US Envoy Admits: Russia's first Georgia move legitimate

Detroit seeks $50 billion in loans: Ford, GM want help retooling for fuel efficiency

With troop deal, US winding down combat

In Reversal, Bush to Accept Iraq Withdrawal Timetable

Militants Ready for Pakistan's War

Talk of Russia-Cuba Ties Seen as Warning to US

Army Vet May Lose Job as a Pilot After Showing Up on Terror Watchlist

Dalai Lama Denies Giving Any Numbers in Tibet Massacre Quote

Fatal Flaws Found in Terrorism Database

Russia Pulls Out, but Seeks a Long-Term Shift

Russian Troops Withdraw From Gori

UN Refugee Chief, Aid Convoy Reach South Ossetia

Abandoned Synagogue Gives Shelter in Ossetian War

Provisions of the Georgia-Russia Truce Agreement

Sen. Graham Calls for NATO Exercises in Eastern Europe to Show Commitment Against Russi

Russia Stages a Substantial Retreat

Russia Says Georgia Buffer Checkpoints 'Permanent'

US: Russia Has Not Complied With Georgia Ceasefire

Russia's First Georgia Move Legitimate: US Envoy

US Warship Passes Through Bosporus, Russia Suspicious

Turkey Insists US Did Not Seek Authorization for Warships to Pass

Pakistan Coalition Rift Widens as Violence Rages

US Struggling to Find New Pakistan Ally Against Taliban

Pakistani Military, NATO Both Confirm Artillery Attack in Wana

Bhutto Widower Proposed for Pakistan President

Iraq Pullout Far From a Done Deal

Draft Iraq Deal Sets 'Aspirational Goal' of 2011 Pullout

Iraq Seeks Breakup of US-Funded Sunni Fighters

Defense Official: Foreign Contractors Stoking Iraqi Violence

Friday: 1 Marine, 6 Iraqis Killed; 8 Iraqis Wounded

• Obama Picks Joe Biden
  • Biden Tapped for Running Mate
  • Ticket Makes Its Debut Saturday
  • Veteran Senator Brings Experience
  • McCain's Early Line of Attack
  • Biden Speaks - & Speaks - His Mind
  • Profile: Senator Joe Biden
• Biden Reaction
  • 5 Things Biden Brings - Tomasky
  • A Terrific Pick - Cohn
  • Lack of Confidence - Fournier
  • The Case for Biden - Brooks
  • The Necessary Choice - Nichols
  • Curse of a Loose Mouth - Geraghty
• Latest Polls

• Latest Polls
  • Michigan (Detroit FP): Obama +7
  • Indiana (Rasmussen): McCain +6
  • Minnesota (MPR): Obama +10
  • National (RCP Avg): Obama +1.4
• More '08 Commentary
  • Clift: Anatomy of a Tight Race
  • Goldberg: The Obama Mystery
  • Robinson: McCain's Contradictions
  • Limbaugh: 'Switboating' Obama
  • Polman: McCain's Housing Blunder
• Russia-Georgia
  • FR, US: No Ceasefire from Russia
  • Retreat from Gori, Still in Region
  • More at RealClearWorld
• Iraq
  • US, Iraq Agree on 2011 Withdrawal
  • Iraq Aims at US-Tied Sunni Groups

• RUSSIA-GEORGIA CONFLICT
  • West: Russia Not In Compliance
  • Russia Claims Pullout Completed
  • Georgia, S Ossetia Swap Detainees
  • Russia Halts NATO Cooperation
• PAKISTAN AFTER MUSHARRAF
  • Bhutto Widower to Run for Prez
  • Shaky Ruling Coalition Meets
  • Prez Election Set for Sept. 6

• ASIA
  • 200,000 Protest in Kashmir
  • Taliban Killed in Afghan Clashes
  • India Nuke Talks Cont. in Vienna
  • Sri Lanka Fighting Kills 28
• MIDDLE EAST
  • US, Iraq Agree to 2012 Withdrawal
  • Sadr in Iran to Stay, For Now
  • Israel, Syria to Continue Talks
• AFRICA
  • Al-Qaeda Claims Algeria Bombings
  • Warship to Track Hijacked Vessels
  • Parliament Dispute in Zimbabwe
• EUROPE
  • Multiple Causes for Spain Crash
  • NATO Ships Enter Black Sea
  • Disgraced Glitter Arrives in UK
• AMERICAS
  • Chile Halts Gas Subsidy for Pols
  • New Paraguay Prez Sacks Military
  • Canadian Support for Harper Slips

