Turkmen team successfully performed at the Open Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Europe Cup in Plock, having won two gold, four silver and one bronze medals.

Student of National Institute of Sports and Tourism Dovran Atayev (up to 77 kg) and Batyr Bayramgeldiyevwho was the best in the weight category up to 61 kg were the champions of the tournament.

Yalkym Nuriyev won the silver in the weigh category up to 70 kg. Two students of National Institute of Sports and Tourism Gulshat Gylyjova (up to 55 kg) and Leyli Kazakova (up to 60 kg) as well as student of Turkmen State Architectural and Construction Institute Jahan Durdiyeva (up to 55 kg) also won silver medals.

Anna Bayramdurdiyeva won the bronze in the weight category up to 84 kg.

Therefore, all seven sportsmen of Turkmenistan national team participating in the tournament won different medals.

 The state news agency of Turkmenistan

Last weekend, over 3,000 people gathered in the city of Marneuli, in the Kvemo Kartli region of southern Georgia, for the sixth regional Europe Day organised by the EU Delegation to the country.

Festivities in Marneuli closed the Europe Day activities held in the country this year. In 2018, the EU Delegation to Georgia brought Europe Day celebrations to seven locations: the capital of Tbilisi and six regional towns.

Residents of these towns enjoyed a number of information activities, including for children, to learn about the diverse Member States of the EU and EU-Georgia cooperation. Adults had the opportunity to sample delicious food and find out more about how the EU is helping create more opportunities for Georgian citizens.

A delegation of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out a periodic visit to Georgia from 10 to 21 September 2018.

During the visit, the delegation assessed progress made in the implementation of the recommendations made by the CPT following the previous visit in 2014. In this context, the delegation paid particular attention to the treatment of persons in police custody and the situation of prisoners in penitentiary establishments, in particular those in high-risk and semi-open prisons, as well as juvenile inmates. In addition, the delegation carried out visits to several psychiatric hospitals and, for the first time in Georgia, to an immigration detention facility.

In the course of the visit, the delegation held consultations with Tea Tsulukiani, Minister of Justice, Giorgi Gakharia, Minister of Internal Affairs, David Sergeenko, Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, and with several other senior officials from the aforementioned Ministries. In addition, the delegation had meetings with Nino Lomjaria, the Public Defender (Ombudsperson) and staff of the National Preventive Mechanism Department of her Office, as well as with representatives of international and non-governmental organisations active in areas of concern to the CPT.

The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT:

• Mykola Gnatovskyy, President of the CPT (Head of delegation)
• Marzena Ksel, 1st Vice-President of the CPT
• Gergely Fliegauf
• Alexander Minchev
• Ceyhun Qaracayev
• Vytautas Raskauskas.

They were supported by Borys Wόdz (Head of Division) and Natacha De Roeck of the CPT's Secretariat, and assisted by an expert, Clive Meux, forensic psychiatrist, Oxford, United Kingdom.

The delegation visited the following places:

Establishments under the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

• Temporary Detention Isolator (TDI) in Batumi
• TDI in Dusheti
• TDI in Khashuri
• TDI in Kobuleti
• TDI in Mtskheta
• TDI in Rustavi
• TDI in Samtredia
• TDI in Tbilisi
• Old Tbilisi Police Department Division No. 7
• Temporary Accommodation Centre of the Migration Department, Tbilisi

Establishments under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice

• Pre-trial and High-Risk Penitentiary Establishment No. 3 (Prison No. 3), Batumi
• Pre-trial and High-Risk Penitentiary Establishment No. 6 (Prison No. 6), Rustavi
• Pre-trial and High-Risk Penitentiary Establishment No. 7 (Prison No. 7), Tbilisi
• Pre-trial and Closed-Type Penitentiary Establishment No. 8 (Prison No. 8), Tbilisi (Gldani)
• Pre-Trial and Closed-Type Penitentiary Establishment No. 9 (Prison No. 9), Tbilisi
• Rehabilitation Establishment for Juveniles No. 11 (Juvenile Prison), Tbilisi (Avchala)
• Semi-Open and Closed-Type Penitentiary Establishment No. 15 (Prison No. 15), Ksani
• Medical Establishment for Pre-trial and Sentenced Inmates No. 18 (Prison Hospital), Tbilisi (Gldani)

