The News in Brief
Wednesday, November 25
Russian war plane shot down
Russian war plane SU-24 was downed by Turkish Air Force F-16 on Monday. Two pilots ejected though their fate is unknown. Russia claims its plane was on its mission attacking IS positions over Syrian territory. Turks say the Russian plane violated its air space and was warned multiple times to return back. However it ignored the warning. (By Messenger Staff)
Russian border guards detain three on South Ossetia perimeter
Three people were detained by Russian soldiers on Monday in a village near the disputed border with South Ossetia.
Locals in the village of Adzvi told reports from Imedi TV that the three were planning to go to a church which lies near the village, but apparently beyond Georgian-controlled territory.
“We approached the area, but there were Russian soldiers there who didn’t let us go inside the church,” Dodo Korinteli said.
“I guess [the three people who were detained] must have been there earlier today. There were no soldiers in the beginning, so they took them.”
Korinteli said they returned after being warned twice by Russian soldiers not to go inside the church.
On November 23, Georgians mark St George’s Day, usually by going to church and attending a service.
The detainees – Zurab Korinteli, Davit Guzitashvili and Giorgi Gogiashvili – are from the villages of Adzvi and Mejvriskhevi.
Ekaterine Mchedlishvili, another local from the village, says there is no barbed wire installed in this section. There is only a sign which does not make it clear whether it is possible to approach the church or not.
Interpressnews quotes Davit Tatishvili from the local municipality of Gori who says that since the war of August 2008, locals have not had problems with accessing the church until today, and no-one has been detained for it before. (DF watch)
Tbilisi Puppet Theatre pays homage to June 13 flood victims
Tbilisi’s State Puppet Theatre will pay homage to the human and animal victims of the June 13 flood in Georgia’s capital city by staging a play in their honour.
The Theatre announced the details of the play to its social network followers, announcing "numerous stories and experiences” would be collected and combined in the production about the flood that claimed the lives of 22 people as well as animals from the Tbilisi Zoo.
The announcement also said the project, which is based on personal memories of the natural disaster, would then become part of the Theatre’s repertoire.
Heavy rain on June 13 caused the Vere River to break, flooding an area near Heroes Square. As news of human casualties broke, it was revealed many of the animals caught up in the flooded Zoo drowned in their cages and enclosed areas.
Winner of the Grand Prize at the Unima International Festival of Puppet Theatres in Armenia in June, the Tbilisi State Puppet Theatre this year participated in the Lincoln Centre Festival in New York.
Founded in 1934 by People’s Artist of Georgia Giorgi Mikeladze, the Puppet Theatre staged a number of productions in recent years, including 2013 plays Fantasy by David Matskhonashvili and A Crossroads of Colourful Dreams by Elene Matskhonashvili.
The Theatre’s most recent premiere was A Ray of Sunlight by director Vakhtang Koridze on Sunday, with proceeds from the performance transferred to the fund for helping those affected by the June 13 flood. (Agenda.ge)
Shota Malashkhia called on the President to maintain citizenship for Mikheil Saakashvili
The chairman of the Christian Conservative Party, which is in a political alliance with United National Movement, has filed an application in the Administration of the President.
Shota Malashkhia calls on Margvelashvili not to strip Mikheil Saakashvili of his Georgian citizenship. According to him, Mikheil Saakashvili remains an important figure in politics, and he should have Georgian citizenship.
"Saakashvili is a modern reformer and founder of the Georgian state. It is a shame to deprive him of his citizenship," said Shota Malashkhia. (Rustavi2)
Russian war plane SU-24 was downed by Turkish Air Force F-16 on Monday. Two pilots ejected though their fate is unknown. Russia claims its plane was on its mission attacking IS positions over Syrian territory. Turks say the Russian plane violated its air space and was warned multiple times to return back. However it ignored the warning. (By Messenger Staff)
Russian border guards detain three on South Ossetia perimeter
Three people were detained by Russian soldiers on Monday in a village near the disputed border with South Ossetia.
Locals in the village of Adzvi told reports from Imedi TV that the three were planning to go to a church which lies near the village, but apparently beyond Georgian-controlled territory.
“We approached the area, but there were Russian soldiers there who didn’t let us go inside the church,” Dodo Korinteli said.
“I guess [the three people who were detained] must have been there earlier today. There were no soldiers in the beginning, so they took them.”
Korinteli said they returned after being warned twice by Russian soldiers not to go inside the church.
On November 23, Georgians mark St George’s Day, usually by going to church and attending a service.
The detainees – Zurab Korinteli, Davit Guzitashvili and Giorgi Gogiashvili – are from the villages of Adzvi and Mejvriskhevi.
Ekaterine Mchedlishvili, another local from the village, says there is no barbed wire installed in this section. There is only a sign which does not make it clear whether it is possible to approach the church or not.
Interpressnews quotes Davit Tatishvili from the local municipality of Gori who says that since the war of August 2008, locals have not had problems with accessing the church until today, and no-one has been detained for it before. (DF watch)
Tbilisi Puppet Theatre pays homage to June 13 flood victims
Tbilisi’s State Puppet Theatre will pay homage to the human and animal victims of the June 13 flood in Georgia’s capital city by staging a play in their honour.
The Theatre announced the details of the play to its social network followers, announcing "numerous stories and experiences” would be collected and combined in the production about the flood that claimed the lives of 22 people as well as animals from the Tbilisi Zoo.
The announcement also said the project, which is based on personal memories of the natural disaster, would then become part of the Theatre’s repertoire.
Heavy rain on June 13 caused the Vere River to break, flooding an area near Heroes Square. As news of human casualties broke, it was revealed many of the animals caught up in the flooded Zoo drowned in their cages and enclosed areas.
Winner of the Grand Prize at the Unima International Festival of Puppet Theatres in Armenia in June, the Tbilisi State Puppet Theatre this year participated in the Lincoln Centre Festival in New York.
Founded in 1934 by People’s Artist of Georgia Giorgi Mikeladze, the Puppet Theatre staged a number of productions in recent years, including 2013 plays Fantasy by David Matskhonashvili and A Crossroads of Colourful Dreams by Elene Matskhonashvili.
The Theatre’s most recent premiere was A Ray of Sunlight by director Vakhtang Koridze on Sunday, with proceeds from the performance transferred to the fund for helping those affected by the June 13 flood. (Agenda.ge)
Shota Malashkhia called on the President to maintain citizenship for Mikheil Saakashvili
The chairman of the Christian Conservative Party, which is in a political alliance with United National Movement, has filed an application in the Administration of the President.
Shota Malashkhia calls on Margvelashvili not to strip Mikheil Saakashvili of his Georgian citizenship. According to him, Mikheil Saakashvili remains an important figure in politics, and he should have Georgian citizenship.
"Saakashvili is a modern reformer and founder of the Georgian state. It is a shame to deprive him of his citizenship," said Shota Malashkhia. (Rustavi2)