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Tbilisi. Georgia accused Russia on Sunday of making "dangerous moves" by asking the UN to withdraw its observers from territory near its breakaway region of Abkhazia. "The Russians have asked the United Nations observers to withdraw their posts from the territory between Abkhazia and Zugdidi district," interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told AFP. "We observe very dangerous moves in the Abkhaz direction," he said. "The demand itself to withdraw these posts is dangerous."

The conflict in the Caucasus yesterday spread to Georgia's second breakaway province of Abkhazia where separatist rebels and the Russian air force launched an all-out attack on Georgian forces. snip "The operation will enter the next phase as planned. And you will learn about that," he said, adding that he would create a "humanitarian corridor" allowing residents in the district to flee. The offensive appears to mark a dangerous new front in the conflict between Georgia and Russia. snip Georgian interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said: "They have started the operation to storm Kodori gorge." Asked who was behind the...

BP is facing a second front in the former Soviet Union after Russian jets were reported to have launched a bombing raid on its main pipeline in Georgia, raising fears that Moscow was moving to increase its stranglehold on Europe's energy supplies. The oil giant is the biggest of more than 100 British companies operating in Georgia that have unwittingly become embroiled in the war between Russia and its neighbour. The FTSE company is already fighting a protracted battle with four Russia oligarchs for control of TNK-BP. Robert Dudley, the chief executive of the joint venture, was last month forced...

PARIS - The United States, Georgia’s strongest ally and military trainer, on Sunday warned Russia to end aggression in the Caucasus or face a diplomatic head-to-head with Washington. The unspecified threat came as UN observers in Georgia confirmed that a military airport near Tbilisi was bombed and another former Soviet satellite state in Poland, a major US ally which is already a Nato partner, called for an EU stabilisation force to be sent in. “We have made it clear to the Russians that if the disproportionate and dangerous escalation on the Russian side continues, that this will have a significant...

Russia declared itself ready to make peace with Georgia and UN officials confirming Sunday that Georgia is prepared to negotiate with Russia by withdrawing troops from the breakaway province of South Ossetia and creating a safe travel zone.

They can't stem the flood Saturday, Jan.4, they tore across the border in hundreds of vehicles for the first time. On the fourth day of the mass Palestinian exodus from Gaza, Egyptian foreign minister Abdullah Gheit appealed to “our Palestinian brothers” not to abuse Cairo’s hospitality as Egyptian police strove to prevent the tide slipping south. Friday night, Hamas bulldozed another section of the Gaza-Sinai border wall against Egyptian efforts to seal it. Some three quarters–of-a million have so far swarmed through. DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that the flood of shoppers masks intense efforts by the Palestinian terrorist Hamas, Jihad...

US lawmakers seek to bar attack on Iran WASHINGTON: A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the US House of Representatives pushed legislation on Thursday to prohibit a US attack on Iran without congressional permission. The effort, led by Rep Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican who in 2005 joined calls from many Democrats for a phased US withdrawal from the Iraq war, came as lawmakers voiced concerns the Bush administration might provoke a confrontation with neighbouring Iran. “The resolution makes crystal clear that no previous resolution passed by Congress” authorises a US attack on Iran, Jones told reporters, referring to...

The Department of Health's (DOH's) position is not to encourage Taiwan nationals to receive organ transplants in China, the director general of the DOH's Bureau of Medical Affairs said yesterday. Hsueh Jui-yuan made the explanation at a public hearing on organ transplants, which was held by Legislator Lai Chin-teh of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party at the Legislative Yuan after Mainland Affairs Council chief Joseph Wu condemned a day earlier China's alleged harvesting of organs from executed Falung Gong practitioners. Explaining Taiwan's existing laws regulating citizens receiving organ transplants in China, Chou warned that it is possible for them to...

RUSSIA and the United States took a trip down memory lane at the UN Security Council overnight with a frank exchange reminiscent of the Cold War - and all over an empty chair and a shoe. US ambassador John Bolton, criticising North Korea's ambassador for walking out of the Security Council, referred to an episode when former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev removed his shoe and thumped a UN desk in 1960. "It is the contemporary equivalent of Nikita Khrushchev pounding his shoe on the desk of the General Assembly," Mr Bolton said after ambassador Pak Gil Yon showed his displeasure...

