Tens of thousands of opposition supporters rallied today across Georgia’s capital Tbilisi to protest against what they denounced as massive vote fraud that helped Mikhail Saakashvili win his second presidential term.

A leading Russian environmentalist today disputed claims that more than 30,000 birds have died in an oil spill.

HUGE excitement among the birding community and more ominous signs of climate change.

Leaders of Russia and Iran spoke out strongly today against outside interference in Caspian Sea affairs.

IT’S the height of sturgeon season, when fishermen get a crack at one of the world’s priciest delicacies — caviar.

Caviar exports by the world’s major producers have been temporarily halted by a United Nations panel.

The bird flu virus that has hit several countries in Asia is likely to spread to Europe, the Middle East, south Asia and Africa, a UN food agency warned today.

Officials inaugurated the first section of a 1,100-mile, US-backed pipeline today that will bring Caspian Sea oil to Western markets, a project seen as an economic and political boon for the troubled Caucasus region.

Burren Energy upgraded its reserves estimates for a key oilfield today after making “substantial” progress in its first year as a listed company.

After two years of construction, workers are welding together and testing with water the last few sections of an 1,100-mile oil pipeline that runs from Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey.

As many as 20,000 people are feared dead as a result of yesterday’s earthquake in of south-eastern Iran. The country suffers frequent earthquakes and people tend to adopt a somewhat fatalistic approach, making little effort to ensure that their buildings are as earthquake-resistant as possible. Instead, they look on what happens as “the will of Allah”.

Opposition supporters broke into Georgia’s Parliament today, scuffling with lawmakers and forcing President Eduard Shevardnadze to flee as thousands of protesters outside demanded his resignation.

At least 20 people have been killed and another 100 injured in an explosion in the southern Russian town of Kaspiisk.

At least 10 people have been killed and another 80 injured in an explosion in the southern Russian town of Kaspiisk.