Month: August 2008

GEORGIAN OIL PIPELINE: THE FRONT LINE
Ben Macintyre

Times Online
August 13, 2008
UK

The BTC pipeline was conceived in the 1990s as a way of reducing the
West’s reliance on oil and gas from the Middle East and, crucially,
Russia. Now it is under threat. At stake are the balance of power in
the Caucasus, and the vital questions of how, and where, the US and
Europe will obtain their oil.

Snaking 155 miles across Georgia is a man-made underground river of
crude oil. An astonishing feat of engineering, the oil pipeline is
a barely visible gash in the earth and measures just 34 inches in
diameter at its narrowest, yet it represents a vital artery in the
circulation of global energy, and a key to understanding the conflict
between Georgia and Russia raging above ground just a few miles away.

The pipeline meets just 1 per cent of the global demand for oil,
but it carries enormous political significance. For Georgia, it
represents independence from Russian hegemony, a physical, political
and economic link to Europe that is outside Moscow’s control. For the
West, the pipe is a small but crucial counterbalance to our growing
dependence on Russian oil and gas. For Moscow, the pipe represents part
of a systematic attempt to reduce Russian influence in the Caucasus,
a thorn in the paw of the bear.

The pipe runs just 35 miles south of South Ossetia: by stamping its
military authority on Georgia, Russia is simultaneously reasserting
its control over the region and, by implication, the pipeline.

As the conflict rages, Georgian authorities have repeatedly accused
Russian jet fighters of targeting the oil pipeline with bombs,
accusations that Moscow has denied. Oil may not be the cause of the
war between Georgia and Russia, but it is a central element in the
wider geo-strategic picture, and a source of incendiary tension that
has helped to inflame the area.

At stake is not merely the balance of power in the Caucasus but,
by extension, the vital question of how the US and Europe will
secure enough oil to power the cities and machines on which modern
life depends.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, the second longest in
the world, connects the oil fields of the Caspian Sea with the
Mediterranean coast of Turkey; it runs for 1,100 miles, through
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, and pumps one million barrels of
oil a day to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, where the oil is loaded on
to supertankers.

The BTC pipe, owned by an energy consortium led by BP, is the only
way to bring significant quantities of oil from the Caspian fields
while bypassing both Russia and Iran. Georgia has no significant oil
or gas reserves of its own, but thanks to the pipeline it has become
a crucial conduit, harking back to its ancient role as a trade link
between Europe and Asia.

More than that, the pipeline is a central element in Georgia’s
independence from Russia. In the words of Georgia’s President
Saakashvili, "All strategic contracts in Georgia, especially the
contract for the Caspian pipeline, are a matter of survival for the
Georgian state." Saakashvili’s miscalculation was to assume that
Western reliance on Caspian oil would translate into material support
against Russian aggression.

The BTC pipeline was conceived in the 1990s as a way of reducing the
West’s reliance on oil and gas from Russia and the Middle East. The oil
reserves beneath the landlocked Caspian Sea are thought to be vast,
perhaps as much as 200 billion barrels, compared to the estimated
260 billion barrels in Saudi Arabia.

History ensured that the pipeline would follow a tortuous route. To
get the oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey meant passing through Iran,
Georgia or Armenia. Hostile and unpredictable Iran was out of the
question. The long, bitter dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, and the lingering historical feud between Armenia and
Turkey over claims of genocide during and just after the First World
War, also ruled out Armenia. The route through Georgia, circuitous
and physic- ally challenging, was selected as the most practical.

Russia, predictably, was opposed from the start, fearing that the
independent pipeline would reduce its global energy clout, undermine
its regional influence and perhaps pave the way for the introduction
of Western troops into Georgia to defend the pipeline.

In the Soviet era, all oil routes from the Caspian passed through
Russia. The BTC pipeline therefore represented a direct challenge in
Russian eyes, economic, political and highly symbolic. Despite the
formidable logistical challenges, and Moscow’s continued opposition,
construction began in 2002, and was completed, astonishingly, in
just two years. Built from 150,000 lengths of pipe each 12 metres
long, it crosses an estimated 1,500 streams and rivers, the largest,
at Ceyhan, 1,600ft wide; it traverses mountain ranges and roads,
railways and power lines. More than 15,000 builders and engineers
worked on its construction, and 400 archaeologists were deployed by
BP to sift through the artefacts unearthed by the diggers.

For most of its length, the pipe is buried in a trench at least
a metre deep, to protect it from terrorist attack. In many parts,
only a strip of land where the vegetation has not fully grown back
betrays its meandering path.

The pipeline also faced vigorous opposition from environmentalists
pointing out that the pipe runs through pristine areas of wilderness,
many prone to violent earthquakes, including the beautiful
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park in Georgia.

The section of pipeline running through Georgia is the shortest of
the three. Here it is patrolled by camouflaged, American-trained
anti-terrorist units, defending the supply from possible attack by
South Ossetian or Abkhazian secessionists.

The pipeline is similarly guarded in Turkey but, stretching over
670 miles, it is far harder to defend. Indeed, the pipe is currently
shut down as a precautionary measure after suspected Kurdish rebels
attacked a pumping station in the wilds of eastern Turkey on August
6. The resulting fire was finally extinguished on Monday.

BP yesterday announced that it has closed two more gas and oil
pipelines, the south Caucasus gas pipeline and a second oil line
running to Supsa on the Black Sea.

The Georgian section of the BTC pipe was inaugurated in October 2005,
by a delighted President Saakashvili, and the first oil was pumped
into a waiting supertanker at Ceyhan in May 2006.

The entire project cost an estimated $4 billion, underwritten by UK
taxpayers through the Export Credits Guarantee Department. Fully
operational, the pipe can pump one million barrels of oil a
day, with oil rushing through the pipe at the rate of 2 metres a
second. Alongside the oil pipe runs the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline,
taking natural gas to Erzerum in Turkey.

The sheer scale, ambition and potential vulnerability of the pipeline
project seized the public imagination far beyond the region. Most
notably, a fictional version of the BTC pipeline appeared in the 1999
James Bond film The World is Not Enough starring Pierce Brosnan. In
the film, Sophie Marceau plays Elektra King, a half-Azeri oil heiress
responsible for an oil pipeline linking the Caspian and Mediterranean.

The real pipeline earns Georgia some $62 million a year in transit
fees but the dividends are as much political as economic. The former
Georgian President, Eduard Shevardnadze, one of the project’s principal
architects, saw the pipeline as a guarantee of Georgia’s stability,
a way of binding the West to Georgian independence.

