Defense Official: Russia Has Short Range Missiles in South Ossetia

Russia has placed short range SS-21 missiles in South Ossetia, that could pose a threat to most major Georgian cities," including the capital, Tbilisi, a U.S.Defense official confirmed to FOX News on Monday. "Anything such as that, or any other military equipment that was moved in would be in violation of this cease-fire and should be removed immediately," Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "The only forces that are permitted to remain under the cease fire agreement are the forces that were in there at the Aug. 6 time frame."This news came as Russia's deputy chief of staff insists that Russian troops were pulling out of the breakaway region. However, there have been no confirmed signs of a withdrawal.Russia's deputy chief of staff Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn told a briefing in Moscow that "today, according to the peace plan, the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers and reinforcements has begun" and said forces were leaving Gori.However in Gori, Russian forces seemed to be solidifying their positions and the only movement seen by Associated Press reporters was in the opposite direction from Russia — toward the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, 55 miles to the east.The U.S. State Department was also unable to confirm a Russian troop pullout.According to the European Union-brokered peace plan signed by both Medvedev and Saakashvili, both sides are to pull back to the positions held before fighting broke out Aug. 7 in South Ossetia.Nogovitsyn said the Russian troops are pulling back to South Ossetia and a security zone defined by a 1999 agreement of the "joint control commission" that had been nominally in charge of South Ossetia since it split from Georgia in the early 1990s.Georgian and Russian officials could not immediately clarify the dimensions of the security zone. Nogovitsyn said "troops should not be in the territory of Georgia," but it was unclear if that excluded patrols."I think the Russians will pull out, but will damage Georgia strongly," Tbilisi resident Givi Sikharulidze said. "Georgia will survive, but Russia has lost its credibility in the eyes of the world."Top American officials said Washington would have to rethink its relationship with Moscow.The United States called an emergency meeting of NATO on Tuesday to discuss the alliance's worsening relationship with Russia, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew Monday to Europe to press the American viewpoint."I think there needs to be a strong, unified response to Russia to send the message that this kind of behavior, characteristic of the Soviet period, has no place in the 21st century," U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday.Rice said Russia can't use "disproportionate force" against its neighbor and still be welcomed into the halls of international institutions.But neither would be specific about what punitive actions the United States or the international community might take.For his part, Medvedev defended Russia's actions Monday and issued a stern warning."If someone thinks that our citizens can be killed, soldiers and officers who are peacekeepers killed with impunity, we will never permit that," he was quoted by Russian news agencies as telling World War II veterans in the city of Kursk before flying to Vladikavkaz, near South Ossetia, to hand out medals to Russians involved in the Georgia conflict. "Anyone who tries to do so will face a crushing response."The European Union, meanwhile, said about 70,000 displaced people were around Tbilisi but there was no shortage of food even though Russian forces had blocked 11 trucks carrying in flour.Daniella Cavini, a spokeswoman for the EU's humanitarian aid office, also said the EU is working with private relief groups to shelter refugees in schools, hospitals, military barracks and a tent camp near the Tbilisi airport.U.S. Brig. Gen. Jon Miller arrived in Georgia to assess the need for further humanitarian aid. At least six U.S. military flights have arrived in Tbilisi, ferrying everything from cots, sleeping bags and medicine to emergency shelters and syringes.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,405242,00.html

As in the days of Noah....

NATO won't let Russia succeed in Georgia: Rice

BRUSSELS, Belgium-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that Russia is playing a "very dangerous game" with the U.S. and its allies and warned that NATO would not allow Moscow to win in Georgia, destabilize Europe or draw a new Iron Curtain through it.On her way to an emergency NATO foreign ministers meeting on the crisis, Rice said the alliance would punish Russia for its invasion of the Georgia and deny its ambitions by rebuilding and fully backing Georgia and other Eastern European democracies."We have to deny Russian strategic objectives, which are clearly to undermine Georgia's democracy, to use its military capability to damage and in some cases destroy Georgian infrastructure and to try and weaken the Georgian state," she said."We are determined to deny them their strategic objective," Rice told reporters aboard her plane, adding that any attempt to recreate the Cold War by drawing a "new line" through Europe and intimidating former Soviet republics and ex-satellite states into submission would fail."We are not going to allow Russia to draw a new line at those states that are not yet integrated into the trans-Atlantic structures," she said, referring to Georgia and Ukraine, which have not yet joined NATO or the European Union but would like to.Rice could not say what NATO would eventually decide to do to make its position clear but said the alliance would speak with one voice "to clearly indicate that we are not accepting a new line."At the same time, she said that by flexing its military muscle in Georgia as well as elsewhere, including the resumption of Cold War-era strategic bomber patrols off the coast of Alaska, Russia was engaged in high-stakes brinksmanship that could backfire.This "is a very dangerous game and perhaps one the Russians want to reconsider," Rice said of the flights that began again with frequency about six months ago. "This is not something that is just cost-free. Nobody needs Russian strategic aviation along America's coast."At Tuesday's meeting, the NATO ministers will consider a range of upcoming activities planned with Russia—from military exercises to ministerial meetings—and decide case-by-case at the meeting Tuesday whether to go ahead or cancel each.They will also discuss support for a planned international monitoring mission in the region and a package of support to help Georgia rebuild infrastructure damaged in its devastating defeat at the hands of the Russian armed forces.And, she suggested that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who signed an E.U.-backed cease-fire brokered by the French, may be unable to exert power behind the scenes against his powerful predecessor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, or the Russian military.She said she thought the French would be seeking "an explanation from the Russians for why the Russian president either won't or can't keep his word.""It didn't take that long for the Russian forces to get in and it really shouldn't take that long for them to get out," Rice said.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D92KT1180&show_article=1

As in the days of Noah...

Tanks move, but still no sign of Russian pullout

GORI, Georgia-A Russian tank crashes through a barricade of Georgian police cars, explosions ring out from a military base as Russian troops destroy Georgian arms and ammunition, soldiers sit listlessly at the roadside.Russia announced on Monday it had begun withdrawing its troops from Georgia under a six-point ceasefire plan. But neither Georgia nor wary and openly impatient Western powers saw any evidence of the tanks, trucks and troops leaving.Georgia's Interior Ministry said Russian forces had been blowing up stores of Georgian ammunition and weaponry at a base near the western town of Senaki in their drive to weaken Georgia's 29,000-strong army.Spokesman Shota Utiashvili said Moscow's troops had also destroyed the runway at the base, about 240 km (150 miles) west of the capital Tbilisi."They are destroying everything and then pulling out of these places," he said. "If they call this a pullout, then I do not understand the meaning of the word." The Russia-Georgia conflict began on August 7 when Georgia launched an attempt to retake the separatist province of South Ossetia, which broke with Tbilisi after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia struck back, pouring troops into South Ossetia and then occupying areas beyond the separatist region in central and western Georgia.Three explosions were heard in Senaki on Monday. Similar blasts echoed near the strategically important town of Gori, in central Georgia.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLI15694420080818

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Russian Tanks Drive Over Georgian Police Vehicles:RAW

"Yet another impudence of Russian soldiers was reported from Kaspi. Four armored vehicles appeared in the village Igoeti today intending to move towards the village of Lamiskana. Georgian police resisted to the aggressors and made a barrier with their vehicles, however, the soldiers received an order from their general to drive over the police vehicles and so they did."

