Abkhazia-Inform and Sputnik-Abkhazia have reported that the exchange of 12 Georgian citizens for 4 pardoned citizens of South Ossetia took place on Thursday at the Inguri checkpoint on the Georgian-Abkhaz state border, according to bilateral agreements between Abkhazia and South Ossetia. According to the decree of Abkhazian President Raul Khajimba, eight Georgian citizens who were serving a variety of sentences from 13 to 20 years in the country for the most serious crimes, including espionage, subversive activities, kidnapping and murder were pardoned. South Ossetian President Leonid Tibilov signed a decree to pardon four Georgian citizens who were serving sentences in South Ossetia for various crimes. Four citizens of South Ossetia who were detained in July 2005 were pardoned from the Georgian side. The Georgian special services detained them on charges of committing a terrorist act in Gori and they were sentenced to life imprisonment. Long-lasting negotiations at the Geneva discussions on security and stability in the South Caucasus, which lasted several months, preceded the transfer of the prisoners. As a result, the parties came to a consensus on the necessity to pardon the prisoners. "It is the merit of the delicate negotiations in Geneva,'' the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia Vyacheslav Chirikba said. "It all started there and fortunately this process has come to an end. Our brother South Ossetians returned back home and I think this is a good result." The Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality of Georgia, Paata Zakareishvili, who represented the Georgian side during the action at the Inguri checkpoint, expressed his gratitude to the South Ossetian and Abkhazian sides for pardoning the citizens of Georgia. "This is very important in the context of the peace process. We want to start a new stage of Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian relations, and humanitarian issues are always at the forefront," Zakareishvili underlined. Georgia-Online reports that the same day the joint statement was published, the co-chairs of the international Geneva discussions, representatives of the EU, the OSCE and the UN welcomed the release of prisoners from Tbilisi, Sukhumi and Tskhinvali and called it "an important humanitarian act" and urged the members of the Geneva international discussions to continue to use the same pragmatic and result-oriented approach in all matters on the agenda. The UK Ambassador to Georgia, Alexandra Hall, also welcomed the exchange of prisoners, and said in a statement that the "humanitarian act" shows the "desire of the parties to work harder and solve the complex of issues after the conflicts in the 1990's and 2000's.
* * *
Expansion of the gas network of Georgia is planned to be completed by the end of 2017, but the process won't affect remote mountainous villages, as their connection to the network is associated with large funds, the newspaper Free Georgia reports that Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze stated at the meeting of parliamentary committees on foreign affairs and the Sector for the Economy and Economic Policy. According to a plan agreed with the Ministry of Energy the expansion of the gas network of Georgia has been conducted by SOCAR Georgia Gas since 2008. In comparison, at the time of the former leadership of the country it took 9 years to link a similar number of subscribers to the gas network. "I travel a lot around the country, and the first desire of the population is to complete the gas network expansion process. There are districts and villages where some streets are connected to the gas network only on one side. This naturally causes public discontent. My main task is to complete the process of expanding the gas network on a nationwide scale before the end of 2017," Kaladze said. However, he added that he didn't mean high-altitude areas and villages where the implementation of expanding the gas network is associated with large funds and is impractical. 20 million laris were allocated (about $8.2 million) from the state budget in 2016 to link more than 60 villages in 21 municipalities of the country to the gas network. The government allocated 40 million laris for construction works on expanding the gas network in 2014-2015. As a result, about 52,000 new subscribes are able to use natural gas. The minister also noted that the cost of connecting new subscribers to the gas network fell from 600 to 400 laris. The mechanism of phased payment operates in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Energy of Georgia and the gas distribution companies. The population will pay a reduced tariff partially for 16 months amounting to 25 laris.
* * *
The material-technical base of public health is strengthening in Kabardino-Balkaria. This was pointed out by the government commission headed by Prime Minister of the Russian Government Dmitry Medvedev that the republic is among the few subjects of the Russian Federation that supports rural healthcare in medical aid stations. A district hospital in the village of Anzor has already been constructed, but it is planned to allocate 200 million rubles from the federal budget for refitting. The hospital will become the inter-district center for endoscopic surgery, lithotripsy and rehabilitation of patients with diseases of the spine, nervous system and musculoskeletal system. It is planned to put a perinatal center into operation and complete the reconstruction of the Republican medical-sports clinic, as well as the construction of a surgical building for 180 beds in Prokhlanoye. It is planned to create nephrology centers in Nalchik and Baksan within the framework of public-private partnership, investment volume of more than 400 million rubles. According to the newspaper Kabardino-Balkarian Pravda, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Health of Kabardino-Balkaria Irma Shetova informed of this to the board of the ministry.
