TODAY: Russian troop withdrawal status in chaos; conflicting reports on Nato ties. Khodorkovsky’s parole hearing postponed until tomorrow. What will China’s response to Georgian conflict be? Polish support for missile defense shield increases; Syrian president in Sochi. Supporters of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former Yukos executive and “the country’s most prominent prisoner”, have been gathering signatures for a petition to free him. Khodorkovsky has had his early release appeal adjourned until tomorrow. His lawyers are calling the hearing a test case for President Dmitry Medvedev. Russia is sending mixed signals on its promised pull-out from Georgia. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said he did not believe Russia would keep its promise to withdraw from most of the country in the coming days, and according to this source, Russia plans to build a long-term military presence in Georgia by adding 18 checkpoints manned with troops. Russia has apparently begun withdrawing some of its hardware from Georgia, but other reports say Russian forces have blocked the only land entrance to Georgia’s main Black Sea port city of Poti, and that troops still remain in Gori. Red Cross says its relief workers have been allowed to enter South Ossetia for the first time since the outbreak of conflict.