DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, September 1 – Georgia’s 2025 grape harvest begins under new rules that scrap subsidies for private companies and leave only the state-owned “Harvest Management Company” to buy up surplus grapes. The government also announced prices in advance: 1.50 lari per kilo for Saperavi, 1.20 lari for Rkatsiteli and other varieties, and 1 lari for … Read more
TBILISI, September 1 – Georgia has introduced new residency rules that could affect expats and freelancers in Georgia’s growing IT community. From now on, IT specialists must prove they earned at least USD 25,000 (or the equivalent in lari) in the past year to qualify. Applicants also need to show at least two years of … Read more
TBILISI, September 1 – In the first six months of 2025, Georgia recorded 2,860 road accidents, leaving 3,860 injured and 216 dead. Compared to last year, fatalities have risen by 20%, prompting warnings from road safety advocates that urgent action is needed. The new figures are a marked setback on the background of a UN-backed … Read more
TBILISI, September 1 – Former Georgian prime minister Giorgi Gakharia has been outside the country for more than two months, and on August 30 local media reported that he has received residency in Germany. His party, For Georgia, which is running a joint candidate with Lelo for Tbilisi mayor, did not confirm the claim but … Read more
TBILISI, September 1 – In an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, Georgia’s president, Mikheil Kavelashvili, urged Washington to reset the strategic partnership between the two countries. Kavelashvili praised Trump’s role in strengthening ties with Georgia’s neighbors, from helping broker peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan to renewing dialogue with Turkey and even with Russia. … Read more
TBILISI, August 31 – A fresh clash has erupted between Georgia’s authorities and the UK Embassy over the treatment of civil society groups. The embassy said it was “deeply disturbed” by the Prosecutor General’s Office decision to freeze the bank accounts of seven NGOs under investigation for alleged sabotage. It warned the move looked politically … Read more
TBILISI, August 31 – New figures show that just 8 percent of vehicles in Georgia are covered by insurance. As of June 30, 2025, 146,271 land vehicles (excluding trains) were insured, up from 133,540 in the first half of 2024 and 121,512 in 2023. Despite steady growth, most cars in the country still remain uninsured. … Read more
TBILISI, August 31 – Irakli Kupradze, a candidate for mayor of Tbilisi, has been meeting residents in the city’s Samgori and Varketili districts. His campaign team, backed by two pro-EU opposition parties, said he was out meeting people in order to listen directly to their everyday problems. Kupradze pledged that, if elected, addressing these local … Read more
TBILISI, August 31 – Protesters gathered at the rear entrance of Georgia’s parliament on Saturday, drawing citizens carrying the slogan “Georgian, therefore European”. Earlier in the day, relatives of people detained at previous demonstrations visited the European Union delegation’s office in Tbilisi, where they handed over a letter written by Zviad Tsetskhladze. Afterward, the group … Read more
TBILISI, August 31 – Georgia’s largest opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM), claims illegal construction is spreading daily in Bakhmaro, a mountain resort in the west of the country. Levan Khabeishvili, chair of the UNM political council, accused government officials, including the mayor of Chokhatauri, of being behind the activity. He described the destruction … Read more