Eurasia

TEHRAN (FNA)- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Wednesday said unilateral sanctions against Iran would be “counterproductive” in efforts to force Tehran to suspend its nuclear fuel work.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Talks over Georgia’s Moscow-backed breakaway regions were suspended until next month as soon as they started on Wednesday, with both Russia and Georgia blaming each other for the breakdown.

BALIKESIR, Turkey (Reuters) – Turkey’s powerful generals rejected on Wednesday any blame for the deaths of 17 soldiers in a raid by Kurdish rebels, as rare public criticism of the army mounted following a series of attacks.

BAKU (Reuters) – Azeri exit polls pointed to victory for incumbent Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday in a presidential election condemned by the opposition as a charade to extend the Aliyev family dynasty in the oil-producing state.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The UN’s highest court ordered Russia and Georgia on Wednesday to ensure the security of all ethnic groups in the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and adjacent areas of Georgia.

BEIJING (Reuters) – Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari reached trade deals with China on Wednesday, raising hopes that Beijing would help his country through difficult economic and diplomatic times.

BAKU (Reuters) – Authorities in Azerbaijan said turnout was high on Wednesday in a presidential election boycotted by the opposition and almost certain to return Ilham Aliyev for a second term in the oil-producing state.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Three men go on trial on Wednesday for involvement in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist and Kremlin critic.Politkovskaya, whose reports on Russia’s breakaway Chechnya region detailing rights abuses angered the Kremlin, was shot dead outside her Moscow apartment in 2006.

TEHRAN (FNA)- A top Iranian nuclear official said on Tuesday that Tehran was satisfied with the ongoing construction of the Islamic Republic’s first nuclear power plant, currently being built by Russia in the south of Iran.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Pakistan invited Iran to invest in its expanding Housing sector.Speaking to APP on Monday, Pakistani Housing Minister Rehmatullah Kakar said his Iranian counterpart Saeedi Kia had accepted his invitation to visit Pakistan and explore Iranian investment in this important sector of economy.