Thursday, July 26, 2007, #141 (1408)

Press Scanner
Prepared by Diana Dundua

Headline: Zourabichvili Accuses Government of Neglecting Svaneti
The newspaper Akhali Taoba reports that leader of the political movement Georgia’s Way Salome Zourabichvili said, “Everything happening in the country is making Svaneti residents leave their homes.”
At a July 24 press conference Zourabichvili, who recently visited Svaneti, talked about the serious problems there.
She says it’s almost impossible to reach the Ushguli village (Svaneti) because the roads are so poor.
“President Mikheil Saakashvili promised the people to start a special bus to the province but he has yet to keep it. We must not forget that during former president Zviad Gamsakhurdia’s leadership a helicopter flew back and forth from Tbilisi to Svaneti once a week,” stressed the ex-foreign minister.

Headline: Psychiatric Hospital to Open in Khoni
A 200-bed psychiatric hospital will open in the Khoni Province this September, reports the newspaper Rezonansi.
The Ministry of Labor, Health and Social affairs calls it the first European-standard psychiatric hospital in the country. The facility is currently undergoing reconstruction.
“There’s a psychiatric hospital in Poti. As soon as the building works are finished in Khoni, all the patients will be moved there and the Poti clinic will be closed,” explained a ministry official.

Headline: 174 Kilograms of Heroin Seized in Ukraine
The newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika reports that Ukrainian police discovered 174 kg of heroin hidden in a truck that had passed through Georgia on its way to Ukraine.
 According to the Ukrainian Security Department, a Turkish citizen was behind the wheel. He is accused of drug smuggling. Ukrainian officials said that the heroin was well-hidden, and they were acting on a tip-off.

Headline: Tennis Federation Leader Says Opponent is Fighting Debts
The newspaper Akhali Taoba reports that head of the Tennis Federation of Georgia Leila Meskhi sold her shares in the Tbilisi Ian Hommer Tennis Courts.
According to Meskhi, speaking at a July 24 press conference, most of the work done on the Dighomi district courts was paid for by a USD 2 million loan she took out from Cartu Bank.
“After that, I decided to find an investor to finish the construction works and to pay off the loan. President of Georgian Tennis Ltd. Davit Lanchava took on the responsibility of finding an investor, and in return for this he took a new USD 5 million loan from VTB Bank Georgia,” explained Meskhi.
Maskhi connects Lanchava’s recent campaign to become head of the Tennis Federation of Georgia to this.
“He needs to start repaying the loan to VTB Bank Georgia in two months and to Cartu Bank in January,” said Meskhi.
According to her, she regained control of the Leila Meskhi Tennis Academy and divested the Ian Hommer Tennis Courts.
“Building the Dighomi courts was my dream. Despite the fact that the Ian Hommer Tennis Courts are not mine any more, I’m still happy because they’ll help develop Georgian tennis,” she added.



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