Establishments under the responsibility of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs

• Batumi Health Care Centre (Khevalchauri Psychiatric Hospital)
• National Centre of Mental Health named after Academician Bidzina Naneishvili (Kutiri Psychiatric Hospital)
• East Georgia Mental Health Centre (Surami Psychiatric Hospital)

 

Torre will also sit on Visa’s global Operating Committee in San Francisco

Currently serves as Visa President Sub-Saharan Africa and sits on U.S. President’s Council for Africa

Tbilisi – January 23, 2018 – Visa Inc. (NYSE:  V) has announced the appointment of Andrew Torre as Regional President for its Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region, based in Dubai. Torre, who previously led Visa’s Sub-Saharan Africa business, will now oversee all of Visa’s operations in more than 90 countries across CEMEA and report to Visa’s global president, Ryan McInerney. Torre will also sit on Visa’s global Operating Committee.

Torre is a Visa and payments industry veteran, with deep experience across the markets that comprise Visa’s CEMEA region. Having previously worked with the World Bank in Kiev, Moscow and CIS territories, Torre has been with Visa since 2002, holding global roles in product, strategy and pricing, as well as general manager roles in Russia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Andrew’s deep experience, which touches every part of our CEMEA region, has prepared him well for his new role. It provides him with a phenomenal understanding of both Visa’s global operations, as well as the markets that make up this fascinating and complex region. This will not only benefit Visa and our financial institution clients, but also add tremendous value to our merchant and government partners as we strive together to bring the benefits of connected, digital commerce to more people in the region” says Ryan McInerney, President, Visa Inc.

He adds; “We are doubly proud and excited that the world-class executive we needed to bring into this role came from our own in-market ranks. This is testament to the value we place on hiring the best people, and helping them develop into the best they can be.” 

Visa’s mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure digital payment network that enables individuals, businesses and economies to thrive.

“Nowhere is our mission more important to economic growth and prosperity than in the CEMEA region,” says Torre. “By 2020, we estimate that around 25 percent of the world’s population will live in this region, and those consumers will be young, technology savvy, and hungry for financial services that are more relevant and accessible to them. This opens up exciting opportunities for us to service those future consumers through innovative, mobile technologies that Visa is deploying, right now, in market, in anticipation of future consumer needs.

He continues, “What is even more exciting is that there is a huge amount of home-grown innovation happening in markets around this region, led by local developers. We are enabling this innovation through the deployment of our APIs (application programming interfaces) to help developers access the Visa network, and then backing it up by creating innovation spaces, like our Center in Dubai and forthcoming Studio in Moscow, for them to co-create with us. These are hugely exciting times for the industry and for Visa, and I am honored to have been chosen to lead our efforts at this important moment in Visa’s history.”

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere.  As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com, www.visasoutheasteurope.com, https://www.facebook.com/VisaGeorgiaGE, www.visanewscissee.com

Georgian government delegation led by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili in company with Georgian students and representatives of various communities travelled to Europe on the first flight after the launch of visa-free travel with the EU. 
“It is the first historical visa-free travel of Georgian citizens to the EU/Schengen area. Visa liberalization offers Georgian citizens a broad spectrum of opportunities. Here are students who can freely establish contacts with their European friends and colleagues. Here are also businessmen who will be able to find partners throughout Europe, across the 500-million market. Visa-free travel also gives representatives of culture an access to various European programmes and funds and an opportunity to develop joint projects together with European partners” – Mikheil Janelidze said.  
The Georgian delegation will first arrive in Athens - the cradle of the European civilization, where they will take part in the Conference titled “Georgia from Europe to Europe”. While in Greece, the Georgian Prime Minister will meet his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras.
Members of the Georgian delegation will visit the historical part of the city and then will leave for Brussels where they will hold meetings Donald Tusk, President of the European Council and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. A reception evening will be held in Brussels on the occasion of Georgia’s visa liberalization.    

