AP - Russia took the first steps toward a troop pullback from Georgia on Tuesday but at the same time paraded blindfolded and bound Georgian prisoners on armored vehicles and seized four U.S. Humvees.

Reuters - The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday condemned the overthrow of Mauritania's democratically elected president but the country's ambassador said the public supported the military action.

AP - Backed by the United States and European powers, Georgia pleaded Tuesday for the U.N. Security Council to demand that Russia immediately withdraw its troops from its small neighbor.

AFP - Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were under a botanical alert Tuesday after a destructive Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) was detected on the archipelago, the Agricultural Health Service (SESA) said.

AFP - The United Nations commemorated the fifth anniversary of the bombing of its office in Baghdad that killed 22 staffers, including top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.

AP - Russian soldiers took about 20 Georgians in military uniform prisoner at a key Black Sea port in western Georgia on Tuesday, blindfolding them and holding them at gunpoint, and commandeered American Humvees awaiting shipment back to the United States.

Reuters - Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic has asked the United Nations tribunal in The Hague to replace the judges who are overseeing the preparatory stage of his trial for charges including genocide.

AFP - The United Nations on Tuesday commemorated the fifth anniversary of the bombing of its office in Baghdad that killed 22 staffers, including top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Reuters - A key United Nations rights body voiced alarm on Monday at mounting racial violence in Russia and called on Moscow to take firm action against ultra-nationalist and neo-Nazi groups and hate speech in the media.

Reuters - Sudan has warned the United Nations of "serious consequences" for its staff and facilities if the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir over Darfur, a U.N. envoy said on Monday.

AP - Russia and Georgia on Tuesday exchanged prisoners captured during their brief war, a move that may reduce tensions and, Georgia hopes, hasten the promised withdrawal of Russian troops.

AFP - Tens of thousands of Muslims took to the streets of Indian Kashmir's main city Monday to demand that the United Nations recognise the Himalayan region's right to self-determination.

Reuters - Tens of thousands of Muslims marched peacefully past the United Nations office in Indian Kashmir on Monday, calling on the international body to intervene over the disputed Himalayan region.

AP - Tens of thousands of Muslims waving green and black protest flags and chanting militant slogans marched to the United Nations offices in Indian Kashmir's main city on Monday to press their demands that India give up its claim to the region.