In Azerbaijan, a seven -day mourning has been declared in connection with the death of the former president of the country Heydar Aliyev. The funeral will take place on December 15. Heydar Aliyev died on December 12 at the clinic of the American city of Cleveland, where he was on August 6 this year with a diagnosis of acute heart failure. During the Soviet Union, Heydar Aliyev headed the Azerbaijan Communist Party for more than ten years.

The Commission of the Council of Europe for Legal Control criticized the proposal of the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma to grant parliament, and not to voters, the right to elect the president of the country.

The program is maintained by Andrei Shari. Radio Liberty correspondents Yuri Zhigalkin, Jan Runov and Tatyana Vaxberg participate. Andrei Shary: Almost a year before the presidential elections in the United States and long before the primary elections in the Democratic Party, where the opponent of the current head of state George Bush should be determined, President Bush and his advisers have already identified the most likely opponent.

Andrei Trukhan: Guest of the Saturday broadcast of Radio Freedom today - German writer Vladimir Caminer. He is 36 years old. He arrived in Germany in the 90th year. Vladimir Caminer is a foreigner who writes in German, one of the most famous storytellers in Germany. The halls on his performances are always full. Five books of funny stories are well sold.

The program is maintained by Andrei Shari. Radio Liberty correspondents Evgeny Bovkun and Alexei Dzikovitsky participate - he talked with the head of the Center for Research at the Warsaw Institute of International Affairs, the editor of the magazine "Europe", the Gloromir Dembsky. Andrey Shary: The main European news of the day is the opening of the EU Summit in Brussels. The focus of this high forum is the EU constitution.

In Brussels, the leaders of the European Union are discussing the second day of the first European Constitution, which causes serious disagreements. Today, two -way meetings are held behind closed doors. The main disputed point is the decision -making mechanism in the EU. Germany and France insist on the principle of the so -called "double majority", in which countries with a large population have advantages in voting. Poland and Spain are opposed to this.

The program is maintained by Andrei Shari. The radio correspondent Freedom Karen Agamirov takes part. Andrey Shary: December 12 in Russia - Constitution Day. The main law of the country was adopted exactly 10 years ago - December 12, 1993 at the All -Russian referendum. On the same day, a bicameral parliament was first elected - the Federal Assembly.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed confidence that the All-Afghan Council (Loya-Jirga) will approve the new constitution of the country and the terms of public elections. Speaking in Kabul, Karzai said that the elections would be held on time - in June 2004. The European Union expressed the hope that the Constitution of Afghanistan will be based on democratic principles and guarantee human rights, including the equality of men and women.

In Georgia, the Central Electoral Commission refused to register with the presidential candidates to the former Minister of State Security of the country Igor Georgadze. According to the chairman of the election commission Zurab Chiabarashvili, Georgadze was on the international wanted list and over the past five years did not live in Georgia, as required by the law on the presidential election. Supporters of the former Minister of State Security intend to protest this decision in court.

Andrei Sharogradsky: negotiations between the countries of the European Union in Brussels - as part of a meeting of heads of state and government conference - allowed to clarify and coordinate most of the controversial issues in the draft European Constitution, with the exception of the most acute. The stumbling block was still the question of voting by the way of the double majority in the Council of EU ministers.

In Georgia, a ceremony of release of the next battalion of the Georgian army, prepared by American military instructors as part of the terrorism program, took place. The acting President of Georgia, Nino Burjanadze, took a look at the unit in the central square in Tbilisi. Over the past two years, American military instructors have trained more than two thousand Georgian military personnel.

The American command in Iraq said that he would revise the size of the salary to the military personnel of the new Iraqi army. About half of the recruits decided to abandon the service, mainly due to a small salary. First of all, married soldiers leave the army. Now the allowance for the family is approximately $ 60. The American command plans to prepare 40 thousand Iraqi military personnel by October next year.

The program is maintained by Andrei Shari. Radio Liberty correspondents Ivan Trefilov and Anton Luzgin take part. Andrei Shary: The defeat of the Union of Right Forces in the parliamentary elections, according to experts, increases the likelihood of the resignation of one of the party leaders Anatoly Chubais from the post of chairman of the RAO UES of Russia. Moreover, officials of the presidential administration are also dissatisfied with the economic activities of the energy holding.

In Iraq, an American officer who beat and intimidated the detained Iraqz was removed from his post. Lieutenant Colonel Allen West, who confessed to abuse, will not appear before the military court, but will be forced to resign next year. He stated that he beat the arrested in order to receive information about the preparation of attacks on American troops,

In Geneva, the United Nations Summit in the information community and information technology completed his work yesterday. The meeting participants adopted a declaration calling to provide the population of developing countries with the opportunity to use the Internet. The document emphasizes that 90 percent of the population of the globe do not have access to the Internet, which creates a nap called "digital gap" between the rich and the poor.