Belarus may refuse its deal with Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly Atomstroyexport on a construction of a nuclear power plant in the ex-Soviet republic, the Belarus president said, Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

"If Russia is not going to construct the NPP in our country, and that is what the talk is about, we are going to negotiate with other investors... We have proposals on this issue," Alexander Lukashenko said.

Belarus, which was one of t...

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi confirmed on Friday next week's launch of his country's first nuclear power plant.

"We are getting ready to transfer fuel of Bushehr Power Plant to the pool located near the heart of reactor next week," Salehi said as quoted by the official news agency IRNA.

He said the project will take seven to eight days.

The Russian Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) said earlier in the day that the launch of t...

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake has struck almost 350 kilometers southwest of the US Pacific island territory of Guam.

There are no immediate reports of destruction or casualties. The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred just before 7.30 am local time on Saturday in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 20 kilometers.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat, but warned earthquakes of such scale can be destructive along coasts near the epicenter.

Source...

An Iranian official said Thursday that the country is ready to launch its first Bushehr nuclear power plant, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Chief of Bushehr nuclear power plant workshop, Mahmoud Jafari, said in Bushehr that the main tests and inspections of the power plant have been successfully carried out during the last six months, the report said.

Double-checks, "installations and montage stage is completed and we are about to launch the power plant," Jafari ...

A third sinkhole appeared Friday in the busy downtown area of Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, after two others caused the partial collapse of a four-storey hospital building Thursday.

No casualties have been reported.

One police officer complained that it was difficult to stop pedestrians and cyclists passing through the densely populated area.

The new hole measured at about 20 square meters in area and was 6 meters deep. It is 100 meters away from the

...

BP is delaying plans to begin deepwater drilling off the Libyan coast. BP spokesman David Nicholas said on Wednesday that BP expects to begin exploratory drilling in the Gulf of Sirte later this year, Kazinform refers to Ar.The London-based company had said last month that it planned to start drilling within "a few weeks." Nicholas said the company is "working through the detailed planning." BP has run into opposition to its plans for drilling in both the Gulf of Sirte and

...

Raging forest fires in central Russia, Siberia and western Canada have created an enormous cloud of pollutants covering the northern hemisphere, according to NASA. Kazinfrom refers to RIA Novosti. Carbon monoxide, one of the most poisonous gases released into the atmosphere from forest fires, has been detected well outside the territories of Russia and Canada.

NASA's Aqua satellite, equipped with an atmospheric infrared sounder (AIRS), has not...

James Cameron, director of blockbusters Titanic and Avatar, is to take part in a demonstration dive this weekend on the Mir 1 and Mir 2 submarines near the village of Listvyanka on the shores of Lake Baikal; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti. "A definite date for Cameron's dive is not yet set, but the possibility was discussed earlier," a representative of the Buryatia administration said on Thursday.

Representatives of the fund for th...

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim criticized on Tuesday the unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and the European Union, saying isolating Iran "will not contribute to peaceful solution to the issue".

"In general, isolation contributes to more radicalism, only hits the poorest and most vulnerable, as we saw in Iraq. These sanctions that hinder trade make the country more dependent on others instead of allowing a more diversified contact," Amor...

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday warned nationals against visiting Russia because of wildfires raging across the country and an unprecedented heat wave.

The department recommended U.S. citizens to postpone travel to Russia because of acrid smog and numerous flight delays.

A scorching heat wave has gripped much of western Russia since mid-June, sparking wildfires and causing the worst drought in decades. More than 50 people died in the fires.

Moscow and a dozen other citi...

An explosion hit a residential area of Afghanistan's capital Tuesday, the government said; Kazinform refers to China Daily.

The blast occurred about 3:30 pm local time (1100 GMT, 7:00 am) in the neighborhood of Taimani, just outside downtown, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary.

Further details were not immediately available.

The Afghan capital is heavily fortified but has still been attacked multiple times this year by insurgents.

In one of the worst inci...

Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Igor Chudinov has been taken into custody in Kyrgyzstan, the media said with the reference to the Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg; Kazinform has learnt from Itar-Tass.

No details were provided, but the news agency said referring to Kyrgyz security service officers that wanted Chudinov volunteered to surrender.

Chudinov was the 16th prime minister of independent Kyrgyzstan. Then President Kurmanbek Bakiyev nominated Chudinov for prime minister in 2007. He was r...

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved 12 new development projects worth $620 million. The decision was taken by IDB's Board of Executive Directors, which met in Jeddah on Saturday, Kazinform refers to Arab News.

Amongst the decisions taken in the meeting was the approval of IDB Group's membership in the International Financial Institutions Anti-Corruption Task Force (IFI Task Force) aimed at joining efforts by international institutions in combating fraud and corruption.

...

After 859 days, thousands of kilometers and "50,000 mosquito bites," Ed Stafford became the first man known to have walked the entire length of the Amazon River when the waves of the Atlantic Ocean lapped at his feet in northern Brazil on Monday.

It's unbelievable to be here!" said Stafford the moment he entered the sea. "It proves you can do anything - even if people say you cannot. I've proved that if you want something enough, you can do anything!" A few hours ...

Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva has set parliamentary elections in the country for October 10, the Kyrgyz government said on Tuesday.

"The head of [Kyrgyz] state Roza Otunbayeva signed a relevant decree late on Monday and it came into force," the government's information center said in a statement.

The elections will be held in accordance with a new Constitution, which was adopted after a national referendum in late June.

The majority of voters approved changes to[/Kyrgyz]...

