Russia Signs New Truce
Moscow, Aug. 16: A day after secretary of state Condoleezza Rice went close to the front lines in Georgia to press for immediate withdrawal of Russian forces there, the Kremlin announced on Saturday that it had approved a framework for a cease-fire. The Russian President, Mr Dmitri Medvedev, signed the six-point settlement after meeting with Russian security officials, the Kremlin press office said. But it did not specify whether Russia had specifically assented to revisions in one provision that the Georgians had considered a loophole that Russia could use to justify its advance deep into Georgia. On the ground in Georgia on Saturday, the situation remained largely unchanged, with Russian troops occupying large swaths of Georgian territory. The Kremlin gave no indication when they would be pulled out.ῠ On Friday, in five hours of talks with the Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, Ms Rice persuaded him to sign a revised version of the cease-fire framework that had originally been hammered out on Wednesday and signed by Russia. The six-point arrangement had been negotiated by the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, but a dispute soon followed over one of its provisions, which the Russians had interpreted as allowing them to maintain a military presence on Georgian territory outside the two disputed enclaves, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.ῠ Ms Rice brought a letter from Mr Sarkozy clarifying that this provision would not apply to populated areas.ῠῠῠ US mulls changes in H-2B visa scheme
Washington, Aug. 16: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a series of proposed rule changes that will streamline procedures for hiring workers, including from India, under the H-2B visa programme.The USCIS has also called for not issuing the H-2B visas to citizens of countries that are determined to be consistently refusing or unreasonably delaying repatriation of their nationals from the US with deportation orders. Eight countries, including India, China and Iran, have been identified by lawmakers early this year as falling in this category. Other nations are Laos, Eritrea, Vietnam, Jamaica and Ethiopia. Early this year, three Republican lawmakers had called for the suspension of visas to countries that have refused to accept deported aliens from the US.ῠ
New York, Aug. 16: Sure, Madonna may have scandalised the Vatican and shocked nearly every parent in America at some point during her long and provocative career full of shrewd image transformations.ῠ But as the Material Girl hits the half-century mark this weekend, she may be stepping into a role that even she, with all her marketing savvy, might not have dreamt of: poster child for the 50-and-fabulous set. Who cares about those recent tabloid headlines linking her to the Yankees’ A-Rod, or that tell-all book by her brother? Many women of a certain age look at Madonna and see a wonderfully fit, stylish, vigorous woman who’s made a fortune based on smarts, talent and ambition - no “Blond Ambition” puns, please - and just keeps on going. Her latest world tour, Sticky & Sweet, kicks off in Wales a week after her August 16 birthday. She has set a new trend of number game. Everyone looks up to her for inspiration.ῠῠ
Mexico city, Aug. 16: Mexican archaeologists have discovered a maze of stone temples in underground caves, some submerged in water and containing human bones, which ancient Mayans believed was a portal where dead souls entered the underworld. Clad in scuba gear and edging through narrow tunnels, researchers discovered the stone ruins of eleven sacred temples and what could be the remains of human sacrifices at the site in the Yucatan Peninsula. Archaeologists say Mayans believed the underground complex of water-filled caves leading into dry chambers - including an underground road stretching some 330 feet - was the path to a mythical underworld, known as Xibalba. According to an ancient Mayan scripture, the Popol Vuh, the route was filled with obstacles, including rivers filled with scorpions, blood and pus and houses shrouded in darkness or swarming with shrieking bats, Mr Guillermo de Anda, one of the lead investigators at the site, said on Thursday. The souls of the dead followed a mythical dog who could see at night, Mr de Anda said. Excavations over the past five months in the Yucatan caves revealed stone carvings and pottery left for the dead. “They believed that this place was the entrance to Xibalba. That is why we have found the offerings there,” Mr de Anda said. The Mayans built soaring pyramids and elaborate palaces in Central America and southern Mexico before mysteriously abandoning their cities around 900 A.D. They described the torturous journey to Xibalba in the sacred text of Popul Vuh. - Reuters Deccan Chronicle
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