A Really Bad Couple of Weeks for Pax Americana

Report: India Won't Accept Conditions on US Nuclear Deal

Dick Morris Rewrites History: Claims Iraqi Government Invited US In

Guards' Lapses Cited in Detainee Suicides

Another: US Frees Detained AP Cameramain in Iraq

Barriers That Are Steep and Linguistic

That Student Loan, So Hard to Shake

• NY Times
• 08/23/2008 05:16 PM

What Will Mac ’n’ Mae Cost You and Me?

• NY Times
• Morgenson
• 08/23/2008 05:15 PM

U.S. and Global Economies Slipping in Unison

• NY Times
• 08/23/2008 05:14 PM

Ex-BOE official says Fed rate cuts went too far

• Reuters
• 08/23/2008 05:09 PM

In the Ruins of the Housing Bust

• NY Times
• 08/23/2008 05:08 PM

Columbian Bank and Trust of Kansas Shut by Regulators

• Bloomberg
• 08/23/2008 07:39 AM

Treasury wants GSEs shareholder-owned: source

• Reuters
• 08/23/2008 07:35 AM

Fed Chairman Urges Broader Market Oversight

• NY Times
• Uchitelle
• 08/23/2008 07:31 AM

Uncertainty Over Fannie and Freddie

• NY Times
• 08/23/2008 07:30 AM

GM, Ford Seek $50 Billion From U.S., Double Request

• Bloomberg
• 08/22/2008 03:41 PM

• Obama Selects Biden
  • Realistic, Not Idealistic Choice
  • A 'Very Personal Decision'
  • Brings Experience, Verbal Blunders
  • A Demographic Calculation
• Senator Joe Biden
  • Comebacks Define Life of Biden
  • A Dem Leader on Foreign Policy
  • In Delaware Biden is Regular Joe
• State & National Polls
  • National (ABC/WP): Obama +4
  • Nevada (Mason-Dixon): McCain +7
  • Colorado (Quinnipiac): McCain +1, (Mason-Dixon): Obama +3
  • N. Mexico (Mason-Dix): McCain +4
  • Arizona (Mason-Dixon): McCain +6

Russia Says NATO Using Aid As Cover As NATO Demands Pre-Conflict Positions
Moscow (AFP) Aug 23, 2008 - A top Russian general accused NATO on Saturday of using humanitarian aid deliveries to Georgia as "cover" for a build-up of naval forces in the Black Sea. "Under the cover of needing to deliver humanitarian goods, NATO countries continue to boost their naval grouping," Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of general staff, told a news conference in Moscow. "In addition to the Spanish and ... more

milspace-comms
+ Satellite's Data Collection Will Support Warfighter
Kirtland AFB NM (AFPN) Aug 22, 2008 - Tactical Satellite-3's scheduled October mission is set to demonstrate rapid data collection and transmission to the combatant commander in the theater of interest. During Tactical Satellite-3's upcoming flight, a new capability of employing a hyperspectral imager with a space-based, onboard processor to obtain and send images within minutes to the warfighter on the ground will be tested. ... more

milplex
+ UK Troops To Benefit From Munitions Partnering Deal
London, UK (SPX) Aug 25, 2008 - A new partnering arrangement between the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and BAE Systems initially worth GBP2 billion -- with anticipated growth to more than GBP3 billion during the next 15 years -- will guarantee secure supplies of ammunition to UK troops while providing value for money for the taxpayer. The arrangement, known as Munitions Acquisition - the Supply Solution (MASS), is initial ... more

uav
+ Stellar Team's SATURN Wins At The MoD Grand Challenge
Copehill Down, UK (SPX) Aug 25, 2008 - SELEX Galileo, of Finmeccanica, has achieved success at the MoD Grand Challenge finale as part of the winning Stellar Team. Stellar team's winning SATURN (Sensing and Autonomous Tactical Urban Reconnaissance Network) solution was awarded the highest points of any participants by judging panel after successfully identifying the majority of the threats planted at the MoD's Urban warfare ... more

milplex
+ Overseas operations increasingly hard: French military official
Paris (AFP) Aug 22, 2008 - Overseas military operations will be more and more difficult but its risks must be dealt with, a top French military official said in an interview to be published Saturday. "The time of easy overseas operations is over," General Jean-Louis Georgelin, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told Le Figaro newspaper, after 10 French soldiers were killed and 21 wounded in an attack by ... more

