Lithuania returns to plans of constructing a nuclear power plant in cooperation with Poland, Estonia and Latvia, and wants to select the strategic investor in November

• November 9, 2010

Russia expects Tehran to resume talks with the Iran Six over Iran's controversial nuclear program soon, Russia's envoy to the United Nations

• November 9, 2010

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has confirmed his plan of attending a summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which will be held in Astana, capital city of Kazakhstan from Dec. 1 to 2, a spokesman from Kazakh Foreign Affairs Ministry said Monday.

• November 9, 2010

Iran agreed to attend talks with the United States and other world powers on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, provided negotiations take place in neighboring Turkey, officials said Sunday. The offer likely was meant to put diplomatic pressure on the U.S. and its allies.

• November 8, 2010

Approval ratings for Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government plunged as more people expressed dissatisfaction with its handling of diplomatic problems with China and Russia, a news report said Monday.

• November 8, 2010

Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia's foreign policy establishment is rethinking the concept of empire. In the case of Moscow's approach towards Central Asia, ideas about territorial domination no longer play a significant role in the formulation of strategy, according to a source with access to Russia's policy-making mechanisms.

• November 8, 2010

November 2010

Key positions:

• David Cameron’s forceful remarks over the summer on Turkey’s stagnant accession talks have hit a nerve in some circles in Brussels. Criticism of fellow German and French members of the EU by the prime minister on bias and playing to xenophobic political moods has addressed the elephant in the room over Turkey’s much debated membership application. Brussels is predicted to endorse the recent referendum results from Turkey as a positive step in its long standing bid to join the EU.

• A Turkish court struck down the headscarf ban in public universities recently, but no major social disturbances have been reported. The lack of social unrest over such a divisive issue seems to further demonstrate that Turkey is enshrining the values of a law based democratic society where sensitive political issues are settled in the courts and at the ballot box rather than in the streets. Meanwhile the Ergenekon trial (Turkey’s new national coup plot) has faded from national attention as the Istanbul prosecutor’s office has declined to pursue the case citing lack of verifiable evidence.

• The Turkish National Petroleum Corporation has recently won two major contracts in developing the two largest Iraqi gas fields, further increasing Turkey’s interests in its neighbour. This has not alleviated some concern in the business sector that warns a ballooning trade deficit over the past year has dire consequences for the long-term future of business growth.

• November 8, 2010

Formal approval of long-discussed reform of the International Monetary Fund increases the weight of Brazil, Russia, India and China on the executive board

• November 7, 2010