The Hague - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is due to rule Wednesday on Georgia's claim against Russia concerning the alleged violation of its territorial integrity in August.

Georgia says Russia violated international law by entering the province of South Ossetia on August 7.

It also claims Russia previously caused unrest in South Ossetia, as well as in the breakaway province of Abkhazia.

Georgia, which filed its case against Russia in the ICJ on August 15, also claims Russia committed genocide and ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia.

Russia has rejected all allegations and says it entered Georgia's South Ossetia region to protect the civilian population from violence committed by the Georgian Army.

Geneva - Leaders from Russia, Georgia, the US, the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are to meet in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Georgia.

The closed meeting is also to include leaders of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in an effort to find a long-term solution for stability in the region.

A five-day war occurred in August when Russia invaded South Ossetia in response to Georgian efforts to impose its rule there.

The precise agenda for the meeting is not yet clear, although Russia is expected to push for an arms embargo on Georgia, which it blames for the conflict.

Moscow - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday named a new tsar to oversea Russia's preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Regional development minister Dmitry Kozak was promoted to deputy prime minister for the job.

Kozak warned last week the financial crisis pushed Russian shares to their lowest point since the national default in 1998 could force the state to fork up more cash for the constructions marathon run-up to the Games.

Geneva - A Geneva-hosted top meeting on Georgia between French and Russian leaders due Wednesday has been downgraded to one at "expert" level involving officials from Russia, the European Union, the US and UN, it was stated Tuesday.

The decision was taken because a meeting had already taken place in the French Lake Geneva resort of Evian last week between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, current EU Council head, UN officials said in Geneva.

Beijing - Russia on Tuesday formally returned to China half of an island that was seized in 1929 by troops of the former Soviet Union during a border skirmish.

Chinese and Russian diplomats and defence officials held a ceremony to unveil new boundary markerson Heixiazi (Bolshoi Ussuriysky) Island in a border river, the government said.

The two nations signed a final agreement in July on disputed areas along their 4,300-kilometre border, with Russia reportedly conceding 174 square kilometres, including two small islands in the river.

Moscow - Russia's MICEX index surged by over 11 per cent Tuesday following gains on world markets and boosted by higher oil prices, prompting regulators to change the threshold for automatic market closures to minimize what have become chronic interruptions in trading.

The ruble-denominated MICEX was up 11.02 per cent to 739.78 points at 2:05 pm (1005 GMT) after an hour-long -suspension in morning trading.

The rise on the MICEX, where most Russian stocks are traded, was led for a second day running by banks Sberbank and VTB Group on news of government loans to banks as well as Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil, trading on a rise in global oil prices.

The dollar-denominated RTS added 6.9 per cent to 845.81 points by 2:05 pm.