Outside View: Georgia's cyberwar
Moscow (UPI) Aug 22, 2008 - The Georgian-Ossetian war, which began overnight Aug. 8, is being conducted not only with tanks, cannons and aircraft, and not only with diplomacy and information attacks, but in cyberspace as well. Reflecting today's technology, the war instantly spread into cyberspace. Since the war's first day, the leading information and state agency Web sites in Russia and Georgia became the target ... more

milplex
+ Boeing considers exiting US Air Force tanker rebidding
Washington (AFP) Aug 22, 2008 - US aerospace giant Boeing said Friday it may exit the rebidding for a 35-billion-dollar contract to build US Air Force aerial refueling tankers unless allowed more time to rework its proposal. The Department of Defense (DoD) was forced in June to rebid the contract after congressional auditors found flaws in the air force's decision to award it to Northrop Grumman and the European ... more

stans
+ More than 90 killed in coalition strikes: investigation
Herat, Afghanistan (AFP) Aug 24, 2008 - An investigation has found that more than 90 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in coalition air strikes days ago, an Afghan government minister told AFP Sunday. President Hamid Karzai ordered the investigation into Friday's operation in the western province of Herat after Afghan officials said high numbers of civilians were killed but the US-led coalition said only 30 ... more

iraq
+ Iraq PM demanding changes to US military deal: ally
Baghdad (AFP) Aug 24, 2008 - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is demanding changes to a draft deal on the status of US forces beyond this year, a key Shiite ally in the governing coalition said on Sunday. "There are points in the agreement that are still pending and they can't be approved without changes in order to preserve the complete sovereignty of Iraq," the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) quoted Maliki as ... more

iraq
+ Iraq-US pact puts troop pullout by 2011: negotiator
Baghdad (AFP) Aug 22, 2008 - Negotiators have finalised a deal which will see the complete withdrawal of US troops from Iraq by 2011, ending an eight-year occupation, the top official in the Iraqi team told AFP on Friday. Under the 27-point deal all American combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraqi cities by next June, said negotiator Mohammed al-Haj Hammoud. The agreement has already been approved by US President ... more

North Korea Vows To Bolster War Deterrent As Talks Restart
Seoul (AFP) Aug 24, 2008 - North Korea vowed Sunday it would bolster its "war deterrent" as it denounced last week's annual US-South Korean joint military exercise. The communist North, which tested an atomic weapon in October 2006, was reacting to the August 18-22 exercise involving computer simulations and tens of thousands of US and South Korean troops. "The DPRK (North Korea) will bolster the war deterrent for ... more

interndaily
+ Two years on, face transplant patients can smile: study
Paris (AFP) Aug 22, 2008 - Two facial transplants -- one on a Chinese man who had half his face ripped off by a bear -- have proved highly successful two years on, opening the way for wider use of the procedure, studies released Friday report. The operations in China and France are among a handful that have pioneered the use of donor tissue to repair severe disfigurement of the face caused by burns, tumours ... more

disaster-management
+ Japanese scientists seek quake secrets in Parthenon design
Athens (AFP) Aug 22, 2008 - Japanese scientists will next month look into seismic resistance secrets in the design of the 2,500-year-old Parthenon which has withstood scores of quakes, a senior Greek archaeologist said on Friday. "The Parthenon had great resilience to earthquakes, as did most classical Greek temples," Maria Ioannidou, the archeologist in charge of conservation on the ancient Acropolis citadel where ... more

energy-tech
+ Academy Awarded Funding For Wave Energy Research
US Air Force Academy CO (AFPN) Aug 22, 2008 - The next source of alternative energy could come from ocean waves, and Air Force Academy professors have been granted funding to dive into this research. The National Science Foundation has awarded the Academy's Aeronautics Department $285,619 to support a cyclodial propeller wave energy converter research project to harness the ocean's power. The concept of ocean waves turning power ... more

gas
+ Analysis: Iraq Energy Roundup
Baghdad, Iraq (UPI) Aug 25, 2008 - Iraq said it planned to sign a $1.2 billion deal with China's state-run oil firm, marking the first major oil deal since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Baghdad officials said the deal with China National Petroleum Corp. could come as early as next week, Abu Dhabi's The National reported. The deal replaced a contract with the Chinese ... more