That view was loudly echoed by the West, to Russia’s continued
annoyance. "The US has consistently supported BTC because we believe
in the project’s ability to bolster global energy security," George
W. Bush declared recently. The US has also pushed for the building
of a pipeline across the Caspian, which could link up Turkmenistan’s
oil reserves to the BTC, potentially vastly increasing the amount of
oil flowing West and bypassing Russia.

Viewed from Moscow, the BTC is an economic irritant, just as Georgia,
angling for Nato membership and buoyed by Western support, is a
political threat to its regional power. Russia has not hesitated to
use its oil and gas power as a political weapon in the past: in 2006,
Russia’s Gazprom threatened to cut off natural gas supplies to Georgia
in the middle of winter.

Russia currently supplies one quarter of the oil and half the gas
consumed in Europe – a level of dependency that at once explains
the West’s enthusiasm for an alternative supply route, Russia’s
resentment and, fatally, Georgia’s misplaced confidence in Western
support. Optimistic Georgians refer to BTC as the "pipeline of peace",
yet it has played an important role in the war that has now erupted.

There is simply not yet enough crude oil flowing down the pipe to
wean the oil-thirsty West from dependence on Russia and the Middle
East, and certainly not enough to prompt US military intervention in
defence of Georgian independence.

The Caspian oil flowing beneath its land represented Georgia’s
dowry to the West; when running at full bore $1 billion worth of oil
gurgles through the pipe every ten days. So far the Georgian section
of pipeline is still intact. The bonanza will start to flow again –
and will only increase in importance as other Caspian reserves come on
stream – unless, that is, Russia can intervene and wreck the marriage.

Power in the pipeline: Why the BTC matters

It was controversial from the start. Now President Saakashvili
claims that Georgia’s BTC oil pipeline was a key reason for the
Russian offensive.

When it was conceived in the 1990s, the pipeline was backed by the
US and Britain as a way to reduce Western dependence on Russian
and Middle-Eastern oil. UK taxpayers even underwrote some of the
$3billion construction costs. But Russia always opposed it, wanting to
maintain its grip on the vast resources of the former Soviet Caspian
region. Its strategic value is clear. At current prices it carries
more than $1billion worth of crude oil every ten days.

Strangely, when the current war broke out, the pipeline, which
is 30 per cent owned by BP, was closed. Just 48 hours before
Georgian troops made their ill-fated incursion into South Ossetia,
a mysterious fire broke out several hundred kilometres away in the
Turkish section. Kurdish rebels later claimed responsibility, though
there is still some uncertainty about the cause.

So far, oil markets have not reacted strongly to the war despite
reports that the Russians have tried to bomb the pipeline. The
market has preferred to focus on signs that global oil consumption
is slowing as the world economy has weakened. But a sustained war in
the Caucasus or efforts by Russia to seize control of the pipeline
would create the threat of higher prices – and hence more expensive
petrol on UK forecourts.

Many people have another stake in the future of the pipeline through
their ownership of shares in BP, Britain’s largest company, although
as pension-holders they may well not know that the funds they depend
on hold such shares.

With the depletion of reserves from the North Sea, oil from the Caspian
region is of growing importance to Europe. As North Sea oil declines,
high-quality crude from Azerbaijan is helping to take up the slack –
and the BTC is likely to become even more important as the taps are
opened on the vast new oilfields of Central Asia.

When it was discovered in 2000, Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oilfield
was the largest found since the 1960s. It has not yet entered
commercial production – but when it does, the BTC will be its route
to market. Understandably, Russia wants control over these reserves,
which are of growing strategic importance to global energy supplies.

While oil prices tend to be influenced by shorter-term factors,
the prospect of direct Russian control of the BTC pipeline would be
unwelcome in the West, bolstering the Kremlin’s dominance over our
energy future. This is one key reason why the current conflict is
raising hackles in the West.

ERGENEKON INDICTMENT REOPENS GENDARMERIE MAJOR’S MURDER CASE

Today’s Zaman
13 August 2008, Wednesday
Turkey

An investigation into Ergenenekon, a shadowy network whose
suspected members are accused of having planned and staged attacks
and assassinations for the ultimate aim of toppling the government,
has prompted state prosecutors to take a fresh look at the murder of
a gendarmerie major, a case closed as unresolved 15 years ago.

Documents and evidence seized in raids and searches in the homes
and offices of suspects during the Ergenekon investigation — which
started in the summer of 2007 and has expanded to its current state
where at least 80 people are being indicted, including retired army
members — have shown that the group was linked to the assassination
of Cem Ersever, a gendarmerie commander killed in November 1993 after
being kidnapped.

The Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office, which had investigated the
Erserver murder last May, requested and received from the Ä°stanbul
Prosecutor’s Office files on Ersever, which were found during a
search in the home of retired Gen. Veli Kucuk, a major suspect in the
investigation thought to have masterminded many of the organization’s
politically motivated attacks.

Documents seized in the Ergenekon investigation and submitted to a
court of law last month in a 2,455 page indictment, plus more than
400 folders of evidence supporting accusations, shed light on most
of Turkey’s unresolved murder cases — mostly assassinations of
journalists, high-ranking security officials and academics — that
occurred in the 1990s. Files found on JÄ°TEM — a secret intelligence
agency with no legitimate basis and the existence of which has been
denied officially despite substantial evidence to the contrary —
include information that might be key to solving the Ersever case,
even after 15 years.

Ersever’s secret archive

Ersever was a former major who left the army after Gendarmerie
Commander Gen. Etref Bitlis was killed in a suspicious plane
crash. Ersever, in a confession made to the press after he left the
army, informed the public of figures who would later become notorious
in Turkey after a car crash in 1996 in the town of Susurluk. The
car crash — in which a police chief and an internationally sought
criminal were killed, and a deputy who had led a southeastern Kurdish
clan armed by the state against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
was seriously injured — confirmed for the first time the Turkish
public’s suspicions of a "deep state."

Ersever’s confessions were later compiled in a number of books by
author Soner Yalcın. Before his assassination, the major also said
he had been in charge of JÄ°TEM’s southeastern operations.

Ersever’s body was found in Ankara on Nov. 4, 1993. His girlfriend
and right-hand man were also killed, and his archive disappeared.

The archive, which had been lost for more than a decade and reappeared
in Kucuk’s house, might also shed light on the unlawful activities
Ersever did for JÄ°TEM.

