HEAD OF RUSSIA’S LARGEST DIAMOND-PROCESSING PLANT SHOT DEAD.

One of the most senior figures in Russia’s diamond industry has been murdered in what police say they think was a contract killing. The body of Aleksandr Shkadov, managing director of Russia’s largest diamond processing company, Kristall, and chairman of the Association of Russian Diamond Processors, was found with multiple gunshot wounds near his home in Smolensk on August 1. (RTR, August 2)

KYIV AGREES TO IMF’S CONDITIONS FOR EFF LOAN.