Space Espionage: A High Priority
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Aug 21, 2008 - Replacements are expected to take place soon in the "space spy community". Yet another American GPS (Global Positioning System) Navstar satellite will be launched into the low earth orbit in autumn. It might seem an ordinary event, had it not been for this satellite being equipped with a platform for intelligence equipment. A purely navigational GPS has turned into an advanced intelligence ... more

Agresti Biofuels Gets Okay For First Trash To Gas Facility In US
Indianapolis IN (SPX) Aug 25, 2008 - Agresti Biofuels has announced that it will begin contract negotiations with Pike County, Ky. for the first commercial municipal solid waste (MSW) to cellulosic ethanol production facility in the United States. The facility and process are completely clean -- air and water will not be polluted -- and waste materials like plastics, rubber and metal will be separated from the MSW for ... more

Is Korea Development Bank About to Buy Lehman?

• Talks to sell 50% of company's equity stake to Korea Development Bank and Citic Securities failed at first over price and conditions disagreement; by August 22 LEH surged 15% percent after Reuters reports Korea Development Bank said it may purchase the firm

Click Here For Full Analysis

U.S. Sets 2011 For Troops Withdrawal From Iraq

• The United States has agreed to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by next June and from the rest of the country by the end of 2011 if conditions in Iraq remain relatively stable
• The Iraqi economy is growing sharply because of soaring oil revenues, there is a new assertiveness of Iraqi soldiers and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's political standing is at an all-time high

Click Here For Full Analysis

South and South-East Asia in the Midst of a Global Recession

• ASEAN countries are witnessing record inflation led by food and commodity prices and govt’s fuel price hike. Delayed monetary response has raised concerns among foreign investors leading to stock market decline and capital outflows in many countries, and putting downward pressure on the currency
• Export growth has taken a hit starting mid-2008 while headline inflation has made its way through second-round price effects via higher wages, production and transportation costs
• Spread of the U.S. slowdown to G-7 economies, Europe, Japan and several EMs (China, Latam, Middle-East) and its impact on exports may lead Asia to pursue a loose monetary policy and undervalued currency, thus creating the risk of a stagflation-like environment

Click Here For Full Analysis

• Opening Night at the Dem. Convention
• All Eyes on Michelle Obama
• Do Conventions Matter?
• Biden Choice Raises Stakes for McCain
• Border Fence Design Blasted
• High Gas Prices Drive Down Fatalities
• A Nation Hungry For Change?
• Iran Starts on Locally-Built Sub
• Russia Criticizes US Black Sea Presence
• Adams: Real Men
• Schindler: The Audacity of Hypcrisy
• Will: For Obama, Believing is Seeing
• Protests At Democratic Convention

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) will speak during tonight's opening of the Democratic National Convention, NBC reports. A convention tribute to the senator "will include a film by documentary producer Ken Burns, along with remarks from Caroline Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's daughter."

"Tax and accounting loopholes that largely benefit rich taxpayers and companies cost the U.S. government $20 billion a year even as the pay gap between chief executives and employees has widened," according to a new report by the Institute for Policy Studies and the group United for a Fair Economy.

Americans who lack health insurance will spend about $30 billion out of pocket on medical care this year, according to a new report from George Mason University and The Urban Institute. At the same time, "others -- mainly the government -- will end up covering another $56 billion in costs.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "is demanding changes to a draft deal on the status of US forces beyond this year." "There are points in the agreement that are still pending and they can't be approved without changes in order to preserve the complete sovereignty of Iraq," the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) quoted Maliki as telling fellow Shi'ite politicians at a meeting on Saturday.

A suicide bomber killed at least 25 people in the Iraqi city of Abu Ghraib Sunday, detonating explosives during a neighborhood celebration for a man who had just been released from detention. "It was one of several attacks that left about 40 people dead," underscoring "the threat still posed by insurgents despite improved security nationwide."

