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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