Russians stay in Georgia and worry the West

TBILISI-Russian troops and tanks were still deployed in several areas of Georgia on Tuesday, apparently defying pressure from the West to withdraw quickly. Armed Georgian policemen and Russian soldiers guarded separate checkpoints only a few hundred meters apart in the village of Igoeti in central Georgia, about 45 km (28 miles)from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.Russia's Defense Ministry has said the army's withdrawal from Georgia has started, but on Monday a Reuters correspondent who traveled to the central town of Gori saw little evidence of a pullout from the area.The conflict began 10 days ago when Georgian forces tried earlier this month to recapture South Ossetia, which broke free from Tbilisi in a war during the 1990s. Russia launched an overwhelming counterattack to support the separatists. The Russian attack-its biggest military deployment outside its borders since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union-included air strikes on economic targets deep inside Georgia, forcing the Georgian army into retreat, and shocked the West.The United States and France on Monday urged a speedy Russian withdrawal in line with a French-mediated ceasefire accord. This and other similar appeals have had no visible impact as Moscow has declined to set a pullout timetable.A senior U.S. official said there were no signs yet that the Russian forces had begun to leave. Georgia said they were broadening their presence."I hope the world has woken up to what is going on. The Russians should get out of my country," Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told reporters during a Tbilisi church service late on Monday. "The worst thing the world could do would be to compromise and show weakness."

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL768040420080818

As in the days of Noah...

OBAMA WATCH:Pelosi Praise: Obama is a 'leader that God has blessed us with at this time'...

A confident Barack Obama raised an extraordinary $7.8 million Sunday at three California fundraisers, most if it in large checks to a Democratic Party committee.“I will win. Don’t worry about that,” he said to the crowd of about 1,300 at his third event of the evening, according to the pool report.He was warmly received by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called him "a leader that God has blessed us with at this time."Obama echoed some of the themes he discussed when he described Pennsylvanians as "bitter" and stoked controversy three months ago, but did so much more adroitly."Now, you want to win. And saying it doesn’t make it so," he told the crowd. "It would be nice to think that after eight years of economic disaster, after eight years of bungled foreign policy, of being engaged in a war that should never have been authorized and should never have been waged, that cost us a trillion dollars and thousands of lives, that people would say, let’s toss the bums out. Toss the bums out, we’re starting from scratch, we’re starting over. This is not working."“So I understand why a lot of folks are saying, this should just happen. Why are we having to run all these television commercials? Why do we have to raise all this money? Just read the papers. These are the knuckleheads who have been in charge. Throw ‘em out. But American politics aren’t that simple," he said."The fact of the matter is, at a certain point, when government has not been serving the people for this long, people get cynical. They tune out. And they start saying to themselves, a plague on both your houses. They are willing to consume negative information more frequently than positive information, for good reason. They’ve seen how promises haven’t been kept," he said.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0808/Obama_I_will_win.html

PS:She should be institutionalized....

As in the days of Noah...

Premature baby 'comes back to life'

A premature baby who was pronounced dead "came back to life" Sunday after five hours in Nahariya Hospital.The baby girl, who was in a cooler at the hospital, suddenly showed signs of life and was being treated in the premature baby unit.Doctors estimated that the cooler brought the fetus "back to life."The mother, 26, from a Western Galilee village, was in the fifth month of her pregnancy when she underwent a series of tests, during which it was discovered that she was suffering from internal bleeding and that the embryo had ceased to show signs of life.The woman underwent an abortion and the baby, weighing 610 grams, was extracted from her womb without a pulse, hospital officials said.A senior doctor pronounced the baby dead and she was transferred to the cooler.Five hours later, the woman's husband came to the hospital to take what he thought was his dead baby girl for burial.When the baby was taken out of the cooler, she began to breathe.The premature baby was then taken to the intensive care ward, where doctors were attempting to save her life.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218710394816&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

As in the days of Noah...

Food crisis? Try rats, says Indian state government

PATNA, India-A state government in eastern Indian is encouraging people to eat rats in an effort to battle soaring food prices and save grain stocks.Authorities in Bihar, one of India's poorest states, are asking rich and poor alike to switch to eating rats in a bid to reduce the dependence on rice. They even plan to offer rats on restaurant menus."Eating of rats will serve twin purposes-it will save grains from being eaten away by rats and will simultaneously increase our grain stock," Vijay Prakash, an official from the state's welfare department, told Reuters. Officials say almost 50 percent of India's food grains stocks are eaten away by rodents in fields or warehouses.Jitan Ram Manjhi, Bihar's caste and tribe welfare minister, said rat meat was a healthy alternative to expensive rice or grains, and should be eaten by one and all."We are very serious to implement this project since the food crisis is turning serious day by day," Manjhi, who has eaten rats, told Reuters.In Bihar, rat meat is already eaten by Mushars, a group of lower caste Hindus, as well as poorer sections of society.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSIN34470120080818

As in the days of Noah...

NATO to pledge support for Georgia

BRUSSELS-NATO ministers will pledge support for Georgia and reiterate a promise of future membership on Tuesday while criticizing Russian intervention in the country and urging Moscow to respect a peace deal, a spokeswoman said.Washington called an emergency meeting of the 26 NATO foreign ministers to review ties with Moscow and discuss help to Georgia, a former part of the Soviet Union which won its pledge of eventual alliance membership at an April summit in Bucharest.Months of tension between Georgia and Russia erupted on August 7, when Tbilisi launched an assault to regain control of the Russian-backed breakaway South Ossetia region. Russia launched a massive counter-offensive including into the Georgian heartland.U.S. envoy to NATO Kurt Volker told Reuters on Saturday no specific response had yet been decided, but regular meetings of foreign and defence ministers, and of NATO ambassadors with their Russian counterpart, would be part of the review.Also under scrutiny would be dialogue in counter-terrorism, counter narcotics and missile defence, he said.A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there had been no evidence yet that Moscow has begun its troop withdrawal from Georgia and that "at a minimum" NATO would be looking at suspending ministerial meetings with Russia."We don't want to be in a situation where we are in some kind of frozen relationship with Russia ... but until Russia pulls its forces out of Georgia and respects international norms of the 21st century, we just can't go on with business as usual."A NATO spokeswoman played down reports of divisions among NATO allies on the response to Russia, saying ministers would deliver "a very clear message of solidarity to Georgia".

