Georgia and Russia cut direct diplomatic ties in a tit-for-tat political feud. The move came as human rights bodies called attention to a potential humanitarian disaster and evidence of ethnic violence during the war. In the latest sign of deteriorating relations in the Caucasus, Georgia will withdraw all of its diplomats from its Moscow embassy, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said Friday, Aug. 29. "Within the coming days, Georgia will withdraw all diplomats from its embassy in Moscow," the head of the foreign ministry's press department, Khatuna Iosava told reporters. "Consular relations with the Russian Federation will be maintained. It is a downgrade of diplomatic relations, not a complete cut." Georgia had already pulled all but two of its diplomats from its embassy in Moscow earlier in the week. Hundreds of thousands of Georgians live in Russia and cutting diplomatic ties would have left them without consular services, a scenario they now face.
In the latest sign of deteriorating relations in the Caucasus, Georgia will withdraw all of its diplomats from its Moscow embassy, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said Friday, Aug. 29.
"Within the coming days, Georgia will withdraw all diplomats from its embassy in Moscow," the head of the foreign ministry's press department, Khatuna Iosava told reporters. "Consular relations with the Russian Federation will be maintained. It is a downgrade of diplomatic relations, not a complete cut."
Georgia had already pulled all but two of its diplomats from its embassy in Moscow earlier in the week. Hundreds of thousands of Georgians live in Russia and cutting diplomatic ties would have left them without consular services, a scenario they now face.
Poland, Latvia and Estonia are pushing for EU sanctions against Russia over its crisis with Georgia, but the French EU presidency said the issue will not be decided at the emergency Brussels summit on Monday. At a snap meeting in the Estonian capital Tallinn on Thursday, ahead of the European Union's summit on the crisis in Georgia, the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Poland called for humanitarian aid and international observers to prevent the Caucasus conflict from being reignited on the ground. "Georgia requires Europe's support in order to recover from the destruction of the war, which in the short term means extensive humanitarian aid for relieving the problems of war refugees as well as those who have lost their homes," the presidents of the two Baltic countries and Poland said in a the joint statement.
At a snap meeting in the Estonian capital Tallinn on Thursday, ahead of the European Union's summit on the crisis in Georgia, the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Poland called for humanitarian aid and international observers to prevent the Caucasus conflict from being reignited on the ground.
"Georgia requires Europe's support in order to recover from the destruction of the war, which in the short term means extensive humanitarian aid for relieving the problems of war refugees as well as those who have lost their homes," the presidents of the two Baltic countries and Poland said in a the joint statement.
An emergency EU meeting Monday in Brussels on how to respond to Russia's recognition of the Georgian breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia could be instrumental in confirming the EU as a force for peace. With the United States taking a diplomatic back seat on the crisis and the swift reaction by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, acting as EU president, Monday's summit has become the union's first opportunity to broker a solution to a major international conflict on its own. But the opportunity is mined with potential pitfalls and risks, not least of which is the traditional EU dilemma of getting a group of 27 nations to agree on a common policy. And because the policy involves Russia, the potential for disagreement is enormous.
With the United States taking a diplomatic back seat on the crisis and the swift reaction by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, acting as EU president, Monday's summit has become the union's first opportunity to broker a solution to a major international conflict on its own.
But the opportunity is mined with potential pitfalls and risks, not least of which is the traditional EU dilemma of getting a group of 27 nations to agree on a common policy. And because the policy involves Russia, the potential for disagreement is enormous.
The emergency European summit called to tackle the Georgian crisis and forge a common European position on the issue is itself causing divisions - but over who gets to go to the extraordinary meeting of EU leaders. The Polish prime minister and president are scrapping over who gets to attend the meeting, while the decision by the Finnish president to go has pushed aside the country's foreign minister, Alexander Stubb, who is also the current chair of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). EU leaders to meet in Brussels on Monday 1 September Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, although there is no tussle over who gets to attend, President Vaclav Klaus nonetheless has an opposing view to his prime minister, Mirek Topolánek, as to who is responsible for the Georgian conflict. Conservative Polish president Lech Kaczynski has demanded he be the one to head to Brussels for the summit, rather than the more liberal prime minister, Donald Tusk.
