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The News in Brief

Friday, September 6
Private life video archive destroyed

The process of destroying the private life video archive at the Ministry of Internal Affairs began at the Moduli office of the ministry at exactly 3 pm on Wednesday. The decision was taken by a special commission chaired by Minister of Internal Affairs Irakli Gharibashvili. The archive of footage was not discovered until after last year's parliamentary elections.

The justice and internal ministers, as well as the chief prosecutor, the public defender and representatives of the NGO sector, attended the destruction of the video footage. (Rustavi 2)



Salome Zourabichvili appeals CEC decision in court

Salome Zourabichvili, leader of the Georgian Way party, has filed a law suit at the Tbilisi City Court. She is appealing the decision of the Central Election Commission, which rejected her application to register as a candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

Zourabichvili says she will win the lawsuit and the CEC ruling will be declared invalid.

The deadline for presidential candidates' registration expires on September 7th. In case Zourabichvili wins the lawsuit, the date will be postponed only for her. (Rustavi 2)



Cyclone causes floods in western Georgia

A cyclone, which originated from the Baltic, caused floods in several areas in the west of Georgia. According to the monitoring service of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, several rivers in Adjara burst their banks and caused flooding. primarily in the Keda and Khelvachauri districts.

The level of water significantly rose in several rivers in the Samegrelo and Svaneti regions. The ministry warns that the threat of flooding remains.

According to the monitoring service information, waves as high as two meters tall were reported on the Black Sea coast Thursday night. Because of early warning, neither people nor buildings located near the sea were significantly affected.

According to Energo-Pro, electric power is being supplied to affected areas without any disruption. Despite heavy rains and wind, the infrastructure in the west and east of Georgia has not been affected.

According to the Georgian emergency service, strong winds caused several trees to fall over in Tbilisi but otherwise there has been no significant damage to the capital. (Trend)



Benelux foreign ministers visiting Georgia

After visiting Moldova, the foreign ministers of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg will visit Georgia on September 5th-6th.

Didier Reynders of Belgium, Frans Timmermans of the Netherlands and Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg will meet their Georgian counterpart Maia Panjikidze and will also hold talks with President Saakashvili, Prime Minister Ivanishvhili, Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, Interior Minister Irakli Garibashvili and PM’s special envoy for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze; a meeting with civil society representatives is also planned.

"A wide range of issues will be discussed during the meeting, including the priorities of bilateral and multilateral co-operation between the countries, especially deepening trade and economic relations...the parties will focus on: Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations and the importance of the forthcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November 2013. Also special attention will be paid to the domestic situation in Georgia, including the upcoming presidential election and the ongoing reforms aiming at democratic consolidation and strengthening the rule of law." a statement by the Belgian Foreign Ministry reads. (Civil.Ge)



Georgia, London Stock Exchange discuss market development

On Wednesday, Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Giorgi Kvirikashvili received the head of the Infrastructure Department of the Global Development Market of the London Stock Exchange Group.

As the Georgian Ministry of Economy told Trend, the parties discussed the prospects of developing the Georgian stock market and cooperation with the London Stock Exchange.

The two main topics of discussion were the importance of learning from the London Stock Exchange and the recommendations of its experts on the development of capital market infrastructure in Georgia.

According to Kvirikashvili, development of the financial market is one of the priorities of the economic policy of the current Georgian government. He welcomed the readiness of the British to cooperate. (Trend)



Statement by the Interim Chairperson of CEC

On Thursday, Davit Kirtadze, interim Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC), declared that the CEC intends to check the current voter list by the process of door-to-door inspection. Coordinators will visit all registered voters at their places of residence and give them special registration papers.

Davit Kirtadze has also slammed Minister of Education Tamar Sanikidze for her claim that employees of the ministry have no right to participate in election commissions. Kirtadze described Sanikidze's statement as "obstructing the election process". (Rustavi 2)



Georgia beats Poland 84:67 in basketball

The Georgian national basketball team gained their first victory in the European Basketball Championship by beating Poland 84:67. (IPN)



Georgian movie submitted for Oscars

A group of Georgian cinema critics and cinematographers have selected In Bloom, directed by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross, for submission for the category of Best Foreign-Language Film at the 2013 Oscars. The film must pass through several qualifying stages to become one of the five nominated films. The only Georgian film to have been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film is A Chef in Love, directed by Nana Jorjadze and released in 1996. (Georgian News)