TimeLine Layout

August, 2008

  • 16 August

    Refugees return to shattered south Osettia

    Five days of heavy fighting have left Tskhinvali, south Osettia, in ruins, but now at least refugees are returning. They find a cleanup struggling to make a difference, with few services and no utilities.

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  • 16 August

    Poland in eye of missile storm

    As international tension rises, parades marking Army Day in Poland have been held against a backdrop of Russian rage. Moscow is furious that Warsaw has agreed to host elements of a US global anti-missile system. By doing so, a senior Russian general was quoted as saying that Poland was making …

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  • 16 August

    Georgia signs ceasefire deal

    Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has signed the ceasefire agreement delivered to him in person by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to end the week-long conflict with Russia.

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  • 16 August

    Bush accuses Russia of “bullying” in Georgia

    US President George W. Bush has again expressed Washington’s support for Tbilisi. In a statement made from the White House, Bush said: “The people of Georgia have cast their lot with the free world and we will not cast them aside.”

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  • 16 August

    Medvedev and Merkel spar in Sochi over Georgia

    The other half of the diplomatic pincer movement took place in Sochi, as the German Chancellor Angela Merkel used a pre-planned trip there to try to lean on the Russian president to withdraw his troops. The talks were short. Afterwards it appeared there had been no meeting of minds. Russia …

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  • 16 August

    No return for Georgian refugees, says S. Ossetia

    The self-styled president of South Ossetia has said Georgian refugees who fled the enclave will not be allowed to return home. The comments by Eduard Kokoity feature in an interview with the Russian newspaper “Kommersant.”

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  • 16 August

    Gori takes the brunt of the Russian military stand-off

    The Georgian town of Gori has been at the heart of the powerplay between Russia and Georgia. Most of the residents of Gori have fled the shooting, bombing and armoured intimidation.

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  • 16 August

    Russian troops remain in Georgia

    Russian tanks and troops are still in and around Georgian towns, days after Moscow declared its military operation was over. For the second day running Georgian police have been trying to persuade Russian troops to leave the town of Gori, after rejecting Russian demands yesterday for joint security patrols.

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  • 15 August

    Serbia wants international court opinion on Kosovo

    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Serbia said on Friday it would seek an opinion from the International Court of Justice on whether Kosovo’s declaration of independence was legal and that Belgrade would abide by whatever the court said.

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  • 15 August

    Iraq boosts pilgrimage security as bombers strike

    KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) – A roadside bomb struck a minibus packed with pilgrims bound for Iraq’s holy Shi’ite city of Kerbala on Friday as authorities deployed more than 40,000 police and soldiers to avert new violence in the annual rite.

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