FACTBOX: Developments in Georgia

Sun Aug 17, 2008 3:08am EDT
 
[-] Text [+]

(Reuters) - Following are developments in Georgia at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Saturday:

-- Railway bridge on main line west of Georgian capital Tbilisi is destroyed, residents say it was blown up by Russian soldiers but Moscow denies it is responsible.

-- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signs ceasefire pact already signed by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow will start pulling out troops after additional security arrangements there are put in place.

-- Russian forces continue to move around in parts of Georgia far outside separatist areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia where they have peacekeeping forces.

-- In South Ossetia, Russian military says it faces some "diversionary groups and snipers" but that "in general, the situation is under the control of our forces".

OTHER EVENTS:

-- Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder blames Tbilisi for sparking hostilities and says breakaway regions are unlikely to remain part of Georgia, a stance at odds with current German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the United States.

-- Republican presidential candidate John McCain says Georgia conflict poses grave threat to world energy supplies.

-- Senior Russian general says Poland's agreement with United States to host parts of missile defense shield make it potential target of nuclear attack.

 
A Taliban fighter poses with weapons in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan October 30, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer
Taliban may wait out Washington's "endgame"

Washington's hint of an Afghanistan endgame in saying U.S. troops won't still be there in 2017 might help win over a war-weary public, but there is no guarantee a notoriously patient Taliban won't just wait the Americans out.  Full Article | Full Coverage 

Editor's Choice

A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours.  Slideshow 

Most Popular on Reuters

  • Articles
  • Video
Men transport a pig on a horse cart along a highway on the outskirts of Havana November 26, 2009.  REUTERS/Desmond Boylan
Cubans fear hard times ahead, impatient for change

Cubans are bracing for hard times in 2010 as President Raul Castro slashes imports and cuts government spending to get Cuba out of crisis -- and they are growing impatient with the slow pace of economic reform.  Full Article