The News in Brief
Thursday, December 26
36th anniversary of Patriarch’s Consecration
Georgian Orthodox Christians are celebrating the 36th anniversary of the Consecration of Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II. His Holiness conducted prayer services at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. Patriarch Ilia II was consecrated in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta on December 25th, 1977. (Rustavi 2)
Foreign Ministry not informed on Ukraine’s announcement of Georgians as personae non-gratae
Georgian Foreign Ministry will respond to the announcement of several Georgian citizens as persona non-grata in Ukraine after receiving an official notification.
Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze said on Tuesday that information in a newspaper is not an official reason to comment on this topic.
"If there is such a thing and the list includes Georgian citizens, then Ukraine should send the list of these citizen's to the appropriate authority of Georgia. Only after this we can talk about some response. We cannot respond to information in a newspaper," Panjikidze said.
Ukrainian Liga.net previously reported that the Foreign Ministry and Security Service of Ukraine declared the former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and 29 other Georgian citizens as personae non-gratae. (Trend)
Presentation of a new employment portal in Tbilisi
The National Center for Disease Control and Public Health hosted a presentation of a new informational web-portal for labor market management.
The event was organized by the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs and Social Services Agency, and was led by the Minister David Sergeenko. He presented a new website, www.worknet.gov.ge, which was created for the development of the country’s labor market development, the reduction of unemployment, the identification of the needs of the labor market and the popularization of professional education and trainings.
The web-portal was created by the Georgian government and aims to effectively provide intermediary services, reduce unemployment in the country, and minimize the misbalance of demand-supply on the labor market through education and skills development.
According to the presentation, the new information portal uses statistical and analytical data to track labor market processes, which allows for the development and prognosis of major trends. The website gives the opportunity for citizens to post information about their abilities and interests, seek jobs, and find employers.
The visitors will be able to participate in vocational training programs. The portal will help job seekers to develop their professional skills according to the market demand and to plan their career.
The presenters also reported that the labor market information portal is completely different from the existing employment programs. (Agenda.Ge)
Prison doctor arrested for drugs
The 46-year-old doctor of the Prison Colony Ksani #15 was arrested for illegally possessing and purchasing drugs in a suburb of Tbilisi, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs on December 25.
The name of the arrested doctor has not been released yet. During the tests, police found 0,60 g of morphine (opiate analgesic drug) and 0,58 g of codeine.
The Ministry of Correction and Legal Assistance have not made any comments at this time. (Agenda.Ge)
New Deputy Justice Minister appointed
Alexandre Tabatadze, who served as deputy to current Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili when the latter was the interior minister, has been appointed as the new deputy justice minister.
Tabatadze served in the law enforcement agencies from mid-1990s till 2008 and was with the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party before becoming deputy interior minister in late 2012.
With this new appointment, Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani will have five, instead of four, deputies.
Last month, Garibashvili appointed one of his former deputies from the interior ministry, Alexi Batiashvili, as deputy defense minister. (Civil.Ge)
In Bloom is not on the list of Academy Awards Foreign Language Film nominations
The foreign language film nominations of the 86th Academy Awards will not feature In Bloom by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross.
The Academy published the list of the nine films selected from the 76 submitted works for the nomination on its website. The films being considered in this category are “The Broken Circle Breakdown” (Felix van Groeningen, Belgium), “An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker” (Danis Tanovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina), “The Missing Picture” (Rithy Panh, Cambodia), “The Hunt” (Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark), “Two Lives” (Georg Maas, Germany), “The Grandmaster” (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong), “The Notebook” (Janos Szasz), “The Great Beauty” (Paolo Sorrentino, Italy) and “Omar” (Hany Abu-Assad, Palestine).
Five films – to be named in January - will ultimately make up the shortlist for the Academy Awards. (Georgian News)
Sportsman of the year named
Avtandil Chrikishvili gained the title of the Best Sportsman of Georgia 2013. The decision was made at the annual meeting of the National Olympic Committee.
Chrikishvili has won the European Judo Championship (both individual and team), and the World Judo Championship (team first place, individual silver medal) this year.
Freestyle wrestler Geno Petriashvili was awarded the nomination of Olympic Hope. He is the World Youth champion and also the European champion.
Among female athletes, the National Olympic Committee named Mariam Janashvili as the best. Janashvili is the European Youth Judo champion, a silver medal holder at the World championship, and a bronze medal winner at the European Youth Olympic Festival.
The International Olympic Committee set scholarships for all these three sportsmen, in addition to judoist Varlam Liparteliani, and freestyle wrestler Giorgi Edisherashvili, according to the Georgian Minister of Sport. (Agenda.Ge)
MyVideo.Ge celebrates 7th anniversary
The first Georgian video portal, MyVideo.Ge, became 7 years old on December 25. Uniting various video functions, live stream, music, films and TV channels, the portal gives the opportunity for the audience to watch and share any content uploaded on MyVideo.Ge.
To increase the audience, an app is available for mobile phones with either an Android or iOS operating system.
In 2013 an Azerbaijani cable TV channel offered MyVideo.Ge cooperation. As a result, an Azerbaijan version of the web portal has been created. MyVideo.Az has been created for an Azerbaijani audience.
