BBC news 2008-08-13 加文本

Thank you for downloading from the BBC. The details of our complete range of podcasts and our terms of use, go to bbcworldservice.com/podcasts.

Welcome to the latest global news recorded at 1500 GMT on Tuesday, the 12th of August. I am Caroline Daffodil with the selection of highlights from across the BBC World Service news today.

And coming up, President Medvedev orders Russian troops to stop military operations in Georgia. We hear what the effect of the fighting has been for people living on the front line.

I can see what they are pulling out, and basically it's just body parts. It s his son, this woman cries, pointing at a man in front of me.

We will find out about the humanitarian situation in Georgia and we'll have a report on how politicians in the US are reacting to what is going on there. Also, in the podcast, Mexico sets up a special unit to combat the recent rash of kidnappings, many involving teenagers and fakery at the opening of the Olympic Games. The little girl’s singing was mimed, and the fireworks weren't real either.

For safety sake, [what] we did was, we provided television with a computer simulation of the footprints being shot into the sky.

At first, it looks as though the fighting between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia may be drawing to a close for the moment anyway. Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has now ordered an end to the military action. He said the purpose of the operation to restore security for civilians and Russian peacekeepers in the breakaway region of South Ossetia had now been achieved. But he stressed that in the event of Georgian attacks, his troops would hit back. He gave this account in a televised meeting with military chiefs.

On the basis of your report, I've decided to conclude the operation to force the Georgian authorities into peace. The aim of the operation has been achieved. The safety of our peacekeeping forces and the civilian population has been restored. The aggressor has been punished and has suffered very significant losses.

However, Tbilisi says Russian planes have been bombing Georgian territory close to the Ossetian border. And in Abkhazia, separatists are trying to dislodge Georgian troops from their last stronghold in that breakaway region.

Well, let's just have a quick reminder of the background to all of these. Georgia sent its forces into South Ossetia late last week after skirmishes with separatists there. And what the Georgians now say were Russian troop movements into the region which calls itself independent. Russia responded by pouring in troops. It says it was acting as a peacekeeper. But whether or not, hostilities have finally stopped. It's clear there has been significant loss of life and terrible damage in and around South Ossetia. Well, in a moment, we will have a report from the Georgian town of Gori, but first we hear from Mira, an English teacher in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. Mira has welcomed the intervention of the Russians there. She gave her reaction to the news that Russia had declared the operations over.(Www.hxen.net)

Of course, when the, the fighting gets stopped, it's always good news, but we want to be sure that we are now secure from any attacks from Georgian side, and of course, we would like our families to come back to the town, but they have no places to come back.

And Mira went on to describe what the city looked like after the bombardments of the past five days.

It is quiet now, no bombing, no shooting, no fire, only Russian troops and native guards. No electricity, all the infrastructure is destroyed. No gas, no water, that's what I've seen. The houses, all the buildings in the town, especially in the central parts of the town, are destroyed and lie in ruins. They are to ashes. And many people there killed, and when you passed about, along the streets that awful smell is going out of the basements of the houses. And people are trying to take them from under the ruins to the hospital. But the hospital suffered great damages, because there was [a] tank attack, and there was bombing by Georgian troops directly at the hospital, they were aiming , you know. We need Russian troops, because we, we will never feel safe with our neighbors if Russian troops don't stand between us.

Well, that's the view from inside South Ossetia where a majority of the 70, 000 people have Russian passports. For the rest of Georgia, the pictures are rather different. Our correspondent, Natalia Antelava, traveled to the town of Gori, near the border from where she sent this report.

rash of something: a large number of unpleasant events, changes etc within a short time.