"I leave myself in the hands of the people." - Pervez Musharraf

Aug.18.- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, facing impeachment on charges drawn up by the governing coalition, has announced that he is resigning.

He went on national TV to say that while he was confident the charges would not stand, this was not the time for more confrontation. [ See video ]

He is accused of violation of the constitution and gross misconduct.

The Speaker of the Pakistani Senate, Muhammad Mian Sumroo, automatically took over as caretaker president.

Mr Musharraf has been a key ally of the US in its "war on terror" since he took power in a bloodless coup in 1999 ...

US reveals that Russia wants "regime change", but a Russian veto is expected against any kind of Security Council resolution

United Nations, Aug.10.-

Aug. 8.- Georgian soldiers, tanks and fighter-planes struck Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway (Russian-backed) region of South Ossetia, on Friday August 8th. Parts of the city were reported to be burning as Georgia’s president, Mikheil Saakashvili, declared that his forces had “freed” much of the area from separatist control.

The immediate cause of the fighting is unclear as claim and counterclaim abound. But what is clear is that a conflict which has been simmering for years, has at last erupted. What happens next will depend almost entirely on Russia’s response: 150 Russian tanks were reported to be entering South Ossetia on Friday. Georgia's government says that Russian planes have dropped bombs outside of South Ossetia including on the edge of Tblisi, the Georgian capital. Alexander Lomaia, the secretary of Georgia's National Security Council, told The Economist on Friday that “this is an open military aggression and we are now at the state of undeclared war with Russia. What else could you call it?”. He also said that Georgia had announced a ceasefire in South Ossetia from 3pm on Friday.

Blocked for years UN efforts to send a peacekeeping force to block genocide

Aug.5 (AP).- China has been the "most egregious violator" of a worldwide arms embargo, providing Sudan with the vast majority of its small arms and weapons used for mass murder in Darfur province, a private study group is charging.

The arms and also political support are being swapped for access to the African country’s oil reserves, according to a report issued on the eve of the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
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Recognizing fast-developing China’s need for energy, William Hartung, a veteran foreign policy analyst and author of the report for the New America Foundation, said the United States might consider energy cooperation with Beijing so it does not rely for oil on Sudan and other repressive regimes. The foundation is a private liberal group.

In 2004, the U.N. Security Council imposed an arms embargo on all groups operating in Darfur. The next year, the Council extended the ban to the government. The United States and several European countries have tried unsuccessfully to expand the sanctions.