As oil prices surged to another record ($93.56 per barrel), energy analysts said Russia has become a critical player in the world oil and gas market. Richard Herold is director of international affairs of the London-based oil multinational, BP, which has large investments in Russia.

The freedom of religion and consciousness and the role of religious organizations in Kyrgyzstan were discussed at an OSCE conference in Bishkek on 29 October. 

The UAE and Uzbekistan signed three agreements on investment promotion and protection, avoidance of double taxation and political consultations to extend cooperation.

The head of the U.N. nuclear agency says Iran’s refusal to suspend uranium enrichment is “regrettable,” but said its willingness to cooperate with U.N. investigators is a step in the right direction. From VOA’s New York Bureau, Mona Ghuneim reports on the agency’s efforts to work on a diplomatic solution …

“America will always do the right thing, but only after exhausting all other options,” Winston Churchill once famously remarked when asked about US foreign policy. Little has changed since Churchill expressed his frustration 60 years ago. Today, all of Turkey is angrily waiting for Washington to do the right thing.

The number of Turkish troops inside Irq has reached 2.000. The Turkish soldiers are based in Batufa-Begova-Kanimasi triangle, in Northern Iraq. The Turkish security forces make operations in 8-20 km inside of the northern Iraq against the PKK terrorists.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations on Monday said 34 aid workers have been killed in Afghanistan this year and called on Taliban fighters and criminal gangs to stop attacking humanitarian convoys so food can reach millions of needy Afghans before winter. Tom Koenigs, the head of the U.N. …

An Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander underlined preparedness of his troops to fight enemy forces in the Persian Gulf, saying that Iran can stun enemies due to its geographical advantages in the strait of Hormoz.

Changes and transformations in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps are aimed at materializing its strategic goals and implementing its policies, chief of IRGC’s joint staff said.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mualem in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki on Monday said that Damascus and Tehran share similar views about the need for anti-terrorism efforts in northern Iraq.