WORLD IN BRIEF

Mediators prod foes to talk

Mediators in Geneva, Switzerland, succeeded Wednesday in getting direct talks going between Russia and Georgia, pressing the two neighbors to resolve security and refugee issues from their August war in the troubled Caucasus. The meeting, behind closed doors, also included the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The U.N. refugee agency estimates more than 30,000 people are still unable to return to their homes, and tensions in the region remain high.

Rebel move signals conflict may ebb

Rebels appeared to be pulling back as promised Wednesday in an area that is home to some of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas, offering some hope that Congo’s latest war may be easing. The rebels had taken control of Rwindi, the headquarters of Virunga National Park, early Monday. But on Wednesday, Rwindi’s main road was empty, with rebels seen only to the south.

Agency says Tehran bars nuclear probe

The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Wednesday its probe into Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program was deadlocked. In a second report, it said a Syrian site bombed by Israel last year had the characteristics of a nuclear reactor.

‘Name and shame’ crackdown coming

The British government announced plans Wednesday to make it illegal to pay for sex with women forced into prostitution and to name men who solicit sex on the streets. As part of the “name and shame” campaign, people who pay for sex with a prostitute “controlled for another person’s gain” could face criminal charges and a fine of $1,500. The crime would be a “strict liability offense,” which means men would be held accountable even if they didn’t know a woman had been trafficked or was working for a pimp.

U.N. doubles plea for aid worldwide

The United Nations asked Wednesday for $7 billion to fund its humanitarian work around the world in 2009 —- almost double last year’s appeal as a result of soaring food prices and crises in Africa, among other factors. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged donor nations and private groups to support urgent aid for 30 million people in 31 countries who need drinking water, emergency shelter, medicine and other necessities.

Pleas fail to reopen entries into Gaza

Israel stood fast Wednesday by its decision to clamp shut cargo crossings into the Gaza Strip, brushing off pleas from United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon to ease the blockade. Israel sealed the passages two weeks ago, after a 5-month-old truce between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants began unraveling, in an effort to halt rocket and mortar fire at Israeli border towns. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel was not to blame for the deterioration of conditions in Gaza, and “Gazans have only Hamas’ regime of terror to blame.”

Nepal denies torturing children

New York-based Human Rights Watch said it had “received credible claims of more than 200 cases of torture or abuse” by Nepalese police “against boys and girls in 2008, some as young as 13,” and urged the government to punish the officers involved. The report said most of the children were suspected of minor crimes or were living or working on the streets, and that some were tortured to extract confessions. But Nepal’s Home Ministry said it had no such reports and denied any children were being held by police.

—- From news services

9/11 suspect’s lawyers tour Cuban prison

For the first time at the U.S. terrorism detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, defense lawyers have seen a top-secret prison where the alleged 9/11 plotters and other high-value detainees are being held. The military lawyers were allowed to view Camp 7 on Tuesday evening under a judge’s order, but Navy Cmdr. Suzanne Lachelier said she and her co-counsel were barred from revealing what they saw. The lawyers representing Ramzi Binalshibh, accused of being a Sept. 11 plotter, are trying to determine if he is mentally competent to stand trial on charges that carry a possible death sentence.

—- Associated Press