The controversy over Iran’s nuclear program seems unending as Tehran remains adamant to go ahead with the program. In the latest development, the UN nuclear agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has told member nations that Iran is planning to upgrade and speed up its nuclear program.

• February 1, 2013

MEMBERS of Syria's Turkmen minority have joined forces with rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's regime in a struggle they say is for democracy and revenge for years of oppression.

• January 31, 2013

RUSSIA has warned that any Israeli air strike against Syria would be "unacceptable" after the Damascus regime said a military research centre had been attacked by Israeli fighter jets.

• January 31, 2013

Moscow and Astana have signed a deal to establish a regional defense system, which will also include missile defense.
The document was signed on Wednesday during a meeting between Kazakh Defense Minister Adilbek Dzhaksybekov and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who is paying an official visit to Astana, the Kazakh capital.

• January 30, 2013

Cyprus' president said Wednesday that Russia is ready to join the European Union in putting together a rescue package for the heavily indebted country.

Dimitris Christofias said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin assured him of Moscow's readiness to "extend a helping hand" to Cyprus in a telephone conversation the previous day.

• January 30, 2013

Iran has imported 4 billion bcm of gas from Turkmenistan since March 19, 2012, Deputy Oil Minister Javad Owji said, Mehr reported.

• January 30, 2013

Repeating the past, North Korea's young ruler Kim Jong Un has threatened the US and South Korea with dire consequences for opposition to the nation's missile adventurism. In a break from the past, Kim issued thinly disguised criticism of North Korea's principal benefactors - China and Russia. The latest turn in North Korea's brinkmanship will test China's newly installed party Secretary General Xi Jinping.

• January 29, 2013

Given the turmoil in the Middle East and South Asia and the tension in East Asia, success in resolving the North Korea nuclear issue is needed and still could be within reach, despite North Korea's harsh response to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution condemning it for the missile launch in December.

• January 28, 2013