The Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq on Tuesday denied unconfirmed television reports that Turkish military helicopters seeking Kurdish rebels had bombed two empty villages in the area.

Corruption among Afghan officials is rife and government must be reformed to help end 30 years of war, misery and oppression, President Hamid Karzai said on Tuesday in an unusually frank assessment of his country’s woes.

The United States on Tuesday cast doubt on Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili’s claims that Russia was involved in stirring up civil strife in the crisis-torn Caucasus nation.