Eurasia

VILNIUS (Reuters) – Lithuanians began voting in a parliamentary election on Sunday against a backdrop of double-digit inflation and fears its once high flying economy will be sucked into the global financial crisis.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The second seminar to introduce Iran’s saffron and medicinal herbs was held at the Ferdowsi Hall of the Iranian Embassy in Tokyo on Saturday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkey’s Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said Friday negotiations to finalize a contract for the purchase of Iran’s natural gas still continue, adding that he would “visit Tehran to sign the agreement as soon as it is finalized”.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO states have failed to provide enough money for an initiative to send dozens more badly needed helicopters to assist the alliance’s Afghan operation, officials said Friday.

GORI, Georgia (Reuters) – Russia has not fully complied with the terms of a ceasefire in Georgia, France’s foreign minister said on Friday, casting fresh doubt on whether frozen EU-Russia partnership talks will resume soon.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya will withdraw $7 billion of assets in Swiss banks, cut economic ties with Switzerland and stop supplying it with oil to protest against poor treatment of Libyan diplomats and businessmen, Libyan news agency JANA said.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters)PESHAWAR, Pakistan, October 10 (Reuters) – A suicide bomber drove his car into an anti-Taliban tribal council meeting in northwest Pakistan Friday, killing at least 30 people, officials said, the second suicide bombing in as many days.

Turkish jets have bombed suspected Kurdish insurgents in northern Iraq, the army says. The raid, which also involved artillery attacks, comes just days after Turkey’s parliament voted to extend cross-border raids into Iraq for another year.

The people of Switzerland face possible fuel shortages as a result of the ongoing diplomatic row with Libya. The arguments erupted this summer when a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi was arrested in Geneva, and charged with mistreating two domestic employees. Hannibal Gadaffi was released on bail. Libya threatened …

Lithuania votes on Sunday, and 16 parties are contesting this election, with a backdrop of widespread public disillusion in parliament, which polls say is Lithuania’s least-trusted insititution.