Eurasia

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt left for Georgia on Monday to push for an end to an armed conflict there after Russian troops pushed into two separatist regions of the country.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on Monday 90 percent of his country’s casualties in the conflict with Russia over South Ossetia were civilian.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s military on Monday denied Georgian claims that it used 50 aircraft to bomb Georgian territory overnight.

TBILISI (Reuters) – Russian troops issued an ultimatum on Monday to Georgian forces near the breakaway region of Abkhazia to disarm or face attack, but Georgia swiftly rejected the demand.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s president, prime minister, defense minister and top generals on Monday attended a meeting on the military situation in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia, a Kremlin spokesman said.

BRUSSELS, Aug 11 – The European Commission has released 1 million euros ($1.52 million) in humanitarian aid for civilians affected by the fighting in South Ossetia, it said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has boosted its forces in Abkhazia, a second rebel region of Georgia, and now has more than 9,000 paratroopers and 350 armour there, Interfax news agency quoted an aide to the commander of Russian peacekeepers as saying on Monday.

BEIJING (Reuters) – President George W. Bush said on Monday he had expressed grave concern to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin about Russia’s “disproportionate response” against Georgia in the South Ossetia conflict.

TEHRAN, (ISNA)-Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will trip to Turkey on Thursday to meet the country’s high-ranking officials.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Pakistan signed an agreement with Iran to import 1,000 megawatts of electricity to overcome the power shortage in the country and Iran would finance the project’s completion, a senior official in Pakistan’s Water and Power Ministry said on Sunday.