(Reuters) – Russian armored vehicles have entered the northern edges of Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia, the separatists’ press service reported on its website on Friday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian soldiers now in the South Ossetian capital say their artillery has begun firing at Georgian forces – the first confirmed engagement between the two countries’ troops, Russian agencies reported.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – About 1,400 people have died as a result of “Georgian aggression” against South Ossetia, the president of the Georgian breakaway region was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying on Friday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The United States, NATO and the European Union called for an immediate end to fighting in Georgia’s South Ossetia region and called for talks between the sides.

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – A car bomb in a vegetable market in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar killed 18 people and wounded 25 on Friday, police said.

ANKARA (Reuters) – A Turkish man set himself on fire during a protest by ethnic Uighurs in front of the Chinese embassy in Turkey on Friday against China’s rule in the region of Xinjiang as Beijing opened the Olympics.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will cut all air links with Georgia from midnight on Friday, a spokeswoman for the Russian Transport Ministry said.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s oil revenue totaled more than $29 billion in the first four months of the Iranian year which started on March 20, a senior oil official said.

TEHRAN (FNA)- If Israel does something stupid, it will face a shocking response the likes of which it has never encountered before, an Iranian diplomat in Syria said.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian government is planning to sell off up to a quarter of the state owned telecoms operator, Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI).