DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, July 8 – Former Georgian prime minister Giorgi Gakharia has accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of failing to defend Georgia’s national interests abroad, saying his own team is trying to do that work at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly session in The Hague. Gakharia, who now leads the opposition party Gakharia for Georgia, wrote … Read more
TBILISI, July 8 – Georgia’s parliament speaker has warned the European Union not to create second-class members if it changes voting rules for future entrants. Shalva Papuashvili made the comment on Tuesday after a meeting in Serbia with parliament speakers from EU candidate countries, where they discussed a new initiative that would restrict veto rights … Read more
TBILISI, July 7 – Georgia’s hate speech crackdown is moving ahead, with courts issuing new penalties in cases involving public insults against political and private figures. Kutaisi City Court has fined Davit Svanadze 2,000 GEL (USD 750) after finding that he insulted Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, Rezonansi reported on Tuesday. Kaladze is one of the … Read more
TBILISI, July 7 – More than 95 percent of applicants showed up for Georgia’s English-language entrance exam on July 6 and 7, the National Assessment and Examinations Center said on Tuesday. The English exam for university applicants has now been completed, according to figures published by the center and reported by Rezonansi. The exams are … Read more
TBILISI, July 7 – Georgia says it will keep control of the planned Anaklia deep sea port, a major Black Sea project that the government presents as a key part of the Middle Corridor trade route between Asia and Europe. Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili said on Monday that the project model has been changed, Rezonansi … Read more
TBILISI, July 6 – A man has been arrested in Tbilisi after two people were wounded in a shooting during a dispute in the Vashlijvari district, Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Sunday. The incident happened on Saturday in Vashlijvari, a district in the northwest of the Georgian capital, and was initially reported by … Read more
TBILISI, July 6 – A man has been arrested in western Georgia after allegedly killing his neighbor during a domestic dispute in Kutaisi, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Sunday. According to the ministry, officers from the Imereti Police Department and the Patrol Police Department detained a man who has been convicted multiple times … Read more
TBILISI, July 5 – The opposition party Freedom Square has taken its summer campaign to Zugdidi, launching a 10-day tour of Georgia’s western Samegrelo region at a time when much of the country’s political class is slowing down for the season. Party leader Levan Tsutskiridze said the group would meet supporters, citizens and “friends” across … Read more
TBILISI, July 5 – A fire broke out near the Tbilisi Sea settlement on Sunday evening, but was quickly put out, Georgia’s Emergency Management Service told Interpressnews. The fire was reported in the area near Tbilisi Sea, a large reservoir and recreation zone on the eastern side of the Georgian capital. According to the emergency … Read more
TBILISI, July 4 – Europe’s liberal party alliance ALDE has adopted a sharply critical resolution on Georgia, calling for targeted sanctions against people it says are responsible for human rights violations, democratic backsliding and political repression. The resolution was adopted Saturday at the ALDE congress in Vienna, according to Interpressnews, which cited information from Georgian … Read more