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Bangkok was under a state of emergency this morning after a night of violence in which one man was shot dead and dozens were injured in street battles between supporters and opponents of the struggling democratic government of the Thai prime minister, Samak Sundaravej.

The emergency decree, which bans gatherings of more than five people and gives the military the power to disperse crowds, came at the climax of a week of increasing instability in the Thai capital where opponents of Mr Sundaravej are trying to force him from power and suspend the country’s democratic constitution. for more click here

Pakistan has opened an investigation into the killings of five women who tried to choose their own husbands, after a provincial lawmaker defended their deaths as a “centuries-old tradition”.

The women, three of whom were teenagers, were shot, thrown into a ditch and buried alive more than a month ago in what authorities have said they suspect were “honour killings”. Authorities say they have arrested three relatives of the women in connection with their deaths. for more click here

TBILISI, Georgia: Of all the countries that emerged from the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia has followed the most chaotic path — a long, lurching march of high expectations and abysmal disappointments, of crude rogues and polylingual sophisticates, of peace pledges and bloodshed. for more click here

Amid tensions over Georgia, Moscow has been signaling that it wants to restore its relationship with Havana that included military and intelligence cooperation. for more click here

JERUSALEM – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, completing a visit to the region today, has been pressing Israel to sign a document by the end of the year that would divide Jerusalem by offering the Palestinians a state in Israel’s capital city as well as in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to top diplomatic sources involved in the talks. for more click here

Fears are mounting that Russia may restrict oil deliveries to Western Europe over coming days, in response to the threat of EU sanctions and Nato naval actions in the Black Sea.

Any such move would be a dramatic escalation of the Georgia crisis and play havoc with the oil markets.

Reports have begun to circulate in Moscow that Russian oil companies are under orders from the Kremlin to prepare for a supply cut to Germany and Poland through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline. It is believed that executives from lead-producer LUKoil have been put on weekend alert. for more click here

In an eerie replay of the mainstream consensus behind the 2003 Iraq invasion, Official Washington is marching in lockstep with the neoconservative strategy of encircling Russia with missile systems and hostile neighbors. for more click here

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the US of provoking the conflict in Georgia, possibly for domestic election purposes.

Mr Putin told CNN US citizens were “in the area” during the conflict over South Ossetia and were “taking direct orders from their leaders”. for more click here

Seven of the world’s leading industrialised nations have jointly condemned Russia’s decision to recognise Georgia’s breakaway regions.
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and UK said Moscow’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia violated Georgia’s integrity and sovereignty. for more click here

David Miliband is expected to deploy his fiercest rhetoric yet in the West’s showdown with Russia when he makes a keynote speech in Ukraine over the conflict in the Caucasus. for more click here