TO read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLI6107220080818

As in the days of Noah...

40 years on, Czechs chilled by invasion of Georgia

Soviet Army soldiers sit on their tanks in front of the Czechoslovak Radio station building in central Prague during the first day of Soviet-led invasion to then Czechoslovakia August 21, 1968

DECIN, Czech Republic-Vera Machutova woke one August night in 1968 to the thunder of Soviet tanks surging through this Czech city on the East German frontier.With the invasion on the night of August 20-21, Moscow crushed the Prague Spring, a bid by Czechoslovak reformists to establish "socialism with a human face". At a cost of at least 108 lives, it put its Warsaw Pact ally back on a hardline path, where it stayed until the 1989 Velvet Revolution toppled one-party rule.Forty years later, with the Czech Republic now a democracy within NATO and the European Union, Machutova is troubled by the conflict in Georgia, whose army was routed last week by Russian forces that pushed deep inside its territory.What is similar, she said, is the clear message from Moscow that it will not accept a dramatic political shift in a country in sees as part of its sphere of influence -- what Russia calls its "near abroad"."It was a huge blow for us, and it changed everything. If it wasn't for the Russians, our lives would have been completely different," said Machutova, now 61. "And in Georgia, it's basically the same. They are invading another country."The two invasions differ on many points, not least because Georgia, an eager ally of the West, made the first move in the latest crisis by trying to retake its breakaway, pro-Russian region of South Ossetia by force on August 7.But some in the West see the crisis as a throwback to the Cold War, one that analysts say has actually been building for years but nevertheless caught Washington flat-footed and shone a spotlight on the weakness of the Euro-Atlantic alliance."Russian forces need to leave Georgia at once," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last week.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLF6626020080818

As in the days of Noah...

Russia told to stop stalling on Georgia pull-out

WASHINGTON-The United States urged Russia on Sunday to honor a pledge to start pulling troops out of Georgia, but officials voiced frustration that Moscow had broken earlier promises and skepticism it would keep them now.Russia announced to the West on Sunday it would start pulling out its forces on Monday, after a war that dealt a humiliating blow to Washington's ally Georgia and raised fears for fuel supplies to Europe."I hope he intends to honor the pledge this time," Rice said of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on NBC's "Meet the Press."She noted that several days ago Medvedev had said military operations would stop, but they did not. Medvedev also said that as soon as a ceasefire agreement was signed by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Russian troops would start withdrawing, but they didn't, Rice added."This time I hope he means it," she said. "The word of the Russian president needs to be upheld by his forces or people are going to begin to wonder if Russia can be trusted."Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Washington would have to keep pressing Russia to leave Georgia, adding that Moscow's pullout partly depended on how fast the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe could get monitors to the scene."My own view is that the Russians will probably stall and perhaps take more time than anybody would like. I think we just need to keep the pressure and ensure that they abide by the agreement that they've signed and do so in a timely way," Gates said in an interview with CNN.Months of tension between Georgia and its former Soviet master erupted on August 7, when Tbilisi launched an assault to regain control of the Russian-backed breakaway South Ossetia region.
To read more go to:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1738182120080818
As in the days of Noah...

Israel to free more Palestinians

Israel to free prisoners in gesture to Abbas

JERUSALEM-Israel confirmed on Sunday it would release 200 of some 11,000 Palestinians it holds prisoner in the hope of shoring up support for President Mahmoud Abbas and the peace talks he is conducting with the Jewish state."The idea is to strengthen the process of dialogue, to strengthen the hand of the moderates, to strengthen the peace process," a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said before the cabinet agreed to his proposal to free about 200 people.Though the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner, in jail for 31 years, may be among those released, Abbas's prime minister Salam Fayyad said the gesture was "not enough".He demanded that Olmert free all the thousands of Palestinians Israel is holding. Olmert himself will shortly resign over a corruption scandal-a factor along with Abbas's loss of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists last year that has fuelled skepticism about efforts to conclude a peace deal before U.S. President George W. Bush, the sponsor of the current process, steps down in January.Hamas, which opposes these peace talks, complained that only prisoners loyal to Abbas would be freed and accused Israel of trying to heighten factional divisions among Palestinians.Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, favorite to succeed Olmert in a party leadership contest next month, said Israel was showing Palestinians that talking, not fighting, was better for them.A previous prisoner release followed shortly after the two sides met at Annapolis in November to relaunch negotiations on creating a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. This time, significantly, among those to be freed on August 25 will be two men who have each been in Israeli jails for some 30 years.
Palestinians view the pair as particularly worthy of release, while many Israelis view them as undeserving killers.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLH55416120080817

As in the days of Noah....

Muslim Rebels Kill 7 Soldiers in Philippine South

MANILA-Muslim separatists killed at least seven Philippine soldiers and wounded a dozen more in an ambush on Sunday on the troubled southern island of Mindanao, the military said.The attack came four days after government troops halted a fierce offensive against Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in another part of Mindanao and is the latest outbreak of violence since a territorial deal with the MILF was halted by the Supreme Court earlier this month.The military said the soldiers, traveling in a convoy, were on their way to deliver troop salaries to a remote detachment when they were ambushed by around 100 MILF rebels, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machineguns."Our troops were taken by complete surprise," Colonel Reynaldo Ardo, an army brigade commander in Lanao del Sur province, told reporters."Our boys were never given a chance to fight back. After 10 minutes of heavy gunfire, the rebels withdrew to a nearby wooded area. We're sending additional forces to punish the rebels. We can't allow this to happen."Four regular soldiers and three part-time troopers were killed in the first volley of machinegun fire. A dozen other troopers were wounded as they sought cover behind the wrecked trucks and van.Last week, air force planes bombed MILF positions for four straight days, triggering an exodus of around 160,000 people in seven towns in North Cotabato. Manila had accused the guerrillas of occupying Catholic farms in the area.Analysts have said both sides were flexing their military muscles after the Supreme Court's temporary halting of the territorial deal marked another setback in long-running talks to end a separatist conflict that has killed over 120,000 people.Legal experts expect the court will rule that the agreement, which gives a future government of an expanded Muslim homeland wide political and economic powers, is unconstitutional.
To read more go to:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSMAN18041220080817
As in the days of Noah...

