Eurasia

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has released a man suspected of involvement in the 2006 murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya because he was not directly involved in the shooting, his lawyer said on Monday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A court in Moscow suspended the main opposition website in the troubled south Russian region of Ingushetia on Monday while prosecutors investigate regional government’s accusations it spreads extremist material.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union ministers agreed on Monday to boost the size of the bloc’s police training mission in Afghanistan as part of efforts to improve security and reconstruction, officials said.

TBILISI (Reuters) – A leader of Georgia’s main opposition coalition said on Friday it was close to declaring a boycott of parliament in protest at an election it said was rigged to hand victory to President Mikheil Saakashvili’s party.

BEIJING (Reuters) – New Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrives in Beijing on Friday, offering energy deals and military cooperation but seeking pledges of solidarity with resurgent China at a time when ties with the West are strained.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Ankara is set to take up a role in easing the process of talks between the world powers and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear issue, a source in the Turkish foreign ministry said.

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) – A protest over the shooting of the Koran by a U.S. soldier in Iraq turned violent in Afghanistan on Thursday, killing a Lithuanian soldier and two Afghan civilians.

KHAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Gunmen shot dead a Pakistani journalist on Thursday in the Bajaur region on the Afghan border where al Qaeda linked militants have been known to operate, his company and residents said.

KABUL (Reuters) – Italy’s government has pledged $300,000 to help combat a disease outbreak in western Afghanistan that has killed 17 people since February, the Afghan Health Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

SOFIA (Reuters) – The Bulgarian government decided on Thursday to relocate 155 Bulgarian troops serving in Iraq to Baghdad to guard a U.S. detention facility.