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The News in Brief

Wednesday, May 23
Abkhazia’s de-facto Foreign Department Holds Meeting in Venezuela

Representatives of Abkhazian de-facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs held negotiations in Venezuela’s foreign ministry department. The Abkhazian media has announced that the delegation is led by the so-called Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Irakli Khintba. A wide range of issues were discussed at the meeting, including the deepening of future relations. The parties exchanged opinions of how to deepen relations in trade, education and culture. Sending Abkhaz students to Venezuela’s universities and teaching Spanish in Abkhazia were also discussed. The necessity to deepen political contacts was underscored during the meeting and Irakli Khintba provided his Venezuelan colleagues an invitation letter from President Aleksandr Ankvab. (IPN)



GFF waiting for evidence from FC Zestaponi

It is still unclear if the football club Zestaponi will maintain the 2012 Champion of Georgia title - the Executive Committee of the Georgian Football Federation is waiting for the evidence from the FC Zestaponi management, which will prove that the allegations about the involvement of two other clubs - Merani and Metalurgi in match-fixing machinations are true.

FC Zestaponi has been given a week to submit corresponding documents, otherwise, GFF will impose sanctions against FC Zestaponi and its president Ilia Kokaia. (Rustavi 2)



GYLA Disapproves of Christian Democrats’ Initiative

The Young Lawyers’ Association disapproves of the initiative of Christian Democrats regarding denying same sex couples legal access to marriage and accuses Giorgi Targamadze of speaking the “language of hatred”. “Our position regarding Giorgi Targamadze’s statement is negative; the language he spoke was totally unacceptable, as he was speaking the language of hate, which we consider to be unsuitable for an MP. An MP should be the first defender of constitutional principles. “The constitution says that all the people are equal,” lawyer of GYLA Vakho Menabde told InterPressNews.Menabde says that this will be a step backward regarding the protection of human rights. GYLA representatives consider that specifying what kind of relationship is considered a marriage will be a step backward regarding human rights protection. The Christian Democrats demand constitutional guarantees against appointing immoral individuals on positions and same sex marriage. These and other moral issues are comprised in the packet of constitutional changes worked out by Christian Democrats. (IPN)



One Georgian died, another was injured in road accident in Turkey

A Georgian national died and another was gravely injured in a road accident which occurred in Turkey`s city of Trabzon today. The truck carrying tea slipped on the road and fell in the ravine. Irakli Kvitashvili, 25, was dead when the emergency crews and the police arrived. The other Georgian, Ilia Chakhvashvili, 24, was hospitalized with numerous fractures and injuries. The driver of the truck, who is a citizen of Turkey, was detained by police. Turkish media says his negligence caused the accident. (Rustavi 2)