TODAY: Car tariff demonstrations see protesters beaten and arrested – video; Russia delivers air-defense system to Iran; Belarus could get $3 billion loan if willing to pay the price; presidential term vote unanimous; the Merchant of Death on trial, UK prime minister’s anti-Putin aide.

A demonstration against raising tariffs on imported cars in Vladivostok over the weekend saw protesters beaten and arrested.  A Putin deputy described the protesters as ‘provocative rogues‘, and one source reports that ‘ten journalists were detained by police, who demanded that several cameramen and photographers turn over videotapes and memory chips.‘  The decision to raise these tariffs, notes the Times, was a contradiction of the G20 undertaking not to impose or raise any new barriers to trade or investment for the next year.  ‘For me, the car business is the only way to support my family,‘ said one car dealer.  Some video footage of police detaining protesters can be found here.