MOSCOW - Russia will launch a new phase of its military operation in Chechnya on Saturday, taking it beyond the „sanitary zone“ already set up in the northern part of the breakaway region.
JAKARTA - Indonesian troops fired warning shots and teargas in clashes with protesters in Jakarta on Friday as tensions rise ahead of next week‘s presidential vote.
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Serbia - Several thousand Albanian protesters tried to storm a bridge in the divided Kosovo town of Kosovska Mitrovica on Friday and French peacekeepers and riot police were forced to fire stun grenades to keep them back.
TBILISI - Gunmen holding two U.N. observers and their translator in a remote mountainous area of ex-Soviet Georgia have demanded security guarantees before releasing them.
ST PETERSBURG, Russia - German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer renewed pressure on Moscow on Friday to seek a political settlement in Chechnya, where Russian federal troops are battling to crush Islamic militants.
TAMPERE, Finland - European Union leaders clocked in at a disused factory on Friday for two days of talks on crime, justice and home affairs, seeking common ground in areas expected to dominate their agenda over the next decade.
HANOI - Considering the damage often wrought by tropical storms, names like „Typhoon Landing Dragon“ or „Typhoon Black River“ might seem appropriate.
TOKYO - Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said on Friday that resolving the question of Jerusalem is the most important factor for achieving peace in the Middle East.
MIAMI - Hurricane Irene continued its path toward southern Florida, with a likely landfall near Key West on Friday morning.
DAR ES SALAAM - A sombre mood gripped the streets of Tanzania‘s capital on Friday as the nation mourned the death of charismatic founding father Julius Nyerere and prepared for an emotional final homecoming.
BEIJING - China demanded on Friday that rival Taiwan release about 40 detained fishermen and 12 vessels held by the island after a spate of seizures this year.
