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.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s parliament unanimously approved resolutions on Monday calling for the recognition of two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states, a move likely to worsen already strained relations with the West.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Pakistani Taliban have “the upper hand” and should be put on the list of banned organizations in Pakistan, said Asif Ali Zardari, who has been nominated by his party to be the country’s next president.