opened its 10th national congress, with nationally televised addresses by President Dmitry Medvedev and Primemore
Russia's Medvedev orders to collect 2.4 billion dollars of debt from Ukraine
Russian President ordered Aleksei Miller, the chairman of Russia's gas giant Gazprom, to collect the gas debt from Ukraine. 'We have to make the final decision with Ukraine's debt and collect the debt either voluntarily or forcibly as it is stipulated bymore
Kosovo At Another Crossroads
Kosovars protest the six-point plan on November 19. Nine months after it declared independence, Kosovo is facing a new challenge: the deployment of the European Union's largest civilian mission, EULEX. The mission is intended to mentor police, themore