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The News in Brief

Thursday, October 13
Twelve Georgian Sailors Captives of Pirates in Nigeria

Twelve Georgian sailors together with the crew of the Ship Management Baltic Company boat, remain in the captivity of pirates in the waters of Nigeria. The boat sailing with the flag of the Marshal Islands was seized by pirates in Nigeria a few days ago.

The Georgian office of the company says they have already contacted the sailors on board, who say their health state is satisfactory currently.

The ship was to deliver fuel to Nigeria. Its German owner says he has already agreed with the pirates, who will release the crew after getting the fuel from ship. (Rustavi 2)



Polish Businessmen Interested in Citrus and Meat Production in Ajara

While in Ajara on a five-day visit, Polish businessmen were hosted by the Minister of Agriculture of Ajara - Donari Surmanidze.

The visitors were acquainted with the current situation of agriculture in the region, the export potential of local production, priorities of the ministry and the investment environment.

Minister and head of the delegation, Mayor of Kielce Woljciech Lubawski, discussed the issues of citrus processing and export of cattle from Poland to Ajara.

The members of the delegation visited the citrus processing company "Fruit Company Narinji" located in Khelvachauri and the abattoir of "Bakara Meat Products" which is under construction. (Prime-News)



Tedeev calls on Kokoity`s supporters to join his team

The situation remains tense in Georgia`s occupied South Ossetia region. Opposition leader, Dzambulat Tedeev is still under house arrest surrounded by his supporters.

Meanwhile, law enforcement continues to detain and intimidate people who openly support Tedeev. Tedeev is the chief coach of the Russian free style wrestling team, who wanted to run for president but recent amendments carried out in the region's legislation has prevented him from undergoing registration by the Central Election Commission.

Last night, Tedeev addressed his supporters saying a decision on the issue would be taken in the Kremlin today. He also addressed the militia officers of the leader Eduard Kokoity calling upon them to resign and join his team. (Rustavi 2)



Putin hopes Russia will join WTO this year

All the main issues have already been resolved "with all the main partners", but political issues are still remaining and delaying Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Russia's PM Vladimir Putin said.

He said in an interview with Chinese television and the Xinhua news agency on October 11: "We hope that we will be able to complete this process this year. For our part we have done everything for this."

"I am sure today the issue is a political one and it depends on our main partners," Putin said referring to the US and the EU.

Last week Putin called on the US and the EU to press Georgia to remove its objection to Russia's WTO entry.

"I have a question: do our main partners in Europe and the United States want Russia to become a member of the WTO or not?" Putin said, adding that the US and EU should not "hide behind the issue of the Georgians."

"If they want to, they can accomplish this very quickly," Putin said on October 6.

Georgia said that last round of the Swiss-mediated talks with Russia over its WTO entry terms last week ended without any results, blaming Moscow of unwillingness to compromise. Tbilisi wants international monitoring of trade across disputed borders in its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in return for Russia's WTO bid. (GHN)



Georgia 1-2 Greece

The Georgian national football team was defeated at home by Greece at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium on Tuesday. With 1:2 score, Ketsbaia`s team finished the qualification round of the Euro 2012 taking fifth position in the group.

Before the beginning of the match, Georgian footballer Levan Kobiashvili was given a special prize from UEFA for playing 100 matches in the strip of the national team. Kobiashvili is the first Georgian footballer to be presented with the prize.

Georgia’s fighting spirit kept them in the lead most of the first half and Targamadze scored the first goal in the 18th minute, however, Fotakis and Khariteas scored two goals in the 79-th and 86th minutes fixing the final result of the game. With this result, the Greeks took first position in the group, while Georgians lost their fourth match. (Rustavi 2)



Two men die of AIDS

Two people have died of AIDS in the past two days. The complicated form of the infection and delayed treatment were the main reason for the death of the patients.

According to official statistics, and data from the AIDS and Immunology Centre, three people died of the disease this month. However, they assert that the number of dead from the disease has been significantly reduced in comparison with previous years. (Rustavi 2)



Speaker invites group of Facebook friends to parliament

Speaker of the Georgian parliament Davit Bakradze invited yet another group of Facebook friends to parliament Wednesday. The guests toured the building and the session hall. Some of them even took the speaker's seat for a while.

Bakradze also hosted his Facebook friends in his office. His website on facebook.com has 40 thousand friends currently. (Rustavi 2)