Georgia accused of war crimes

The Georgian army has been implicated in attacks on civilians and committing war crimes when its security forces invaded the breakaway region of South Ossetia over the summer. In reports compiled by the BBC and Human Rights Watch, witnesses described how Georgian tanks fired directly into an apartment block in South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali, and troops shot at civilians as they tried to flee. President Mikheil Saakashvili has denied these allegations, promising that Georgia is "very open for any kind of investigation." Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.

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The toD Verdict: Fighting between Russia and Georgia regarding the latter's breakaway provinces began on 7 August of this year when Georgia launched artillery attacks on targets in Tskhinvali in an effort to retake South Ossetia. Russia sent tanks, troops and warplanes on 8 August, sparking a conflict that spread into Georgia proper and resulted in a five-day war. Much western opinion has taken a pro-Georgian outlook on the events, with the US accusing Russia of having used "disproportionate" force during the conflict. Potential Georgian war crimes, while inflated in the Russian press, went under-reported in the west.

Russian forces have been accused of committing acts of violence against civilians. The Georgian government has taken Russia to the International Criminal Court for allegedly allowing the ethnic cleansing of Georgian villages. Human Rights Watch has criticised both sides.

Meanwhile, Russia on Tuesday declared its opposition to the deployment of European Union monitors in Georgia's rebel provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to monitor the ceasefire. The Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting in St. Petersburg with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner that security in the Georgian breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia "is assured by Russian military contingents after the recognition of their independence by Russia".

Britain "names and shames" extremists

The British Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, declared on Tuesday the government's intention to publicly list more than 200 people whose extreme views are a threat to national security and ban their entry to the country. The plan lumps together animal rights protestors, neo-Nazis, anti-abortion activists, Muslim extremists and many more in what is essentially a "naming and shaming" of extremists, which aims to strengthen the exclusion orders that already ban certain groups from Britain.

Rights groups, however, have argued that the list will do nothing to curb extremism, and will instead alienate those involved and perhaps even increase their popularity in certain parts of the world where antipathy to Britain is on the rise. The list is part of a government attempt to introduce policy which makes it more difficult for "foreign-born extremists" to enter the country, and other moves include moving the burden of proof for allegations of extremism to the accused rather than the authorities, where it currently lies. The list is expected to be published on the Home Office Web site in the coming months.

Tamil Tigers launch two air attacks

The air wing of the Tamil Tigers carried out two separate air strikes on Tuesday, hitting an army base and setting a power station ablaze in Colombo. The first attack hit Thalladi military camp about 250 km (150 miles) north of Colombo in Mannar district, causing minor damage and injuring one soldier. Soon after, the Sri Lankan capital was plunged into darkness when the city's power was turned off as a precaution and rebel aircraft carried out a raid on the power station. None of the nine air strikes that the Tigers have so far carried out have done much significant damage, and have instead been a source of embarrassment for the Sri Lankan air force which has far more advanced military equipment. The Sri Lankan government has stepped up its offensive in the last few months against the separatist group that it has been fighting since 1983.

Fear of war in disputed Iraqi regions 

Stability in Iraq is being further jeopardised by a long-festering conflict over Kirkuk, the oil-rich city which lies 250 km (150 miles) north of Baghdad, according to a report released on Tuesday by the International Crisis Group. Two events in particular are pointed to as significant: a two-month stalemate from July to September in negotiations over a provincial elections law to resolve Kirkuk's status and, during the same period, a campaign by the Iraqi army in the Kurdish-controlled district of Khanaqin, another of the disputed territories over whom sectarian politics could spill more blood. The report recommends an "oil-for-soil" agreement to be drawn up to resolve the issue, and warns: "The most likely alternative to an agreement is a new outbreak of violent strife over unsettled claims in a fragmented polity governed by chaos and fear."

Peruvian demonstrators hold police hostage

Protestors in the Moquegua province in Peru took three police officers hostage and blocked a bridge on the Pan-American highway, in their demand that Congress should give their province a bigger share of mining taxes. Thousands of protestors gathered on Tuesday, fuelling an ongoing dispute between Moquegua and Tacna provinces over how to share mining taxes. Tensions have simmered since June, when protesters in Moquegua took sixty police officers hostage to urge Congress to pass a bill overhauling how taxes are shared among provinces. Tuesday's demonstration left four policemen wounded, with three of them taken hostage. Community leaders said at least ten people were injured when police fired tear gas into the crowd.

Evacuation of UN aid workers blocked

A further escalation in violence over the weekend and on Monday in Democratic Republic of Congo led the UN to announce on Tuesday its decision to extract its aid workers from the eastern Congolese village of Rutshuru. However, the evacuation of around 50 aid workers was halted after furious villagers attacked the armed convoy and blocked the road. The villagers were expressing frustration that peacekeepers had not halted the rebel advance through the countryside and, in the chaos, even Congolese government forces fired on the convoy which was forced to turn back. As many as 250,000 people have been driven from their homes since August, with the collapse of a peace deal between the government and rebels under the command of Laurent Nkunda, a renegade general who says he is fighting to protect ethnic Tutsis.

India and Thailand high on the Risk Prospects list

A report released by the Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) had indicated that India, Malaysia and Thailand face the highest political and social risk among Asia-Pacific countries in 2009, mainly due to internal instability. The consultancy assessed 16 countries on factors such as the risk of disruptive political change, the threat posed by social activism and vulnerability to policy changes by other governments. A score of zero represented the best socio-political situation and 10 the highest risk. India and Thailand scored 6.87 and 6.28 respectively, putting them top of the Risk Prospects list for 2009.

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