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday launched an informal pre-electoral campaign aimed at rallying supporters for the possible election in autumn.

"It's time that everyone knows all the work we have accomplished in these two years and for this reason you must become the government's megaphone in the country," Berlusconi wrote in a message sent to the Club of Freedom, a political association linked to his People of Freedom Party.

He appealed to all fans who &...

Former US president George W Bush is to travel to Haiti Tuesday to review progress on reconstruction efforts since the massive earthquake that killed more than 220,000 people in January, Kazinform refers to Trend News.

Bush will also meet with Haitians to discuss their living conditions, according to a statement from the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

The fund was created by Bush and his predecessor, US ex-president Bill Clinton, following the January 12 earthquake, as a major fundraisin...

The issues of cooperation between the nuclear research centers of Kazakhstan and Belgium were discussed at the meeting of Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, Head of the Kazakh Mission to the EU and NATO Yerik Utembayev with the leadership of SCK•CEN nuclear research centre in Mol, Belgium. As the diplomat noted, Kazakhstan is interested in the experience of one of the largest scientific research institutes in Europe.

...

Kazakhstan is firmly committed to the active integration policy. Kazakh Secretary of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kanat Saudabayev said it at the III sitting of Foreign Ministers of 'Central Asia plus Japan' Dialogue in Tashkent on August 7. As K. Saudabayev explained, moving towards the open market and international competition carries both risks and opportunities. Kazakhstan's authorities and business community look with favor on comprehensive development of regional cooperation.

...

A German pilot aged 74 died in an accident in the vicinity the Borovaya airdrome near the Belarussian capital Minsk Sunday while taking part in a CIS competition in helicopter sports; Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass. "An Md-500 helicopter of U.S. manufacture crashed in the Borovaya airdrome area Sunday, " an official at the Ministry for Emergency Situations said.

Md-500 were the machines on which the German team performed in the compet...

Iran plans to launch a manned spacecraft in seven years' time, two years earlier than its previous target, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday.

"In the near future we will be sending a communications probe into space whose lifespan will be one year," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted him as saying in a live conversation on state television in the western city of Hamadan.

"The government has undertaken plans so that we would be sending a manned spac...

Kazakhstan is ready to render any possible assistance to Russia in extinguishing wildfires, the press-services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations informs.


Currently Ukraine has already sent two AN-24 aircrafts and two firefighting squads to Voronezh region to help in extinguishing wildfires.


Two IL 76 aircrafts have already arrived in Novgorog region from Armenia. Besides, arrival of MI 17 and KA 32 helicopters from Azerbaijan is expected that will be working in Li...

A avalanche of wildfire smoke that advanced to Moscow has seriously worsened the ecological situation in the city, Chief expert of the Moscow Environmental Monitoring Service Alexei Popikov said Friday.


The environmental situation worsened once again because of wildfire smoke that muffled the city. Carbon dioxide concentration in the air exceeds the norms threefold, the concentration of even more hazardous small contaminating particles is twice above the norm, Popikov told Ekho Mosk...

Foreign ministers of Turkic-speaking countries came together in a meeting which took place in Bodrum town of the western Turkish province of Mugla on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reported.


Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who held a joint press conference with foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan - Elmar Mammadyarov, Kanat Saudabayev and Ruslan Kazakbayev, said that the cooperation among countries of Turkish world would be institutionalized.


H...

South Korea began on Thursday massive anti-submarine drills in waters off the west coast of the divided Korean peninsula despite a warning from its wartime rival against the exercises that heightened tensions near the western sea border.


The five-day naval exercises, aimed at deterring the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from further aggression after its suspected torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March, will involve 4,500 troops from the country's army, navy and air...

A 7.0-magnitude quake was recorded early on Thursday in Papua New Guinea's New Britain region, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.


The quake struck at 02:01 Moscow time (22:01 Wednesday GMT). Its epicenter was located at the depth of 54 km (33.6 miles), some 565 km (350 miles) northeast of the country's capital Port Moresby.


There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. No tsunami alert was issued.

Source: KAZ...

United Nations humanitarian agencies warned today of the possibility of waterborne disease outbreaks emerging in north-western Pakistan, where an estimated 1,400 people have already died in the region's worst flooding in living memory and more heavy rains are forecast.


The agencies are stepping up their relief efforts as thousands of people remain trapped by flood waters, awaiting rescue and evacuation by boat or helicopter. Food, clean drinking water, tents and medical services are...

A seminar entitled "Development and assessment of infrastructure projects within public-private partnership" has been held in Tashkent for the Central Asian countries. The event was organized by the Commerce and Industry Chamber of Uzbekistan and State Committee for Demonopolization and Competition Development together with the UNDP project "Business Forum of Uzbekistan" and the UN Economic Commission for Europe.


Director of the Department for PPP Development of...

BP's incoming head Robert Dudley is due in Russia on Wednesday for a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.


He will be accompanied by the company's outgoing CEO Tony Hayward, whom BP have said they intend to put forward as a non-executive member of the board of the joint Russian-British TNK-BP venture.


Dudley is no stranger to Russia, having headed TNK-BP, owned by the AlfaAccessRenova consortium and BP on a parity basis, in...

Three children and one teacher have been killed in the latest attack on a kindergarten in China. Kazinform refers BBC.


An unidentified person wielding a knife slashed more than 20 children and staff in the school in the eastern city of Zibo, Shandong province, on Tuesday.


Fatal school attacks have become common across China; nine people died in a kindergarten knife attack on 12 May.


Also in May, a man was sentenced to death for stabbing 29 people at a kind...