The News in Brief
Tuesday, August 3
Abkhazian secessionists are again hopeful of recognition from Latin America
Maxim Ghvingia, so called Foreign Minister of Secessionist Abkhazia hopes that as a result of the Abkhazian delegation visit to South America, some Latin American countries will recognize the independence of Abkhazia.
He said it is possible that diplomatic relations will be established with Cuba, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. "Two big companies are going to set up in Abkhazia in the near future - businessmen from Chile will arrive," stated Ghvingia.
We remind you that since 2008 Abkhazia's independence has been recognized by Russia, Nauru, Nicaragua and Venezuela. (GHN)
Education Minister Meets Foreign Teachers
A reception was held at the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. The Minister, Dimitri Shashkini, together with representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to Georgia met with 50 foreign teachers who arrived in Georgia within the framework of the educational programme ‘Teach and Learn with Georgia’. They discussed the details of the programme implementation.
The foreign teachers arrived in Georgia from the USA, England, Canada, Poland and Lithuania. There will also be teachers arriving from other countries as part of the project. The education programme covers almost half of the schools of Georgian cities and villages. Among them are some small schools. The first group will be distributed around the region of Adjara. The foreign teachers will get familiarized with our country, undergo training and, if they wish learn some Georgian language, before the beginning of the academic year.
Dimitri Shashkini thanked the teachers for their arrival and support: ‘The qualification level of foreign language teachers is not very high in the regions and therefore, you will teach the English language to Georgian schoolchildren and support the teachers to advance qualification at the same time. You will be involved in the teaching process as well as interact with the local communities. They will share their opinions, introduce Georgian culture to you and you will introduce Western, democratic values to them. We understand that Georgia is foreign country for you. My team and I will do our best to support you. We will meet at least every three months to discuss the results,’ announced the Minister.
Dimitri Shashkini also highlighted the importance of the foreign language learning strengthening programme and the new initiative of teaching foreign languages from the first form. The new programme will be piloted in around 100 schools throughout Georgia, after which it will be introduced in all schools.
Representatives of the diplomatic corps from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Poland and Lithuania participated in the event. (Interpressnews)
Vocational education and re-training programmes in Gori
More than 60 graduates of the Vocational Education and Training Course organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in co-operation with the Gori University received certificates on August 2 in Gori.
The University of Gori has been providing vocational education and re-training in the areas of construction, food processing industry and agriculture. Vocational education in the 12 professions and theoretical and practical re-training courses in the 16 professions were set up by the UNDP as part of the EU-funded initiative “Early Recovery Efforts in Georgia.”
The initiative is part of the programme for early recovery, which the UNDP implements with Euro 4.4 million in EU funding. The joint initiative in Gori is the response to the August 2008 war, which severely affected livelihoods in or close to the conflict areas. It is designed to provide more income generation opportunities and to encourage economic recovery and development in the region.
Georgia to sell more wine to Canada
Georgia will start selling much more wine to Canada. A delegation of the Georgian Agriculture Ministry visited Toronto with the purpose of discussing the details of a new deal. It has been agreed that the Canadian government will assign a quota to the Georgian product.
Furthermore, a joint Canadian-Georgian company which will be working on selling wine has been created. Representatives of the Georgian Agriculture Ministry say the Canadian market is one of the most promising for Georgian wine. (Rustavi 2)
73-year-old man drowns in lake when saving his grandson
A 73-year-old man drowned in Gldani Lake in Tbilisi on Sunday. Roin Khatiashvili entered the water to save his grandson. The teenager survived. Joni Jikidze, 11, was transported to Iashvili Children's Clinic. Doctors say his life is safe now.
As reported, rescuers pull the child out of the water at the last moment, but his grandfather was likely killed by a heart attack. (Rustavi 2)
Raised penalties for traffic violation come into force
Raised penalties for traffic violation have come into force today. In drink-driving cases the penalty will be GEL 200; for inflicting damage to a building or human body, the person driving the vehicle will lose the right to drive for three years; any driver who refuses to take an alcohol breathalyzer test will also lose the right to drive for three years. Any driver who doesn’t stop the car at the request of a policeman or leaves the vehicle at the place of accident will be fined GEL 300 or deprived of driving rights for a year.
