Military Confrontations

Fighting in northern Lebanon between pro- and anti-government factions left at least four people dead and 29 wounded, security and medical officials said. Tensions have been rising for several days between government supporters and the opposition in Tripoli, security officials said. Machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades were used, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Three civilians and a policeman were killed, officials said.

With little leverage but large stakes, the Bush administration launched a delicate diplomatic effort Friday, using private and public pressure to try to bring a cease-fire to the Georgian republic of South Ossetia, where Russian and Georgian forces battled each other into the night. The sudden military confrontation in the Caucasus left the United States in a particularly difficult position: It has promoted Georgia as a budding democracy in a troubled region.

Philippine troops attacked Muslim guerrillas in a southern province, setting off fierce exchanges of machine gun and artillery fire, after hundreds of rebels defied an ultimatum to withdraw from Christian villages, officials said. At least six soldiers were wounded in clashes with Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters in the farming villages in Aleosan and Pikit, two of four rural townships of North Cotabato province where fighting erupted, said army Col. Diosdado Carreon. The clashes have displaced up to 100,000 villagers in North Cotabato.

The United States and its allies scrambled Sunday to respond to Russia's attack on Georgia, including asking Moscow whether it intended to overthrow democratically elected President Mikheil Saakashvili. The activity highlighted international concerns about how far Russia would go and whether its ultimate goal was to seize the Georgian capital of Tbilisi and restore domination over a former part of the Soviet Union. But the answer to those questions remained elusive.

Only the rumble of distant artillery fire punctured the silence Sunday here in the capital of Georgia's rebel South Ossetia region, but residents wondered how long the relative calm would last. The town remained on edge, its shocked residents venturing out from cellars for the first time after three days of ferocious fighting to find bodies uncollected and streets strewn with rubble and broken glass from wrecked buildings.

After several hours of trying to reach relatives in Tbilisi, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Tsissana Djandjoulia finally got through on Monday afternoon. "Everyone was crying," said Djandjoulia, 49, who moved from Georgia to the U.S. nine years ago. "They don't know what to do. Everyone is in shock." Djandjoulia and her husband, Nodar Janjuli, who own Karpaty grocery store on Santa Monica Boulevard in the heart of L.A.'

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, a U.S.-trained attorney regarded by Washington as a pro-democracy wunderkind, has made a political career of brinkmanship with neighboring Russia. This time, he may have overplayed his hand. Saakashvili helped oust former Soviet Foreign Minister and Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze in the so-called Rose Revolution in 2003 and became Europe's youngest president the following January at the age of 36.

John McCain and Barack Obama both condemned Russia's escalating assault on its pro-United States neighbor of Georgia. But the candidates used somewhat different tones Monday to address the fast-changing conflict that could present major challenges to the next president. McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, lashed out at Russia's "path of violent aggression" and warned of "severe, long-term negative consequences" for U.S.-Russia ties.

Russia's invasion of neighboring Georgia has raised doubts about the security of oil and gas pipelines that cross through the former Soviet republic and the wisdom of further investment in the transport lines. The foray also put an emphatic stamp on Russia's growing influence over the region's natural resources and, by proxy, over Europe.

BEIJING -- Tanks roll and headlines blare. A newspaper photo shows a Russian soldier running past a dead Georgian counterpart. The Olympics rock and headlines celebrate. A newspaper photo shows a Georgian beach volleyball player spiking over a Russian. It is fascinating how seldom these twain shall meet. And when they do, how effectively they are minimized. It ought to be the Olympic motto. Citius, Altius, No Politicius.