14 Russians and puppets were killed and 27 were wounded in various districts of Chechnya in 72 hours on October 17-19, 2006, according to a report for the Kavkaz Center news agency from the Chechen Military Command.

Chechen mujahideen under Commander Zaurbek Avdorkhanov ambushed a Russian convoy with three army-trucks in the District of Nozhay-Yurt in Southern Chechnya´s mountains.The trucks were full with Russian soldiers. As a result of the fierce attack 9 Russian soldiers were killed and 11 more wounded. On the Chechen side 2 fighters …

At least one man was dead and 50 people were missing after a boat with 200 aboard sank in the Bay of Bengal, police said on Sunday.

Pakistani troops, backed by helicopter gunships and artillery, have begun a ground offensive against pro-Taliban militants in a troubled northwestern valley, killing at least 30 of them, the military said on Sunday.

Outraged Pakistani journalists have been confronting police on the streets since President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule three weeks ago and muzzled the vibrant media that blossomed under his rule.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora assured his country on Saturday there was no cause for alarm and said his Cabinet was assuming executive powers in the absence of a president for the first time in nine years.

Turkish and US commanders on Saturday discussed measures against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, while Turkey’s prime minister said the struggle against the separatists was at a “critical stage”.

Hamas will step up attacks against Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank after a US-hosted peace conference next week, an official said in a statement on its website Saturday.

Ivory Coast’s foreign minister is scheduled to arrive here in Tehran Sunday night to attend the first meeting of the two countries’ joint economic commission.

 Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa is due to pay a visit to Iran on Monday.