ARBIL, Iraq – Turkish warplanes bombed villages in remote northern Iraq on Tuesday, a week after a major eight-day offensive by Turkish forces against Kurdish PKK guerrillas in the region, border officials said on Wednesday.

BAKU – Azerbaijan accused neighbor Armenia on Wednesday of stoking unrest in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, following shooting there in which Azerbaijan said 16 soldiers had been killed.

KIEV – Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko told his prime minister on Wednesday to resume talks with Moscow urgently after Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom halved supplies to Kiev in a row over payments .

MOSCOW – A patron of Russian fashion, socialite and supporter of the arts, Svetlana Medvedeva is shaking off her air of mystery as she prepares to become Russia’s first lady.

MOSCOW – The first big test of whether Russia’s president-elect, Dmitry Medvedev, is really in charge will come when he tries to appoint his own allies into key Kremlin jobs occupied by Vladimir Putin’s loyalists.

ST PETERSBURG, Russia – A Russian opposition activist jailed for two months for taking part in anti-Kremlin protests has gone on a hunger strike, his liberal Yabloko party said on Wednesday.

KIEV – Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko pledged on Wednesday that Ukraine would stand by its obligations to export Russian gas to Europe and remain a “reliable partner”.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The UN Security Council has imposed a third round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear progress but China and many more countries said on Tuesday the step would not affect their trade with the Islamic Republic.

TEHRAN (FNA)- A push by Western nations for a resolution against Iran at a UN atomic watchdog meeting has been dropped amid objections from Russia, China and developing countries, diplomats said Tuesday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday called for a complete ban of all nuclear weapons through an international convention.