BRUSSELS, Belgium — European Union leaders seeking to punish Russia for invading Georgia face limited options and are likely to choose diplomatic pressure to isolate Moscow at their summit today.
Sanctions appear remote: Western Europe depends on Russia’s energy supplies. But the 27 European leaders are expected to offer more humanitarian, economic and moral support for Georgia and signal that normal relations with Moscow are impossible with Russian troops violating a cease-fire agreement for all forces to return to prewar positions.
Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia on Aug. 7, hoping to retake the province that has had de-facto independence since the early 1990s. Russian forces repelled the offensive and pushed into Georgia.
Meanwhile, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday his country will give military aid to the two separatist Georgian regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Medvedev also warned that American domination of world affairs is unacceptable, though he insisted that Russia did not want hostile relations with the United States and other Western nations.
China: Quake toll up to 32
Chinese rescue teams carrying tents, quilts and sacks of rice rushed to reach survivors today of an earthquake that killed at least 32 people, turned tens of thousands of homes into rubble and cracked reservoirs. The 6.1-magnitude quake Saturday struck Sichuan province, destroying 258,000 homes, damaging major bridges and cracking three reservoirs, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Another 467 people were injured after the earthquake hit 31 miles southeast of Panzhihua city in the southwestern corner of Sichuan, the report said. The China Earthquake Administration recorded a 5.6-magnitude aftershock later Sunday in the same location as Saturday’s quake.
Australia: ‘Dr. Death’ hearing set
A Portland, Ore., surgeon charged with manslaughter in connection with the deaths of three patients in Australia was ordered today to appear in court in February to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a jury trial. Dr. Jayant Patel, 58, has been free on bail in Brisbane since he was extradited from Portland in July. He faces 13 charges, including manslaughter, causing grievous bodily harm and fraud relating to his employment as director of surgery at Queensland’s Bundaberg Base Hospital between 2003 and 2005.
Venezuela: No U.S. drug pact
Venezuela on Sunday rejected U.S. requests to resume cooperation in the war on drugs, saying it has made progress despite an alleged fourfold-gain in the amount of Colombian cocaine now passing through its territory. In the latest barb-trading over the issue, Venezuela dismissed U.S. attempts to renew talks on drugs as “useless and inopportune,” saying U.S. officials should focus on slashing demand for drugs at home rather than blaming other nations’ supposed lack of cooperation.
Israel: Palestians reject peace deal
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected Israel’s idea of an interim peace agreement at a Sunday summit, a Palestinian negotiator said, insisting on an all-or-nothing approach that virtually ruled out an accord by a January target date. Officials said Israel has proposed giving the Palestinians all of Gaza, 93 percent of the West Bank along with Israeli land equivalent to 5.5 percent of the West Bank, and a land corridor through Israel to link the two separate territories.
India: The flood-trapped are rescued
Stranded by hundreds of miles of floodwaters and trapped on rooftops and trees, desperate villagers stormed rescue boats Sunday as they tried to escape the flooding that tore through a riverbank and spilled over northern India’s vast plains. Two weeks after the Kosi River overflowed, Indian officials commandeered private watercraft after hearing that boat owners were charging people up to $150 each for a lifesaving ride, an impossibly large amount for those in impoverished villages where many survive on a dollar a day.
Pakistan: Halts strikes for Ramadan
Pakistan said Sunday it was suspending a military operation against insurgents in a tribal region for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan but warned that any provocations in the area would bring immediate retaliation. A Taliban spokesman welcomed the decision to halt the strikes in the Bajur tribal region, a rumored hideout of Osama bin Laden near the border with Afghanistan.
Connecticut: Plane lands in tree tops
A 1930s biplane glided to a crash landing in the tops of a stand of trees in East Windsor on Sunday, stranding the pilot and his passenger amid the branches for several hours. No one was injured, said Michael Koczera, manager of the Skylark Airpark. The single-engine de Havilland Tiger Moth apparently lost power about 200 feet from the runway after taking off from the airport, said Jim Peters of the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane came to rest in the trees 50 feet above the ground, Koczera said.
From Herald news services
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