Prosecutor investigates PKK Ergenekon link

Ergenekon prosecutors have demanded records of all contacts the jailed
founder and leader of the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
has had during his stay as the sole inmate of the İmralı prison
island. A notice discovered by the press this week, addressing the
Bursa Prosecutor’s Office and written on June 27, demands the records
of all of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan’s contacts.

In the response note, Bursa prosecutors agree to share records of
Ocalan meetings with his lawyers but will withhold records of his
conversations with other persons, saying these should be requested
directly from the İmralı Prison administration.

The news that the prosecutors have already acted comes one day
after the Vatan newspaper reported that Ocalan said he has important
information to share with the prosecution. The notice shows that the
prosecutors have acted before him. The prosecutors have yet to decide
whether to call Ocalan to testify as a witness.

The 2,455 page indictment backed by more than 400 folders of evidence
against the suspected Ergenekon members, who include retired senior
army generals, academics, civil society representatives, journalists
and mafia leaders, draws links between the PKK and the Ergenekon
network. The indictment presents evidence and witness accounts clearly
suggesting that the members of the organization who formerly worked
in various intelligence units of the state had used the PKK to shift
public opinion in favor of their agenda, which aimed to eventually
trigger a military coup.

Malatya, Dink and Santoro murders

The investigation has also uncovered evidence linking Ergenekon
to the assassination of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in
January of last year, the killing of Italian priest Father Andrea
Santoro in February 2006 and the brutal murders of three Christians,
one a German national, killed in the province of Malatya in April
of last year. In all three cases, the perpetrators were uneducated,
violent, ultranationalist young men. Lawyers and prosecutors have
claimed obstruction of evidence on the part of security officials in
the Dink and Malatya murder trials.

The Ergenekon indictment, prepared by public prosecutors Zekeriya Oz,
Mehmet Ali Pekguzel and Nihat TaÅ~_kın, also offers evidence linking
the group to the murder of a secularist judge in a shooting in 2006,
the attempted murder of former Higher Education Board (YOK) President
Erdogan Tezic and a hand grenade attack at the Cumhuriyet daily,
known for its staunch secularism.

"Given the purpose and consequences of these attacks, it is obvious
that they were orchestrated from a single center, seeking to create
chaos, anarchy, terror, disorder and conflict in Turkey and embarrass
the nation before the international community," the prosecutors
wrote. They noted, however, that they had failed to offer enough
evidence from the Dink, Malatya and Santoro murders due to the
structure of the Ergenekon organization, which is made up of cells
that are unaware of and unconnected to each other.

A master plan to create the ideal woman

One of the most curious documents seized during the Ergenekon operation
is a file titled the "Turkish Woman Master Plan," depicting the ideal
Turkish woman in the minds of the organization’s administrators and
methods to make the women in society closer to this ideal prototype.

The plan, which also lists the negative characteristics of Turkish
women, says: "They are socially passive. They live in the past and
have no expectations or confidence for the future." However, it also
praises Turkish women, using almost literary language for their love
of the motherland.

The plan to create the ideal woman makes the following observations
about Turkish women: "The literacy rate of our women is very low. They
have no economic independence. They have accepted poverty as an
act of fate, and their personalities have been suppressed. They
have no confidence. They are afraid to think, and they are in
a state of laziness of thought. They are inclined to believe in
superstitions. They are ineffective inside the family. They have
no knowledge of our Central Asian roots. The properties of our
matriarchal family structural have been erased from their minds. Their
personalities are mostly cowardly or they don’t care about others. They
are under sexual oppression. Their religious preferences are under
the influence of men."

The plan, which seeks to bring the Turkish woman to an effective
position in the "social, political, economic, cultural and educational"
spheres, also went into the indictment as proof of Ergenekon’s social
engineering plans.

Ergenekon phone transcripts reveal secrets

Meanwhile, transcripts of dozens of Ergenekon suspects monitored
by the prosecution for months during the investigation have been
revealing interesting secrets. Records of phone conversations of
Ergenekon suspect Ä°lhan Selcuk, publisher and chief columnist of the
staunchly secularist Cumhuriyet daily, have already made public the
results of a survey showing that Cumhuriyet’s readers did not read
the daily’s columnists, contrary to what had been published previously.

In the transcript, Selcuk tells the person on the other end of the
line that a survey has shown that nobody is interested in their
columnists, but that he will order a false report prepared showing
the opposite of this. In another conversation, he praises an Ak?am
columnist for an anti-religion article, saying, "Yes he is smart,
but he is a homosexual."

–Boundary_(ID_9gjJyXLqi7emCRCN 20lVGw)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIA LOSES WHILE BATTLEGROUND EXPANDS
By Sä°Nan Oä~^An*

Today’s Zaman
Aug 12, 2008
Turkey

The operation initiated by Georgia in an effort to preserve its
territorial integrity and maintain constitutional order took on another
dimension with the involvement of Russia; there is now the danger that
the war may spread all over the region. Meanwhile, Abkhazia attacked
Georgian units stationed in the Kodor Valley, which Georgian forces
have occupied since 2006. With South Ossetia’s official call for
Russian help, the war to maintain constitutional order has turned
into a South Ossetia-Abkhazia-Russia war against Georgia.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili issued a document indicating
that the country is in a state of war and referred it to parliament
for approval; parliament endorsed the document. The Russian General
Staff insisted that this is not a state of war, stressing that Russian
actions sought only to protect Russian citizens in the region. Georgia
asked for a cease-fire despite that the fact that it had declared
war against Russia.

Perhaps the date of Aug. 8 was chosen for a reason, as at the time
the international community was busy watching the inauguration of
the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Putin and many other word leaders
were in that city.

The first promise Saakashvili made to the Georgian people after the
Rose Revolution in 2003 was to preserve the country’s territorial
integrity. Georgia had three autonomous regions when it declared
independence from Russia. Two — Abkhazia and Ossetia — gained
independence. Only Ajaria was out of the conflict. Turkey’s role was
indispensable in this, as it actually acted as a guarantor in regards
to Ajaria. But Turkey never brought that up.

Saakashvili decided to start with the weakest of the three,
Ajaria. After sending Ajarian President Aslan Abatidze to Moscow, he
annulled the autonomous status of the region. The people of Ajaria,
a predominantly Muslim region that had been included in the borders
at the time of the Turkish National Oath (Misak-ı Milli during the
Ottoman era), were forced to convert to Christianity. A cross was
included on the Ajarian flag.