Live competition at Mobile World Congress challenges five start-ups to bring payments to the Internet of Things MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS – Barcelona, Spain – February 27, 2017 – Today, Visa announced that the Everywhere Initiative, an innovation program designed to encourage the development of the “next big thing” in payments, will expand into Europe. Entrants in Visa’s first-ever European Everywhere Initiative will have the opportunity to compete for a chance to win up to €50,000 to support a development program with Visa, or through business partnership with Visa’s clients, and potentially have access to Visa APIs, executive mentors and technologists. In addition to this new European program, Visa will also continue to host its Everywhere Initiatives in North America, Latin America and Asia in 2017. “In a highly dynamic industry, Visa’s Everywhere Initiative allows us to explore a host of ideas that solve business challenges, influence our product roadmaps, support our customers, and shape our culture of innovation,” said Shiv Singh, senior vice president of innovation and strategic partnerships, Visa Inc. “Every time we expand this program into a new region, we aim to attract talented entrepreneurs with fantastic ideas to the payments space, and we hope to see similar great outcomes in the European market in the months ahead.” Beginning in March 2017, Visa will invite eligible participants in Europe to submit their business solutions that apply to one of the following three briefs: • Local Community Challenge: How can digital payment technologies help create products that connect people and enrich local communities? • Regional Intercity Challenge: How can mobile technologies and connected devices transform the experience of intercity travel? • International Travel Challenge: How can new products and services, based on Visa APIs, deliver a more seamless international travel experience? Find more details about the competition here. Live Competition at Mobile World Congress To introduce the first-ever European Everywhere Initiative, Visa is hosting a live competition at Mobile World Congress on February 27, with five emerging technology companies competing for a €25,000 cash prize. These companies include: • Biowatch: Allows NFC payment and authentication based on vein pattern technology via a Bluetooth-enabled watch. Biowatch is based in Switzerland. • Maintool: Develops smart straps which, when attached to any watch, tracks a persons’ body vitals. Maintool is based in France. • Evopark: Helps consumers quickly find parking spaces in surrounding parking garages, with a simple monthly payment option. Evopark is based in Germany. • Wia: Offers a cloud-based platform for IoT solutions, with scalable back-end services like server management, data replication, and storage. Wia is based in Ireland. • Kwik: Provides a Wi-fi-based connected button which allows consumers to instantly buy products and services from merchants and other service providers. Kwik is based in Israel. Judges of the competition will include Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E Operations; Jean-Claude Deturche, senior vice president at Gemalto; Mark Antipof, chief officer of client engagement at Visa; Avin Arumugam, senior vice president of Internet of Things at Visa; and Shiv Singh, senior vice president innovation and strategic partnerships at Visa.   About Visa’s Everywhere Initiative Visa's Everywhere Initiative is an innovation program designed to encourage the “next big thing” in payments, as the payments industry shifts from plastic to digital and new entrants join traditional stakeholders in payments. The program first launched in the U.S. in 2015 and to-date, nearly 1,000 start-ups have collectively raised $1.7 billion in funding, with ultimately 60 finalists and 14 winners selected. ### About Visa Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products . For more information, visit: www.corporate.visa.com, www.visa.com.ge, https://www.facebook.com/VisaGeorgiaGE, Visa CISSEE Newsroom.

“Agreement on visa suspension mechanism big success for @EPPGroup. Visa-free travel for Georgia & Ukraine now possible. Europe is delivering,”-this statement was made by the German politician and Member of the European Parliament for Bavariawith the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, part of the European People's Party.
According to Manfred Weber, visa free regime will be possible for Ukrainians and Georgians after the visa suspension mechanism success. 