According to her, the program of state guarantees is being maintained to provide citizens with free healthcare. Basic health indicators and activities of public health institutions had positive dynamics at the end of 2015. The coefficient of natural growth and fertility is also higher than the average coefficient in Russia. Child mortality is one of the lowest in the Russian Federation. One important achievement is an increase in the volume of high-tech medical care in the republic. In 2015 the republic's residents had the opportunity to undergo expensive tests free of charge that significantly increases the availability of medical care. Not only computer and magnetic resonance tomography, but duplex scanning and allergy examinations can be undergone in 2016 at the expense of compulsory health insurance if have you have health indicators. The average cost of one bed was 1863 rubles a day in the republic last year, which is 114 rubles higher than in 2014. 11 private medical organizations were involved in the implementation of the program of state guarantees in the country in 2015, this year 18 organizations are to be involved. Last year amendments were made to the regulation on the payment system of employees of state health institutions. The proportion of salaries was increased, according to which a salary is 57%, the compensation payment is 15%, and incentive payments are 28%. The wages of the head of the institution cannot be more than three times that of the wage of a common employee.
* * *
A mandatory medical examination for those wishing to marry was introduced in Azerbaijan last year on June 1st. Young people should be tested for hereditary blood diseases, such as hemophilia, thalassemia, as well as syphilis and AIDS. As a result of the diagnosis they are given health certificates. Medical examinations and consultations are carried out free of charge in health centers created by the Ministry of Health according to the place of residence of those who wish to marry. According to the publication Azerbaijan News, the results of the compulsory medical examinations of young couples reaffirm the importance and urgency of the decision. According to the newspaper’s statistics obtained from the Eyvazova Research Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, about 107,500 people have been examined today. Taking into account the average number of marriages, this figure may reach 180,000-190,000 by the end of the year. According to the results of surveys, 6222 were carriers of thalassemia, both brides and grooms in 48 couples. In this case, the birth of a sick child is inevitable. On hearing about this, some couples refused to marry. In addition, syphilis was found in the blood of 328 people who intended to become spouses and HIV was found in the blood of 71 people. Information about the HIV infection has been sent to the National Centre for AIDS, as the HIV-positive should be retested. Meanwhile, doctors propose to extend the list of diseases that are subject to mandatory identification. So, chief haematologist of the country Chingiz Asadov considers it appropriate to carry out diagnostics of future married couples and regarding dangerous infectious diseases, taking into account the situation with hepatitis in the country. At the present time, more than 2300 people infected with hepatitis C are undergoing the duration of treatment at the expense of the state. According to experts, the mandatory medical examination of people who are to make families is especially important for them. The couple should be aware of what problems that they might face in the future. If one of them has a serious illness the other has the right to know about it. Preliminary diagnosis of newlyweds is important from the point of view of the future demographic picture in the country and protection of the country’s gene pool.
* * *
A new ministry on tourism and folk crafts has been created in Dagestan. The Dagestani Pravda newspaper cites the opinion of the People's Artist of Dagestan, the head of department of the revival and popularization of folk crafts of the Ministry Gamzat Gazimagomedov, that tourism is a resource for preservation and development of folk art and crafts. The crafts are objects of the tourist route network. This is a very successful symbiosis. "These two clusters are the brand of mountainous countries. They are interrelated and they complete each other. It is important to organize the work in this way, adopting international experience and using our local advantages, which open a window not only on Europe, also on many other states around the world,’’ the artist said.
The number of tourists served in Dagestan was about 430,000 last year. This is 30% more than in 2014. Documentation for attracting investments into promising projects was implemented within the framework of the state program of development of the tourism and recreation complex in the Dagestani Republic in 2014-2018. The republic participated in the competition in the framework of the program 'Development of domestic and inbound tourism in the Russian Federation'. 13 objects such as the hotels Metropol, Sarykum, Cassiopeia, the camp sites Brigantine, Paradise Beach, the cultural and entertainment center Scarlet Sails and others are to be commissioned for private investment during 2014-2015. There are 52 camp sites and 41 tourist enterprises on the territory of Dagestan today. The work on the implementation of the reconstruction of the Tourcenter Golden Sands in the Derbent region, the creation of the tourist-recreational cluster Mountain Health Resort and the complexes Golden Dunes, Big Achikol and Living Spring was carried out together with the initiators of the projects. According to Gazimagomedov, the new ministry will continue to develop the network and ‘guest houses’ where tourists can not only stay in a hotel or at a camp site, but in the homes of local residents in order to get acquainted with their artistic, culinary and ethnic traditions. Talented people have no lack of anything in the country, except for the need for minimal state support. According to the article, this is the task of the new Ministry.
* * *
