Main news of January 29

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Crude oil transfer tariffs to Belarusian refineries and transit fees through the country will be increased by 11% starting February 1, a spokesman for Belarus's economic ministry of said

* France and the United States have worked out a common position on sanctions against Iran and intend to submit their proposals to the UN Security Council, the French foreign minister said

* Iran is likely to make a new announcement regarding its controversial nuclear program during a ten-day celebration to mark the 31st anniversary of the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution starting Monday

* Tehran's decision to enrich uranium for its research reactor could impede the resolution of Iran's nuclear issue, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman

* NATO's non-military supplies bound for Afghanistan via surface transit will soon flow at full capacity, Russia's NATO envoy said, dismissing Moscow's involvement in transit-related problems

* U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian have discussed bilateral relations and regional issues, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said

RUSSIA

* Russia's prototype fifth-generation fighter made a 45-minute maiden flight in the Far East, Russian television reported

* The new Belarusian defense minister, Yury Zhadobin, will discuss military cooperation between Russia and the ex-Soviet state with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov on January 29 in Moscow, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said

 

BUSINESS

* Russia will gradually scrap anti-crisis measures by 2015, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said at an annual business forum in Davos, Switzerland

* Russian energy giant Gazprom and the Hungarian MFB bank signed on Friday an agreement to set up a joint venture to build the South Stream gas pipeline in Hungary

 

SCIENCE

* Space shuttle Endeavour is to deliver on February 9 a new technological module, Tranquility, to the International Space Station for its U.S. segment, a NASA expert said