Free Republic

Russia has every right to sell arms to Iran, its defense minister said on Wednesday, responding to mounting criticism of a $1 billion deal announced last week. The United States, calling Iran a "state sponsor of terror", said selling weapons to the Islamic Republic did not help the Middle East. "This deal, this contract is absolutely legitimate. Like it or not, it's our affair. There are plenty of things we don't like either," Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in comments shown on NTV television.

...Assailants threw a grenade into the apartment of a prominent Kyrgyz opposition leader on Thursday but caused no casualties, opposition and police said. The incident occurred just days after a heated parliamentary election that international observers said fell short of international standards for democracy.

HONG KONG - A notable feature of 2004 was the volatility in oil prices - New York light sweet crude prices reached a peak of US$55.67 on October 25, ending the year up 33.6% at $43.45 per barrel. While a number of supply-side and supply-chain factors have contributed to this situation, the most significant long-term factor contributing to rising oil prices is an increase in Asian demand, most notably from China. China's unprecedented growth not only makes it a driver of a long-term increase in energy prices, but also the most vulnerable to rising oil prices. China, which has been...

Bishkek, 23 February 2005 (RFE/RL)-- Supporters of an opposition candidate occupied a district administration office in Kyrgyzstan's northeastern Issyk-Kul Province today, demanding that authorities allow the politician to run in the country's parliamentary elections on 27 February. Also today, the International Helsinki Federation (IHF) accused Kyrgyz authorities of violating their OSCE commitments by interfering with the democratic process in the run-up to the February elections. The protesting occupants of the local administrative building are some of several thousand people participating in demonstrations in the Tong district of Issyk-Kul Province. A protester told RFE/RL that demonstrators also want the head of...