The U.K.’s referendum to leave the European Union sent political shockwaves across Europe and has cast a shadow of uncertainty on the future of the European project. But the Continent’s lack of strategic vision could have especially dangerous consequences for those still seeking to join its ranks — and for Georgia especially.
Georgia — located in the South Caucasus, population 3.8 million — has sought to join NATO for more than a decade. It needs an assurance from Alliance leaders meeting in Warsaw this week that instability at Europe’s core will not lead to instability on Europe’s periphery.
Georgia has made little progress on its NATO membership aspirations since the Alliance’s promises in 2008, despite meeting its obligations. Adding to Georgia’s frustration, the European Union announced in June its decision to delay visa liberalization for Georgia.
Disappointment and frustration have offered fertile ground for the unlikely rise of pro-Russian forces in Georgia, with parliamentary elections scheduled for October 8. EU and NATO failure to integrate Georgia more deeply has disillusioned many Georgians of their country’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Western institutions are letting down the most pro-Western and pro-American country of the former Soviet Union.
It is a mistake to assume that Georgians have no other options but to stay on a Western-oriented path. Simple geography dictates that Russia and Georgia will always be neighbors. Good relations between Tbilisi and Moscow are still desirable. The threat from Russia, exemplified most graphically in its invasion of Georgia in 2008, has not receded. And yet some Georgians are starting to conclude that, in the face of Western ambivalence, they should accommodate Russian demands to avoid another clash with Moscow.
Georgia’s frustrations are shared by Ukraine. The 2014 Ukrainian revolution was a rejection of then-president Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to improve ties with Moscow instead of Europe. Like Georgia, Ukraine eventually signed free trade and association agreements with the EU, but is still waiting on the granting of visa-free travel for Ukrainian citizens to demonstrate that their sacrifices were not in vain.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, support among Ukrainians for joining NATO has exceeded 50 percent for the first time. In Georgia, an overwhelming majority has long been in favor of Alliance membership. Georgia has been the third largest contributor to NATO operations in Afghanistan and has lent forces to other international missions. In fact, Georgia contributes more to international operations than most existing members of NATO. Georgia’s military has modernized and undertaken the necessary defense reforms NATO requires, including civilian control of the military.

“I voted for cooperation and security in Europe and in the world”, - the Speaker stated after voting for the OSCE PA President. According to Mr. Usupashvili, the OSCE principles and priorities shall be the guidelines upon voting for OSCE PA President.
“Naturally, every country has its internal national political context but in international organizations Georgia will become the respected actor and the participant when we learn to think of the world, Europe and global issues upon decision-making”.
As he elucidated, it is important to adhere to the established rules and principles in the international organizations and despite that the Assembly is held in Tbilisi, OSCE practice applies here.
The Speaker noted that he had intensive consultations with the Liberal-Democratic Group regarding the candidates for Presidency. “I took part in the conversations held under the aegis of the Liberal-Democratic Group Faction and we jointly agreed that it is better to elect Ms. Christine Muttonen as the Head of the OSCE PA for the next year, currently the Vice-President and it will be beneficial for OSCE and for Georgia. At that, I would like to underline that if other candidate wins, for instance Mr. Gigi Tsereteli, I hope that his internal political contradictions will not facilitate to expression of his attitude with the phrases damaging Georgia, which will not be beneficial for our future relations with OSCE and I hope that there will be no comments accusing the representatives of all 56 countries for any wrongful actions. So, I wish success to Ms. Muttonen and if other candidate wins, we will continue cooperation with OSCE PA in ordinary civilized form”.

As the member of Free Democrats Victor Dolidze said, the result of UK Referendum is not good for European Economics, European Security and Great Britain. According to him, the day have begin with bad news in the international media and society.
“If you have read the comments made by the world leaders and experts, they say that a lot of disasters may be caused by the result of the referendum. But this is the choice of Britain people and this is free choice. We should respect it,”-Victor Dolidze said.