The emergency European summit called to tackle the Georgian crisis and forge a common European position on the issue is itself causing divisions - but over who gets to go to the extraordinary meeting of EU leaders.
The Polish prime minister and president are scrapping over who gets to attend the meeting, while the decision by the Finnish president to go has pushed aside the country's foreign minister, Alexander Stubb, who is also the current chair of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
EU leaders to meet in Brussels on Monday 1 September
Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, although there is no tussle over who gets to attend, President Vaclav Klaus nonetheless has an opposing view to his prime minister, Mirek Topolánek, as to who is responsible for the Georgian conflict.
Conservative Polish president Lech Kaczynski has demanded he be the one to head to Brussels for the summit, rather than the more liberal prime minister, Donald Tusk.
Is there some prize for ratio of disingenuous half-truths v adjacent advertising lies that these writers have to follow? Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
Frank Delaney ~ Ireland
MOSCOW (AP) -- At the outset of this year, Russia proudly proclaimed itself an island of stability at the annual economic gathering in Davos, setting itself apart from the tumult of the global financial crisis.Then came the war with Georgia, which some here regard as Russia's 9/11.Within hours of Russia's retaliation to Georgia's move to take back its breakaway republic of South Ossetia, Russia had attracted widespread condemnation and threats of isolation and expulsion from the international community."For the first time since the Crimean War, Russia has no allies," said Garry Kasparov, chess grandmaster turned opposition politician. "We are encircled by countries that are either suspicious or alienated and very angry."On the economic front, investors are hightailing out of Russia, while Western politicians have hinted at sanctions, visa restrictions and even the denial of Russia's right to host the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.Increasingly cut off from the global world, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev risks undoing many of the successes of the past 10 years, ranging from the country's robust economic growth to a growing sense of national prestige and purpose.Stock markets plunged, and more than $7 billion was pulled out of the country in just three days, exposing the fragility of Russia's nine-year economic boom.The economy was already under strain.
MOSCOW (AP) -- At the outset of this year, Russia proudly proclaimed itself an island of stability at the annual economic gathering in Davos, setting itself apart from the tumult of the global financial crisis.
Then came the war with Georgia, which some here regard as Russia's 9/11.
Within hours of Russia's retaliation to Georgia's move to take back its breakaway republic of South Ossetia, Russia had attracted widespread condemnation and threats of isolation and expulsion from the international community.
"For the first time since the Crimean War, Russia has no allies," said Garry Kasparov, chess grandmaster turned opposition politician. "We are encircled by countries that are either suspicious or alienated and very angry."
On the economic front, investors are hightailing out of Russia, while Western politicians have hinted at sanctions, visa restrictions and even the denial of Russia's right to host the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Increasingly cut off from the global world, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev risks undoing many of the successes of the past 10 years, ranging from the country's robust economic growth to a growing sense of national prestige and purpose.
Stock markets plunged, and more than $7 billion was pulled out of the country in just three days, exposing the fragility of Russia's nine-year economic boom.
The economy was already under strain.
This whole thing looks and feels like everyone piling on, trying to get their 15 minutes of fame before the molehill re-de-serts itself in the non-summer news cycle. Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The European Court of Human Rights cleared the way Thursday for the extradition of a British man to the United States, where prosecutors say he hacked into computers at a variety of military installations including the Pentagon, U.S. Navy, and NASA. Gary McKinnon had appealed to the court to block his extradition, but the court announced Thursday it was refusing his request. The U.S. government says McKinnon carried out the biggest military computer hacking of all time, accessing 97 computers from his home in London and costing the government about $1 million.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The European Court of Human Rights cleared the way Thursday for the extradition of a British man to the United States, where prosecutors say he hacked into computers at a variety of military installations including the Pentagon, U.S. Navy, and NASA.
Gary McKinnon had appealed to the court to block his extradition, but the court announced Thursday it was refusing his request.
