Buoyed by an upswing in economic ties and the launch of civil nuclear negotiations, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada comes here next week, a preparatory visit aimed at firming up the agenda for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trip to Tokyo later in the year.

• August 12, 2010

Iran's president called Thursday for a stronger alliance with other countries in the region straddling the Middle East and Central Asia, saying NATO-led troops have failed to restore peace in Afghanistan.

• August 12, 2010

Fingrid, the electricity transmission system operator in Finland, is preparing to connect new nuclear power units to the electricity transmission grid.

• August 12, 2010

EU applicant Serbia is considering acquisition of a still undetermined stake in a new EUR 4 B nuclear power plant project of its eastern neighbour Bulgaria. The latter, a new EU member, is facing difficulties raising the needed money or attracting an investor, media reported at the weekend.

• August 12, 2010

The President of Israel Shimon Peres will discuss bilateral cooperation between his country and Bulgaria in technology, industry and tourism fields with Bulgaria’s PM and Energy Minister.

• August 12, 2010

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently proclaimed Eurasia a Russian "sphere of exclusive interests."

• August 12, 2010

TWO recent developments in East Asia -- one in Northeast Asia and the other in Southeast Asia -- have brought to the fore some of the latent tensions in the region.

• August 12, 2010

Updated GDF Suez, the giant Franco-Belgian utility, said Tuesday that it had agreed to take over its smaller British rival International Power in a deal where the target’s shareholders will receive £1.4 billion ($2.2 billion) in cash in a special dividend.

• August 11, 2010