* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cancelled his visit to Nigeria after the Nigerian side failed to confirm the program of his stay in the country
* A policeman was wounded in a blast in the Republic of Chechnya in Russia' troubled North Caucasus region, the local interior ministry said
* The Russian military could help Lebanon rebuild roads and bridges destroyed during an armed conflict with Israel, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said
* Russia commemorated the victims of terrorist attacks
* North Ossetia observed a minute of silence at 1:05 p.m. local time (9:05 a.m. GMT) to commemorate the victims of a school hostage-taking massacre, which claimed 331 lives, including 186 children, two years ago
* President Vladimir Putin said the Beslan school hostage-taking tragedy would always remain the country's common pain
* Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II paid tribute to the victims of the Beslan school hostage-taking tragedy, which claimed 331 lives, including 186 children
* South Ossetia, a self-proclaimed republic within Georgia, said it had downed a Georgian helicopter for allegedly violating its air space
* Georgia confirmed its helicopter had been shot down in its breakaway republic of South Ossetia
* Russia will give support to the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea to stabilize the situation in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said
