DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, December 16 – Lawmakers in Georgia are clashing over whether to open a special investigative commission to review how police handled mass protests last year, including what was put in water cannons used to disperse crowds. The push is coming from the For Georgia faction of former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia. The faction has … Read more
TBILISI, December 16 – Heavy transport vehicles are queueing at the Upper Lars border crossing between Georgia and Russia, with long lines of trucks reportedly standing put on the North Ossetian side. According to figures cited by the Russian business daily Kommersant, around 2,500 heavy trucks are currently waiting to cross the border. Of those, … Read more
TBILISI, December 15 – Georgia’s Orthodox Church has suspended the rights of Father Dorote, a well-known cleric, to conduct priestly services. The decision quickly drew cricism from former president Salome Zourabichvili. The Patriarchate’s public relations service said Monday that Dorote, a cleric at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, has been stripped of the right to perform … Read more
TBILISI, December 15 – A lawmaker from the party For Georgia has dismissed a legal challenge at the Constitutional Court filed by the larger opposition party United National Movement (UNM) as a mere political maneuver. Vika Pilpani, an MP from the party founded by former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, spoke on Monday about UNM’s decision … Read more
TBILISI, December 13 – A major new UAE-linked project is proof that international investors regard Georgia as a stable and safe country to place their money in, according to Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili. Eagle Hills is a “real Georgian project” and will be implemented under national legislation and existing regulations, she said Friday, rejecting scaremongering … Read more
TBILISI, December 12 – Georgia’s parliament speaker blasted non-governmental organizations on Friday, describing the NGO system as a harmful export from the West to Eastern Europe’s fledgling democracies. Speaking on Friday, Shalva Papuashvili said the NGO model imposed on developing countries represents what he called “the greatest evil” created by the West in post-Soviet democracies. … Read more
TBILISI, December 12 – Tbilisi flips the switch on its main Christmas tree on Friday night, opening the city’s New Year village at First Republic Square, a new location that comes after last year’s holiday site became embroiled in political conflict. According to Tbilisi City Hall, the central tree will be lit at 20:00 on … Read more
TBILISI, December 12 – Georgia’s State Agency for Religious Affairs has sent a public greeting to the country’s Shia Muslim community on the occasion of the birthday of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. In a statement released on Friday, the agency noted that Shia Muslims mark the day as a religious holiday. Within … Read more
TBILISI, December 11 – A new global ranking of supermarket egg prices has put Georgia near the middle of the table but still at the top among its immediate neighbors. The data, published by the price-comparison platform Numbeo and reported by BPN, shows how much the cost of a standard 12-egg carton varies across 101 … Read more
TBILISI, December 11 – Europe’s human rights court has ruled that Georgia was responsible for several violations during and after the breakup of a riot in June, 2019 dubbed the “Gavrilov Night”. The court found Georgia at fault for excessive police force, botched investigations and breaches of free speech and assembly, while also confirming that … Read more