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The News in Brief

Friday, July 3
United National Examinations begin

The United National Examinations 2009 have begun. At 08:00 on Thursday the registration of candidates began in 14 examination centres in 12 cities and at 09:00 the first session of the first exam took place.

28,948 candidates were registered in the National Assessment and Examination Centre [NAEC] in 2009 but only 27,624 actually sat the exams. 25,054 were seeking bachelor’s degrees and 2,570 masters’.

The exams are being conducted in Sighnaghi, Telavi, Rustavi, Tbilisi, Gori, Akhaltsikhe, Kutaisi, Ozurgeti, Poti, Zugdidi, Batumi and Khulo. 1,100 proctors and observers, 30 brigades of security and police are monitoring them. Medical centres have been established outside all the exam centres.

Since 2005, 69,787 students have been registered at various universities in Georgia. (Interpressnews)



Memorandum of cooperation signed in Moscow

A memorandum of co-operation between the peoples’ assemblies of Georgia and Russia was signed in Moscow yesterday. The document implies the reinforcement of the existing friendship and cooperation between the sides.

Gocha Dzasokhov, organiser of the recent Assembly of the People of Georgia held in Sochi, appeared publicly in Moscow for the first time yesterday, said Rustavi2. Representatives of Gocha Dzasokhov’s Assembly of Peoples of Georgia and the Assembly of Peoples of Russia say that these organisations should do their best to help the Governments of the two countries overcome their political crises in order to assist in the restoration of the traditional neighbourly relations between them.

Badri Meladze, a colleague of Aleksandre Ebralidze, a Georgian businessman working in Moscow, attended the meeting as well. Meladze said that Aleksandre Ebralidze intends to found a new political party which will contest the Parliamentary elections in Georgia and people from across the Georgian political spectrum will join it.

“We love our country, our Georgia, and we want to save the country from the misfortune it faces. There is no other force that can consolidate the country, except the one we intend to create. I assure you that this political party will win the elections in Georgia,” Badri Meladze said.

Moscow-based composer and businessman Iosif Kobzon attended the signing ceremony as a guest as well. He said he felt discontented that Mikheil Khubutia was not attending the meeting. He told journalists that signing similar memoranda matters only when all the Russian-based Georgian organisations do so.

Gocha Dzasokhov talked about the future plans of his organisation. “We will decide how to reach agreement by ourselves and other sides, near and far, should leave us alone. We, Georgians, Ossetians and Abkhazians, will take care of ourselves and build our country,” Gocha Dzasokhov said.

Journalists asked Dzasokhov whether he knew that Aleksandre Ebralidze intended to create a new political party and whether he and his team had been invited to join it. Ebralidze said he has received no invitation so far, but if he does, he and his team will need time to make a decision. (Interpressnews)



Georgian Vice-Speaker visits villages on Abkhazian administrative boundary

The Russian occupiers’ field base is located 30 metres from the Georgian villages on the Abkhazian administrative boundary line. Paata Davitaia visited these villages, which the Russian occupiers have been intensively attacking in recent days, on Wednesday. The Vice-Speaker met the local population, talked with law enforcers at the Georgian checkpoint and viewed the Caucasus 22 electricity transmission line in the village of Muzhava which was blown up several days ago but has already been restored.

Paata Davitaia also viewed the joint Russian-Abkhazian checkpoint at the administrative border. He said that everything should be done to avoid the provocations the Russian side is obviously intending to organise together with the Abkhaz side. The Vice-Speaker negatively assessed the current situation at the administrative border, although he said that the local population can feel safe as a consequence of the work done by Georgian law enforcers at the site.

A TV crew from the Courier news programme on Rustavi 2 looked round the territory with Davitaia. They were accompanied by law enforcers whilst moving around for security reasons. Since the Russian occupiers intensified their assaults on the Georgian villages at the administrative border, Georgian law enforcers are working 24 hours a day to avert any danger to the Georgian population.

The Russian checkpoints located across the Enguri River have been especially reinforced. Locals say the situation is quite difficult and the recent attacks have caused panic. (Rustavi 2)



Mikheil Saakashvili lays foundation stone of Black Sea International University

President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has laid the foundation stone of the Black Sea International University building.

Saakashvili stated at the ceremony launching its construction that the best international higher education institutions must be constructed in Georgia. Turkey will actually build the Black Sea International University. (Interpressnews)



Five patriot camps open

Five patriot camps have opened and received pupils from various regions of Georgia. The camps are in Sagarejo, Kvavilnari, Vartsikhe, Shaori and Skuri. For two months the camps will host five parties of pupils from the regions. The total number of young patriots is seven thousand.

Officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Monument Protection visited patriots in the Racha region, where 29 cottages have been constructed around the Shaori Lake. A concert was held for them on Wednesday night which ended with fireworks. (Rustavi 2)