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.