South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity has awarded members of parliament, public and cultural figures. Members of the Italian group Ricci e Poveri were also awarded. Angelo Sotzhu, Franco Gatti and Angela Brambati organized a concert and received the Order of Friendship from Kokoity.
*****
Heavy snow blocked the Trans-Caucasus highway. Traffic was closed between South and North Ossetia on November 6. Yuri Shkalenko, a bulldozer driver cleaning the road, died in an avalanche.
*****
Protests of businessmen took place at the government building in Tskhinvali on March 9. They said that they will not be able to transport products from Russia to South Ossetia for over 10 days. Customs services say that Russia and South Ossetia have no customs deals.
*****
President of the Georgian company Kazbegi Gogi Topadze (a wine and non-alcoholic drinks manufacturer) visited Cyprus and met three Abkhaz and one South Ossetian businessman. The meeting was held within the framework of the international project on legal economic ties between Georgia and Abkhazia. Topadze was interested in improving ties between Cyprus and breakaway Northern Cyprus.