With its 1,208,170 registered members and over 500 advertisers and partners, MyVideo.Ge remains in the top position of the online sphere. Expressing gratitude towards its followers, MyVideo.Ge promises more innovations in future. (The Messenger)
Georgian Orthodox Christians are celebrating the 36th anniversary of the Consecration of Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II. His Holiness conducted prayer services at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. Patriarch Ilia II was consecrated in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta on December 25th, 1977. (Rustavi 2)
Foreign Ministry not informed on Ukraine’s announcement of Georgians as personae non-gratae
Georgian Foreign Ministry will respond to the announcement of several Georgian citizens as persona non-grata in Ukraine after receiving an official notification.
Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze said on Tuesday that information in a newspaper is not an official reason to comment on this topic.
"If there is such a thing and the list includes Georgian citizens, then Ukraine should send the list of these citizen's to the appropriate authority of Georgia. Only after this we can talk about some response. We cannot respond to information in a newspaper," Panjikidze said.
Ukrainian Liga.net previously reported that the Foreign Ministry and Security Service of Ukraine declared the former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and 29 other Georgian citizens as personae non-gratae. (Trend)
Presentation of a new employment portal in Tbilisi
The National Center for Disease Control and Public Health hosted a presentation of a new informational web-portal for labor market management.
The event was organized by the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs and Social Services Agency, and was led by the Minister David Sergeenko. He presented a new website, www.worknet.gov.ge, which was created for the development of the country’s labor market development, the reduction of unemployment, the identification of the needs of the labor market and the popularization of professional education and trainings.
The web-portal was created by the Georgian government and aims to effectively provide intermediary services, reduce unemployment in the country, and minimize the misbalance of demand-supply on the labor market through education and skills development.
According to the presentation, the new information portal uses statistical and analytical data to track labor market processes, which allows for the development and prognosis of major trends. The website gives the opportunity for citizens to post information about their abilities and interests, seek jobs, and find employers.
The visitors will be able to participate in vocational training programs. The portal will help job seekers to develop their professional skills according to the market demand and to plan their career.
The presenters also reported that the labor market information portal is completely different from the existing employment programs. (Agenda.Ge)
Prison doctor arrested for drugs
The 46-year-old doctor of the Prison Colony Ksani #15 was arrested for illegally possessing and purchasing drugs in a suburb of Tbilisi, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs on December 25.
The name of the arrested doctor has not been released yet. During the tests, police found 0,60 g of morphine (opiate analgesic drug) and 0,58 g of codeine.
The Ministry of Correction and Legal Assistance have not made any comments at this time. (Agenda.Ge)
New Deputy Justice Minister appointed
Alexandre Tabatadze, who served as deputy to current Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili when the latter was the interior minister, has been appointed as the new deputy justice minister.
Tabatadze served in the law enforcement agencies from mid-1990s till 2008 and was with the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party before becoming deputy interior minister in late 2012.
With this new appointment, Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani will have five, instead of four, deputies.
Last month, Garibashvili appointed one of his former deputies from the interior ministry, Alexi Batiashvili, as deputy defense minister. (Civil.Ge)
In Bloom is not on the list of Academy Awards Foreign Language Film nominations
The foreign language film nominations of the 86th Academy Awards will not feature In Bloom by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross.
The Academy published the list of the nine films selected from the 76 submitted works for the nomination on its website. The films being considered in this category are “The Broken Circle Breakdown” (Felix van Groeningen, Belgium), “An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker” (Danis Tanovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina), “The Missing Picture” (Rithy Panh, Cambodia), “The Hunt” (Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark), “Two Lives” (Georg Maas, Germany), “The Grandmaster” (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong), “The Notebook” (Janos Szasz), “The Great Beauty” (Paolo Sorrentino, Italy) and “Omar” (Hany Abu-Assad, Palestine).
Five films – to be named in January - will ultimately make up the shortlist for the Academy Awards. (Georgian News)
Sportsman of the year named
Avtandil Chrikishvili gained the title of the Best Sportsman of Georgia 2013. The decision was made at the annual meeting of the National Olympic Committee.
Chrikishvili has won the European Judo Championship (both individual and team), and the World Judo Championship (team first place, individual silver medal) this year.
Freestyle wrestler Geno Petriashvili was awarded the nomination of Olympic Hope. He is the World Youth champion and also the European champion.
Among female athletes, the National Olympic Committee named Mariam Janashvili as the best. Janashvili is the European Youth Judo champion, a silver medal holder at the World championship, and a bronze medal winner at the European Youth Olympic Festival.
The International Olympic Committee set scholarships for all these three sportsmen, in addition to judoist Varlam Liparteliani, and freestyle wrestler Giorgi Edisherashvili, according to the Georgian Minister of Sport. (Agenda.Ge)
MyVideo.Ge celebrates 7th anniversary
The first Georgian video portal, MyVideo.Ge, became 7 years old on December 25. Uniting various video functions, live stream, music, films and TV channels, the portal gives the opportunity for the audience to watch and share any content uploaded on MyVideo.Ge.
To increase the audience, an app is available for mobile phones with either an Android or iOS operating system.
In 2013 an Azerbaijani cable TV channel offered MyVideo.Ge cooperation. As a result, an Azerbaijan version of the web portal has been created. MyVideo.Az has been created for an Azerbaijani audience.
With its 1,208,170 registered members and over 500 advertisers and partners, MyVideo.Ge remains in the top position of the online sphere. Expressing gratitude towards its followers, MyVideo.Ge promises more innovations in future. (The Messenger)