Thursday, August 2, 2007, #146 (1413)

News in Brief

Conflict zone villages without water again
Villages in the South Ossetia conflict zone are still without water.
For a second day, water is not reaching nine Georgian villages in Didi Liakhvi Gorge. This area is normally supplied with water from the Vedzisi-Tskhinvali water pipe.
Residents blame the Tskhinvali de facto authorities for the water cutoff, while the Ossetian side accuses Georgia.
Boris Chochiev, at times the de facto minister for emergency affairs of South Ossetia, said that the section of the Vedzisi-Tskhinvali water pipe which runs through Georgian villages was damaged by the residents themselves.
David Bakradze, State Minister for Conflict Resolution, denied this accusation and expressed hope that the Ossetian side would allow Georgian specialists and OSCE representatives to monitor the water supply there.
(Prime News)

Abkhazian refugee children go to Madrid
18 children of Abkhazian IDPs left for Madrid Wednesday.
The children will be staying with Spanish host families for a month.
The second flow of children will leave for Spain on August 9.
Transportation and accommodation expenses are covered by the Spanish government.
(Prime News)

Tbilisi mayor presents new tourist routes
Gigi Ugulava, the mayor of Tbilisi, gave a presentation on new tourist routes in Rose Revolution Square on Wednesday.
Fifteen routes pass through regions not far from Tbilisi-Mtskheta, Bolnisi and Saguramo.
Tbilisi city administration stated that the new routes would be served by municipal buses. The cost of travel will be GEL 0.50 to GEL 4.
The project will let tourists and citizens of Georgia visit historical monuments in the country.
(Prime News)

New French ambassador presents his credentials to Bezhuashvili
On July 31, the new French Ambassador to Georgia, Eric Fournier, presented copies of his credentials to Foreign Affairs Minister Gela Bezhuashvili.
Fournier and Bezhuashvili discussed cooperation between the two states and prospects for the further development of bilateral relations.
Soon, the French ambassador will also present his credentials to President Mikheil Saakashvili.
(Black Sea Press)

Georgian artist holds exhibition in Istanbul
An exhibition of Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani was held in Istanbul's Pera Museum on Wednesday.
The National Museum of Georgia is holding its own Pirosmani exhibition, "Georgian Season." David Lortkipanidze, general director of the National Museum, will open the exhibition.
35 works of the artist will be exhibited.
The exhibition is held with the support of Turkish-Georgian business council and the Trade Chamber of Georgia.
(Prime News)

Georgian Rafting Federation organizes competition in South Ossetia
The competition for the Liakhvi Cup will be held under the aegis of the Georgian Rafting Federation on August 4, with support from the Tourism Department, the Department for Youth Affairs and Sport, and the authorities of the provisional administrative unit of South Ossetia.
Teams from different regions of the country will participate in the competitions.
David Katsarava, president of the Rafting Federation, said the event will promote development of peace in the region and rapprochement of peoples in the conflict zone.
"The establishment of the National Rafting Federation began some years ago…On March 20, 2007 we became members of the International Rafting Federation. We have serious plans to popularize this kind of sport in Georgia," David Katsarava noted.
According to him, Georgian athletes will participate in the 2008 European Championship in rafting in Austria. Before this, Georgia has to pass qualifying stages.
He added that the Federation plans to hold competitions in mid-August for the Kodori Cup. The competitions will be open to teams from all regions, including Abkhazia.
(Black Sea Press)

Chechen refugees in Pankisi Gorge demand permission to live somewhere else
Chechen refugees in the Pankisi Gorge demanded permission to move to a third country. Four refugees, with two children, came to the UNHCR office building in Tbilisi, where they declared they would not leave until given asylum in a country other than Russia or Georgia.
The refugees insist they can no longer continue to live in Pankisi Gorge.
(Prime News)



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