The penalty for not using seat belts will be GEL 40. In case of causing obstruction to an escort, the driver will be banned from driving for one year. (Rustavi 2)
Maxim Ghvingia, so called Foreign Minister of Secessionist Abkhazia hopes that as a result of the Abkhazian delegation visit to South America, some Latin American countries will recognize the independence of Abkhazia.
He said it is possible that diplomatic relations will be established with Cuba, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. "Two big companies are going to set up in Abkhazia in the near future - businessmen from Chile will arrive," stated Ghvingia.
We remind you that since 2008 Abkhazia's independence has been recognized by Russia, Nauru, Nicaragua and Venezuela. (GHN)
Education Minister Meets Foreign Teachers
A reception was held at the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. The Minister, Dimitri Shashkini, together with representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to Georgia met with 50 foreign teachers who arrived in Georgia within the framework of the educational programme ‘Teach and Learn with Georgia’. They discussed the details of the programme implementation.
The foreign teachers arrived in Georgia from the USA, England, Canada, Poland and Lithuania. There will also be teachers arriving from other countries as part of the project. The education programme covers almost half of the schools of Georgian cities and villages. Among them are some small schools. The first group will be distributed around the region of Adjara. The foreign teachers will get familiarized with our country, undergo training and, if they wish learn some Georgian language, before the beginning of the academic year.
Dimitri Shashkini thanked the teachers for their arrival and support: ‘The qualification level of foreign language teachers is not very high in the regions and therefore, you will teach the English language to Georgian schoolchildren and support the teachers to advance qualification at the same time. You will be involved in the teaching process as well as interact with the local communities. They will share their opinions, introduce Georgian culture to you and you will introduce Western, democratic values to them. We understand that Georgia is foreign country for you. My team and I will do our best to support you. We will meet at least every three months to discuss the results,’ announced the Minister.
Dimitri Shashkini also highlighted the importance of the foreign language learning strengthening programme and the new initiative of teaching foreign languages from the first form. The new programme will be piloted in around 100 schools throughout Georgia, after which it will be introduced in all schools.
Representatives of the diplomatic corps from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Poland and Lithuania participated in the event. (Interpressnews)
Vocational education and re-training programmes in Gori
More than 60 graduates of the Vocational Education and Training Course organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in co-operation with the Gori University received certificates on August 2 in Gori.
The University of Gori has been providing vocational education and re-training in the areas of construction, food processing industry and agriculture. Vocational education in the 12 professions and theoretical and practical re-training courses in the 16 professions were set up by the UNDP as part of the EU-funded initiative “Early Recovery Efforts in Georgia.”
The initiative is part of the programme for early recovery, which the UNDP implements with Euro 4.4 million in EU funding. The joint initiative in Gori is the response to the August 2008 war, which severely affected livelihoods in or close to the conflict areas. It is designed to provide more income generation opportunities and to encourage economic recovery and development in the region.
Georgia to sell more wine to Canada
Georgia will start selling much more wine to Canada. A delegation of the Georgian Agriculture Ministry visited Toronto with the purpose of discussing the details of a new deal. It has been agreed that the Canadian government will assign a quota to the Georgian product.
Furthermore, a joint Canadian-Georgian company which will be working on selling wine has been created. Representatives of the Georgian Agriculture Ministry say the Canadian market is one of the most promising for Georgian wine. (Rustavi 2)
73-year-old man drowns in lake when saving his grandson
A 73-year-old man drowned in Gldani Lake in Tbilisi on Sunday. Roin Khatiashvili entered the water to save his grandson. The teenager survived. Joni Jikidze, 11, was transported to Iashvili Children's Clinic. Doctors say his life is safe now.
As reported, rescuers pull the child out of the water at the last moment, but his grandfather was likely killed by a heart attack. (Rustavi 2)
Raised penalties for traffic violation come into force
Raised penalties for traffic violation have come into force today. In drink-driving cases the penalty will be GEL 200; for inflicting damage to a building or human body, the person driving the vehicle will lose the right to drive for three years; any driver who refuses to take an alcohol breathalyzer test will also lose the right to drive for three years. Any driver who doesn’t stop the car at the request of a policeman or leaves the vehicle at the place of accident will be fined GEL 300 or deprived of driving rights for a year.
The penalty for not using seat belts will be GEL 40. In case of causing obstruction to an escort, the driver will be banned from driving for one year. (Rustavi 2)