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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the United States of manufacturing the Georgia conflict as tensions mounted with the United States threatening to scrap a nuclear deal to protest Moscow's actions. Russia tested an inter-continental missile before Putin, the powerful former Kremlin leader who now heads the government, said the US administration had a hand in the five-day war between Russian and Georgian forces. "The fact is that US citizens were indeed in the area in conflict during the hostilities. It should be admitted that they would do so only following direct orders from their leaders," Putin said in an interview with CNN. He said he suspected that "someone in the US specially created this conflict" to "create an advantage" for a US presidential candidate. His remarks drew a swift response from the White House which described them as "patently false. "Washington said it was considering scrapping a US-Russia civilian nuclear cooperation pact in response to Moscow's actions in Georgia and its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as separate states. France said the European Union could impose sanctions on Russia. The missile test in northern Russia came barely a week after the United States completed an accord with Poland on basing an anti-missile shield in central Europe and as Russia accuses NATO of building up its navy vessels in the Black Sea. A spokesman for Russia's strategic nuclear forces said the 6,000 kilometre (3,700 mile) test of the Topol RS-12M was successful. Russia has been developing the missile in response to US plans to develop a missile-defence shield. The announcement came as Russia complained about the number of NATO ships in the Black Sea and said it was taking "measures of precaution. "Russian television broadcast excerpts of the Putin interview to CNN. "If my guess is right, then it raises the suspicion that someone in the US specially created this conflict to worsen the situation and create an advantage in the competitive struggle for one of the candidates for the post of president of the United States," he said. The tight race to the November 4 vote in the United States pits Democrat Barack Obama against Republican John McCain, who has been hawkish in public response to the Georgia conflict. A White House spokeswoman said "those claims first and foremost are patently false, but it also sounds like his defense officials who said they believed this to be true are giving him really bad advice. "Asked about whether a recent accord allowing US and Russian companies to form joint ventures in the nuclear sector, the US spokeswoman said: "I don't think there's anything to announce yet, but I know that that is under discussion. "The stand-off with the West has deepened since President Dmitry Medvedev's announcement that Russia recognised South Ossetia and another rebel region, Abkhazia, as independent states. Georgia's parliament called for the government to cut diplomatic ties with Moscow over Russia's "occupation of Georgian territory" in a resolution adopted unanimously in Tbilisi. EU states are considering imposing sanctions on Russia at an emergency summit on the Georgian crisis on Monday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said. "Sanctions are being considered, and many other means," said Kouchner, whose country holds the European Union presidency. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shrugged off the threat, saying it was made "just because they're upset that the 'little pet' of certain Western capitals didn't fulfil their expectations. "NATO said there were five warships taking part in exercises in the Black Sea that were organised before Russia's military offensive in Georgia on August 8. "There is no NATO naval build up in the Black Sea as Russian authorities are claiming in the media," alliance spokeswoman Carmen Romero said. US warships have taken relief supplies to Georgia outside of the NATO exercises and other western nations are believed to have vessels in the Black Sea. Russia has moved some of its own naval forces to the Abkhaz port of Sukhumi. Russia claimed it had secured support from China and four other nations at a summit in Dushanbe, the Tajikistan capital. A statement released by the six nations at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit voiced support for Russia's "active role" in "assisting in peace and cooperation in the region" but also called for dialogue and respect for "territorial integrity. ""The SCO member states express their deep concern over the recent tensions surrounding the South Ossetia question and call for the sides to peacefully resolve existing problems through dialogue," said the statement signed by Medvedev, President Hu Jintao of China and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The declaration called for respect for "territorial integrity" without specifically naming the Georgia case. Putin assails US over Georgia conflict
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the United States of manufacturing the Georgia conflict as tensions mounted with the United ...more
Sports News
Patrick McEnroe has donned yet another tennis hat during the US Open as he tries to return Andy Roddick to greatness. Not only does the busy 42-year-old younger brother of seven-time Grand Slam winner John McEnroe serve as US Davis Cup captain, he also works for the USTA while doing part-time broadcasting. In addition, his wife is again pregnant. Roddick made the call earlier this month after amicably letting big brother John Roddick off the hook as the elder sibling grew tired of travelling. Patrick McEnroe will be working with the 2003 Open winner for only this fortnight in hopes of helping Roddick polish a lagging big game which has failed to do major damage in the past few seasons. "I obviously respect his opinion, and we get along great, and we're pretty close," said Roddick, seeded eighth and into the second round after beating Fabrice Santoro. "I know his family well, and his baby girl and his wife. But at the same time, he captains our Davis Cup team. So who knows if that's a conflict of interest in any way, shape or form with the other players. "Roddick, who parted