Moscow  - Two Georgian soldiers were killed when a landmine exploded in a village near the border of the disputed region of South Ossetia, according to a statement by the Georgian Interior Ministry on Monday.

Another nine people including a ten-year-old boy were injured in the blast at around 3 pm (1100 GMT), the ministry said.

According to the statement, the soldiers were in the Georgian village of Pavali to inspect an Russian spy drone that the ministry said crashed in the border zone just hours earlier.

Lausanne, Switzerland  - Italian cyclist Riccardo Ricco has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against a two-year ban imposed on him for doping by the Anti-doping Tribunal of the National Olympic Committee of Italy (CONI) last month.

Ricco tested positive for the blood-booster CERA (Continuous Erythropietin Receptor Activator), described as third-generation EPO, after the fourth stage of the race, on July 8.

However, the 25-year-old admitted to EPO doping three days after the positive result and decided against calling for his B-sample to be tested.

Valletta, Malta  - The foreign ministers of Italy, Libya and Malta are to meet on December 5 to discuss illegal immigration and oil exploration in the waters between the three countries, it was stated Monday.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Libyan Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgem will be meeting in Malta at the invitation of Foreign Minister Tonio Borg.

Borg told Parliament Monday this was the first time that concrete proposals had been made on the delineation of the waters for oil exploration purposes.

Kabul  - At least one civilian and two Afghan police were killed in a suicide attack in the Dand district of Kandahar province Monday. Two other people were injured in the attack.

Separately, eight Taliban militants were killed in a military operation in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

The suicide bomber in the Dand district wore a police uniform to attempt entry to police headquarters. When guards at the main gate stopped him, he detonated the explosives, said Zulmai Ayubi, spokesman for the provincial government.

London  - Frank Lampard became the latest player to pull out of England's friendly international against Germany this week when he was ruled out with a rib injury on Monday.

The Chelsea midfielder joined Liverpool's Steven Gerrard on the sidelines, leaving England with a relatively inexperienced midfield to face the Germans in Berlin on Wednesday.

Fulham's Jimmy Bullard and Scott Parker of West Ham United have been called up as midfield cover.

Amman - Fifty German-speaking women carrying the first name "Petra" visited the ancient city of Petra on Monday as part of a Jordanian plan to spur European interest in the rock-carved city which last year became one of the world's New Seven Wonders, according to the state-run media.

The 50 were among 1,000 women from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who responded to an advertisement on the website of the Jordanian Tourism Promotion Authority to take part in a competition entitled "Petra to Petra", the TPA Director General Nayef al-Fayez said.