Moscow - A Russian judge Friday ordered state investigators to reopen the probe into the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, after prosecutors failed to convince a jury that four men accused had a part in her killing, Russian news agencies reported.

"The criminal investigation will be sent back to the Russian Prosecutors' Investigative Committee to find the individuals who committed this crime," the presiding judge at the Moscow military court, Yevgeny Zubov, was quoted by Interfax as saying.

Bishkek/Moscow - Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on Friday signed a decree giving the United States 180 days clear out of its only air base in Central Asia.

The decree terminating the base, which is crucial to supplying US and NATO operations in nearby Afghanistan, was overwhelmingly approved by the country's parliament on Thursday.

The US Embassy in Bishkek it had not received an official notice on the base closure.

Nairobi/Abuja  - Two Russian men kidnapped in December by rebels in the Niger Delta have escaped from captivity and have been rescued by the army, a Nigerian military spokesman said on Friday.

The two, who are employees of a Russian aluminium company, were taken by members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on December
20.

Lt. Col. Sagir Musa told the BBC that the two men "escaped from a yet-to-be-identified military camp and for the past five days were wandering in the creeks before our own patrol team saw and rescued them."

Tskhinvali, South Ossetia  - Thank God for the economic crisis, says the local man in charge of South Ossetia's reconstruction: it sent Russian investors clamoring to take part in the rebuilding of this tiny Caucasus region - or so he says.

Information is hard to come by in this isolated breakaway state, where European ceasefire monitors and international aid workers have been barred access, but a different picture has leaked in the Russian press.

The government is growing increasingly queasy over how its generous aid money is being spent and potential investors are refusing to fork up to Kremlin pleas as long as its burly separatist leader remains at the helm.

Bishkek, Moscow  - Kyrgyzstan's parliament approved on Thursday the closure of a US air base on its territory, which has been crucial for supplying US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

The decision was overwhelmingly passed with 78 votes for and 1 vote against, Russian news agencies reported. It comes one day after US President Barack Obama ordered 17,000 more forces to Afghanistan to combat a growing Taliban insurgency.

Moscow/Tbilisi - Georgia elected a snappy disco tune that takes a swipe at Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for its Eurovision contest song entry hosted by Moscow this year.

Georgia had initially said it would boycott the song contest after its war with Russia in August, but has opted instead for a soft-power punch.

"We Don't Wanna Put In" belted out by the group Stefan & 3Gs is a rather bald play on words on the Russian premier's name.