"In northern Greenland, a part of the Arctic that had seemed immune from global warming, new satellite images show a growing giant crack and an 11-square-mile chunk of ice hemorrhaging off a major glacier, scientists said Thursday."

Hydrogen fuel cell cars from nine automakers "completed a 13-day cross-country trip this weekend" -- a first for vehicles powered by a zero-emission technology. While "there were stretches without hydrogen fueling stations when the vehicles were carried on flatbed trucks," one goal "was to demonstrate the need to build more fueling stations if the nascent technology is to develop."

And finally: Filmmaker Spike Lee was engulfed by a horde of reporters as he hit the town yesterday evening in Denver. When one reporter identifying himself as a correspondent for Fox News tried to ask Lee a question, the actor responded, "I don't do Fox News," and immediately disappeared into a restaurant.

U.S. May Ice Russian Nuclear Deal ft.com — The Bush administration is set to put a high-profile nuclear deal with Russia on hold, according to U.S. diplomats. Officials expect Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to recommend that George W. Bush, president, recall the civil nuclear co-operation agreement from Congress in the wake of Russia's conflict with Georgia. The deal would be one of the most visible victims so far of tensions between Washington and Moscow, which have risen to levels rarely seen since the end of the cold war. The move to put the nuclear agreement on ice would darken prospects for bilateral co-operation between the two countries in the area of nuclear safety.

Tax Loopholes Cost Billions reuters.com — Tax and accounting loopholes that largely benefit rich taxpayers and companies cost the U.S. government $20 billion a year even as the pay gap between chief executives and employees has widened, according to the Institute for Policy Studies and the group United for a Fair Economy. The biggest loss comes from a "stock option accounting double standard" that allows corporations paying executives stock options to deduct more than their actual expenses, they said. That practice alone costs the U.S. government $10 billion a year, the groups said.

Growth Slows As Stimulus Fades reuters.com — U.S. consumer spending will tail off as the effects of government rebates to taxpayers wear off, hurting economic growth in the second half of the year, the director of the Congressional Budget Office said. "One of the things we'll be experiencing later this year is the withdrawal of that effect leading to economic weakness," said CBO head Peter Orszag. The hope behind the first stimulus package was that it would generate economic momentum, but a deep housing slump and credit crunch have persisted. "The economy has not recovered sufficiently, so that withdrawal of the stimulus does look like it will create an air pocket afterwards," Orszag said.

Auto Industry Seeks $50 Billion money.cnn.com — Automakers plan to urge Congress to support funding up to $50 billion in low-interest loans over three years to help them modernize their assembly plants and develop next-generation fuel-efficient vehicles. Industry officials said the loans, which are twice the amount authorized in last year's energy bill, are a top priority when Congress returns next month because of the declining fortunes of Detroit's automakers and tightening credit markets. Congress authorized $25 billion in low-interest loans in last year's energy bill, but the auto industry's allies in Congress have been unable to get funding for the plan. The loans would provide low-interest credit for up to 30 percent of the cost of retooling facilities to build hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric cars and other alternatives.

School Lunch Prices Rise nytimes.com — Prices on some school lunch lines are going up this fall as school officials, like many others, struggle to pay higher prices and delivery fees for staples like bread, milk, fresh fruit and vegetables. The price increases, generally about 25 cents a meal, come as school districts across the country try to eke more out of already tight budgets, with some switching to four-day schedules to reduce utility and busing costs, and others asking more of their students to walk to school or limiting out-of-town games for athletic teams. But for many parents, nothing hits the pockets quite like lunch prices.

Liberal Positions Gain Popularity mcclatchydc.com — As they meet for their national convention, Democrats are poised to shift their party's course — and the country's. They're turning to the left — deeply against the war in Iraq, ready to use tax policy to take from the rich and give to the poor and middle class, and growing hungry, after years of centrist politics, for big-government solutions, such as a health-care overhaul, to steer the nation through a time of sweeping economic change. The shift of the party also reflects a change in much of the population — evidenced in the policy positions advocated by rank-and-file voters as well as the party's presumptive presidential nominee.