UNITED NATIONS -- North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations has totally rejected a unanimous vote by the U.N. Security Council for sanctions against his nation. Pak considered the sanctions to be "gangster-like" and warned of "war" if they are imposed. The North Korea addressed the Security Council shortly after the Council voted 15-0 in favor of punitive sanctions for North Korea's nuclear test nearly a week ago.

LA PAZ, Bolivia A vaguely worded military pact between President Evo Morales' government and Venezuela ran into resistance Thursday in the opposition-controlled Senate. The accord, presented May 26 during a visit by President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, would bring armed forces under the two leftist administrations closer together and have Venezuela help Bolivia construct a military base in the northern city of Riberalta and a river port on its border with Brazil. "Disarm who? Control of what forces? It could mean anything — whatever you want is in there," Carlos Borth, senator from the conservative opposition party Podemos, told the...

No commissions of inquiry for Hassan Nasrallah. Our exclusive sources learn that Hizballah’ special security service has begun rounding up suspects in the northern Beqaa Valley, Baalbek and South Lebanon of members and others suspected of tipping off Israel intelligence on the location of the storehouse holding the heavy Zelzal missiles. Those missiles, no more than three or four, were held in reserve as Hizballah’s most devastating strategic weapon against Israel, capable of hitting Tel Aviv. Monday, Aug. 28, prime minister Ehud Olmert revealed for the first time that the Israeli air force destroyed those missiles in the first 34...

The U.N. plan for a cease fire and patrols by an international force is falling apart, leaving the possibility Hizbullah will re-arm itself while Israel's hands are tied by international pressure. France has provided the latest hitch in the deployment of the proposed international United Nations force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The French General in charge of UNIFIL was quoted in a French newspaper saying that it could take up to a year to deploy the forces. Paris has promised to send thousands of troops that would lead the international force to carry out the cease fire resolution, which requires "the...

FORT PAYNE, Ala. -- A Georgia man was hospitalized after jumping from the side of Alabama's DeSoto Falls and plunging 150 feet before hitting the water. The leap wasn't a suicide attempt since several witnesses reported that prior to the plunge, the man yelled, "Watch this."

I am engaged in a debate with an intelligent, but misguided gentleman who believes that diplomacy would have worked better than war. That we could have somehow won the hearts and minds of islamic fanatics. I am looking for a complete list of terror attacks from Sirhan Sirhan on. I have seen such lists here before but can't find one now. Thank you all.

Second hand, from an official source: New Orleans already had a big homeless population. A lot of the already homeless refused to leave without their shopping carts. So they won't go near the evac centers, even though we have heard reports that the helocopters will now allow people to bring their shopping carts with them.

UN tsunami chief to assess recovery effort in Sri Lanka and Indonesia 30 August 2005 – The United Nations Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery Eric Schwartz will travel to Sri Lanka and Indonesia tomorrow on a 10-day fact-finding mission to see the impact of last December’s tsunami on people’s lives and to gauge the progress of the recovery. Mr. Schwartz will hold talks with Government officials, representatives of UN agencies, civil society and the business community, while assessing the online financial contribution tracking system, as well as shelter, livelihoods and sustainable timber sourcing. Meanwhile, in Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s report...

"My trip to Weare, New Hampshire was a success on four fronts. First, I met Weare residents who formed a group to support the Lost Liberty Hotel project. Second, I met a local attorney who will help us with the legal issues involved. Third, I met a developer who is considering taking over this project so Freestar can start four similar developments. Fourth, I gave a speech outlining why the Lost Liberty Hotel Project is both an ethical and effective strategy to help stop eminent domain abuse. This project is helping keep eminent domain abuse in the news. Already, one...

Chinese shipyard workers have been repairing a badly damaged ex-Russian aircraft carrier and have repainted it with the country's military markings, raising the question once again of whether China is pursuing longer-term plans to field its first carrier. In the latest developments, images show that workers at the Chinese Dalian Shipyard have repainted the ex-Russian Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier Varyag with the markings and colour scheme of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy (PLAN). Additional new photographs show that other work, the specifics of which could not be determined, appears to be continuing and that the condition of the vessel is...

Need Help intercepting a 17 year old runaway girl. I am a friend of the family and this Colorado girl is on a flight, right now, to Atlanta. Her mother has been told that 17 is considered adult in Atlanta so they may not be able to do much. Need help with laws in Atlanta or good, direct law enforcement contacts there. Need to deal with this quickly.