Russian MPs are to vote on a Kremlin-backed law which would impose harsh regulations on all of Russia’s foreign-funded non-governmental organisations involved in political activity.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whose reforms helped lead to the fall of communism, threw his weight behind the pro-democracy protests in Egypt, saying they were “well-grounded and of vital importance”.

At least 22 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in a car bomb explosion in an open-air market north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said today.

Thousands of Iraqis marched through the city of Najaf today for an annual march to mark the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.

THE assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has brought Pakistan’s state of turmoil to new heights. As head of the nation’s most popular political party, Ms Bhutto largely transcended Pakistan’s ethnic and sectarian divides.

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen’s Centre Party won Finland’s Parliamentary election by a razor-thin margin ahead of the opposition Conservatives tonight.

Israel’s prime minister Ehud Olmert denied that there was a “humanitarian crisis” in the Gaza Strip, but said Israel would buy medicine and other necessities for the Palestinians to prevent the situation becoming worse.

Security forces loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a new militia run by the Hamas-led government paraded through the streets with assault rifles and stared each other down today, competing for control of the Gaza Strip.

The Constitutional Court today annulled Thailand’s April 2 parliamentary election and ordered fresh polls in a bid to end the country’s months-long political crisis, a court official said.

Palestinian prime minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh was to present his new Hamas-led government to parliament today.

A TOP-LEVEL Hamas delegation will travel to Moscow next week for meetings with Russian officials, a Hamas official said yesterday, part of the militant group’s efforts to gain international legitimacy after sweeping a Palestinian parliamentary election.

The Palestinians’ ruling Fatah Party has split, with young activists forming their own group for the January parliamentary election.

Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms burst into the home of a Sunni Arab sheikh today, killing him, three of his sons and a son-in-law in what police believe may have been aimed at discouraging Sunnis from participating in next month’s election.

IRAQ'S Shi'ite interior minister accused critics yesterday of exaggerating reports of torture at a lock-up seized by US troops last weekend.

The American military launched a major new offensive today, involving about 2,500 Marines, soldiers and sailors near the Syrian border, aimed at destroying an al-Qaida in Iraq network.

Sunni-led insurgents firing mortars and guns attacked an Iraqi police checkpoint in northern Iraq today, killing six policemen and wounding 10, an official said.

A three-day holiday began for Sunni Arabs in Iraq today, ending a month of fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and unusual signs of celebration emerged in war-torn cities such as Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown.

WAVING the flags of rival armed factions, Palestinians poured into four abandoned West Bank Jewish settlements yesterday after Israel completed its evacuation under a plan to “disengage” from conflict.

President Mikhail Saakashvili put Georgia’s military on alert today after the restive Adzharia region barred him from entering, but he pledged his goal was to take control of the region without bloodshed.

President Mikhail Saakashvili put the Georgia’s military on alert today after the restive Adzharia region barred him from entering, but he pledged his goal was to take control of the region without bloodshed.