SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev convened security chiefs on Tuesday to consider a plea from parliament to recognize two separatist regions of Georgia as independent, a move Washington says would be unacceptable.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – A blast hit a rally promoting autonomy for Pakistan’s gas-rich Baluchistan province on Tuesday, wounding more than 20 people, while in the city of Peshawar shots were fired at U.S. consulate staff.

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned ex-Soviet Moldova on Monday against repeating Georgia’s mistake of trying to use force to seize back control of a breakaway region.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif pulled his party out of the ruling coalition on Monday over disputes with his main partner over the judiciary and who should be the next president.

SHAQRA, Lebanon (Reuters) – French soldiers take off their body armor but keep their FAMAS rifles slung over their backs before moving off on a leisurely foot patrol through this pro-Hezbollah Shi’ite Muslim village in south Lebanon.

BISHKEK (Reuters) – Kyrgyzstan announced a national day of mourning for Tuesday after 65 people died at the weekend in one of the tiny Central Asian state’s worst air disasters.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – An Iraqi clan overwhelmed by shock and grief buried its dead on Monday after a suicide bomber killed 25 people at a celebratory banquet in west Baghdad.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Monday there was no final security pact with Baghdad despite Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s statement that a deal was reached to end foreign military presence by the end of 2011.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq and the United States have agreed that all U.S. troops will leave by the end of 2011, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday, but Washington said no final deal had been reached.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s parliament will call on Monday for President Dmitry Medvedev to recognize Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters.