MOSCOW – Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on Sunday denounced a decision to bar him from running in a March 2 election for president, saying it showed that Russia was sliding towards dictatorship.

KOHAT, Pakistan – Pakistani troops, backed by helicopter gunships, are battling pro-Taliban militants to recapture a key road tunnel leading to the volatile tribal belt on the Afghan border, the military said on Sunday.

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Egypt has agreed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s plan to assume control of Gaza’s sole crossing with Egypt, excluding Hamas Islamists who rule the territory, Palestinian officials said on Sunday.