Mixed reaction as Musharraf resigns

President Musharraf Resigns

Massive protest at U.N. office in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India-Tens of thousands of Muslims marched peacefully past the United Nations office in Indian Kashmir on Monday, calling on the international body to intervene over the disputed Himalayan region.Demonstrators shouting "Oh tyrants and oppressors leave our Kashmir" marched to police barricades within a few hundred meters of the U.N. Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) office in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian Kashmir.The organizers, Kashmir's main separatist All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference alliance, handed over a petition against Indian rule.A row over land allocated to Hindu pilgrims visiting a shrine in Kashmir has snowballed into full scale anti-India protests, uniting separatists and reviving calls for Kashmiri independence.Marches last week led to police killing at least 22 Muslim demonstrators, including a senior separatist leader, inflaming passions in one of the biggest separatist protests since a revolt against Indian rule broke out in 1989. UNMOGIP, one of the oldest U.N. missions, monitors a 1949 ceasefire line dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.People in cars, buses, and motorcycles, some of them carrying banners which read "Indian forces go back" streamed through Srinagar as troops kept their distance."This is a march for freedom, and God willing, Indian occupation will end soon," Fayaz Ahmad Dar, a shopkeeper said.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSISL22699520080818

As in the days of Noah...

Pakistan's Musharraf quits under impeachment threat

A man watches a televised speech of President Pervez Musharraf to the nation in Islamabad August 18, 2008

Supporters of Islamist party Shahbab-e-Milli hold signs as they chant slogans against the country's president in Multan August 17, 2008

Lawyers burn an effigy of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf during a protest in Multan

Supporters of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party hold pictures of their slain leader Benazir Bhutto and share sweets after President Pervez Musharraf's resignation in Hyderabad

Supporters of Pakistan Muslim League-N party share sweets to celebrate President Pervez Musharraf's resignation in Multan

Supporters of Pakistan Muslim League-N party share sweets to celebrate President Pervez Musharraf's resignation in Multan,

ISLAMABAD-Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf quit office on Monday to avoid impeachment charges, nearly nine years after the key U.S. ally in its campaign against terrorism took power in a coup.Speculation the former army chief would resign had mounted since the fractious coalition government, led by the party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said this month it planned to impeach him."Whether I win or lose, the nation will lose," Musharraf, 65, said of the impeachment process in an hour-long televised address in which he passionately defended his record."The honor and dignity of the country will be affected and in my view, the honor of the office of president will also be affected."
Prolonged jockeying and uncertainty over Musharraf's position had hurt financial markets in the nuclear-armed country of 165 million people, and raised concerns in Washington and elsewhere that it was distracting from efforts to tackle militancy.Coalition officials had said Musharraf sought immunity from prosecution but he said in his speech he was asking for nothing."I don't want anything from anybody. I have no interest. I leave my future in the hands of the nation and people," he said.One main coalition party, that of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif whom Musharraf ousted in 1999, has insisted he face trial for treason. Bhutto's party says parliament should decide.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSP18183720080818

As in the days of Noah...

Venezuela seeks observation satellite in five years

CARACAS-Washington-foe Venezuela plans to launch an observation satellite within five years to map its territory, President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday.Venezuela's first satellite, named after independence hero Simon Bolivar, is for broadcast and telecommunications purposes and is due to be launched from China in November, Chavez said.But major oil explorer Venezuela is seeking to build a second satellite to help map the vast South American country, Chavez said on his weekly television show."Who has got great multicolored maps of Venezuela? The Yankees," he said. "Now we are going to have our own. We have to get ready to launch the second satellite, which should be for observation, for images."
Chavez, who seeks to limit his country's dependence on its number one trade partner, the United States, said the satellite was needed to help plan everything from agriculture to military needs.He did not say if he would use the technology to keep an eye on other countries.Officials said the new satellite would be built in Venezuela but would likely be launched from China in 2013.The Simon Bolivar will be used to expand the reach of the Venezuela-funded news network Telesur and reduce the cost of frequent state-television live links to speeches by Chavez and other official events.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1733112020080818

As in the days of Noah...

Iran ready to put Muslim countries' satellite in orbit

TEHRAN-Iran said on Monday it was ready to help fellow Muslim states launch satellites into orbit after it successfully put a dummy satellite into orbit-a move that may increase Western suspicions over its atomic ambitions.Iran said on Sunday it had put the home-grown dummy satellite into orbit on a domestically made rocket for the first time. The long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into space can also be used for launching weapons.Iran says has no intention to do so.Head of Iran's Aerospace Organization, Reza Taghipour, said Iran wanted to help Muslim countries to launch satellites."I am announcing now that Iran is ready to launch satellites of friendly Islamic countries into space," Taghipour told state television.Embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions, Iran in February tested another domestically made rocket as part of its satellite program.Washington, accusing Iran of aiming to equip missiles with nuclear warheads, called the February test 'unfortunate'. It cites Iran's missile potential, among others, as the reason why it needs to install an anti-missile defense system in eastern Europe.France and Russia both said the February test raised the suspicion that Iran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

TO read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLI72158420080818

As in the days of Noah...

ISLAMIC ABUSE WATCH:Pakistan Burn Victims Turn to Art of Beauty

Saira Liaqat, 26, poses for the camera as she holds a portrait of herself before being burnt, at her home in Lahore. Saira was married to her relative who would later attack her after insistently demanding her to live with him, although the families had agreed she wouldn't join him until she finished school. Saira has undergone plastic surgery 9 times to try to recover from her scars.