Next Saakashvili targeted South Ossetia, the second-weakest of the
three regions. But Russia did not let this happen.

In effect, Russia has had a pretext for this war for some time, as
most citizens of South Ossetia have become Russian citizens. Moreover,
Russia has stationed peacekeeping troops in the region. Russia has
also imposed an embargo upon Georgia. Therefore, Russia is trying
to take the Georgians out of South Ossetia in order to protect its
citizens and troops and to destroy Georgia’s infrastructure and
industrial capabilities.

The involvement of Russia in the conflict has forced Saakashvili to
ask for a cease-fire. This situation shows that Georgia will be the
losing party in the conflict. If the current scenario continues this
way, South Ossetia and Abkhazia will break away from Georgia. There
will be no peaceful means to ensure that these republics will remain
attached to Georgia.

It is necessary to review the developments, which have taken on a
regional dimension and now include Russia and Abkhazia, despite the
fact that the conflict started between Georgia and South Ossetia.

US, NATO and the EU:

The US, the EU and NATO have stressed that they support the territorial
integrity of Georgia. While some countries such as Denmark have made
strong statements against Russia, no concrete step has been taken
by the EU or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE). It should be noted that Russia’s ability to threaten Europe’s
energy security as well as its military and diplomatic strength has
played a determinative role in Europe’s ineptness.

It does not seem logical to think that Georgia initiated the South
Ossetia operation without informing the West — NATO, the US,
etc. It is also impossible to argue that Georgia did not consider
probable Russian involvement after initiation of the operation. So
why did Georgia take this action knowing that it would lead to
confrontation with Russia? It is not logical that Georgia did not
consider this. Only one option remains: Georgia started this war
knowing that a confrontation with Russia would occur. In so doing,
it might have sought to drag Russia into a regional conflict.

What are the strategic considerations of Russia in this
operation? These could include the following:

–Russia will be dragged into an ethnic conflict in the region to make
sure that it is labeled by the international community as an aggressor.

— Georgia will seek help from the US and NATO when it requires a
hand because it is aware that it cannot deal with Russia on its own.

–Georgia’s membership in NATO will be facilitated

–The Olympics, held in China, — the US’s biggest rival — will lose
importance because of the Russian-Georgian conflict.

–Attention will be taken away from the American elections

–Probably Israel and the US will strike Iran at a time when Russia
is busy with this regional conflict.

The list may be expanded. But there is one vague point: To what extent
will the US be supportive of Georgia? Statements from US authorities
have so far been mild at best, asking for immediate Russian withdrawal
and maintenance of Georgian territorial integrity. A harsher US stance
will be important for a better understanding of potential scenarios
in the region. On the other hand, Saakashvili called for a cease-fire
when he realized that the help he was expecting would never arrive.

The ongoing conflict between Russia and Georgia will also have
repercussions in the region, causing separations and partitions. Maybe
the potential for this has existed for a long time, but the lines were
never drawn so clearly. Now the current statements made by different
countries clearly distinguish the sides and parties in the region.

This war clarified the lines among the countries in the region
and distinguished one from the other. Azerbaijan, neighbor to
both Georgia and the Russian Federation, issued a statement that
it supported Georgian territorial integrity, implying that it was
extending diplomatic support to Georgia in relation to the South
Ossetian problem.

Azeri support for Georgia is understandable. Azerbaijan, which
sympathizes with Georgia because of the Armenian occupation of
Nagorno-Karabakh, supports Georgian territorial integrity. It
is expected that Azerbaijan will resort to violence to regain the
Nagorno-Karabakh region if this is not done via peaceful means in the
middle term. Azeri President Ä°lham Aliyev and the defense minister
made clear statements reaffirming this stance.

While Azerbaijan supports Georgia in the conflict, Armenia openly
supports Russia and even became party to the clash. It is rumored that
when Russian military jets bombed Georgian military bases in Vaziani
and Marnauil near Tbilisi, which are unofficially used by the US and
NATO, the jets had taken off from Armenia. This proves that Armenia
has joined the war on the side of Russia. Kazakhstan also tends to
support Russia in the conflict.

Within the region, Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries have
taken Georgia’s side. Ukraine, which has ongoing problems with Russia,
declared that it would extend any kind of support with the exception
of weaponry to Georgia. Poland took action to ensure that the EU and
NATO take steps toward a decision to defend Georgia against Russian
aggression. In general the countries that have problems with Russia
in the region have taken a supportive stance toward Georgia in the
conflict.

Turkey is one of the most sensitive countries involved in this
conflict. Turkey has made clear that it does not support separatist
movements because of similar problems that Azerbaijan has been
facing. For this reason, it supports the territorial integrity of
states with separatist problems. However, it also has refrained
from moves that will harm its sensitive relations with Russia. It
is well-known that Turkey equips Georgian military units, provides
technical support for the Georgian army and even repaired a military
airport in that country. In general, Turkey extends military support
to Georgia. The Russian press has emphasized that Turkey is at the
top of the list of countries extending support to Georgia.

Another reason Turkey is concerned is that Georgia is a transit
country for Turkey. The country hosts important pipelines and
transport corridors. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, the
Shah Deniz-Erzurum gas pipeline and the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku (KTB)
railway project are all factors that increase Turkey’s concerns.

There are many sides behind this war. We cannot take the issue
as a mere Georgian-South Ossetian war. Russia is at the heart of
the conflict. Turkey supports Georgia because of their strategic
ties. Moreover, Turkey favors Georgia’s territorial integrity in
principle because Azerbaijan is dealing with a similar problem in
Karabakh. On the other hand, the northern Caucasian peoples support
South Ossetia. There is a sizeable Caucasian diaspora in Turkey
that generally supports South Ossetia. Moreover, Turkey has deepened
its strategic relations with Russia. In this case, Turkey cannot be
expected to take sides with either party.

Turkey may assume a role of mediation in this conflict as it has in
Middle Eastern conflicts because the involvement of Russia and the
voluntary support of the Caucasian peoples will make the situation
more difficult for Georgia. Georgia asked for Turkey’s support when
Russia became involved in the war and started bombing peaceful areas
outside the war zone. What can Turkey do at this point? The situation
is sensitive. Therefore, Turkey should assume the role of mediator to
ensure that the issue is discussed in UN circles and that peace is
maintained. And of course, Turkey should consider the humanitarian
aspect of the conflict and provide relief aid for people in the
conflict zone.

