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The News in Brief

Tuesday, August 14
Tbilisi to Catalogue IDP Property in S.Ossetia

The Government of Georgia will resume logging of private property of internally displaced persons in their places of origin. As part of the process, launched in 2006 but carried out with periodic interruptions, the authorities have already cataloged the property possessions of about 67 thousand households in Abkhazia.

This time, the process will involve the property of about 10 thousand households in Tskhinvali Region in areas that were under the control of the central government before the 2008 Russo-Georgian war – Tigva, Eredvi, Kurta and Akhalgori municipalities.

The authorities will determine property ownership through a variety of means, including processing of earlier property records, confirmation of neighbors and satellite verification. The collected data will then be digitalized and entered into a unified catalog.

Speaking to reporters on August 9, Reconciliation Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili said the internally displaced persons have “an indivisible right to return to their homes, and when they realize this right, this process will enable them to benefit from their property rights.”

According to the State Commission on Migration Issues, there were 268,419 registered IDPs in 2016. Among them, 242,443 hailed from Abkhazia, while 25,976 came from Tskhinvali Region.
(civil.ge)



Nona Gaprindashvili wins European Chess Champion title for seniors

Georgia’s chess legend Nona Gaprindashvili has been crowned European Chess Champion among senior players after her performance at the tournament in Drammen, Norway earned her the title last weekend.

The first-ever five-time world champion and Grand Master claimed the win in the 65+ Women category at the event organized by the European Chess Union.

Involving nearly 120 of the leading players of the senior age from around the world, the 18th edition of the championship feature 66 competitors in Gaprindashvili’s section, including four Grand Masters.

The famed Georgian player drew her final game, which meant she finished equal on 5.5 points with Russia’s Elena Fatalibekova.

Gaprindashvili’s higher ranking then decided the final results in favor of the player who took the world championship titles in 1962, 1965, 1969, 1972 and 1975.

The third spot and bronze medal in the section went to Woman Grand Master Tamar Khmiadashvili, the other member of the Georgian roster at the competition.

Running from August 3-13, the European Senior Chess Championship was played in a nine-round system of 120-minute matches. It was hosted at Scandic Ambassadeur, a hotel near the Drammen river, a short distance from capital Oslo.

Gaprindashvili claimed the title of the 2017 edition of the tournament in Spain.
(agenda.ge)