The News in Brief
Wednesday, September 24
Storm causes landslides and power cuts in western Georgia
According to local media, a further 1,800 families are without electricity in Khelvachauri municipality.
There has been heavy rain in Batumi for the last two days. The first floors of houses were flooded and part of the population in Batumi and Khelvachauri have no running water.
Fire fighters are now helping people get the water out of their basements. It stopped raining in the morning when the cleanup work started.
Some of the families didn’t manage to save their home appliances and it got damaged.
The emergency service in the Adjara region wrote in a statement that the storm caused damage in Batumi, Kobuleti and Khelvachauri, while in the mountainous parts of Adjara the situation is stable.
Houses were flooded in the Chaobi, Bono-Gorodoki, Aghmashenebeli and Makhinjauri settlements in Batumi, as well as in the main streets.
According to the statement, there were landslides several places. One person was caught under a landslide on Mtisdziri Street, but was rescued without serious injuries. There was also a landslide in the village Khala near Kobuleti, which damaged one of the walls of a private house. There were also landslides in Khelvachauri. A bridge was damaged in Chaisubani.
The Adjara government has set up a crisis headquarter which monitors the cleanup work after the storm and is assessing the damage. (Agenda.ge)
MP Dumbadze urges president to dismiss Adjara government
Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Murman Dumbadze, who was recently expelled from the ruling party Georgian Dream and its faction of the parliament, plans to meet with the President of Georgia and report the problems in the government of Adjara, including the suspicions on corruption deals and negligence.
Dumbadze plans to urge the president to dismiss Adjara government. The MP says the Supreme Council of Adjara fails to control the activities of the executive officials of the region.
`The Adjara Supreme Council fails to control the regional government; there are some signs of corruption too; the government head was also accused of bribery; I just want to report the president about these facts as the President has the authority to dismiss the Adjara government. I will not ask him to do so, but just provide him with detailed information. I think the issue needs to be solved as soon as possible,` Dumbadze has said. (Rustavi2)
“In accordance with the Interior Minister’s order, police officers should have conducted the so-called raids from September 5 to September 7”
According to NGO International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, police officers should have conducted the so-called raids in Tbilisi from September 5 to September 7.
“On 5 September, 2014, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia issued an order. In accordance with the Interior Minister’s order, police officers should have conducted the so-called raids in Tbilisi from September 5 to September 7”, says the statement released by International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy. (Frontnews)
Georgian Defense Minister Meets Secretary of U.S. Army
Georgia’s Defense Minister Irakli Alasania said boosting of bilateral defense cooperation and regional security was discussed during his meeting with Secretary of the U.S. Army, John McHugh, in Tbilisi on September 22.
Alasania said that this visit is “particularly important” as it came after U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visited Georgia two weeks ago.
“We discussed the bilateral cooperation issues that we agreed to deepen during Mr. Hagel’s visit,” Alasania said.
“I want to stress that our bilateral cooperation aims at boosting Georgia’s defense capabilities. This was one of the issues which we discussed in details during the meeting,” Alasania said.
Secretary of the U.S. Army, John McHugh, arrived in Tbilisi on September 20 after trip to Ukraine, where he toured annual multinational exercise Rapid Trident 2014. A Georgian infantry platoon is among 1,500 troops from 15 nations, participating in these exercises, held in Yavoriv, close to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Chief of General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Vakhtang Kapanadze was in Ukraine over the weekend, attending these exercises.
“We also discussed regional security issues, situation in Ukraine, as well as situation in the Middle East, which poses threats not only to our region, but to the entire world; we spoke about forms of our joint efforts in the face of these challenges,” the Georgian Defense Minister said. (Civil.ge)
According to local media, a further 1,800 families are without electricity in Khelvachauri municipality.
There has been heavy rain in Batumi for the last two days. The first floors of houses were flooded and part of the population in Batumi and Khelvachauri have no running water.
Fire fighters are now helping people get the water out of their basements. It stopped raining in the morning when the cleanup work started.
Some of the families didn’t manage to save their home appliances and it got damaged.
The emergency service in the Adjara region wrote in a statement that the storm caused damage in Batumi, Kobuleti and Khelvachauri, while in the mountainous parts of Adjara the situation is stable.
Houses were flooded in the Chaobi, Bono-Gorodoki, Aghmashenebeli and Makhinjauri settlements in Batumi, as well as in the main streets.
According to the statement, there were landslides several places. One person was caught under a landslide on Mtisdziri Street, but was rescued without serious injuries. There was also a landslide in the village Khala near Kobuleti, which damaged one of the walls of a private house. There were also landslides in Khelvachauri. A bridge was damaged in Chaisubani.
The Adjara government has set up a crisis headquarter which monitors the cleanup work after the storm and is assessing the damage. (Agenda.ge)
MP Dumbadze urges president to dismiss Adjara government
Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Murman Dumbadze, who was recently expelled from the ruling party Georgian Dream and its faction of the parliament, plans to meet with the President of Georgia and report the problems in the government of Adjara, including the suspicions on corruption deals and negligence.
Dumbadze plans to urge the president to dismiss Adjara government. The MP says the Supreme Council of Adjara fails to control the activities of the executive officials of the region.
`The Adjara Supreme Council fails to control the regional government; there are some signs of corruption too; the government head was also accused of bribery; I just want to report the president about these facts as the President has the authority to dismiss the Adjara government. I will not ask him to do so, but just provide him with detailed information. I think the issue needs to be solved as soon as possible,` Dumbadze has said. (Rustavi2)
“In accordance with the Interior Minister’s order, police officers should have conducted the so-called raids from September 5 to September 7”
According to NGO International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, police officers should have conducted the so-called raids in Tbilisi from September 5 to September 7.
“On 5 September, 2014, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia issued an order. In accordance with the Interior Minister’s order, police officers should have conducted the so-called raids in Tbilisi from September 5 to September 7”, says the statement released by International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy. (Frontnews)
Georgian Defense Minister Meets Secretary of U.S. Army
Georgia’s Defense Minister Irakli Alasania said boosting of bilateral defense cooperation and regional security was discussed during his meeting with Secretary of the U.S. Army, John McHugh, in Tbilisi on September 22.
Alasania said that this visit is “particularly important” as it came after U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visited Georgia two weeks ago.
“We discussed the bilateral cooperation issues that we agreed to deepen during Mr. Hagel’s visit,” Alasania said.
“I want to stress that our bilateral cooperation aims at boosting Georgia’s defense capabilities. This was one of the issues which we discussed in details during the meeting,” Alasania said.
Secretary of the U.S. Army, John McHugh, arrived in Tbilisi on September 20 after trip to Ukraine, where he toured annual multinational exercise Rapid Trident 2014. A Georgian infantry platoon is among 1,500 troops from 15 nations, participating in these exercises, held in Yavoriv, close to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Chief of General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Vakhtang Kapanadze was in Ukraine over the weekend, attending these exercises.
“We also discussed regional security issues, situation in Ukraine, as well as situation in the Middle East, which poses threats not only to our region, but to the entire world; we spoke about forms of our joint efforts in the face of these challenges,” the Georgian Defense Minister said. (Civil.ge)