DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, DFWatch–A man from Pankisi valley in Georgia have been killed in Syria. Ruslan Tokhosashvili, 35, was the 33rd Kist militant from Pankisi killed in Syria, local-based radio station, Radioway, reports. Tokhosashvili reportedly left his native village of Birkiani for Syria in 2014 and joined the terror group Islamic State. Birkiani is the home village … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian government’s reputation for interfering in business was further strengthened on Monday as the founder of the country’s largest bank accused several named officials of trying to force the bank to help in the election campaign. Mamuka Khazaradze, the founder of Georgia’s largest bank, TBC, has accused the authorities of trying to threaten … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Nearly 29,000 foreign students are enrolled at universities and other higher educational institutions in Georgia; most of them come from Turkey, Iraq and India, as well as other Asian countries. The number of foreign students has doubled during the last four years, from 4,812 in 2015 to 9,710 in 2018-2019, according to data provided … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s ruling party has lost its constitutional majority after three of its members of parliament left the party on Friday. Ever since the party seized power from Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement in October 2012, Georgian Dream has controlled at least two thirds of seats in the national assembly – until now. But although … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia may make it a criminal offense to make maps of the country without the two breakaway republics Abkhazia and South Ossetia as constituent parts. Parliament is to review a draft bill that, if passed, will impose criminal sanctions, including up to two years imprisonment, for producing and distributing a map which doesn’t include … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The confrontation between Georgia’s biggest private financial institution and the government grew worse on Thursday as the National Bank sanctioned two of the key persons in TBC Bank. The National Bank of Georgia issued a statement on Thursday which orders to suspend the signature rights of Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, Chairman and Deputy … Read more
ცხინვალის რეჟიმის ხელმძღვანელმა სამშაბათს მოსკოვში “სახელმწიფო ჯილდოები” გადასცა იმ რუს ჟურნალისტებს, რომლებიც 2008 წლის ომს “ობიექტურად” აშუქებდნენ. დაჯილდოვებულთა შორის არიან რუსეთის სახელმწიფო ტელეარხების RT-ის, ВГТРК-ისა და ТВ Центр-ის კორესპონდენტები და ოპერატორები.
TBILISI, DFWatch–A woman originally from the Georgian breakaway territory of South Ossetia was Thursday appointed head of Russia’s federal tourism agency Rosturizm, TASS reports. Prior to her new job, Zarina Doguzova, 33, worked at the communications department at the administration of President Vladimir Putin, where she supervised the division responsible for information and analytical support … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Traffic resumed Tuesday across the Enguri bridge, the only crossing between the breakaway region Abkhazia and Georgia proper, locals told DFWatch. However, the bureaucratic hurdles bar most of Gali residents from crossing the conflict line. January 11, breakaway authorities declared a quarantine and unilaterally blocked passage on Enguri bridge due to outbreak of swine … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–From August, 2019, several new flight destinations will connect Kutaisi with cities in Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Estonia, Netherlands and Italy. The new flights to Basel, Copenhagen, Brussels, Tallinn, Eindhoven and Bari will be offered by Wizzair, the Hungarian budget airline, operating out of David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport. The new routes will become … Read more