Wednesday, August 15, 2007, #155 (1422)

Press Scanner

Headline: Batumi mayor resigns
Batumi Mayor Irakli Tavartkiladze resigned on August 13, Akhali Taoba reports.

Tavartkiladze announced that he intends to move to Tbilisi to spend more time with his family.

"The time comes when you want to examine your abilities somewhere else," he said.

Hours before confirming his resignation, which had been rumoured for days, Tavartkiladze made another statement denying he was leaving the post.

Tavartkiladze was appointed mayor of Batumi on October 27, 2006; he is now expected to take up a position in the Tbilisi municipality administration.

Headline: Police and military get holidays in Shakro Kalashov's former homes
President Mikheil Saakashvili visited Ureki on August 13 to transfer five mansions formerly belonging to thief-in-law Shakro Kalashov to the Interior and Defense Ministries, Akhali Taoba reports.

The properties will be transformed into health and recreation centers for the families of police officers killed or wounded in the line of duty.

The total value of Kalashov's assets in Ureki is estimated to be USD 15 million.

The president told media that the buildings are under repair.

Kalashov, a well-known crime boss, is now jailed in Spain.

Headline: Prisoner gave birth to prison official's child
A prisoner claims that the father of her five-month-old child is part of the prison administration. Inga Zelenkova has been in prison for two years.

Zelenkova also told human rights campaigners that she is languishing in dire jail conditions, starving in a cell with six other inmates.

She claims she was raped, and is ready to name the official who did it.

Headline: There is a confrontation between Kokoity and Chochiev
There is simmering tension in the South Ossetian de facto government, Akhali Taoba writes.

For a long time Eduard Kokoity's de facto government has been subject to internecine feuds, sometimes ending in violence.

A sharp confrontation looks set for the near future, the newspaper predicts, as friction between Kokoity and Boris Chochiev intensifies.

Chochiev is a top de facto official and the chief negotiator for South Ossetia.

Rumours abound that Kokoity is already looking to replace Chochiev, with presidential aide Dmitry Medoyev tipped for succession.


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