SHEVARDNADZE RECEIVES DEMOCRACY PRIZE IN ISRAEL.

In the presence of Israel’s political elite, Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze received yesterday in Jerusalem the prize of Israel’s Democracy Institute. He was awarded the prize in recognition of his support for Jewish emigration from Soviet Georgia and the USSR to Israel, and for his merits in "Georgia’s democratic development" since independence. During his visit, Shevardnadze also met separately with Israeli president Ezer Weizman and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shevardnadze’s immediate predecessor as recipient of this prize is former U.S. secretary of state George Shultz. (International agencies, January 15) Last month, the Georgian president received the Richard Nixon Prize in recognition of his contribution to ending the Cold War in Europe and of his state-building work in Georgia.

Azerbaijan’s Ex-Parliamentary Chairman Accused of Organizing Criminal Plot.