A Russian man held captive for 15 years in Georgia, where he was allegedly used as a slave, was handed over to Russia by Abkhazian security services. Vladimir Obidin, 68, was detained March 6 in a village after he crossed the border between Georgia and its breakaway republic of Abkhazia. …

The United States will host a peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland on Tuesday aimed at relaunching talks on Palestinian statehood after a 7-year break.Here is a timeline of events in Middle East peacemaking.

As Russia deployed additional troops to the Abkhazian conflict zone, Tbilisi has tossed around war rhetoric about Abkhazia. Georgia asserts that Russia has stationed dozens of armor and artillery systems in the territory of Abkhazia and posted 200 land troops in Ochamchire.