The messenger logo

The News in Brief

Tuesday, February 19
61 civil servants to leave president’s administration – reports

President’s administration said 61 employees will be made redundant as a part of an ongoing reorganization, Georgian media reported on February 15. The report says the qualification criteria were re-assessed, and the employees passed tests and interviews during December 2018-January 2019.

President’s administration explained that only 37 employees from the previous composition were retained after passing all necessary qualification requirements. 11 employees are on their maternity leave and thus preserve their positions by law.

The 61 persons will now have to be either re-assigned by the Civil Service Bureau to the positions commensurate to their grade or will receive one-time compensations, should they decide to quit the civil service. The remaining vacancies will be advertised for competition among civil servants.

These procedures were put in place with the Law on Civil Service that entered into force last year.
(Civil.ge)



South Ossetia honors Russian journalists who covered 2008 war

Separatist leader Anatoly Bibilov from the breakaway region South Ossetia presented awards to Russian journalists for ‘objectively’ covering the 2008 war.

The event in Moscow on Tuesday honored a number of journalists with medals dedicated to “the 10th anniversary of the Victory of South Ossetians in the Patriotic War” in August.

Among the recipients of the ‘state award’ were reporters, producers and cameramen at Russian state TV channels, RT, VGTRK and TV Tsentr (TV Center).

“On behalf of the people of South Ossetia, I am honored today to give the state awards to those Russian journalists who showed bravery, courage and genuine heroism when covering tragic events of Georgia’s vicious aggression,” said Anatoly Bibilov at the award ceremony.

Among the award winners are:

Evgeni Poddubni, Special Correspondent at VGTRK;
Olga Door, producer at Izvestia;
Askhat Kokayev, RT’s TV cameraman;
Nikolai Baranov, producer at Zvezda;
Ashraf El Sabbagh, RT correspondent;
Aleksei Komarov, TV channel TV Tsentr TV cameraman;
Aleksei Stepanov, TV Tsentr sound operator.
(DF watch)