LAHORE,Pakistan-Saira Liaqat squints through her one good eye as she brushes a woman's hair.Her face, most of which the acid melted years ago, occasionally lights up with a smile.Her hands, largely undamaged, deftly handle the dark brown locks.A few steps away in this popular beauty salon, Urooj Akbar diligently trims, cleans and paints clients' fingernails.Her face, severely scarred from the blaze that burned some 70 percent of her body, is somber.It's hard to tell if she's sad or if it's just the way she now looks.Liaqat and Akbar are among Pakistan's many female victims of arson and acid attacks. Such tales tend to involve a spurned or crazy lover and end in a life of despair and seclusion for the woman.The two instead became beauticians.The women can't escape the mirrors or pictures of glamorous models that surround them, but they consider the salon a second home and a good way to make a living. The two also serve as reminders of that age-old lesson on beauty — a lesson that, needed or not, they learned the hard way."Every person wishes that he or she is beautiful," says Liaqat, 21. "But in my view, your face is not everything. Real beauty lies inside a person, not outside." "They do it because the world demands it," Akbar, 28, says of clients. "For them, it's a necessity. For me, it isn't."Liaqat and Akbar got into the beauty business in the eastern city of Lahore thanks to the Depilex Smileagain Foundation, an organization devoted to aiding women who have been burned in acid or other attacks.About five years ago, Masarrat Misbah, head of Pakistan's well-known Depilex salon chain, was leaving work when a veiled woman approached and asked for her help. She was insistent, and soon, a flustered Misbah saw why. When she removed her veil, Misbah felt faint. "I saw a girl who had no face."The woman said her husband had thrown acid on her. Misbah decided to place a small newspaper ad to see if others needed similar assistance.Forty-two women and girls responded.Misbah got in touch with Smileagain, an Italian nonprofit that has provided medical services to burn victims in other countries. She sought the help of Pakistani doctors.Perhaps the biggest challenge has been raising money for the cause, in particular to build a special hospital and refuge for burn victims in Pakistan.Her organization has some 240 registered victims on its help list, 83 of whom are at various stages of treatment.The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan found that in 2007, at least 33 women were burned in acid attacks, and 45 were set on fire. But the statistics are likely an undercount, as many cases go unreported for various reasons including out of fear of their attackers, or because the victims can't afford the legal bills.The victims Misbah has helped need, on average, 25 to 30 surgical procedures over several years, but she soon realized that wasn't enough. Some, especially those who were outcasts in their families, had to be able to support themselves.To her surprise, several told her they wanted to be beauticians."And I felt so sad," Misbah says. "Because beauty is all about faces and beautiful girls and skin."She helped arrange for 10 women to train in a beauty course in Italy last year.Some have difficulty because their vision is weak or their hands too burned for intricate work.But several, including Liaqat and Akbar, are making their way in the field.The salon in Lahore is not the usual beauty parlor.There are pictures of beautiful women on the walls-all made up, with perfect, gleaming hair. But then there's a giant poster of a girl with half her face destroyed."HELP US bring back a smile to the face of these survivors," it says.Working for the salon is a dream come true for Liaqat, whose mischievous smile is still intact and frequently on display. As a child she was obsessed with beauty. Once she burned some of her sister's hair off with a makeshift curling iron. She still wears lipstick.Akbar, the more reserved one, also carries out many administrative and other tasks for the foundation. One of her duties is collecting newspaper clippings about acid and burn attacks on women.Both say they are treated well by clients and colleagues, but Misbah says some clients have complained."They say that when we come to a beauty salon, we come with the expectation that we're going to be relaxed, in a different frame of mind," Misbah says. "If we come here and we see someone who has gone through so much pain and misery, so automatically that gives us that low feeling also. They have a point."At the same time, there are clients who take pride in asking these girls to give them a blow-dry, or getting a manicure or pedicure taken from them."Sometimes they ask what happened.According to Liaqat and a lawyer for her case, she was married in her teens, on paper, to a relative, but the families had agreed she wouldn't live with him until she finished school. Within months, though, the man started demanding she join him.One day at the end of July 2003, he showed up at their house with a package. He asked her to get him some water. He followed her to the kitchen, and as she turned around with the water, she says, he doused her with the acid. It seared much of her face, blinded her right eye, and seriously weakened her left one.Liaqat shakes her head when recalling how a few days before the incident she found a small pimple on her face and threw a fit. After she was burned, her parents at first wouldn't let their daughter look at a mirror. But eventually she saw herself, and she's proud to say she didn't cry."Once we had a wedding in the family. I went there and all the girls were getting dressed and putting on makeup. So that time, I felt a pain in my heart," she says. "But I don't want to weaken myself with these thoughts."Her husband is in prison as the attempted murder case against him proceeds. The two are still legally married.
Akbar says she found herself in an arranged marriage by age 22. Her husband grew increasingly possessive and abusive, she says. The two had a child.About three years ago, Akbar says, he sprinkled kerosene oil on her as she slept and lit it. A picture taken shortly afterward shows how her face melted onto her shoulders, leaving her with no visible neck.Akbar has not filed a case against her now ex-husband. She says she'll one day turn to the law, at least to get her daughter back.Both women were reluctant for The Associated Press to contact their alleged attackers.
Liaqat and Akbar have undergone several surgeries and expect to face more. They say Misbah's foundation was critical to their present well-being."Mentally, I am at peace with myself," Akbar says. "The peace of mind I have now, I never had before. I suffered much more mental anguish in my married life."Bushra Tareen, a regular client of Liaqat's, praises her work."I feel that her hands call me again and again," Tareen says. She adds that Liaqat and Akbar remind her of the injustices women face, and their ability to rise above them."When I see them, I want to be like them — strong girls," she says.Liaqat is grateful for having achieved her goal of being a beautician. She worries about her eyesight but is determined to succeed."I want to make a name for myself in this profession," she says.Akbar plans to use her income one day to support her little girl, whom she has barely seen since the attack."I'm independent now, I stand on my own two feet," she says. "I have a job, I work, I earn. In fact, I'm living on my own ... which isn't an easy thing to do for a woman in Pakistan, for a lone woman to survive."

Click here to view photos from this story. Warning: Graphic content.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,405166,00.html

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Oil rises slightly on worries Tropical Storm Fay may disrupt Gulf oil operations

By the afternoon in Europe, light, sweet crude for September delivery was up 75 cents to $114.52 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The contract fell $1.24 on Friday to settle at $113.77 a barrel.Earlier Monday, the Nymex contract rose as high as $115.35 before falling back.In London, October Brent crude fell 11 cents to $112.44 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.Fay,the sixth storm of the 2008 Atlantic season, was slowing down early Monday and moving erratically, but forecasters still expected it to strengthen slowly to a hurricane.Fay has already killed at least five people after battering Haiti and the Dominican Republic with weekend torrential rains and floods."There could be some supply disruption issues there, so the market is watching this closely," said Mark Pervan, senior commodity strategist at ANZ Bank in Melbourne.Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has evacuated about 360 staff from the Gulf of Mexico over the past two days.Fay was centered about 275 kilometers (170 miles) southeast of Havana and 375 kilometers (235 miles) south-southeast of Key West, Florida, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.It had maximum sustained winds near 85 kph (50 mph) and was moving west-northwest at 17 kph (10 mph).Forecasters expected the storm to begin moving more to the northwest later on Monday. Current models show the storm moving up the western coast of Florida, although forecasters still didn't know exactly where it will make landfall.So far during this year's hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean, no storm has significantly damaged oil installations in the Gulf."The market will probably get through this hurricane news pretty quickly," Pervan said.A small dip in the U.S. dollar also supported oil prices.The euro strengthened a notch to $1.4706 on Monday and the dollar was still above 110 Japanese yen but off earlier highs.A falling dollar typically pushes oil prices higher as investors buy crude and other commodities as hedges against inflation.Still, analysts said that if the dollar's rising trend continued in coming weeks and months, it likely would dampen gains in oil prices."The number one story in global assets is for now the rise of the Dollar Index," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland. "Since it was a key market input for the upward move of crude oil, any further rise in the Dollar Index should further limit the upside potential for oil."A forecast from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Friday of lower global oil demand growth helped to keep prices from rising higher.In its monthly oil report, the organization forecast world appetite for oil this year would grow by 1 million barrels a day, a reduction of 30,000 barrels a day from its previous forecast for demand growth for 2008. It also said growth for 2009 will be 900,000 barrels a day, which it said would be the lowest growth in world demand since 2002.Demand growth from the major industrialized countries will actually decline, OPEC said, with non-OECD countries accounting for all oil demand growth next year."It's another signal that conditions are easing," Pervan said.News that oil flows in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey could resume soon and the announced start of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia were among the factors keeping oil prices in check.In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 2.75 cents to $3.0916 a gallon (3.8 liters), while gasoline prices lost 1.07 cents to $2.8495 a gallon. Natural gas futures fell 20.5 cents to $7.978 per 1,000 cubic feet.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080818/oil_prices.html?.v=6
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HURRICANE WATCH in Effect for Parts of Florida and the Keys

