Iran faces tougher sanctions The international “six” on Iran, which met yesterday in Berlin, agreed on the draft of a new resolution and the date for its discussion in the UN Security Council. Representatives of five countries - permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, USA, China, Great Britain and France), as well as Germany, intend to tighten the sanctions already imposed on Tehran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

The West remembered the nuclear baton Former senior military leaders from five NATO countries have called on the Alliance to be ready to launch a first nuclear strike if the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction is “inevitable.” Excerpts from a 150-page report compiled by retirees were published yesterday by the influential British newspaper The Guardian.

Georgia will offer Russia a path of compromise The initiative of the re-elected Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to restore relations with Russia , announced in his inaugural speech on Sunday, received diplomatic development yesterday. The Georgian Foreign Ministry has announced a time frame for putting forward specific proposals to improve the political climate in relations between the countries.

President Lukashenko warned entrepreneurs President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said yesterday that he will not allow the opposition to destabilize the situation in the country. “We cannot allow quiet, calm Minsk to turn into a seething one,” the president said during a visit to the Minsk City Hall. The day before, about two thousand individual entrepreneurs took to the streets to protest against a presidential decree prohibiting them from hiring workers except close relatives.

Former justice minister undermines Italian government Tonight the fate of Romano Prodi's government is being decided in the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament. The Prime Minister himself raised the issue of a vote of confidence yesterday. The crisis erupted on Monday when former Justice Minister Clemente Mastella announced his supporters in the lower house and senate were leaving the ruling center-left Union coalition and were ready to vote against the government.

NATO membership will quarrel between Ukraine and Russia Yesterday, the Russian Foreign Ministry reminded Kiev that the plans of the Ukrainian leadership to join NATO are fraught with serious consequences for bilateral relations. This was a response to an application to NATO to join the action plan for membership in the alliance, submitted on January 16, signed by President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Verkhovna Rada Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

American commander in chief awaits assignment to Brussels The influential American newspaper The New York Times reported, citing a high-ranking source in the Pentagon, that the commander-in-chief of US forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General David Petraeus, may be appointed to one of the highest posts in NATO. This is expected to happen before the end of September, when the US Congress adjourns due to the presidential elections.

PACE did not support Kosovo's independence Yesterday, deputies of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on Kosovo , rejecting demands to include in it a clause recognizing the independence of the Serbian region. In particular, the PACE rapporteur on the status of Kosovo, the British Lord Russell-Johnston, spoke out in support of independence.