Is there any possibility that the energy and communication lines
will be harmed by the war? According to the Energy Ministry, the
answer is no. However, arguing that the BTC will not be bombed while
other locations within Georgian borders are being bombed — such as
the Port of Poti, the Vaziani military base and the unofficial US
military base in Marnauli, a predominantly Azeri region — must be an
attempt to calm the public. Otherwise, there is no other explanation
for this. On the other hand, it should be recalled that these lines
pass through a predominantly Armenian region, and in consideration
of this, some lines may be harmed.

*Sinan Ogan is the president of the Turkish Center for International
and Strategic Analysis (TURKSAM).

–Boundary_(ID_LJE6m5S+StdYhrDS1GDVPQ) —

GOOGLE: WE DID NOT ERASE MAPS OF GEORGIA
By Miguel Helft

New York Times Blogs
August 12, 2008, 6:51 pm
NY

UPDATE 8:05 PM, Google explains why it never had maps of Georgia

My colleague John Markoff wrote earlier today about the barrage of
cyber-attacks on Georgia’s technology infrastructure. Others have
covered the story as well.

But not all stories appear to be accurate. Several reports suggest
that data from Georgia and the neighboring countries of Armenia
and Azerbaijan has been stripped from Google Maps. One story says
that "the relevant maps went blank as soon as fighting broke out,"
according to the Azerbaijan Press Agency.

Google says that’s not so. While its Web maps shows only the outlines
of those three countries — without roads or even the capital cities
marked — Google says that the lack of information is not new.

"Google has not made any recent change to Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan in Google Maps," the company said in a statement. "We do
not have local data for those countries and that is why local details
such as landmarks and cities do not appear."

Browsing Google Maps, only a few countries appear to lack any data at
all. They include small nations like Guyana and Suriname; countries
that are largely close to foreigners, such as North Korea; and a few
surprising ones, like South Korea and Argentina.

Interestingly, Google Earth, the company 3-D geographic visualization
service, identifies many Georgian cities, and it allows users to
zoom in to them close enough to see individual buildings. So Google
Earth clearly has some "local data" on the countries that are blank
on Google Maps.

Microsoft’s rival mapping service, Virtual Earth, pinpoints dozens
on cities in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Update: In a blog post late Tuesday, Google said it never filled
in the maps of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan because it wasn’t
satisfied with the map data available. But after users complained
that a little information is better than no information, the company
said it is planning to start adding map data to countries that are
currently blank.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TWO AIRZENA PLANES PICK UP ISRAELIS STRANDED IN GEORGIA
By Zohar Blumenkrantz and Yuval Azoulay

Ha’aretz
Wed., August 13, 2008
Israel

Airzena Georgian Airways operated two flights last night from Tbilisi
to Ben-Gurion International Airport – one flight landed at 9 P.M. and
the other was set to touch down at 1 A.M. today.

Airzena CEO Tango Simon told Haaretz that the two flights, on 737s,
were completely full, with about 120 passengers on each flight,
mainly tourists and businessmen. Advertisement

There were 70 passengers on the return flight from Ben-Gurion to
Tbilisi, about half the number of ticket holders. The rest of the
passengers had canceled their ticket.

On the second flight back to Tbilisi, Airzena was to fly humanitarian
aid only, with no passengers scheduled to be onboard.

The landing in Tbilisi yesterday of two El Al planes sent to evacuate
Israelis from Georgia was coordinated with Russia, so Russian fighter
jets would not harm the planes or interfere with the landing, Haaretz
has learned.

The government chartered the flights from El Al Israel Airlines at
a cost between $70,000 and $80,000 per flight.

The decision to evacuate the Israelis on special El Al flights was
made around midnight Monday, after it became clear that overland
evacuations via neighboring countries like Azerbaijan, Armenia or
Turkey – followed by special flights on Arkia – were not practical.

On the second flight back to Tbilisi, the Health Ministry was to fly
2.5 tons of medical equipment including bandages and other battlefield
medical gear to Tbilisi.

The Health Ministry said yesterday that the shipment of the equipment
followed a request from the Foreign Ministry.

Army Radio reported yesterday that over the past few days, around
60 Jewish families in Georgia have approached Jewish Agency
representatives for help in moving to Israel.

AGENCIES MOBILISE FOR GEORGIA RELIEF AS FOREIGNERS FLY HOME

Gulf Times
13 August, 2008, 01:28 AM
Qatar

Airport employees load aid supplies for Georgia into an aircraft at
Cointrin airport in Geneva. The International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) is sending 15 tonnes of medicines and medical supplies
to Georgia as well as water treatment plants and distribution tanks
capable of holding safe drinking water for 20,000 people PARIS: Aid
agencies mobilised yesterday to help an estimated 100,000 Georgians
displaced by the fighting, as foreigners evacuated from the country
flew into Paris with tales of the devastation.

A first flight from the UN’s refugee agency landed in Tbilisi airport
yesterday carrying tents, jerry cans, blankets and kitchen equipment,
UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva.

A second was due to fly out from Copenhagen today, he added.

Combined, that meant an extra 70 tonnes of supplies for up to
30,000 people, to supplement material already distributed from UNHCR
warehouses in Georgia.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said a plane
with 15 tonnes of medical supplies and material to support water
distribution was due to arrive in Tbilisi.

ICRC spokeswoman Anna Nelson said they had also been asked to help
about 1,500 people in the breakaway region of Abkhazia, western
Georgia.

The UN World Food Programme in Tbilisi said they had distributed
food to 2,000 displaced people, but said the numbers arriving in the
Georgian capital were rising.

In all, nearly 100,000 people had been forced to flee their homes
because of the conflict, according to the UNHCR.

The figures, supplied by Georgia and Russia, suggested that some 30,000
South Ossetians had moved into North Ossetia, where the UNCHR said it
was ready to help the Russian authorities. Another 12,000 displaced
were inside South Ossetia itself.

A few thousand had moved south from South Ossetia into Georgia proper,
while 56,000 people from the Gori region in Georgia – 80% of the local
population – had also fled the fighting, most heading towards Tbilisi.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres meanwhile approved
the release of $2mn (1.3mn euros) in emergency aid.

On Monday, Washington made $250,000 available to Georgia for emergency
relief. The European Union announced $1.5mn in aid to civilians
on Sunday.

In Paris meanwhile some 170 French tourists and 91 other foreign
nationals evacuated from Georgia touched down at Charles De Gaulle
airport, speaking of a climate of "fear" in the capital Tbilisi.