Tropical Storm Fay Moves In On Florida Keys

KEY WEST, Fla.-Key West awoke to almost empty streets and light rain Monday ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fay, while public works crews cleared sidewalks of newspaper stands that could become projectiles in high winds.All tourists were urged to evacuate but many bars and restaurants remained open, even if crowds were considerably thinner than typical for this time of year.Not many seemed very worried about the approaching storm, which wasn't expected to pack much of a punch compared to previous ones."But it's a good opportunity to practice like it was the big one," Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi said Sunday night.Traffic leaving Key West and the Lower Keys Sunday night and Monday morning remained light but steady.A hurricane watch was in effect for most of the Keys and along Florida's west coast to Tarpon Springs.Early Monday, a tropical storm warning was issued for Florida's east coast from Jupiter Inlet southward and along Florida's west coast from Bonita Beach southward, including Lake Okeechobee.A tropical storm warning remained in effect for the Florida Keys from Ocean Reef to Key West. A hurricane watch was in effect for most of the Keys and along Florida's west coast to Tarpon Springs. A tropical storm watch was in effect for from north of Jupiter Inlet to Sebastian Inlet.Authorities said traffic was heavier in the Upper Keys, where the 110-mile, mostly two-lane highway that runs through the island chain meets the mainland. The Florida Highway Patrol sent in extra troopers to help and tolls were suspended on parts of the northbound turnpike.Fay could start pelting parts of the Keys and South Florida late Monday or early Tuesday as a strong tropical storm or minimal hurricane. Aside from wind damage, most of the islands sit at sea level and could face some limited flooding from Fay's storm surge.Officials in the Keys and elsewhere opened shelters and encouraged or ordered people who live in low-lying areas and on boats to evacuate. Schools in the Keys were to be closed Monday and Tuesday. Keys officials Sunday had issued a mandatory evacuation order for visitors and asked those who had not yet arrived to postpone their trips. Officials said hotels and businesses won't be forced to remove visitors, but they should use common sense.Fay, the sixth named storm of the 2008 Atlantic season, was expected to approach hurricane strength after crossing Cuba and begin approaching the Keys. Fay has already killed at least five people after battering Haiti and the Dominican Republic with weekend torrential rains and floods.At 5 a.m. EDT Monday, the storm's center was located over central Cuba and about 155 miles south-southeast of Key West and was moving toward the north-northwest near 12 mph. Maximum sustained wind speeds were near 50 mph. Forecasters expected the storm to begin moving to the north soon.Republican presidential candidate John McCain was briefed Sunday on the storm by emergency officials after flying into Orlando for campaign events. A Monday fundraiser in Miami was canceled as a precaution.Florida Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency Saturday as an emergency operations center opened in Tallahassee. He said 9,000 Florida National Guard troops were available, but only 500 were on active duty Sunday.Maria Perez, 50, of Key West, prayed at a town shrine known as The Grotto, where an etching on a stone reads, "As long as the Grotto stands, Key West will never again experience the full brunt of a hurricane." It was built in 1922 by nuns outside a Roman Catholic church, three years after a catastrophic storm. So far, the 86-year-old invocation has worked."I pray not to have the storm," Perez said. "I am not afraid."Key West was last seriously affected by a hurricane in 2005, when Category 3 Wilma sped past. The town escaped widespread wind damage, but a storm surge flooded hundreds of homes and some businesses. The deadliest storm to hit the island was a Category 4 hurricane in 1919 that killed up to 900 people, many of them offshore on ships that sank.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,405186,00.html
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How former muslim Akela Found Assurance of Salvation and Eternal life !

PERSECUTION WATCH:China Confiscates Bibles From American Christians

BEIJING-A group of American Christians who had more than 300 Bibles confiscated by Chinese officials when they arrived in China is refusing to leave the airport until they get the books back, their leader said Monday...

To read more go to:

http://persecuted-church.blogspot.com/

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Sanctions hurting Iran economic activity,says IMF

WASHINGTON-Stepped-up international pressure and sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program are hurting its economy, making trade financing and payments difficult and discouraging foreign investment, according to an IMF report published on Thursday.The International Monetary Fund said profits of state-owned banks have been hit hard by U.S. and U.N. economic sanctions, forcing the government to recapitalize three banks.Boosting banks' capital was the right move, the IMF staff report said, but it also said some banks were still undercapitalized as of the end of March. "Intensified international pressures on Iran have negatively affected economic activity," the report said.The U.N. Security Council has imposed three rounds of sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend its nuclear activities, which the West says is a cover for building bombs. Tehran has denied the charge.The U.S. Treasury has banned dealings with several Iranian banks-including its largest, Bank Melli-and that has forced many businesses to steer clear of Iran.IMF staff met with Iranian Central Bank Governor Tahmasb Mazaheri and senior government officials in May for annual consultations on the economy.Such visits by IMF staff are conducted in all of the IMF's 185 member countries, many of which agree to publish details of the meetings.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1444053420080815

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Iranian VP For Culture 'We Are Israels Friends'...:Parliament Speaker:'No We Are Not'.