New Orleans Levee Mistakes Repeated msnbc.msn.com — Dozens of interviews with engineers, historians, policymakers and flood zone residents confirmed many have not learned from public policy mistakes made after Hurricane Betsy in 1965, which set the stage for Katrina; many mistakes are being repeated. At every step in the scramble to correct the engineering breakdowns of Katrina, independent experts have questioned the ability of the Army Corps of Engineers, an agency that has accumulated ever more power over the fate of New Orleans, to do the right job. On the road to recovery, the agency has installed faulty drainage pumps, used outdated measurements, issued incorrect data, unearthed critical flaws, made conflicting statements about flood risk and flunked reviews by the National Research Council.

Vetted Judges Reject Asylum Bids nytimes.com — Immigrants seeking asylum in the United States have been disproportionately rejected by judges whom the Bush administration chose using a conservative political litmus test, according to an analysis of Justice Department data. The analysis suggests that the effects of a patronage-style selection process for immigration judges — used for three years before it was abandoned as illegal — are still being felt by scores of immigrants whose fates are determined by the judges installed in that period. Critics of the politicization of the immigration bench say it is not enough that in 2007 the department stopped using illegal hiring procedures. The fact that many of the politically selected judges remain in power, they say, continues to undermine the perceived fairness of hearings for immigrants fighting deportation.

U.N. Envoy’s Ties to Pakistani Are Questioned
By HELENE COOPER and MARK MAZZETTI Zalmay Khalilzad is facing angry questions over his contacts with a contender to succeed Pervez Musharraf.

• U.S. Diplomat Attacked in Peshawar 8:41 AM ET

Home Prices Plunged in 2nd Quarter
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 28 minutes ago A widely watched housing index showed that home prices dropped by 15.4 percent, the sharpest rate ever.


New Stadiums: Prices, and Outrage, Escalate
By RICHARD SANDOMIR As fans look forward to state-of-the-art stadiums, they face ticket price increases during an economic downturn.

• Post a Comment | Read (69)

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Russia Recognizes Independence of Georgian Areas
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY 3 minutes ago The move is expected to increase strains between Russia and the United States and its allies, which support Georgia’s territorial integrity.

• Text: Medvedev’s Statement
• Enclave in Georgia Hails Tight Embrace From Moscow
• E.U. Treads Gingerly in Crisis
• Making a Plea to Democrats
• Times Topics: Russia | Georgia

Russia missile test heightens stand-off with West
Moscow (AFP) Aug 28, 2008 - Russia on Thursday tested an inter-continental missile, heightening tensions with the West as France said the European Union could impose sanctions on Moscow over the Georgia conflict. Russia also sought international support at a summit with China and Central Asian nations. The missile test in northern Russia came barely a week after the United States completed an accord with Poland on ... more

icbm
+ Russia tests ICBM designed to overcome missile shield
Moscow (AFP) Aug 28, 2008 - Russia on Thursday said it test-fired an intercontinental missile designed to avoid detection by missile-defence systems, raising the temperature in a tense stand-off with the West over Georgia. The Topol RS-12M intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia and flew 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles) to hit a target on Kamchatka Peninsula in the ... more

missiles
+ Taiwan acquires Harpoon anti-ship missiles
Taipei (AFP) Aug 28, 2008 - Taiwan has acquired 60 Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the United States in a boost of its defence against rival China, the defence ministry here said Thursday. The missiles will be used by the air force's F-16 fighter jets, the ministry said, in a 90-million-dollar deal. The sale was announced after Washington affirmed in July that its policy on supplying arms to Taiwan remained ... more

war
+ Putin assails US over Georgia conflict
Moscow (AFP) Aug 28, 2008 - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused Washington on Thursday of manufacturing the Georgia conflict as tensions mounted with the United States threatening to scrap a nuclear deal in protest at Moscow's actions. Russia tested an inter-continental missile before Putin, the powerful former Kremlin leader who now heads the government, said the US administration had a hand in the five-day ... more

korea
+ NKorea rejects key verification test in nuke dispute: official
Seoul (AFP) Aug 28, 2008 - The latest deadlock over North Korea's nuclear disarmament will be hard to break because it involves a key test of how much bomb-making plutonium has been produced, a South Korean official said Thursday. The senior official gave details of the dispute which led the North to announce on Tuesday that it has stopped work to disable its nuclear plants. The US and the North cannot agree on ... more