"The atmosphere in Tbilisi is very heavy. People feel alone, they
are afraid," said Alain Noel, 39, dark lines under his eyes, who was
evacuated with his nine-month old baby.

"In Gori I saw people fleeing, I saw holes from the bombing," said
24-year-old law student Nicolas Papiashvili, a French citizen born
in Georgia.

They were flown in on a French Airbus A340 that had left for Georgia
on Monday carrying humanitarian supplies. It was due to fly back to
Georgia with a second shipment of aid and medicines.

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
called for two humanitarian corridors to be opened to allow civilians
caught in the fighting to flee, and for aid workers to reach the
wounded.

The appeal was echoed by the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the ICRC.

Although Georgia and Russia said over the weekend they would open
humanitarian corridors, OCHA spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said these
had not materialised.

The US evacuated 170 of its nationals on Monday in two convoys into
neighbouring Armenia.

Armenia’s foreign ministry said it had received some 2,000 foreign
nationals. On top of that, 7,500 Armenians had also been evacuated
since the start of the conflict, the ministry said.

Two Polish government aircraft evacuated around 175 Poles and other
nationals from war-torn Georgia on Monday, Warsaw said, and a third
aircraft was due to be sent to bring home 90 more evacuees. – AFP

‘DEAR LEADER’ HAS PAK CHOOSING GOLD

Gulf Times
13 August, 2008, 01:28 AM Doha Time
Qatar

Pak Hyon Suk of DPR Korea holds up 135 kg in the clean and jerk portion
of the women’s 63 kg class in Beijing yesterday. Pak won the gold
medal. (UPI BEIJING: Pak Hyon-Suk overcame certain elimination to win
North Korea’s first weightlifting gold medal at the Beijing Olympics
yesterday, as Liao Hui hoisted China to their fifth lifting title here.

Fearful of losing and driven by a desire to please North Korea’s "Dear
Leader", the 23-year-old Pak delivered the goods in a heart-stopping
finish.

After two missed attempts, she had faced either elimination or victory
as she walked up to the bar for the last time to attempt 135kg in
the clean and jerk.

She needed to get the bar up to overhaul Irina Nekrassova of
Kazakhstan, who had finished with a 240kg total and eventually ended
with the silver.

Taiwan’s Lu Ying-Chi won the bronze. After failing at the same weight
twice, the North Korean was finally successful with her do-or-die
final lift to eclipse Nekrassova by just one kilogram.

"I just kept it in my head that my Dear General’s eyes would be
watching over me, and that encouraged me to lift this weight," she
said, referring to North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il who is invariably
called "Dear Leader" or "Dear General" by his people.

The pressure was on her to produce after North Korean lifters had
all failed in the first three days of competition, including world
champion Cha Kum-Chol in the men’s 56kg.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Liao won China’s fifth weightlifting gold in
an equally dramatic finish that also saw former Chinese world champion
Shi Zhiyong withdraw from the clean and jerk portion of the contest.

Warned by his parents he would become a dwarf if he pursued the sport,
Liao hoisted 158kg in the snatch and 190kg in the clean and jerk for
a total of 348kg and reflected on what could have been had he followed
his parents’ advice instead of that of his coach.

"Because they had traditional ideas that I would not grow tall and
become very short and fat, they tried to discourage me from lifting
weights," Liao said.

In the end the persistent provincial coach prevailed on the parents
and Liao shot from obscurity in Hubei province over three years to
make the national team.

However, he was made to sweat after completing his lifts as Vencelas
Dabaya-Tientcheu of France, who was running in second place with an
interim total of 338kg, made an audacious play for the gold with two
chances for clean and jerk lift of 197kg.

"I saw how he lifted 187kg (the Frenchman’s first clean and jerk
lift) easily and realised that he was a very strong opponent. I was
worried," Liao said. "I was in a bad position because my second lift
was inferior. I was really nervous and was waiting for something
to happen."

The Frenchman failed in the first attempt, however, and decided not
to try again, having already assured himself of the silver medal.

"Today I had no choice but to go for 197kg," Dabaya-Tientcheu said.

"I had never lifted that much but I believe I got closer to that
today."

Junior world champion Tigran Martirosyan of Armenia won the bronze,
also with a total of 338kg but he had a slightly higher body weight
than the Frenchman.

Martirosyan said he was weakened by having to lose 8kg of his body
weight to make the 69kg cut.

RUSSIANS BAG 2 GOLD IN WRESTLING GRECO-ROMAN EVENTS
Norman Vergara

AHN
August 12, 2008 6:33 p.m. EST
allheadlinenews.com

Beijing, China (AHN) – Russia delivered promptly when the gold was
at stake, winning two in wrestling when its wrestlers won in two
Greco-Roman events in Beijing Tuesday.

Nazyr Mankiev, a bronze medalist in the 2007 world championships,
stunned the field by winning the gold over Azerbaijan’s Rovshan
Bayramov 4-3, 2-2 in a best-of-three match in the 55-kilogram class.

Islam-Beka Alkiev, who was eighth in last year’s World, also was
victorious in the 60-kg class, beating Vitaliy Rahimov, a 14th-placer
in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Mankiev advanced to the finals by defeating three-time world champion
Hamid Soryan of Iran, then outclassed the two-time European champion
Bayramov.

Roman Amoyan of Armenia and Park Eun-Chul of South Korea settled for
the bronze in the 55-kg division.

Alkiev drubbed Rahimov 2-0, 4-0 in the finals. The bronze medal went to
Kazakhstan’s Nurbakyt Tengizbayev and Kyrgyzstan’s Ruslan Tiumenbaev.

Two finals events are slated Wednesday afternoon in Beijing, with
the 66-kg and 74-kg Greco-Roman competitions.

U.S. SOLDIERS IN TBILISI ON STANDBY FOR AID MISSION
By John Vandiver

Stars and Stripes
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
DC

U.S. soldiers stationed in Tbilisi to train the Georgian army
for operations in Iraq are now on standby to provide humanitarian
assistance to displaced civilians affected by five days of fierce
conflict, U.S. European Command said Tuesday.

About 115 soldiers from various units are on hand to provide help,
such as delivery of food, water and medical supplies, EUCOM spokesman
Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker said.

While Barker declined to state the exact location of the soldiers,
they are in the Tbilisi area. "And they are safe," Barker said.

Meanwhile, 13 U.S. contractors who were part of the training mission,
and were still in Georgia on Monday, have returned to EUCOM’s
headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.