The U.S. government says McKinnon carried out the biggest military computer hacking of all time, accessing 97 computers from his home in London and costing the government about $1 million.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia easily won its brief war with Georgia, but despite a media blitz to project its side of the story, it concedes it still has a way to go to win the propaganda battle. Facing an international outcry, the Kremlin finally weighed into the war of spin, granting a flurry of interviews with President Dmitry Medvedev to foreign media about Moscow's gamble in the Caucasus. Until then Medvedev, who has steered Russia towards the biggest dispute with the West since the Cold War, had not given a single interview to foreign media since the crisis began. That was in contrast to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili who used dozens of interviews with Western media to compare Russia's actions in his country to the Soviet occupation of eastern Europe. "Russia completely lost the information war in the first few days," said one prominent Russian journalist who asked not to be named.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia easily won its brief war with Georgia, but despite a media blitz to project its side of the story, it concedes it still has a way to go to win the propaganda battle.
Facing an international outcry, the Kremlin finally weighed into the war of spin, granting a flurry of interviews with President Dmitry Medvedev to foreign media about Moscow's gamble in the Caucasus.
Until then Medvedev, who has steered Russia towards the biggest dispute with the West since the Cold War, had not given a single interview to foreign media since the crisis began.
That was in contrast to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili who used dozens of interviews with Western media to compare Russia's actions in his country to the Soviet occupation of eastern Europe.
"Russia completely lost the information war in the first few days," said one prominent Russian journalist who asked not to be named.
French brain surgeons have conducted a world first by destroying a brain tumour on a conscious patient using keyhole laser surgery, it has emerged. The team from Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris drilled a 3mm hole into the skull of a patient under local anaesthetic, inserting a tiny fibre-optic cable armed with a laser. The doctors were then able to "see" the metastatic tumour and steer the cable thanks to a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan, which uses magnetic and radio waves. Once inside the skull, they carried out a computer simulation of the treatment. Then they activated the laser, which heated and killed the tumour tissue for up to two minutes. The MRI scan allowed them to modify the exact energy output needed from the laser. The patient remained wide awake throughout and was said to have felt nothing. Once all the cancer cells were dead, the cable was removed and the patient allowed to return home the same day.
The team from Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris drilled a 3mm hole into the skull of a patient under local anaesthetic, inserting a tiny fibre-optic cable armed with a laser.
The doctors were then able to "see" the metastatic tumour and steer the cable thanks to a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan, which uses magnetic and radio waves.
Once inside the skull, they carried out a computer simulation of the treatment. Then they activated the laser, which heated and killed the tumour tissue for up to two minutes. The MRI scan allowed them to modify the exact energy output needed from the laser.
The patient remained wide awake throughout and was said to have felt nothing. Once all the cancer cells were dead, the cable was removed and the patient allowed to return home the same day.
Europe's half a billion people depend on the more than 200,000 km of motorways that criss-cross the bloc EUOBSERVER / FOCUS - Transport of people and goods are crucial for the European economy and its competitiveness as well as for bringing citizens and cultures closer to each other. But the sector is in desperate need of a makeover to deal with its growth, its environmental impact and Europe's dependency on oil imports - which currently costs the bloc one billion euros a dayTransport in the European Union More than 500 airports, 190,000 km of railways, 200,000 km of motorways. 35,000 km of waterways and 1200 seaports caters for the European Union's half a billion people every single day. The transport sector accounts for some €1000 billion - or over 10 percent of the EU total gross domestic product (GDP) - and employs 10 million people. But the increase in traffic in the last few decades has created serious congestion problems in urban areas across the bloc, which in turn cause health problems and delays that could at the present rate cost the 27-member bloc one percent of its GDP by 2010 and therefore dent Europe's economic competitiveness on the global market.
EUOBSERVER / FOCUS - Transport of people and goods are crucial for the European economy and its competitiveness as well as for bringing citizens and cultures closer to each other. But the sector is in desperate need of a makeover to deal with its growth, its environmental impact and Europe's dependency on oil imports - which currently costs the bloc one billion euros a dayTransport in the European Union
More than 500 airports, 190,000 km of railways, 200,000 km of motorways. 35,000 km of waterways and 1200 seaports caters for the European Union's half a billion people every single day. The transport sector accounts for some €1000 billion - or over 10 percent of the EU total gross domestic product (GDP) - and employs 10 million people.