Iranian VP for Cultural Heritage Esfandyar Rahim Mashai: We Are Friends of the Israeli People; Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani: We Are Not. Following are excerpts from a TV report on a recent statement by Iranian VP for Cultural Heritage Esfandyar Rahim Mashai that Iran is the friend of the people of Israel. The report aired on Channel 2, Iranian TV, on August 12, 2008.
Reporter: The scandalous statement by the head of the Cultural Heritage Organization regarding the people living in occupied Palestine was discussed at the press conference of the Foreign Ministry spokesman. The spokesman declared: “The officials are unanimous on this matter.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi: There is a consensus in the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the illegitimacy of the Zionist regime. In this national consensus, all the officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran are unanimous.
Reporter: Qashqavi, who referred to the reactions to Mashai’s statement, was alluding to Larijani’s reaction of yesterday.
Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani: With regard to the claims that we are friends of the people in Israel – there is no such thing [as “the people of Israel”]. If, by “the people of Israel,” you mean the Palestinians, you should have said “the Palestinians.” Otherwise, you should have referred to them as the people who plundered the homes of the Palestinians. We are not their friends.
Reporter: Two days ago, Mashai was asked by reporters about his strange statement regarding the people living in the occupied lands, and he responded as follows.
[...]
Iranian VP for Cultural Heritage Esfandyar Rahim Mashai: In the name of Allah, my statement was very simple and clear, but they presented it in a misleading manner, and later, they denied it as well. My statement was that we, the Iranian people, are friends of the whole wide world, even the people of Israel and America. There is no reason for us not to be friends. I did not deny having made this statement – and I am not denying it now. Absolutely not. I am proud of what I said, and I will say it again a thousand times.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e28_1218735002

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Iran Claims Its Warplanes Can Fly To Israel and Back

Iran:"We've Launched Satellite Into Orbit..."

Iran said it successfully launched its first domestically produced satellite into orbit on Sunday, a move that could further exacerbate tensions with the West over its nuclear drive."President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad was at the lanch of the communications satellite Omid (Hope) from Iran's space station," government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said, according to the Fars news agency. "It was launched into space on his order," it added....

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a55_1218991096

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Medvedev: Russian Troop Withdrawal on Monday

Iran successfully test launches rocket set to carry satellite

Iran test launched a rocket it plans to use to carry a research satellite into orbit, state television reported Sunday.Saturday's test of the two-stage rocket, called the Safir, or Ambassador, was successful, state TV said, as it broadcast images of the nighttime launch.It said the Omid research satellite will gather atmospheric data from a low orbit but did not give a date for its launch.Iran has long held the goal of developing a space program.In 2005, it launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian rocket in a joint project with Moscow, which appears to be the main partner in transferring space technology to Iran.Iran first tested a rocket it said was capable of delivering a satellite in February, saying that trial was also successful.It said then that it planned two more test launches before attempting to put its first domestically built satellite into orbit.The country's fledgling space program, like its nuclear program, has provoked unease abroad. The same technology used to put satellites into space can also be used to deliver warheads.The United States called the February 4 launch "just another troubling development," saying it was a cause for concern about Iran's continuing development of medium- and long-range missiles. Meanwhile, Iran claimed Sunday it has increased the range of its warplanes, allowing them to fly as far as Israel and back without refueling.State TV quoted air force chief Gen. Ahmad Mighani as saying Iranian warplanes can now fly 3,000 kilometers without refueling. He didn't specify the aircraft type or explain how the range was extended.Israel is about 1,000 kilometers from Iran.Such a range could be achieved by using external fuel tanks attached to the wings or fuselage that can be released when empty.Sunday's report did not refer to Israel by name, but Mighani's remarks come after an IAF air exercise in June that US officials described as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218710384313&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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Merkel calls on Russians to leave

Russia says it will start pulling troops from Georgia

TBILISI-Russia announced it would begin withdrawing forces from Georgia on Monday after a war that dealt a humiliating blow to the Black Sea state and raised fears for energy supplies to Europe.Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, whose failed invasion of the pro-Russian breakaway region of South Ossetia triggered a Russian backlash that shocked the West, called for international monitoring of the pullout."I think the world should watch," he told a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Tbilisi. Merkel said the world would indeed be watching for Russia to withdraw quickly under the terms of a six-point peace plan brokered by France.Russia's Defence Ministry, underlining continued high tension between the two countries, said Georgia was planning a "major provocative act" in the city of Gori, captured by Russian forces on Tuesday as they fanned out from the disputed region into the Georgian heartland.It said Georgia was forming bands of mercenaries who would be given Russian uniforms and told to loot and pillage.Georgia issued a swift denial. "Such a provocation would only be staged by the Russian side, with the aim of keeping Russian military units in the conflict zone," the Georgian Interior Ministry said in a statement.Russian troops remained in position around Gori, which commands the approaches to South Ossetia and the main east-west highway and should be central to covering a Russian withdrawal.Major-General Vyacheslav Borisov, now a familiar figure touring the area of his command around Gori in a Georgian four-wheel-drive, could not say when he would be moving out.
To read more go to:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL768040420080817
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Medvedev: troops pulling out Monday

Russian withdrawal not started: Defense Ministry

MOSCOW-Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday it had not yet begun withdrawing troops from Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia."It has not started yet. The question of withdrawal is being considered now and the decision will be taken as the situation in the region is stabilized," said a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman.A Russian commander in Georgia earlier said on Sunday that Russian forces were starting to pull out of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia and move northwards into Russia."What is going on is probably just preparation, not actual withdrawal," said the Defense Ministry spokesman, when asked to comment on these separate reports.Georgia has demanded the Russian military pull out of Georgia after a ceasefire agreed earlier this week ended a brief war.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLH49224220080817

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Ukraine offers satellite defence co-operation with Europe and US

Ukraine inflamed mounting East-West tensions yesterday by offering up a Soviet-built satellite facility as part of the European missile defence system.
The proposal, made amid growing outrage among Russia's neighbours over its military campaign in Georgia, could see Ukraine added to Moscow's nuclear hitlist. A Russian general declared Poland a target for its arsenal after Warsaw signed a deal with Washington to host interceptor missiles for America's anti-nuclear shield.The move came as the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, signed a cease-fire deal that sets the stage for a Russian troop withdrawal after more than a week of warfare with its neighbour Georgia.The deal calls for both Russian and Georgian forces to pull back to positions they held before fighting erupted on August 8. As of last night, though, there was little apparent evidence of a Russian pull-out from the Georgian town of Gori, which Russian tanks and troops took last weekend. Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, insisted a broader withdrawal would be contingent on further security measures.Just hours before Mr Medvedev put his signature to the ceasefire deal, Russian forces blew up a Georgian railway bridge on the main line west of the capital, Tbilisi, an act that critics interpreted as a malacious attempt to cripple the country's infrastructure. Moscow at first issued a denial, but television footage shot by the Reuters news agency clearly showed the bridge's twisted remains.Ukraine said it was ready to give both Europe and America access to its missile warning systems after Russia earlier annulled a 1992 cooperation agreement involving two satellite tracking stations. Previously, the stations were part of Russia's early-warning system for missiles coming from Europe."The fact that Ukraine is no longer a party to the 1992 agreement allows it to launch active cooperation with European countries to integrate its information," a statement from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.It follows a declaration earlier this week from Ukraine's pro-Western president, Viktor Yushchenko, that the Russian naval lease of the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sebastopol would be scrapped if any vessels joined the conflict in Georgia.The crisis over Russia's display of military might in Georgia has alarmed ex-Soviet satellites states in a broad arc from the Baltics to Central Asia. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, all of which harbour bitter memories of Soviet occupation, have expressed solidarity with the Georgian position.Yesterday President George W. Bush hailed what he saw as progress in resolving the Georgia crisis, describing the ceasefire agreement as "a hopeful step."He reiterated, though, that the disputed regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia remained part of Georgia, despite Moscow's insistence that they should now be allowed to become part of Russia. "There's no room for debate on this matter," said Mr Bush. "The international community is clear that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia and the US fully recognises this reality."Meanwhile, disturbing reports of abuse of ethnic Georgians in captured parts of the disputed region emerged. A group of captive soldiers were paraded in the streets of the South Ossetian capital, Tskinvali, and the bodies of at least 40 dead troops rotted in the sun.Teams of ethnic Georgians, some under armed guard, were forced to clean the streets. It was the first apparent evidence of humiliation or abuse of Georgians in the Russian-controlled breakaway republic.
By Damien McElroy in Tbilisi
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/2570285/Ukraine-offers-satellite-defence-co-operation-with-Europe-and-US.html
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N.Ossetian convent opens doors for refugees

