Eurasia

Russian tanks and troops are still in and around Georgian towns, days after Moscow declared its military operation was over. For the second day running Georgian police have been trying to persuade Russian troops to leave the town of Gori, after rejecting Russian demands yesterday for joint security patrols.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Serbia said on Friday it would seek an opinion from the International Court of Justice on whether Kosovo’s declaration of independence was legal and that Belgrade would abide by whatever the court said.

MADRID (Reuters) – Prince Kardam of Bulgaria, the eldest son of the former king of Bulgaria, was seriously injured when his car crashed into a tree on a Madrid highway on Friday, a traffic police spokesman said.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has so far been unable to contact Russian President Dmitry Medvedev by telephone to discuss the crisis in Georgia, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday.

TBILISI (Reuters) – Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Friday said he had signed a ceasefire agreement ending hostilities with Russia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

IGOETI, Georgia (Reuters) – A Russian military convoy advanced to within 55 km (34 miles) of Tbilisi on Friday, a Reuters witness said, in the deepest incursion since conflict with Georgia erupted last week.

GENEVA/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The United Nations and Red Cross have poured hundreds of tonnes of aid supplies into Georgia but need better security conditions before deploying in South Ossetia, the two bodies said on Friday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will meet Friday Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on the second day of his visit to the neighboring country.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Fierce American criticism of Russia’s military action in Georgia and Washington’s support for Tbilisi is almost certain to jeopardize a very different US strategic objective: stepping up pressure on Iran with another layer of United Nations sanctions.

President Saakashvili says the Russian army controls around a third of Georgia, two days after both Moscow and Tbilisi signed up to a ceasefire. Tanks and troops deployed around three Georgian towns despite growing international pressure for the military to withdraw.