SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) – Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia plans to become part of the Russian Federation, its leader said on Thursday.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistani security forces have killed 20 militants near the Afghan border, a security official said on Thursday, as tensions over how to tackle the Taliban and al Qaeda surfaced with the United States.

KABUL (Reuters) – A bomb planted on a bicycle went off near the governor’s office in the southern Afghan province of Ghazni on Thursday, wounding seven people, an official said.