DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, April 9, Georgia’s annual memorial for the victims of the April 9, 1989 Soviet crackdown turned tense on Thursday, as mourning ceremonies outside parliament were repeatedly interrupted by shouting and scuffles. Citizens and activists spent the night at the April 9 memorial in central Tbilisi, where people gathered through the morning to honor the … Read more
TBILISI, April 9 – Georgia on Thursday marked 37 years since the April 9 tragedy, one of the most painful and defining dates in the country’s modern history. In the early hours of April 9, 1989, units of the Soviet Union’s armed forces broke up a peaceful protest in central Tbilisi near the parliament building. … Read more
TBILISI, April 8 – Georgia’s government says train travel is about to get faster and broader, with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announcing new rail directions from Tbilisi and major cuts in travel time on two key routes. Speaking at a government meeting on Wednesday, Kobakhidze said the railway network will add a Tbilisi-Kutaisi direction and … Read more
TBILISI, April 8 – Georgia’s parliament is set to take up a bill that would wipe out fines and late-payment penalties imposed on people punished after recent rallies and demonstrations. The proposal was submitted by the opposition party For Georgia, led by former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, and is due to be discussed in first … Read more
TBILISI, April 7 – Georgia’s central bank chief backs parliament’s price probe as a way to enhance competition and transparency, while the IMF warns against sliding into blunt price controls. It started as a Christmas Eve video message by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and developed into first a government commission and then a parliamentary one. … Read more
TBILISI, April 7 – Georgian authorities said Tuesday they had arrested 44 people in a nationwide operation targeting suspects linked to the country’s criminal underworld, with charges also set to be filed in absentia against six more. The announcement was made by Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze at a briefing, where he said one of … Read more
TBILISI, April 7 – A municipal employee in eastern Georgia has been arrested on suspicion of demanding and taking a bribe in exchange for signing off on procurement-related paperwork, Georgian investigators said Tuesday. The employee worked as a senior specialist in the supervision and technical division of the Gardabani municipal mayor’s office, according to Georgia’s … Read more
TBILISI, April 7 – Georgia may soon introduce a new visa category aimed at attracting wealthy foreign visitors, under a fast-tracked bill now moving through parliament. The proposed new permit, called the C5 ordinary visa, would be a multiple-entry short-term visa valid for five years, with the right to stay in Georgia for up to … Read more
TBILISI, April 7 – Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party has moved to amend the country’s law on grants once again, in the latest step in a broader tightening of rules around foreign funding of civil society. According to Interpressnews, lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) have submitted a new bill that would clarify which … Read more
TBILISI, March 28 – After the burial of Patriarch Ilia II last Sunday, debate in Georgia has shifted from national mourning to the question of who will eventually lead the country’s powerful Orthodox Church. The core official message so far is that the decision belongs to the Holy Synod, while church officials have also tried … Read more