TODAY: NATO-Russia contacts reach immediate hurdle; security pacts reignite tensions as do spying claims; attacked journalist in coma; labor day today – but is there much to celebrate?

The security agreements Moscow has signed with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which will see Russia gain formal control over the borders for five years, have been met with criticisms from NATO.  ‘This is in clear contravention of the 12th August and 8th September agreements negotiated by the European Union‘, an organization spokesman has said.  According to Ria Novosti, the Foreign Ministry is surprised it has incurred NATO’s ire, claiming, ‘Russia has not signed any truce agreements with anyone in that region’.  The Guardian reports on NATO’s decision to expel two Russian diplomats over a spying scandal, one of whom is the son of Russia’s ambassador to the EU. The allegations of spying have been denied by NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin, and the move called ‘a vulgar provocation‘ by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which has pledged a ‘clear and tough’ response.