Medvedev signs six-point truce with Georgia

War footing amid peace talk

Food aid handed out in occupied Gori

WASHINGTON-The United States has provided more than $3.6 million in aid to Georgia and supplies are being distributed in the Russian-occupied town of Gori, the U.S. government's aid agency said on Friday.The assistance includes a $1 million grant to the World Food Program, the food agency of the United Nations, for local procurement of 650 metric tons of food aid, said Henrietta Fore, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development."Distribution (of the food) began in Gori today," Fore said of the Russian-occupied town 15 miles from breakaway South Ossetia.She was unable to say whether aid workers would be able to go into South Ossetia, the pro-Russian separatist region that Georgia tried to retake last week, leading to the armed conflict with Russia. She also could not say what corridors would be kept open on the ground to move emergency supplies.Russia is under international pressure, led by the United States, to pull back its troops after routing Georgian forces in a six-day war triggered by Georgia's attempt to take back South Ossetia, which rejected Georgian rule in the 1990s."We are trying to coordinate with anyone on the ground and at all levels," Fore told reporters. "It's the beginning of a process ... and we will have more of a sense of the movement of humanitarian supplies in the coming days."Four military cargo planes-two C-130s and two C-17s-carrying U.S.-provided relief and medical supplies have landed in Tbilisi and more aid will be airlifted in the coming days, Fore said.A 12-member USAID disaster assistance response team is arriving in Tbilisi to assess needs and coordinate the effort with local officials and other donors, she said.
Many of the displaced who need help are in the Tbilisi area, she added.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1526017020080816

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ISLAMIC WATCH:Thousands march in Indian Kashmir to honor leader

SRINAGAR, India-Tens of thousands of Muslims marched in Indian Kashmir on Saturday to pay homage to a separatist leader killed by police in violent protests over a land row that is testing New Delhi's hold on the troubled region.Sheikh Aziz, a senior Kashmiri separatist leader, was among at least 22 Muslim protesters killed when police opened fire this week during some of the biggest protests since a separatist revolt broke out in the region 20 years ago.On Saturday, protesters carrying black and green Islamic flags headed to Pampore, Aziz's hometown. Aziz was a leader of Kashmir's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference."There is no god but Allah, Indian forces go back,"the protesters shouted.The row pits Muslims in Kashmir against Hindus in Jammu-the two main regions which make up the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir-in one of the hardest challenges facing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government since it took office in 2004.A dispute over land allocated to Hindu pilgrims visiting a shrine in Kashmir has snowballed into full scale anti-India protests, uniting separatists and reviving calls for Kashmiri independence.The crisis has also raised tensions with nuclear rival Pakistan. India has criticized Islamabad for interfering in its internal affairs by calling for U.N. intervention in the region that both claim in full but rule in parts.The crisis in Indian Kashmir began after the state government promised to give forest land to a trust that runs Amarnath, a cave shrine visited by Hindu pilgrims. Many Muslims were enraged.
To read more go to:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSDEL25859720080816
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Libya, US sign compensation deal

U.S. expects Libya fund to start paying out soon

WASHINGTON-The United States is confident an international fund set up with Libya to compensate victims of U.S. and Libyan bombings will be well financed and start paying out soon, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.An agreement was signed in Tripoli on Thursday to create the Humanitarian Settlement Fund. It aims to resolve compensation cases on both sides, including more than $800 million of outstanding claims from U.S. victims and families from two bombings from the 1980s blamed on Libya.No details have been released about the potential worth of the fund or who will contribute to it. But it could amount to billions of dollars to cover the claims, including those from insurance companies seeking compensation."A lot of work has been done to identify contributors to the fund and I am optimistic that it will be a success," said Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, who signed the deal on behalf of the U.S. government in Libya."I am confident that there will be robust sources for this funding," he told a news conference on arrival in Washington.Once an already "agreed level" of money is in the fund, it will be distributed to U.S. and Libyan accounts. It is then the responsibility of both governments to pay outstanding claims.
NO U.S. TAXPAYER FUNDS
Welch said the agreed amount for the fund was large and contributions would be accepted from any source including companies, countries and others. No U.S. taxpayer funds would be used, however.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1551904820080816

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Cambodian,Thai troops pull back from disputed area

PHNOM PENH-Cambodian and Thai troops started to pull their troops back from a disputed border area on Saturday, Cambodian army officers said, after a month-long stand-off centering on a 900-year-old temple."Both sides are pulling out their troops and we expect this to be done before sunset today," Cambodian Lieutenant-Colonel Sar Thavy told Reuters by phone from Preah Vihear temple."Everyone looks happy to see the Thai troops leaving the area. Villagers are going back to run their businesses near Preah Vihear temple," he added. About 1,000 troops from the two countries were sent to the border area after a long-simmering row over ownership of the temple was fuelled by domestic politics.Under the terms of an agreement reached between army officers on Wednesday, each side will leave just 10 soldiers at a Buddhist pagoda on the disputed territory, 1.8 square miles of scrub that sits on a jungle-clad escarpment dividing the two countries.The rest will move to border areas in their own country that are not in dispute, officials said.The foreign ministers of both countries are expected to meet in Thailand in the coming week to discuss the dispute.Preah Vihear has been claimed by both countries for decades but was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962. The latest row erupted in mid-July when protest groups trying to overthrow the Thai government attacked Bangkok's backing of Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear as a United Nations World Heritage site.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSP1921920080816

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