U.S. forces have been working side-by-side with members of the Georgian
military, helping to prepare its members for operations in Iraq. Such
training exercises have been conducted since 2005, according to Barker.

Though 2,000 Georgian soldiers were serving in Iraq prior to the
fighting that started last week, they have since returned to their
home country. All the troops were flown back on Sunday and Monday
aboard U.S. Air Force C-17s.

Since the conflict over the breakaway province of South Ossetia
erupted into violence on Friday, American civilians have been making
their way out of the country. About 170 people convoyed out and were
bound for the U.S. Embassy in neighboring Armenia.

By Tuesday afternoon, Russia announced that it had halted military
operations, but Georgia says the Russians are still bombing. It was
not immediately clear whether civilians who have fled have started
to return.

According to the United Nations, locals numbering in the tens of
thousands have been uprooted by the fighting.

A humanitarian airlift carrying relief supplies for civilians
affected by the conflict arrived in Georgia on Tuesday morning as
the estimated number of displaced people approached 100,000, the
U.N. refugee agency reported.

It is the first U.N. humanitarian flight to reach Georgia since the
start of the violence. More deliveries are slated in the days ahead,
the U.N. said. About 1,000 U.S. soldiers were recently in Georgia
for the latest training mission, Immediate Response 2008. The troops
were drawn from the Vicenza, Italy-based Southern European Task Force
(Airborne), the Kaiserslautern-based 21st Theater Sustainment Command
along with stateside Marine and Army reservist units.

Immediate Response 2008 ended on Thursday, just one day before the
fighting started. Virtually all of the U.S. military personnel were
out of the country by the time Russian and Georgian forces clashed.

About 115 U.S. soldiers who are still in Georgia will be focused on
delivering incoming U.S. aid, Barker said.

Details about the relief effort, including whether additional
U.S. troops would be participating, were unavailable Tuesday afternoon.

"We’re still whittling [the plan] down," Barker said.

TUESDAY’S OLYMPIC ROUNDUP
By John Cherwa

Chicago Tribune
4:56 PM CDT, August 12, 2008
United States

BEJING – Archery: Khatuna Lorig, who competed for her native Georgia in
2000 and 1996 and the Unified Team in 1992, now represents the United
States. Seeded No. 26, she reached the quarterfinals of the women’s
individual competition by winning twice Tuesday. Her U.S. teammate
Jenny Nichols tied an Olympic record with 114 points out of 120 in
the first round but lost to ninth-seeded Nami Hayakawa of Japan in
the next round to be eliminated. Arrows fly again Thursday.

Badminton: It was a remarkable day for the U.S. team of Howard Bach
and Bob Malaythong as they became the first U.S. team to make it to
the quarterfinal round of men’s doubles. They beat the South African
team of Chris and Roelof Dednam, 21-10, 21-6 to advance. Things get
tough, however, as they play the No. 2 seed of Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng
of China on Wednesday.

Basketball: Dwyane Wade scored 19 points for the U.S. team as it
walked through to an easy 97-76 win over Angola. The team seemed
pretty casual about the game as Dwight Howard scored 14 points and
LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony each scored 12. The U.S. next plays
Greece on Thursday. In other games, Lithuania beat Iran, 99-67,
Croatia over Russia, 85-78, Greece over Germany, 87-64, Spain beat
China in overtime, 85-75, after Yao Ming fouled out; and Argentina
beat Australia, 85-68.

Beach Volleyball: It was 2 for 2 for the U.S. starting with Kerri Walsh
and Misty May-Treanor beating the Cuban pair of Dalixia Fernandez and
Tamara Larrea of Cuba, 21-15, 21-16 in the day’s first match. In the
evening, Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal also won over Julius Brink and
Christoph Dieckmann of Germany, 21-15, 21-13. Walsh and May-Treanor
face Norway’s Nila Haakedal and Ingrid Toerlen on Thursday.

Boxing: The lone U.S. boxer on Tuesday didn’t fare very well. Rau’shee
Warren lost to Lee Oksung of South Korea, 9-8. The U.S. team has been
a bit inconsistent at the Games.

Canoe/Kayak: Michal Martin of Slovakia hadn’t won the gold since
Atlanta in 1996, but he returned to form by winning the whitewater
single canoe competition on Tuesday. David Florence of Great Britain
got the silver and Robin Bell of Australia the bronze. The highest
U.S. competitor was Benn Fraker, who finished sixth. In the single
kayak whitewater slalom event, Alexander Grimm of Germany got the
gold, followed by Fabien Lefevre of France and Benjamin Boukpeti of
Togo. No U.S. kayaker made the finals.

Diving: China continued its medal parade in the women’s 10-meter
platform synchronized event as Wang Xin and Chen Ruolin took the
gold. Briony Cole and Melissa Wu of Australia got the silver and
Paola Espinosa and Tatiana Ortiz of Mexico got the bronze. U.S. duo
Mary Beth Dunnichay and Haley Ishimatsu, both 15, finished fifth.

Equestrian: In Hong Kong, U.S. rider Gina Miles won silver in
the individual eventing along with McKinlaigh. They were second
to Germany’s Hinrich Romeike and Marius. Germany also won the team
eventing, edging Australia. Great Britain won the bronze. The U.S. team
of Miles, Amy Tryon, Karen O’Connor, Rebecca Holder and Philip Dutton
finished seventh. Next up Wednesday is team dressage.

Fencing: The U.S. came within a couple touches of a medal in the men’s
individual saber, but in the end Keeth Smart settled for sixth after
losing to fourth-place finisher Julien Pillet. The winner was Zhong
Man of China followed by Nicolas Lopez of France and Mihai Covaliu
of Romania. Other U.S. finishers were Tim Morehouse in 22nd and Jason
Rogers in 28th.

Field Hockey: The U.S. women’s team continued to surprise with its
second draw in two games. Kate Barber scored the tying goal in the
58th minute in its game against Japan. The U.S. is currently tied
with Argentina for third place with three points in Group B. Japan
and Germany hold the first two spots. The U.S. plays Germany on
Thursday. In other games, Australia beat Spain, 6-1, China topped
South Africa, 3-0 and Argentina and Great Britain played to a 2-2
tie. Gymnastics: Not much was expected of the U.S. on the men’s side of
the team competition. But after three rotations it was in first. After
the fourth rotation, it slipped to second and when it was all over
the U.S. team had a bronze medal. China easily won the gold as it
was the strongest team. Japan got the silver. The U.S. was made up
of Alexander Artemev, Raj Bhavsar, Joseph Hagerty, Jonathan Horton,
Justin Spring and Kevin Tan.

