MOSCOW – A self-styled tsar, four empresses and scores of other eccentrics have sought to register for Russian presidential elections in March, the country’s elections chief said on Monday.

CAIRO – Egypt said on Monday it wanted the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas to control the border crossing with the Gaza Strip, excluding Hamas Islamists who have run the territory since June.

ISLAMABAD – Gunmen who took up to 250 Pakistani school children hostage on Monday in a northwestern town freed them all and surrendered to tribal elders, a government spokesman said.

BEIRUT – Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful faction, on Monday demanded to know who was behind shooting that killed eight opposition supporters in some of Beirut’s worst street violence since the 1975-90 civil war.

RIYADH – Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal met Saudi officials in Riyadh on Monday as part of a Saudi bid to mediate the return of Gaza, under Israeli blockade, to Palestinian Authority control, Saudi and Palestinian officials said.

Lebanon has been going through the worst political crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. The country has been without a president since November as leaders of its rival factions are unable to agree on a national unity government.

ISLAMABAD – Militants took hostage up to 250 Pakistani school children in the northwestern town of Bannu on Monday, the interior minister said.

RAFAH, Egypt – Thousands of Palestinians streamed home through the breaches in Gaza’s border with Egypt on Sunday after Egyptian authorities choked off supplies to the area and moved to restore control.

BRUSSELS – EU foreign ministers will debate on Monday whether to sign an interim trade agreement with Serbia — a move seen as boosting pro-European President Boris Tadic ahead of a February 3 presidential run-off.

TEHRAN (FNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned of serious consequences if the UN Security Council adopts fresh sanctions against Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.