company with Jimmy Connors in February after 18 months together, knows that McEnroe can only serve as a short-term solution. "There's no way he can be Davis Cup captain and coach against one of his (other) players, that's just impossible," admitted Roddick. "It (a permanent arrangement) is not really even worth discussing, because I don't think it's in the realm of possibility. "Roddick said he needed a quick fix, "someone who knew my game, knew my personality. ""It was pretty obvious who would be the best fit to help me out for this, just this tournament. "Roddick is hoping that a gamble to skip the Beijing Olympics in favour of playing North American hardcourt events would pay off big in New York. "I'll probably get to that decision (on a permanent coach). I have a fair amount of time after this to figure it out. "Roddick said he and his brother parted without rancor. "John's been feeling the effects of the road for a little while. When we first got together, it was temporary. "He was kind of just helping me out and was going to help, and then all of a sudden it's two and a half years later. I think he was spent, and I was struggling, and so it was an easy conversation. He was just like, 'I'm kind of tapped. '"It's pretty intense day to day, and I'm pretty intense day to day. But he's been here the whole time, and we've been hanging out, so it's not too big of a deal, and we'll always be brothers. "Roddick joins forces with Davis Cup captain McEnroe
Patrick McEnroe has donned yet another tennis hat during the US Open as he tries to return Andy Roddick to greatness. Not only does the busy 42-year-o...more
Entertainment News
Japan's Takeshi Kitano on Thursday completed his trilogy on the creative process as he unveiled his "Achilles and the Tortoise" at the Venice film festival. Driving headlong towards a validation of art for art's sake, the new film traces a man's lifelong quest to win recognition as a painter. "This is a story about cruel art," Kitano said. The obsession begins when the artist, Machisu, is a small boy, the precocious son of a wealthy collector, who spends nearly every waking hour drawing or painting. Real life intrudes with crushing tragedies, but he perseveres, encouraged by a doting wife who eggs him on in ever more reckless artistic adventures, even nearly drowning him to sharpen his senses. "It's not necessary for an artist to die," Kitano told a news conference. "Nor should he sacrifice his family life. "Instead, Machisu's story could be seen as "a side effect" of art, said Kitano, himself an artist who gives away his paintings. "Art becomes a drug for artists, but I'm not sure it applies to all artists. "The trilogy began with "Takeshis'" in 2005, a surreal autobiographical look at the conflict between the filmmaker and his persona as an entertainer, and "Kantoku Banzai!" (2007), a comic exploration of his creative conflict as an artist. Producer Masayuki Mori said: "The trilogy concluded the director's story. . . . So this end of the trilogy might mean that freedom begins!"Also Thursday, German director Christian Petzold offered an intimate drama, "Jerichow," set in an economically depressed part of east Germany. A love triangle darkened by violence, desperation and betrayal, the plot builds on the characters' lonely personal journeys. "Christian never tries to relate grand themes. He's always on a small scale, observing individuals struggling with their lives," said Benno Fuermann, who plays Thomas, a returning soldier who was dishonourably discharged from the army. Thomas falls in love with Laura, the pretty ex-convict wife of Turkish businessman Ali, also haunted by his past. But all is clouded by the present, and much revolves around money. "That part of Germany, about an hour from Berlin, is not doing well," Fuermann told reporters. "People are struggling to give life meaning, to make life graspable. "Their situation is a parable for more fortunate people who "still feel emptiness," Fuermann said, adding that people are attracted to extreme sports because "it's hard to feel yourself. "The 65th Venice film festival kicked off on Wednesday with "Burn After Reading," the final installment of another hat trick, what Hollywood megastar George Clooney likes to call his "idiot trilogy" under the direction of the brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. Also starring Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand (Joel Coen's wife), the film's world premiere was shown out of competition. Clooney also starred in the Oscar-winning Coen brothers' "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and "Intolerable Cruelty. "This year's Venice Mostra will also feature stars such as Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger, both Oscar winners who star in "The Burning Plain," Mexican-born screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga's first shot at directing. Of the 52 films selected, 21 will be competing for the Golden Lion top prize, to be awarded on September 6. Both Kitano's "Achilles and the Tortoise" and Miyazaki's animated feature "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" are tipped as favourites for the top prize. Other strong runners include US director Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler", starring Mickey Rourke, and French filmmaker Barbet Schroeder's thriller set in Japan, "L'Inju: La Bete dans l'Ombre" (The Beast in the Shadow). Meanwhile "Silence of the Lambs" director Jonathan Demme will present the much anticipated comedy "Rachel Getting Married", starring Anne Hathaway as a troubled young woman showing up at her estranged sister's wedding. This year's festival is to be dedicated to Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine, who died on July 27 aged 82. A career Golden Lion has been reserved for Italian director Ermanno Olmi, 77, whose 1978 neo-realist epic "L'Albero degli Zoccoli" (The Tree of Wooden Clogs) won the Golden Palm at Cannes and many other awards. Japan's Takeshi Kitano brings 'cruel art' to Venice
Japan's Takeshi Kitano on Thursday completed his trilogy on the creative process as he unveiled his "Achilles and the Tortoise" at the V...more
Updated 28 August 2008 at 20:15
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