But the increase in traffic in the last few decades has created serious congestion problems in urban areas across the bloc, which in turn cause health problems and delays that could at the present rate cost the 27-member bloc one percent of its GDP by 2010 and therefore dent Europe's economic competitiveness on the global market.
Notice i wrote nothing about the grid? "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin
Sir Ian Blair was facing a battle to survive as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police last night after Britain's most senior Asian officer publicly accused him of racial discrimination. Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, the third most senior officer at Scotland Yard, said he would take the force to an employment tribunal in a case that would name Sir Ian and others. Mr Ghaffur claimed he was discriminated against "over a long period of time" and "victimised" by other Met commanders after his grievances were made public earlier this year. His allegations of racial and religious discrimination will increase pressure on Sir Ian ahead of next month's inquest into the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes during a bungled anti-terror operation on the Tube. If the court rules that the innocent Brazilian was killed because of systemic failures within the Met, it would be widely seen as making Sir Ian's position untenable.
Sir Ian Blair was facing a battle to survive as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police last night after Britain's most senior Asian officer publicly accused him of racial discrimination.
Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, the third most senior officer at Scotland Yard, said he would take the force to an employment tribunal in a case that would name Sir Ian and others. Mr Ghaffur claimed he was discriminated against "over a long period of time" and "victimised" by other Met commanders after his grievances were made public earlier this year.
His allegations of racial and religious discrimination will increase pressure on Sir Ian ahead of next month's inquest into the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes during a bungled anti-terror operation on the Tube. If the court rules that the innocent Brazilian was killed because of systemic failures within the Met, it would be widely seen as making Sir Ian's position untenable.
The high number of foreign language schools in the area would undoubtedly have been another factor in Mohammed's decision to come to Hastings. With around 35,000 overseas students arriving there every year, he was almost certain to form some lasting friendships, and unlikely to be lonely or bored.Yet five weeks after his arrival in the UK, and a week before he was due to fly home to rejoin his family in Qatar, Mohammed al-Majed lay bleeding to death on a street corner, the victim of a racially motivated assault by a gang of white youths. He died in hospital the following day, alone, without a member of his family at his bedside.What Mohammed and his family did not realise when he set off for the UK is that every year an inordinately high number of race-related attacks are reported in Hastings, and that relations between the foreign language students and the locals are far from cordial.In the space of just three years, almost 100 foreign students have been attacked in the town, including physical assault and robbery, during April and August, when the language schools are busiest. Since many minor incidents are likely to go unreported, and the figures do not account for those who stay in Hastings at other times of the year, the real story could in fact be much worse.
The high number of foreign language schools in the area would undoubtedly have been another factor in Mohammed's decision to come to Hastings. With around 35,000 overseas students arriving there every year, he was almost certain to form some lasting friendships, and unlikely to be lonely or bored.
Yet five weeks after his arrival in the UK, and a week before he was due to fly home to rejoin his family in Qatar, Mohammed al-Majed lay bleeding to death on a street corner, the victim of a racially motivated assault by a gang of white youths. He died in hospital the following day, alone, without a member of his family at his bedside.
What Mohammed and his family did not realise when he set off for the UK is that every year an inordinately high number of race-related attacks are reported in Hastings, and that relations between the foreign language students and the locals are far from cordial.
In the space of just three years, almost 100 foreign students have been attacked in the town, including physical assault and robbery, during April and August, when the language schools are busiest. Since many minor incidents are likely to go unreported, and the figures do not account for those who stay in Hastings at other times of the year, the real story could in fact be much worse.
