DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, August 18 – A senior Georgian Dream lawmaker has claimed that Georgian youth are being trained abroad, with alleged backing from the UK, to prepare for violent protests ahead of the country’s October 4 local elections. Irakli Zarkua, chair of parliament’s diaspora committee, told reporters that young activists were being coached in Lithuania, allegedly … Read more
TBILISI, August 18 – Georgia is preparing for nationwide local elections on October 4, but the gap between the government and much of the opposition has rarely looked wider. The Central Election Commission (CEC) says more than 24,000 people applied this month to work in polling stations, with 9,117 vying for leadership roles and over … Read more
TBILISI, August 18 – Police in Tbilisi detained two protesters in front of parliament Sunday. Protesters had gathered outside Georgia’s parliament on Rustaveli Avenue, on the 263rd day of a protest launched in response to the disputed election last year, again blocking the central street as part of one of the country’s longest-running demonstrations. Authorities … Read more
TBILISI, August 18 – A young woman in the Georgian town of Marneuli allegedly stabbed her fiance after finding him in an apartment with another woman. The couple was set to marry on August 17. According to police, the bride-to-be showed up at the apartment accompanied by another woman, confronted her fiance, and then attacked … Read more
TBILISI, August 18 – Snake experts in Georgia say around ten killer snakes have been caught in Tbilisi so far this summer. Levantine vipers are known locally as giurza and considered one of the most dangerous snakes in the Caucasus. The number of them caught so far – ten – is about the same as … Read more
TBILISI, August 17 – Campaigning in the western town of Kharagauli, Lelo spokesman Grigol Gegelia slammed Georgian Dream’s local officials for wasting public money on what he called “fake jobs.” He pointed to a local cleaning program where more than USD 900,000 went to salaries last year, claiming many of the positions were artificially created … Read more
TBILISI, August 17 – A teenager was seriously injured in Batumi after being struck by a moving train in the city’s Tamar district. Local residents told reporters the train ran over the teenager’s leg. Emergency responders rushed the injured child to a nearby clinic, where doctors were forced to amputate the leg due to the … Read more
TBILISI, August 16 – Prosecutors in Georgia say a man has been charged after shooting a dog dead with an air rifle and being caught with an unlicensed firearm at his home. The incident happened on August 15 in the village of Kisiskhevi, part of Telavi municipality in eastern Georgia. According to investigators, the suspect … Read more
TBILISI, August 16 – A local government official in northern Georgia has been arrested after allegedly taking a cash bribe in exchange for mining rights. Investigators say the official, working in Oni municipality, demanded 1,800 lari (about USD 650) from a resident who wanted to extract peat in the area. He was detained on the … Read more
TBILISI, August 15 – Six non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say they have received another warning from the country’s Anti-Corruption Bureau accusing them of breaking Georgia’s new ‘foreign agents’ law. The legislation requires certain groups receiving funding from abroad to register in a public database. Critics liken it to similar laws in Russia, arguing it is designed … Read more