France’s foreign minister blamed unnamed parties on Monday for blocking a deal between feuding Lebanese leaders to agree on a compromise candidate for president, two days before a key parliamentary vote.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili reshuffled his cabinet on Monday but left economic portfolios unchanged in pursuit of stability following a wave of street protests.

Exiled Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday he would not meet President Pervez Musharraf, the army general who deposed him eight years ago, when Musharraf visits Saudi Arabia this week.