Handball: The men’s draw continued in a plodding manner. In Tuesday’s
play, Croatia beat Brazil, Russia over Egypt, France stopped China,
Spain just got by Poland, South Korea squeezed past Denmark and
Iceland beat Germany.

Judo: Ole Bischof of Germany beat Kim Jaebum of South Korea to win the
men’s half-middleweight competition. Tiago Camilo of Brazil and Roman
Gontiuk of Ukraine were each awarded a bronze medal. Travis Stevens
was the top U.S. competitor in ninth. In the women’s half-middleweight
division Ayumi Tanimoto of Japan beat Luci Decosse of France for
the gold. The bronze medals went to Elisabeth Willeboordse of the
Netherlands and Won Ok Im of North Korea.

Rowing: The U.S. had mixed success during repechage heats on
Tuesday. In the men’s eight the U.S. boat finished first in one
heat. Another first came in the women’s double sculls. There was
a second-place finish in the women’s quadruple sculls in another
heat. And the men’s four took a third of four boats in one run and
the women’s pair also finished third of four in another heat.

Sailing: The U.S. got some good news in the laser radial class as
Anna Tunnicliffe has the lead after two races. Evi Van Acker of
Belgium and Sarah Steyaert follow. In the 470 men class, Nathan
Wilmot and Malcolm Page of Australia lead after four races. Stuart
McNay and Graham Biehl of the U.S. sit way back in 23rd. In the 470
women class, Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson of Australia are on
top with Amanda Clark and Sara Mergenthaler of the U.S. in 13th. In
the RS:X men’s division Shahar Zubari of Israel lead and Benjamin
Barger of the U.S. is 24th. In the women’s class, Yin Jian of China
leads and Nancy Rios is 26th.

Shooting: The U.S. picked up a very unexpected gold medal when
Glenn Eller won the men’s double trap. He led going into the final
round, missed his first two targets, but got it together to win. The
silver went to Francesco D’Aniello of Italy followed by Hu Binyuan of
China. The U.S. just missed another medal when Jeff Holguin finished
fourth. In the men’s 50 meter pistol, the winner was Jin Jong Oh of
South Korea followed by Kim Jong Su of North Korea. Tan Zongliang of
China was third. The U.S. finishers were Daryl Szarenski in 14th and
Jason Turner in 21st.

Soccer: The U.S. women’s team had little trouble dispatching New
Zealand, 4-0, to reach the quarterfinals. The U.S. got goals from
Heather O’Reilly, Amy Rodriguez, Lindsay Tarpley and Angela Hucles. In
other games, Germany beat North Korea, 1-0, Brazil stopped Nigeria,
3-1, China shut out Argentina, 2-0, Sweden beat Canada, 2-1 and Japan
crushed Norway, 5-1. In the quarterfinals, the U.S. faces Canada;
Brazil plays Norway, Sweden faces Germany and China will host Japan.

Softball: The U.S. team looked extremely strong in an 11-0, five-inning
pasting of Venezuela. Jennie Finch and Monica Abbott combined for
the shutout. The 11 runs were an Olympic record. In other games,
Canada beat Taiwan, 6-1, China crushed the Netherlands, 10-2, and
Japan beat Australia, 4-3.

Swimming: With an uneventful round of prelims on Tuesday night,
the day will be remembered for the morning finals. Michael Phelps,
Natalie Coughlin and Aaron Peirsol all won golds. Phelps won in world
record time (1:42.96) in the 200 free with Park Taehwan of South
Korea finishing second and the Peter Vanderkaay of the U.S. getting
the bronze. Coughlin only got an American record, but she’ll take
it. She won the women’s 100 backstroke with Kristy Coventry of
Zimbabwe second and Margaret Hoelzer of the U.S. third. Pierson
completed the trifecta by winning the 100 backstroke. His world
record time (52.54) was ahead of teammate Matt Grevers and Arkady
Vyatchanin of Russia. The U.S. also picked up a silver in the women’s
100 breaststroke. Australia’s Leisel Jones took the gold, followed
by Rebecca Soni and Mirna Jukic of Austria.

Tennis: It was a pretty good day for the Williams sisters with two
singles wins and a doubles win. As a team, they had to rally from
one set down to beat Iveta Benesova and Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech
Republic, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. In singles, Serena beat Australia’s Samantha
Stosur, 6-2, 6-0, and Venus beat Benesova, 6-1, 6-4. The two big names,
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both won their matches easily.

Volleyball: The U.S. team remained strong days after the murder of
the coach’s father-in-law with a 3-games-to-1 win over Italy. It
left the U.S. team undefeated after two games and atop the Pool A
standings. The U.S. won, 24-26, 25-22, 25-15, 25-21. In other matches,
Russia beat Germany 3-2, Poland shut out Egypt, 3-0, Brazil got by
Serbia, 1-0 and China beat Venezuela, 3-2.

Water polo: The U.S. men’s team remained undefeated but played a game
a little closer than it might have hoped. It beat Italy, 12-11. It
is tied with Croatia atop Group B with a 2-0 record. In other games
Montenegro beat Canada by an unheard of 12-0, Spain over Australia,
9-8, Hungary stopped Greece, 17-6, Croatia beat Serbia, 11-8 and
Germany beat China, 6-5.

Weightlifting: North Korea picked up another medal when Pak Hyon
Suk won the gold in the women’s 63 kg class. Irina Nekrassova of
Kazakhstan was awarded the silver and Lu Ying-Chi got the bronze. The
lone American was Natalie Woolfolk, who finished 12th. In the men’s
69 kg classification, Liao Hui of China was first, followed by
Vencelas Dabaya-Tientcheu of France and Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan of
Armenia. There was no U.S. lifter in the competition.

Wrestling: Spenser Mango was the U.S. hope in the 55 kg class and
he made it to quarterfinals before he lost to Park Eun-Chul of
South Korea. He finished in eighth. The winner was Nazyr Mankiev of
Russia. The silver went to Rovshan Bayramov of Azerbaijan and the
two bronze medals went to Roman Amoyan of Armenia and Park Eun-Chul
of South Korea. In the 60 kg class, the winner was Islam-Beka Albiev
of Russia, Vitally Rahimov of Azerbaijan got the silver. The bronze
medla went to Nurbakyt Tengizbayev of Kazakhstan and Rusian Tiumenbaev
of Kyrgyzstan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress