Frontier guards detain two people for passport offences

Batumi border guards detained two citizens of Georgia at Batumi Airport at the Sarpi checkpoint. As the press service of the frontier police reports, the detainees were caught trying to cross the border and leave the country with spurious passports. Preliminary investigations are underway.

Financial aid for Georgia for rehabilitation works

The International Monetary Fund has offered a 750 million dollar credit line to Georgia, the Wall Street Journal reports. Its article states that the U.S. and EU are working on a plan to allocate 2 billion dollars in aid, and the International Monetary Fund will confirm the precise allocation of these funds at the end of the week.

This financial aid is designed to be applied for the rehabilitation of infrastructure damaged by the Russian aggression.

Barack Obama and Mikheil Saakashvili speak on the phone

Democratic Party US Presidential candidate Barack Obama and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili had a telephone conversation. Senator Obama expressed his interest in the current situation in Georgia and his support for the country, stating that Democrats are ready to help Georgia and Georgian people in the future. He also welcomed the decision of the US Administration to donate USD 1 billion to help Georgia.

Kareli and surrounding villages receive round the clock electricity

Kareli, and 6,500 customers of six adjacent villages, are now once again supplied with stable electricity 24 hours a day.

After the bombing of the Skra military base on August 24, two 110 kilowatt poles and the transmission lines they bore were damaged. The Technical Service of the Shida Kartli Branch of JSC "Energo-Pro Georgia" restored the service in 12 hours from a 35 kilowatt substation for a temporary period, but the permanent regular supply could not be reinstated as the area around the damaged pole was mined. However, on August 28 mine clearing was conducted and restoration work on the two damaged 110 kilowatt poles was undertaken.

Schools to resume studies on September 15

Most of Tbilisi’s public schools will resume studies on September 15, Education Minister of Georgia, Gia Nodia, has stated. Schools which sheltered IDPs from Shida Kartli however will postpone the beginning of their terms for no longer than two weeks due to repair works to the buildings currently underway.

Institutes and universities will have no changes in their schedules, Studies will resume at the end of September.

Russian mines are still in Gori

Russian mines are still lying around in the Gori region. A resident of the village of Bnavisi recently discovered in a mine in a nearby wood. Disarmament of the 500-kilogramme mine proved impossible and therefore specialists had to detonate it on the spot. The village had to be evacuated during this process, but the controlled explosion took place without losses or heavy damage.

Support for Georgia from Belarus youth

“The people of Belarus condemn the Russian aggression in Georgia and regret that the President of Belarus refrains from expressing this position,” a statement made by representatives of the “Youth Front” organization, who came to Tbilisi on September 3 to express their support, reads.

The Belarussian guests met representatives of several youth organizations and signed a document about a youth consolidation programme that will later involve other youth organizations in different countries.

Members of Parliament evaluate situation in Ukraine

Members of the Georgian Parliament evaluated the current political situation in Ukraine in the light of recent developments in Georgia. “It was obvious from the very beginning that after Georgia, the main target and next victim of Russia would be Ukraine,” Parliament Speaker David Bakradze stated. He added that the political situation in Ukraine has become extremely tense: “The fact that we are witnessing direct intervention by Russia in Ukraine's internal politics should serve as a good signal for our European colleagues. It's high time for an effective reaction, to stop the next victim of Russia's aggressive policy being Ukraine,” Bakradze concluded.