Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Georgia of blackmail and lawmakers threatened more sanctions as Moscow police went after businesses allegedly tied to Georgian organized crime and cracked down on illegal migrants from the Caucasus Mountains nation.
The Kremlin’s fury over last week’s arrest of four Russian officers in Georgia, which sparked Moscow’s suspension of air, sea, road, rail and postal links Tuesday, showed no sign of ebbing despite their release.
The arrests appear to have been the last straw for the Russian leadership, which is clearly alarmed over Tbilisi’s goal of NATO membership and the growing U.S. influence in its former Soviet backyard.
Additional Nation/World news briefs:
MEMPHIS, Tenn.
4 killed, 4 injured in fiery truck crash
A tractor-trailer truck loaded with batteries was rear-ended Wednesday by an 18-wheeler at a traffic light and burst into flames, killing four people, police said.
Four others were seriously injured in the crash, police Sgt. Vince Higgins said. The dead and injured were not immediately identified, and the survivors were too badly hurt to talk with investigators, he said.
Investigators had not determined why eight people were aboard the trucks.
NEW YORK
Asking mayor to lead 9/11 effort spurs anger
Members of the foundation raising money for the Sept. 11 memorial have nominated Mayor Michael Bloomberg to head its board, hoping the billionaire philanthropist will use his name and influence to spark a slow-moving fundraising effort.
But victims’ relatives quickly rallied against his nomination to lead the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, saying he has never greatly valued them or a memorial to the 2001 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
“He never really understood the importance of the memorial and at times has been hostile about it,” said Monica Iken, a foundation board member whose husband died on Sept. 11.
Aides to the mayor, who has pledged $10 million of his own money to the $133 million raised so far, said Wednesday he would accept the post if nominated today by the 36-member board.
TRENTON, N.J.
Global warming seen as major risk to East
Global warming could strain the Northeast’s power grid, farms, forests and marine fisheries by the next century unless carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 3 percent each year, according to a report released Wednesday.
The climate in the nine states – from New Jersey and Pennsylvania up to Maine – could become like that of the South with longer, much hotter summers and warmer winters with less snow, the report by the Union of Concerned Scientists said.
“This has enormous implications for human health. It puts a lot of stress on the energy system. It could lead to blackouts,” said Katherine Hayhoe, an associate professor of geosciences at Texas Tech University and a lead author of the two-year study.
MOGADISHU, Somalia
Islamic militia close to controlling south
The Islamic militia that has seized much of southern Somalia has advanced to within 12 miles of the only town still controlled by the country’s weak U.N.-backed government, an Islamic official said Wednesday.
The militia reached Moode Moode on Tuesday night, said local militia leader Mohammed Ibrahim Bilal.
The group has started 24-hour patrols in the area, he said.
Abdirahman Dinari, a spokesman for the transitional government, described the militia’s advance as “a provocative action.”
A transitional government was formed in 2004 with U.N. help in hopes of restoring order after years of lawlessness in Somalia, which has not had an effective national government since 1991.
But it has struggled to assert authority, while the Islamic movement seized the capital, Mogadishu, in June and now controls much of the south.
