MOSCOW (Reuters) – At least two Russian soldiers have been killed in bombings in Chechnya, including a suicide attack on a government camp, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday.

HONG KONG (Reuters) – High child mortality rates in conservative Afghanistan are linked not just to war but to mothers being uneducated and having little or no say when their children need medical help, a study has found.

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan needs urgent help to avert a humanitarian crisis this winter, with millions facing some of the worst conditions for more than 20 years, a leading British charity said on Saturday.

Georgia’s president has been visiting the Black Sea port of Poti – inspecting the damage caused during the conflict with Russia over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and maintaining the pressure ahead of Monday’s European Union summit on the situation.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has refused to enter a plea to charges of war crimes at the United Nations tribunal in The Hague.

Italy is to provide billions of dollars to Libya as part of a deal to resolve colonial-era disputes, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has announced.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has been holding talks with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut at the start of a two-day visit.

Egypt has opened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip at Rafah for two days, allowing hundreds of Palestinians to cross into and out of the territory.

The new chief of the Lebanese army, Jean Kahwaji, has been promoted to general in a ceremony attended by his predecessor, President Michel Suleiman.

Lebanon has indicted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi over the disappearance of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric during a visit to Libya 30 years ago.