WORLD
* Libyan Transitional National Council (TNC) spokesman Abdel Rahman Shalgham said the Libyan opposition and Russia have an understanding regarding the recognition of the opposition government in Benghazi
Organizers of the first authorized mass rally in Syria since the lifting of a state of emergency last month cancelled the event citing an “external threat”
* Russia accused Georgia of violating the right to public assembly by using force against protesters demanding the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili
* Russia has promised to support the Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN in September, Hamas deputy political bureau chief Moussa Abu Marzouq said
* Representatives of the Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas agreed a joint statement with Russia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said
* The Taliban have denied that their leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has been killed in Pakistan, after Afghan TV channel TOLO reported his death
* The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for an ongoing assault on a Pakistan Naval station in the southern city of Karachi, global media said
RUSSIA
* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin invited members of an internet community formed in Russia’s leading social network VKontakte to join his People’s Front, saying there was a place for unofficial groups in politics willing to get things done
* Russian prosecutors have opened a criminal case on charges of negligence that led to the loss of three Glonass satellites last year, the Prosecutor General’s Office said
* The Russian government should adjust its minerals extraction tax rather than excise duties to stabilize domestic fuel prices and avoid gasoline shortages, Kremlin aide Arkady Dvorkovich said
* Troops in Russia’s Far East were fed dog food to cover up for the theft of thousands of dollars worth of food, military prosecutors said
BUSINESS
* Belarus’s National Bank has devalued the national currency by over 50 percent, the bank said on its website on Monday
* The Russian government should adjust its minerals extraction tax rather than excise duties to stabilize domestic fuel prices and avoid gasoline shortages, Kremlin aide Arkady Dvorkovich said
* Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot plans to hire Alitalia’s Vice President in charge of strategy Giorgio Callegari as deputy CEO for strategy, Kommersant business daily reported citing sources close to the company