Newsline, Tuesday 30 June: Pakistan's fight against militants moves to North Waziristan; Russia's gamblers are out in the cold; and is Brussels a democracy or a lobbycracy?

 

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Pakistan's fight against militants continues
Pakistan's two-month offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley is drawing to a close. According to a military spokesperson only small pockets of resistance remain. But tackling the Taliban headquarters in South and North Wazaristan may prove a more difficult task, especially now that two major militant factions have scrapped the peace deals they made with the government in 2007.

Russia's gamblers are out in the cold
Gambling has reached epidemic proportions in Russia, and in attempt to discourage people from throwing away their money, the Kremlin has ordered the closure of all casinos and slot machine arcades. As of 1 July, gambling is only permitted in four specially designated areas - none of them within 1,000 kilometers of the capital Moscow. Our man in Moscow Geert Groot Koerkamp went out to try his luck while he still could.

 

Democracy or Lobbycracy?
Brussels is home to some 15,000 smooth-talking public relations consultants - otherwise known as lobbyists. And when the new European Parliament is installed in two weeks time, they'll be doing their best to cozy up to a fresh crop of MEP's in the hope of promoting their clients' interests.
Listen to the report from Brussels by Tijn Sadée