BBC news 2008-08-12 加文本

BBC News with Joe Macintosh.

After a day of further fierce fighting between Russian and Georgian forces over the breakaway territory of South Ossetia, the Georgian President, Mikhail Saakashvili, says most of Georgia is now under Russian control. He refers to the Russian forces as barbarian aggressors out to abolish Georgian independence.

"We’re currently facing one of the biggest threats to our statehood in our history. Georgia is facing the threat of destruction, and the direct threat has been made to destroy Georgian independence just as it happened in 1921."

Reports say that Russian troops now control many key bridges and roads across Georgia, leaving Tbilisi isolated. Georgian forces are falling back towards the capital, apparently expecting an attack. Natalia Antelava reports from Tbilisi.

"It's the quietest night Georgia has seen since this conflict began.  Georgian troops have now been pushed out of the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The fighting seems to have calmed down, and on Monday evening. Russia stopped its air raids. Yet Moscow now has more control over Georgia than ever. Having moved deeply into the country from the border with South Ossetia, Russian troops now occupied the main state highway. President Mikhail Saakashvili, in an address to the nation, said Georgia had been split in two.

President George Bush speaking from the White House strongly condemned Russia's actions in Georgia.

"Russia's government must respect Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty. The Russian government must reverse the course it appears to be on and accept this peace agreement as a first step toward resolving this conflict."

He said there were indications that Moscow might be trying to depose the democratically-elected government in Georgia, and he said that Russia’s actions so far was endangering its relations with the United States and Europe. President Bush urged the Russian government to withdraw from areas of Georgia outside the territory of South Ossetia and return to, what he called, the status quo before the fighting began.

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently hold the presidency of the Europe Union, will meet the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on Tuesday. Mr. Sarkozy’s office announced that he would then be going to Georgia for talks with President Mikhail Saakashvili. Earlier a senior Russian official dismissed the EU's ceasefire plan signed by the Georgian president. The Russian Deputy-Prime Minister, Sergei Ivanov, said any deal had to involve leaders of the breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and a promise by Georgia to renounce the use of force to settle disputes. Meanwhile, Moscow has called for an emergency meeting with NATO to discuss the conflict. The NATO Secretary General accused Russia of using disproportionate force and violating Georgia's sovereignty.

World News from the BBC

King Abdullah of Jordan has become the first Arab head of state to visit Iraq since the U.S-led invasion and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The Iraqis say [said] the two leaders had held frank and positive talks at a meeting in Baghdad. Jordan recently said it would reopen its embassy in Baghdad which was bombed five years ago.

Military officials in Pakistan say at least 50 suspected Taliban militants have been killed after helicopter gunships and jets bombed rebel positions in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan. They said the fighting started after insurgents attacked two security posts overnight in the Bajaur tribal area. Some reports said six civilians were also killed in the clashes. Thousands of civilians are said to be fleeing the area.

A second day of talks between the Zimbabwean government and opposition has ended with no sign of a power-sharing deal. As he left the talks, President Robert Mugabe told reporters negotiations would resume on Tuesday and he felt sure differences would be overcome. Karen Allen reports from Johannesburg.

After a marathon session on Sunday night to thrash out what President Mugabe described as "little hurdles", four hours of talks on Monday, added to a sense that perhaps a power-sharing deal could be in sight. A key sticking point appears to be the allocation of cabinet posts, and in particular, how much power Robert Mugabe is prepared to relinquish after 28 years. Critical too, is who will control the security services, used in the past to keep the opposition in check.(Www.hxen.net)

The United Nations says it's worried by the discovery of a highly virulent strain of bird flu in Nigeria that's not been found in sub-Saharan Africa before. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization says the strain of the virus is similar to those previously identified in Asia and Europe. It says that the discovery raises serious concerns as it's not known how the strain of bird flu arrived in Africa.

And that's the BBC News.