TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s central bank has begun issuing its own high-denomination paper notes to replace the certified checks issued by private banks which will now be banned.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The crash of a passenger jet outside Kyrgyzstan’s main airport which killed 66 people is being blamed on technical issues.

Viktor Yushchenko, the Ukrainian President, was in a fierce and defiant mood yesterday as he urged Nato to respond to the Russian invasion of Georgia by moving quickly to expand the frontiers of the alliance eastwards.

In his interview to Utro.ru website, a ringleader of “Vostok” (East) gang who had just been dismissed to “reserve” with preservation of “ranks and awards”, said that a number of young people, who leave for the mountains to the Mujahideen increasing in Chechnya and other parts of the Caucasus Emirate.

The fighting in South Ossetia and the subsequent invasion of Georgian territory by Russian troops have become the most widely-discussed topic in Chechnya. Unlike the early 1990s, when Chechnya unconditionally supported the Abkhazians and South Ossetians, the majority of Chechens are nowadays sympathetic to the Georgian side, even though the …

NATO warships entered the Black Sea on Thursday for what the alliance said were long-planned exercises and routine visits to ports in Romania and Bulgaria.

The United States and France have criticised Russia for failing to comply with a ceasefire agreement to end the conflict Georgia, as hundreds of troops remained on Georgian territory.

According to occupation sources in the Wilayah (Province) of Ghalghaycho (Ingushetia) of the Caucasus Emirate, a bomb exploded in Nazran city near a house, where the village of Maisky’s mosque imam was living.   “The explosion took place around 03:00 on Thursday near the house of Aslan Korohoyev, the imam …

TEHRAN (FNA)- The organizers of the 12th annual Iran Cinema Celebration held their animation festival in a ceremony that took place on Friday evening at the Aseman Art and Cultural Complex.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Head of Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency Sergei Kiriyenko will visit Iran to finalize the launch date of Bushehr power plant.