Geneva - Leaders from Russia, Georgia, the US, the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are to meet in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Georgia.

The closed meeting is also to include leaders of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in an effort to find a long-term solution for stability in the region.

A five-day war occurred in August when Russia invaded South Ossetia in response to Georgian efforts to impose its rule there.

The precise agenda for the meeting is not yet clear, although Russia is expected to push for an arms embargo on Georgia, which it blames for the conflict.

Lahore, Oct 15 : In the wake of the deteriorating law and order situation in Pakistan, the European Union (EU) embassies have asked for additional security in the country.

The ambassadors have sought checkpoints and road closures to restrict traffic and access of vans, trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles that do not have a fixed destination.

The fresh demand from embassies for more security has come in the backdrop of recent suicide attacks in the country. A sense of insecurity prevails in the country, especially among the foreign envoys, since many of them have been targeted by extremists.

An EU envoy reportedly said that more security was needed at the embassies of Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Portugal.

Brussels - The European Union's member states should be able to react to sudden gas shut-offs by transferring part of their own consumption to fellow-members, the French government is set to say at an EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday.

And the EU should try to obtain more energy from Africa and hold a "high-level meeting" with the countries of the Caspian basin and transit states such as Turkey and Georgia in spring 2009 in a bid to kick-start the diversification of gas supplies, the proposal adds.

Brussels  - The European Union should strengthen its fight against global warming, not weaken it in the face of the financial crisis, the head of the EU's executive insisted on Tuesday ahead of a major EU summit in Brussels.

"Of course we understand that in financially difficult moments governments become defensive, but it is our duty to call the attention of governments and the public to responsibility," European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso told journalists.

Amman - The Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) ended a two-day session Monday at the Dead Sea resort by urging continuation of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians as outlined in the November 2007 Annapolis conference.

"The momentum launched at Annapolis has enabled Israelis and Palestinians to restart their dialogue and must be continued," said President of the European Union Hans-Gert Pottering, who also serves as president-in-office of EMPA.

Amman - King Abdullah II of Jordan conferred Monday with the visiting President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pottering and underlined Europe's "pivotal role" in advancing the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the royal court stated.

Pottering was in Jordan to attend the extraordinary session of the Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly that opened at the Dead Sea resort on Sunday.