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The News in Brief

Thursday, April 13
Reforms at the penitentiary system of Georgia praised in Brussels

The reform of the penitentiary system has been positively assessed in Brussels, the Ministry of Corrections told IPN.

According to the agency, Minister of Corrections Kakha Kakhishvili delivered a speech on the reforms carried out in the penitentiary system of Georgia at the NATO-Georgia Commission meetign in Brussels.

Representatives of Georgia's partner countries praised the reforms implemented in the prison system of Georgia. The Minister of Corrections of Georgia met with the representatives during his first visit to NATO headquarters.

At the meeting, Kakha Kakhishvili provided detailed information to the allies about the implemented, ongoing and planned reforms in the penitentiary system of Georgia.

During the visit, the Minister of Corrections also held a meeting with the NATO Assistant Secretary General. (IPN)



Georgia to get rid of its SU-25 in favor of drones and helicopters

Georgia is getting rid of its Soviet era Su-25 attack aircraft, and will instead rely on military helicopters and drones, the country’s defense minister said.

The Su-25 is a severely outdated aircraft which requires spare parts that are produced in Russia, Minister Levan Izoria said.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, he added that his ministry plans to sell the remaining aircraft and use the earnings to purchase helicopters and drones, not specifying further.

The Georgian Air Force currently has 12 Su-25 jets at its disposal, along with several Mi-24, Mi-8 and US made Bell UH-1 Iroquois military helicopters.

The Su-25, or “Frogfoot” in NATO jargon, is a close air support single-seat, twin-engine aircraft developed by Sukhoi Design Bureau in the mid 1970s. It was manufactured in Tbilisi at a plant known locally as Factory No 31. (DF watch)



Georgia starts producing eco friendly coffee capsules

The taste of Georgian coffee will soon be available in coffee mugs all around the country and beyond.

Local company Kapsulo will start producing high quality and ecologically clean coffee capsules at a new coffee enterprise that will be opened in October 2017 under state program ‘Produce in Georgia’.

The total cost of the project is 22 million GEL (about $9.19m/ˆ8.65m*).

The company plans to export coffee to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan in about two years.

A leading European company that supplies brands such as Nespresso and Starbucks, XYZ, will provide the coffee beans to Kapsulo company in Georgia. (Agenda.ge)



Saakashvili proposes construction of wall with occupied Donbas

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has proposed the construction of a wall with the occupied Donbas region.

“I support the idea to temporarily build a big wall with the occupied part of Donbas in order to concentrate on the rest of Ukraine,” Saakashvili posted on his Facebook page.

“We will by all means reclaim the occupied territory after we defeat corruption and start a rapid process of development. However, it is necessary to carry out changes in Kiev in order to quickly regain this territory,” said Mikheil Saakashvili (IPN)