Moscow, August 16
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today signed the plan for a ceasefire in Georgia that his Georgian counterpart reluctantly agreed to a day earlier, setting the stage for a Russian troop withdrawal after more than a week of warfare.

The Russian leader signed the order in the resort city of Sochi, where the president has a summer residence, Medvedev spokesman Alexei Pavlov said.

The ceasefire plan calls for Russian forces to withdraw to the positions they held before the fighting broke out in Georgia’s Russian-backed separatist province of South Ossetia.

That appears to mean that hundreds of Russian soldiers who had been in South Ossetia previously as peacekeepers will be allowed to return.

The plan also grants Russian forces limited rights to patrol Georgia proper, apparently with the aim of discouraging the Georgian military or partisans from establishing forward positions near South Ossetia.

Less clear so far is whether Georgia would be able to return its soldiers to the areas in South Ossetia where its peacekeepers had been stationed. But any attempt by Georgia to do that would run into towering opposition.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili signed the deal yesterday in Tbilisi after lengthy talks with Washington’s top diplomat Condoleezza Rice.

The deputy chief of the Russian military’s general staff, General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said today that “the head of our state has made it clear that the Georgian side, appearing in the future as peacekeepers, is now, after what has happened, unacceptable to South Ossetia.

Russian troops had been seen digging foxholes and tank emplacements along a key Georgian road earlier today. It was not immediately clear if any troops had begun pulling back after Medvedev signed the ceasefire. — AP

She added, "The rest of the coterie that wields power behind this administration, the attorney general and the interior minister for instance, also happen to be unelected. They serve, and I use the term ever so lightly, by appointment only. Some 170 million Pakistanis have lived under military rule of law for nine years. Musharraf stepping down from his army post has not changed that."

PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said the Pakistan People’s Party, being the majority party, had the right to appoint its own President once Musharraf was gone.

In an interview with Express News, Zardari said Musharraf would have to resign or face impeachment as there was no third option. “The trial of Musharraf is also not impossible,” he added.

He said it was up to the coalition partners and the people of Pakistan to decide Musharraf’s fate after impeachment. Zardari denied the impression that he is impeding the reinstatement of the sacked judges.

He said he had no differences with sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and he would not become a hurdle in anybody’s career.

To a question about senior PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim’s possible support for the President in case of impeachment, Zardari said the Sindh Assembly had given its verdict, and asked what the President was left with if he did not even have the support of one MP.

He said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and the federal Cabinet were independent, and that the decision to nominate Gilani as Prime Minister was taken after consultations with coalition partners.

He said the US aid to Pakistan army was being given through civilian government, adding that the government had taken the aid from only $ 60 million to $ 360 million. The government believed in dialogue and development in FATA, he added.

In an interview with Dawn News, Zardari said political differences between the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz were bound to emerge after Musharraf’s removal, but the coalition would not fall apart.

He said his recent remarks about the $ 700 million aid given to Pakistan during Musharraf’s tenure aimed at telling the world that the aid was inadequate and had not reached the army.

He said the world had been giving aid to a dictatorial government that used it to “support itself” and did not divert it to the army for which it was actually meant.

He said the ISI was under the control of the Prime Minister and the recent controversy about it was the result of a clerical mistake.

He said the credit for free media in Pakistan went partly to the PPP, as it was Benazir Bhutto who laid down the foundation of free media in Pakistan.

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has given September 15 as yet another deadline to the government to reinstate the judges sacked by President Pervez Musharaf last year.

SCBA president Aitzaz Ahsan announced the deadline at a press briefing at the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench Bar Association office. Justice Tariq Mehmood and bar President Sardar Azmatullah were also present.

“We trust in the coalition government and believe it will reinstate the sacked judges within three days of the possible impeachment of Musharraf,” Aitzaz said.

“If the sacked judges are not reinstated by September 15, a countrywide agitation movement will be started and lawyers will stage sit-ins,” Aitzaz said, adding that lawyers would not accept the ‘minus-one’ formula.

He appealed to the nation to celebrate “Independence Day” if Musharraf was removed through impeachment or he resigned.

He said lawyers were not in favour of giving a safe passage to Musharraf and that the president should be tried for “abrogating the constitution, imposing a martial law and arresting judges”.

Females are similar, but less vibrant. A distinctive white dot in front of each eye helps distinguish the species. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

125 Indians get UN peacekeeping medal
NEW YORK: As many as 125 Indian police officers, including 10 women, were awarded the UN peacekeeping medal at a spirited ceremony in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the occasion of the India’s Independence Day. The Indian police unit, based in Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, has served with the UN Mission, known as MONUC, since February this year. They are responsible for protecting the staff and facilities of MONUC. — PTI

Ex-bishop new Paraguay President
ASUNCION (PARAGUAY): Leftist ex-bishop Fernando Lugo shoved aside Paraguay's infamous 61-year history of one-party rule as he took office with promises to end corruption and hunger in the poor South American nation. Lugo spoke in Spanish and the indigenous Guarani language, pledging to end the poverty and trade in black market goods that defined Paraguay under the Colorado Party, which had ruled since 1947. — AP

Teachers allowed to carry guns in school
Harrold: A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings when classes begin this month. Ken Trump, a Cleveland-based school security expert, who advises districts nationwide, said Harrold was the first district with such a policy. For employees to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas licence, training in crisis management and hostile situations and ammunition designed to minimise the risk of ricocheting bullets. — AFP

3,000 families flee Mexico
CIUDAD JUAREZ: Mounting drug-related violence and 800 murders so far this year have driven 3,000 families from the Mexico town of Ciudad Juarez into the US, a border expert said. Mayor of Ciudad Juarez Jose Reyes Ferriz said on Friday that he knew some families had left to live in El Paso out of fear of the city’s violence. However, he had no figures. In escalating violence , the city of 1.5 million has registered 800 homicides so far. Experts said the figure was triple that of the whole of last year. — AFP

Call for bulletproof bras
LONDON: Bulletproof bras should be made available to female British police officers, a leading police figure said, according to newspapers. The new bras, which have recently been handed to front-line female German police officers, come with the word “police” in capital letters. Julie Nesbit, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales' Central Constables' Committee, called for the sports-bra style garments to be introduced in Britain. Germany’s federal police had begun distributing the wireless safety bras, a spokesman said earlier this month. — AFP