Topic: Vaclav Havel
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Censored: 5 plays and novels banned around the globe
Censorship of the arts has a long history, from ancient Greece to present-day Thailand. Here is a list of five plays and novels banned, for a variety of reasons, in regions across the globe.
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Czech Republic's new president is former prime minister
For the first time, the Czech Republic directly elected a president, choosing former Prime Minister Milos Zeman. Zeman took office as prime minster in 1998, and has taken favorable positions toward the European Union.
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The Monitor's View: China censorship protest as 'living in truth'
Protests erupt following a strike by journalists at a Chinese newspaper whose editorial on free speech was censored. Unlike most other protests in China, this one is about living in the truth.
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After 15 years, Aung Sun Suu Kyi and Nazi resistance figure Hessel finally meet
French intellectual Stéphane Hessel, a former Nazi resistance figure, will meet Aung Sun Suu Kyi tomorrow as she concludes a tour of Europe. He talks to the Monitor about what this means to him.
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The Monitor's View: Aung San Suu Kyi brings timely message for Europe – and Egypt
In her trip to Europe, Aung San Suu Kyi shares lessons learned in Burma (Myanmar) on how one's inner freedom can overcome despair. That's timely, especially for Greece as well as Egypt, as 'The Lady' also picks up her Nobel Peace Prize.
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Decoder Wire Why is Israeli President Shimon Peres getting the US Medal of Freedom?
While it doesn't happen every year, it's not exactly rare for a foreign head of state or of government to be awarded the US Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian award.
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Opinion: Why Voice of America is losing to voice of communist China – at home and abroad
With funding and program cuts, Washington is crippling the truth-telling Voice of America broadcasts in China. Meanwhile, Beijing is aggressively expanding its media campaign to spread untruths – broadcasting from American soil. America can't afford to let the VOA go silent.
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Censored: 5 plays and novels banned around the globe
Censorship of the arts has a long history, from ancient Greece to present-day Thailand. Here is a list of five plays and novels banned, for a variety of reasons, in regions across the globe.
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How the 'Year of the Protester' played out in Europe
The protests in the Middle East and United States may have garnered more attention, but 2011 was just as much a year of awakening in southern Europe, where young people are worried their future.
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Opinion: Christmas gift to America 20 years ago – a Russia to be thankful for
When the Soviet Union collapsed 20 years ago on Christmas, doomsayers had a field day. But seen strictly from the perspective of what matters most to Americans, the good news is that the nightmares that experts realistically expected about Russia have not happened.
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Vaclav Havel: crisis of 'human spirit' demands spiritual reawakening
Vaclav Havel spent his life fighting for freedom and democratic expression. His legacy stands in sharp contrast to that of Kim Jong-il, who ruthlessly denied his people a voice.
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Czechs, world leaders remember 'irreplaceable' Vaclav Havel at funeral
World leaders inside Prague Castle, where Vaclav Havel's state funeral was held today, as well as thousands of Czechs gathered outside, marked him as an unforgettable part of both Czech and global history.
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Turkey and France trade accusations of genocidal history
Turkey and France tussle over genocide bill: Turkey, angered by a French bill forbidding denial of the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide, accused France of committing genocide during its occupation of Algeria.
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Vaclav Havel: Moral beacon and leader of Velvet Revolution
Vaclav Havel, from dissident playwright to president, left a legacy of courage. Czech admirers are paying their respects today to Vaclav Havel in Prague
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Vaclav Havel: playwright, poet, president, advocate for 'the individual' (Video)
Vaclav Havel not only led a peaceful 'Velvet Revolution' in Czechoslovakia, but inspired similar revolutions around the world with ideas that still resonate today. Vaclav Havel passed away on Sunday.
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Good Reads: Remembrances of Vaclav Havel, Christopher Hitchens, and Kim Jong-il (video)
The passing of two great writers, Havel and Hitchens, may not cause currencies to fluctuate or armies to go on standby as Kim Jong-il's death has today. But the influence of their words will live on.
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The Monitor's View: Arab Spring's crisis of moral leadership
An Oct. 9 massacre in Egypt shows why the Arab revolutions need moral leaders, not just mass protests, to keep them on track.
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The Monitor's View: In Burma, a woman's inner freedom, unbroken by fear
Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi reveals in a BBC lecture the source of her spiritual strength in surviving as an isolated dissident and as a champion of democracy.
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In Poland, Obama looks to improve relations with key military ally
President Obama arrived in Poland Friday for the final leg of his European tour on a visit that will focus on military ties between Washington and Warsaw.
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Revolution 2011: What comes next is not the end of the story
Some revolutions lead to a flowering of democracy. Some backslide into anarchy or dictatorship. But there's always another chapter to be written.
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Opinion: President Obama: Call your own Nobel summit, and send China a message
Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiabao will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this Friday in absentia. As a Nobel laureate himself, President Obama must take a clear stand on China's human rights abuses. On Friday, he should host a 'freedom summit' with other Nobel laureates.
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Opinion: By admitting its human rights problems, the US helps other nations admit theirs
When the US had its own human rights record reviewed by the UN, the usual repressive regimes took the opportunity to condemn others while glossing over their own abuses. But history shows that human rights reporting can and does advance the cause of human rights worldwide.
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Vote the way you did that first time
It is easy to get jaded about voting, especially with all the partisan bickering that precedes it. But watch first-time voters -- those who have just come of age or those who live in newly free countries -- and you'll remember how it felt that first time.
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Nobel Peace Prize 2010: How Obama award shapes this year's choice
After giving the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama last year, the Norwegian Peace Prize Committee may opt for a more conventional winner this Friday.
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Opinion: China: Beyond Communist rule and capitalist change, what's the real story?
China is often depicted in extremes. But in figuring out how much China has changed or how much it has stayed the same, the trick may be simply to refuse to choose between those two options.
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Liu Xiaobo: Vaclav Havel confronts Chinese on sentencing of dissident
Former dissident and Czech president Vaclav Havel visited the Chinese Embassy in Prague this week in support of Liu Xiaobo, a Charter 08 author and democracy activist who received an 11-year prison sentence last month. Mr. Havel was a principal author of Charter 77, which targeted suppression in the Soviet East Bloc.
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