More world news in brief.
UN agencies to visit Georgian enclave
UNITED NATIONS -A group of UN humanitarian agencies will visit a Georgian separatist enclave and other parts of the country to assess the situation after its war with Russia last month, the UN said yesterday.
Russia invaded Georgia last month to thwart an attempt by the Georgian military to retake the breakaway region of South Ossetia, which, like Abkhazia, broke away from Tbilisi in the early 1990s. - (Reuters)
Belarus police disperse protest
MINSK -Police in Belarus dispersed dozens of demonstrators in the centre of the capital yesterday, less than two weeks before a parliamentary election which authorities have promised will be free and fair.
Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko has invited hundreds of observers to attend the September 28th election and says it will overturn stereotypes depicting the former Soviet state as undemocratic. - (Reuters)
Russian defence spend to rise 27%
MOSCOW -Russia's defence spending will increase by 27 per cent in 2009, Interfax news agency has quoted prime minister Vladimir Putin as saying.
"Nearly 2.4 trillion roubles [€66.3 billion] will be allocated for the needs of national defence and security [in 2009]," he was quoted as saying. - (Reuters)
French troops rescue tourists
PARIS -French commandos stormed a luxury yacht yesterday to rescue two French tourists who were being held for ransom by heavily armed Somali pirates, French president Nicolas Sarkozy said.
One pirate was killed and six were taken prisoner in the predawn assault by some 30 troops.
The freed hostages and captured pirates were put on a French navy ship sailing towards Djibouti, where France has a military base. - (Reuters)
Lebanese leaders urged to unite
BEIRUT -Lebanese president Michel Suleiman called on rival leaders to unite yesterday at the first session of talks that will focus on one of their deepest areas of division - the role of Hizbullah guerrillas in defending the country. - (Reuters)