The leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon has acknowledged that his group was responsible for the shooting down last week of a Lebanese army helicopter.

The United Nations has launched an initiative to have the marshlands of southern Iraq listed as a world heritage site.

A third US naval ship has been delivering humanitarian aid to Georgia. However, unlike the two other American vessels, the USS Mount Whitney was offloading supplies at the Russian-patrolled port of Poti. Earlier US shipments steered clear of a potential showdown with the Russians by diverting to Batumi.