The world in brief

LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY "We must declare war against those who are carrying out a political agenda and affiliated with foreign countries, despite the fact that we do not want to suspend our ties with these countries." Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister Article, this page

Russian gas flows directly to S. Ossetia

MOSCOW - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed to defend South Ossetia's independence as he presided over the start-up Wednesday of the first pipeline to carry Russian natural gas directly to the breakaway Georgian republic, bypassing Georgia proper.

During a meeting in Moscow between Putin and South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller called his deputy in the South Ossetian capital and told him to open the valve.

The meeting took place on the first anniversary of Russia's recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and a second breakaway republic, Abkhazia, after a brief war last year between Russia and Georgia.

Putin said Russia would defend their independence.

"I'd like to emphasize once and for all - Russia will not allow any attempts at revenge or new military escapades," he said.

Israeli, Palestinian leaders likely to meet

BERLIN - The Israeli and Palestinian leaders are likely to hold their first meeting in the coming weeks, both sides indicated Wednesday.

The indications came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held four hours of talks with President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, in London on Wednesday. Mitchell has been pressing Israel to halt construction of West Bank settlements as a confidence-building gesture toward the Palestinians.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has said he would not resume peace talks until Israel freezes settlements, and he reiterated that position in a speech Wednesday. But the Israelis have been strongly hinting that Netanyahu could meet Abbas next month at the U.N. General Assembly, and on Wednesday, Palestinian officials in the West Bank said for the first time that such a meeting was likely.

The officials said that while Abbas is prepared to talk to Netanyahu, he would not officially reopen negotiations until Israel halts its settlement activities. They spoke on condition of anonymity because nothing has been formally scheduled.

Malaysia suspends beer drinker's caning

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Authorities in Malaysia decided this week that a 32-year old Muslim woman caught drinking beer in violation of Islamic law would not be caned after all.

The case of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a former model and nurse, drew international attention and presented a harsh view of the kind of Islamic justice dispensed in one of the world's most moderate and stable Muslim-majority countries.

In December 2007, Islamic morality police caught her drinking beer at a beach resort in Pahang state. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced in July to six strokes of the cane and a fine of about $1,400.

Kartika's case snowballed into a media circus after it was reported she would be kept in jail a week for the sentence to be carried out. On Monday, Kartika was taken away by Islamic officials in a van headed for the prison.

But officials turned back 30 minutes later and Kartika was taken home. At first, officials said the sentencing was being suspended on compassionate grounds. However, it emerged later that the chief judge of the Shariah court put the caning on hold indefinitely pending a review.

Paris hopes Americans shore up tourism

PARIS - Paris is counting on American tourists - and a new law allowing more stores to open on Sundays - to boost tourism revenue pinched by the global financial downturn.

The French capital registered an 11.1 percent drop in foreign visitors in the first half of this year compared with the first half of 2008, according to figures released Wednesday by the Paris Tourism Office.

The number of Americans in Paris - long the largest contingent of foreigners there - dived last year because of U.S.

economic woes and the expensive euro. But it started to pick up again, by 1.1 percent, in the second quarter of this year, the tourism office said.

Paul Roll, director of the Paris Tourism Office, said the city is "counting on the Americans" to keep tourism revenue up and compensate for a plunge in visits by British, Japanese and Chinese tourists.