TODAY: Medvedev signs treaties with former Georgian territories, US struggles to respond; economy in trouble but Russia is a serious power on the world stage; relations with Latin America slowly strengthening; visa requirements with Israel scrapped; vodka smuggling. Russia has sealed its diplomatic ties with Georgia’s breakaway regions by signing friendship treaties that pledge military assistance. In response, the US is preparing ‘stinging language’, with Secretary of State and Russia-expert Condoleezza Rice set to call into question the legitimacy of Russia’s goal to rebuild itself. The Ukrainian government is under pressure to join Russia in recognizing the former Georgian regions’ independence. South Ossetia was fiercely pro-Russia long before the outbreak of war, but ‘no one really paid attention,’ says the BBC. Despite the dire state of the MICEX, Russia’s increasing global power and influence on the UN’s actions is shifting the world balance.