The News in Brief
Wednesday, August 5
Explosion occurs at Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline
An explosion has occurred at a section of the Baku -Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline in the Sarikamis region of Turkey's north-eastern province of Kars. This information was reported by an Azerbaijani news agency Apa.az.
According to APA, the cause of the explosion is still unknown. Kars Governor Gunay Ozdemir said that investigation of the incident is underway and the gas supply through the pipeline has been temporarily suspended.
A nearby forest was successfully protected from the blaze. According to eyewitnesses, the explosion was heard as far as 20 km away. (IPN)
Turkey: 20 years supporting charity projects in Georgia
Turkey is a big supporter of charity projects in Georgia and the country will continue to offer financial and expert support now and in the future.
Head of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) – a government department of the Prime Ministry of Turkey – met Georgia’s Prime Minister in Tbilisi ON August 3 and discussed the impact the agency has had over the past 20 years in Georgia.
PM Irakli Garibashvili and TIKA president Serdar Cham discussed the strategic relationship between the two countries and the prospects of future cooperation between TIKA and Georgia.
Afterwards Garibashvili said: "We have sincere relations with Turkey and the Turkish people.”
TiKA was established following the disintegration of the Soviet Union and is responsible for organising the bulk of Turkey’s official development assistance to developing countries.
TIKA has been represented in Georgia since it first started working in the country in 1994. Since then the agency has implemented many charity projects and been vital in the establishment of many more. Some of the projects TIKA have been involved in in Georgia covered educational, cultural, infrastructural and health care directions.
Before the meeting ended, Cham confirmed TIKA’s readiness to continue supporting charity projects in Georgia. (Agenda.ge)
UNM member: a village without water is a huge problem
Davit Bakradze, a leader of the parliamentary minority visited locals in the village of Rene in Karspi region. The locals have introduced their problems to the leader of the UNM. The main problem is an absence of drinking water. Locals have to spend hours waiting in line for water. Davit Bakradze also visited the vulnerable families who were left without any governmental assistance.
"The system is out of order because of improper care and spinelessness. Today, the village is without water and this is a huge problem for locals,"- said Bakradze. (Rustavi2)
Constitutional Court Upholds Public Defender’s Complaint
On July 31, 2015, the Constitutional Court of Georgia ruled in favor of the Public Defender's constitutional complaint and held that subparagraph “b” of article 17 of the law on Public Service is in non-compliance with the requirements of the principle of proportionality and breaches the first and second paragraphs of article 29 of the Constitution of Georgia.
Article 17 of the law on Public Service defines the circle of individuals activities of which in public service are restricted, while according to subparagraph "b", any person "being under investigation” is barred from holding a post in public service. The Public Defender believes that the abovementioned contradicts the right of every citizen of Georgia to hold any public post.
The Constitutional Court agreed to the arguments of the Public Defender concerning ambiguity of the mentioned article and concluded that the legislation does not clearly define the concept of "being under investigation", which creates possibility of assigning a wide circle of individuals to the mentioned category.
At the same time, the Court did not agree with the Parliament’s position that defended the norm as useful in preventing the obstruction of investigations by persons "being under investigation” and helpful in ensuring stability of staff in public services.
The Court declared that in order to achieve this legitimate goal it is not at all necessary to impose a general ban on all individuals classified as being “under investigation" and that the goal may be attained through individual assessment of each person’s case and through less restrictions towards a person’s right to hold any public post. (Ombudsman.ge)
An explosion has occurred at a section of the Baku -Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline in the Sarikamis region of Turkey's north-eastern province of Kars. This information was reported by an Azerbaijani news agency Apa.az.
According to APA, the cause of the explosion is still unknown. Kars Governor Gunay Ozdemir said that investigation of the incident is underway and the gas supply through the pipeline has been temporarily suspended.
A nearby forest was successfully protected from the blaze. According to eyewitnesses, the explosion was heard as far as 20 km away. (IPN)
Turkey: 20 years supporting charity projects in Georgia
Turkey is a big supporter of charity projects in Georgia and the country will continue to offer financial and expert support now and in the future.
Head of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) – a government department of the Prime Ministry of Turkey – met Georgia’s Prime Minister in Tbilisi ON August 3 and discussed the impact the agency has had over the past 20 years in Georgia.
PM Irakli Garibashvili and TIKA president Serdar Cham discussed the strategic relationship between the two countries and the prospects of future cooperation between TIKA and Georgia.
Afterwards Garibashvili said: "We have sincere relations with Turkey and the Turkish people.”
TiKA was established following the disintegration of the Soviet Union and is responsible for organising the bulk of Turkey’s official development assistance to developing countries.
TIKA has been represented in Georgia since it first started working in the country in 1994. Since then the agency has implemented many charity projects and been vital in the establishment of many more. Some of the projects TIKA have been involved in in Georgia covered educational, cultural, infrastructural and health care directions.
Before the meeting ended, Cham confirmed TIKA’s readiness to continue supporting charity projects in Georgia. (Agenda.ge)
UNM member: a village without water is a huge problem
Davit Bakradze, a leader of the parliamentary minority visited locals in the village of Rene in Karspi region. The locals have introduced their problems to the leader of the UNM. The main problem is an absence of drinking water. Locals have to spend hours waiting in line for water. Davit Bakradze also visited the vulnerable families who were left without any governmental assistance.
"The system is out of order because of improper care and spinelessness. Today, the village is without water and this is a huge problem for locals,"- said Bakradze. (Rustavi2)
Constitutional Court Upholds Public Defender’s Complaint
On July 31, 2015, the Constitutional Court of Georgia ruled in favor of the Public Defender's constitutional complaint and held that subparagraph “b” of article 17 of the law on Public Service is in non-compliance with the requirements of the principle of proportionality and breaches the first and second paragraphs of article 29 of the Constitution of Georgia.
Article 17 of the law on Public Service defines the circle of individuals activities of which in public service are restricted, while according to subparagraph "b", any person "being under investigation” is barred from holding a post in public service. The Public Defender believes that the abovementioned contradicts the right of every citizen of Georgia to hold any public post.
The Constitutional Court agreed to the arguments of the Public Defender concerning ambiguity of the mentioned article and concluded that the legislation does not clearly define the concept of "being under investigation", which creates possibility of assigning a wide circle of individuals to the mentioned category.
At the same time, the Court did not agree with the Parliament’s position that defended the norm as useful in preventing the obstruction of investigations by persons "being under investigation” and helpful in ensuring stability of staff in public services.
The Court declared that in order to achieve this legitimate goal it is not at all necessary to impose a general ban on all individuals classified as being “under investigation" and that the goal may be attained through individual assessment of each person’s case and through less restrictions towards a person’s right to hold any public post. (Ombudsman.ge)