MINGORA, Pakistan (Reuters) – More than 25 Taliban militants and five Pakistani soldiers have been killed in a fierce clash in the troubled Swat valley in the northwest, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s highest court could decide as soon as Wednesday whether to ban the ruling AK Party for Islamist activities, Radikal and Sabah newspapers said.

SUKHUMI, Georgia (Reuters) – Russia has started to withdraw soldiers it sent to repair railways in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia, a spokesman for the troops said on Wednesday.