The world in brief

LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY "The free world cannot allow the destiny of a small independent country to

be determined by the aggression of a larger neighbor." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as the Bush administration announced a $1 billion economic aid package for Georgia Article, this page

Canadian ice shelf

loses huge chunk

TORONTO - A chunk of ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan has broken away from Ellesmere Island in Canada's northern Arctic, scientists said Wednesday.

Derek Mueller, an Arctic ice shelf specialist at Trent University in Ontario, said the 4,500-year-old Markham Ice Shelf separated in early August and the 19-square-mile shelf is now adrift in the Arctic Ocean.

"The Markham Ice Shelf was a big surprise because it suddenly disappeared. We went under cloud for a bit during our research and when the weather cleared up, all of a sudden there was no more ice shelf. It was a shocking event that underscores the rapidity of changes taking place in the Arctic," said Mueller.

Mueller also said that two large sections of ice detached from the Serson Ice Shelf, shrinking that ice feature by 47 square miles - or 60 percent - and that the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf has also continued to break up, losing an additional eight square miles.

Case on Gadhafi son dropped by servants

GENEVA - Geneva's chief prosecutor has decided to drop the case accusing Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son and daughter-in-law of beating up two of their servants.

Daniel Zappelli said Wednesday that the case against Hannibal Gadhafi and his wife, Aline, will be closed because the former servants withdrew their complaint, leaving him with insufficient grounds to continue.

The servants' lawyer, Francois Membrez, said the complaint for alleged bodily harm, making threats and coercion was rescinded in a "free manner." He said the servants, a Moroccan man and a Tunisian woman, were compensated and given temporary visas to stay in Switzerland.

Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Lars Knuchel said the closure of the case was an important step toward resolving the matter between the two countries.

Clash between rivals

heats up in Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine's president called for a new governing coalition Wednesday and threatened fresh elections, accusing his rival prime minister and opposition parties of attempting a "constitutional coup."

Premier Yulia Tymoshenko said President Viktor Yushchenko was seeking to undermine her before a presidential vote and vowed that her government would continue working unhindered.

The events marked the biggest battle to date in a tug of war tbetween Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, which has been under way since she returned as prime minister late last year.

The 2004 Orange Revolution allies are now rivals, likely to square off in the 2010 presidential election.

The latest crisis between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko comes as the country faces growing tensions in its ties with Moscow after Yushchenko strongly condemned Russia's war with Georgia last month over two separatist provinces.

Yushchenko has accused Tymoshenko of siding with the Kremlin in the Georgian conflict. Tymoshenko fired back Wednesday, saying that she supported Georgia's territorial integrity, but did not want her nation to be dragged into any conflict.