Kavkaz

BAKU (Reuters) – Azeri exit polls pointed to victory for incumbent Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday in a presidential election condemned by the opposition as a charade to extend the Aliyev family dynasty in the oil-producing state.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The UN’s highest court ordered Russia and Georgia on Wednesday to ensure the security of all ethnic groups in the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and adjacent areas of Georgia.

BAKU (Reuters) – Authorities in Azerbaijan said turnout was high on Wednesday in a presidential election boycotted by the opposition and almost certain to return Ilham Aliyev for a second term in the oil-producing state.

A demonstration in Montenegro against the government’s decision to recognise Kosovo has turned violent.At least 30 people, including ten police officers, were injured in the clashes in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica.

Talks are underway in Moscow on the possibility of Russia lending Iceland four billion euros to help it survive its financial crisis. Russian could loan the money over three to four years, to be paid back at a higher than normal interest rate.

PLESETSK COSMODROME, Russia (Reuters) – President Dmitry Medvedev oversaw the test firing of an intercontinental Topol missile on Sunday and vowed to commission new generation weapons for Russia’s armed forces.

GORI, Georgia (Reuters) – Russia has not fully complied with the terms of a ceasefire in Georgia, France’s foreign minister said on Friday, casting fresh doubt on whether frozen EU-Russia partnership talks will resume soon.

TEHRAN (FNA)-Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov has said negotiations are the only way of easing tension over Iran’s nuclear program.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Hundreds of houses in ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia were torched in August, after Russian troops took control of the area, according to an analysis of satellite images released on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin brushed aside a demand by the Communist Party to sack Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin on Thursday, saying now was not the time to discuss mistakes made by economic authorities.