Voters in Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia were choosing a new president yesterday for the first time since Georgia and Russia fought a brief war over control of the territory in 2008.

Three years after the short, bitter war that left hundreds dead and redrew the map of the Caucasus, Russia and Georgia have been trading insults and accusations over what happened in the run-up to the conflict.

Sergei Bagapsh was the second president of the Republic of Abkhazia, the region of Georgia that broke away in 1993. He played a crucial role in guiding the country through troubled years.

The President of Georgia tells Kim Sengupta how he hopes to win support in his struggle against his nation's powerful neighbour, Russia – with a little help from Hollywood

Russia is setting out tougher terms for Nato, in return for its assistance in Afghanistan, with demands that the Alliance restricts the number of troops it bases in member countries which were former members of the Warsaw Pact. Moscow has agreed in principle to supply "several dozen" military helicopters and has started training Afghan security forces. Talks are also under way for Nato to bring in arms and ammunition through Russian territory as an alternative to a Pakistani route, which has come under repeated Taliban attack.

Russian troops have pulled out of a village on the Georgian border, just outside breakaway South Ossetia, which had been occupied in spite of Georgian and EU objections for more than two years since a brief war over the breakaway region.

The frustration I felt at not being able to cover the biggest news story of my career was immense'

The young women who populate Sana Krasikov's prize-winning short stories are tired of waiting for life to begin. New arrivals from the former Soviet Republics, they have made it to America only to exchange dismal apartments in Nizhniy Novgorod and South Ossetia for small, over-heated rooms in Yonkers and White Plains.

Alecky Blythe's latest verbatim piece is based on interviews collected at the Tserovani refugee camp, outside Tbilisi. A cast of five Georgian actors from the distinguished Rustaveli Theatre plays hundreds of characters, thrown together in a makeshift community following the 2008 war in South Ossetia.

The internet has its very own magnificent seven. They are a group of security experts across the globe who can reboot cyberspace if it comes under attack. Jerome Taylor discovers more

Russia has deployed its hi-tech air-defence missile systems in the disputed Georgian region of Abkhazia, it confirmed yesterday. The presence of the advanced S-300 system, which can detect, track and destroy cruise and ballistic missiles and aircraft, sent a defiant signal from Moscow to Tbilisi and the West two years after a war with Georgia.

georgia

The International Court of Justice's ruling in favour of Kosovo's independence has stunned both Serbs and Kosovo Albanians, while prompting fears that it may encourage separatist movements the world over. Considered opinion was that the court would sit on the fence, allowing Serbs and Albanians to draw their own interpretations. Instead, the judges' non-binding advice sides more clearly with the Albanians than anyone expected.

While they will be celebrating in Pristina, and there is no doubt that in a broad sense this is a victory for Kosovo, yesterday's ruling opinion is far more complex.