Dear Beppe, In the heart of this torrid summer and in this land of Calabria, working with the young people in the cooperatives of bishop Brigantini (in Locride) and in Arca di Noè {Noah's Ark} (in Cosenza), I've just been hit by the news like a lightning attack in a serene sky, the news that Berlusconi's government is giving its blessing to the privatization of water. In fact on 5 August, the Italian Parliament voted for article 23 bis of minister G. Tremonti's legal decree number 112 that in comma 1 states that the management of water services has to be done according to the rules of the capitalistic economy. All this with the support of the opposition, in particular of the PD, in the person of the shadow minister Lanzillotta. (A decision that I find outrageous, but doesn't surprise me, given the response of the honourable Veltroni to the letter about water that I sent him during the election campaign!) Thus, the Berlusconi government with the absence of the opposition, has decreed that Italy is today among those countries for which water is merchandise.
sigh...a sternly worded missive from the EU may be in order. ~Government budget deficits are not nearly as dangerous as the deficits we have created in vital and complex natural systems.~ Naomi Klein.
The UK is facing its worst economic crisis in 60 years, Chancellor Alistair Darling has admitted. He told the Guardian newspaper that the economic downturn would be more "profound and long-lasting" than most people had feared. Using strong language, Mr Darling acknowledged voters were angry with Labour's handling of the economy.
The UK is facing its worst economic crisis in 60 years, Chancellor Alistair Darling has admitted.
He told the Guardian newspaper that the economic downturn would be more "profound and long-lasting" than most people had feared.
Using strong language, Mr Darling acknowledged voters were angry with Labour's handling of the economy.
Darling.Is.Doomed™
Britain has failed in its duty to stop the US from committing "shameful acts" in the treatment of suspects detained during the war on terror, one of America's most respected intellectuals warns today. In an interview with The Independent, Professor Noam Chomsky calls on the Government to use its special relationship with Washington America to secure the closure of Guantanamo Bay. Claiming that he has heard only "twitters of protest" in the UK , the emeritus professor of linguistics also asks British "thinkers" to be more conspicuous in their opposition to the erosion of civil rights since the 9.11 attacks on the US. In the wake of the invasion of Iraq, Prof Chomsky, a leading opponent of the Vietnam conflict, has been the most prominent among US intellectuals critical of the war with the Iraq and the treatment of terror suspects sent to Guantanamo Bay and other prison camps around the world.
Britain has failed in its duty to stop the US from committing "shameful acts" in the treatment of suspects detained during the war on terror, one of America's most respected intellectuals warns today.
In an interview with The Independent, Professor Noam Chomsky calls on the Government to use its special relationship with Washington America to secure the closure of Guantanamo Bay.
Claiming that he has heard only "twitters of protest" in the UK , the emeritus professor of linguistics also asks British "thinkers" to be more conspicuous in their opposition to the erosion of civil rights since the 9.11 attacks on the US.
In the wake of the invasion of Iraq, Prof Chomsky, a leading opponent of the Vietnam conflict, has been the most prominent among US intellectuals critical of the war with the Iraq and the treatment of terror suspects sent to Guantanamo Bay and other prison camps around the world.
If the struggle in the Caucasus was ever over oil and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) agenda towards Central Asia, the United States suffered a colossal setback this week. Kazakhstan, the Caspian energy powerhouse and a key Central Asian player, has decided to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Russia over the conflict with Georgia, and Russia's de facto control over two major Black Sea ports has been consolidated. At a meeting in the Tajik capital Dushanbe on Thursday on the sidelines of the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Kazakh President Nurusultan Nazarbayev told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that Moscow could count on Astana's support in the present crisis. In his press conference in Dushanbe, Medvedev underlined that his SCO counterparts, including China, showed understanding of the Russian position. Moscow appears satisfied that the SCO summit also issued a statement on the Caucasus developments, which, inter alia, said, "The leaders of the SCO member states welcome the signing in Moscow of the six principles for regulating the South Ossetia conflict, and support Russia's active role in assisting peace and cooperation in the region." The SCO comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. There were tell-tale signs that something was afoot when the Kazakh Foreign Ministry issued a statement on August 19 hinting at broad understanding for the Russian position. The statement called for an "unbiased and balanced assessment" of events and pointed out that an "attempt [was made] to resolve a complicated ethno-territorial issue by the use of force", which led to "grave consequences". The statement said Astana supported the "way the Russian leadership proposed to resolve the issue" within the framework of the United Nations charter, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and international law.
