Monday, April 13, 2026

DFWatch staff

Georgia halts public transport in biggest cities amid new deadly wave of Covid-19

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TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian government is tightening regulations due to the worsening epidemiological situation, but still refrains from reintroducing curfew and lockdown, measures that are wildly unpopular among the population. The government was originally expected to announce a new tightening of measures on Tuesday after news of hospitals buckling under the stress of skyrocketing Covid-19 numbers, … Read more

Covid-19 surge reaching crisis point in Georgia as hospitals struggle

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TBILISI, DFWatch–The recent surge in Covid-19 is causing a steadily deteriorating situation in Georgia and approaching crisis level. Hospitals are reporting  an acute shortage of free beds and medical staff, while the government is considering more restrictions, something it did not intend to do before the October 2 local elections. “We will meet again at … Read more

Georgia brings back some stricter regulations amid skyrocketing number of new Covid-19 cases

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Against the backdrop of a skyrocketing number of new cases of Covid-19 and a steady increase in the number of deaths, authorities in Georgia decided Monday to bring back stricter regulations, but stopped short of using another round of lockdown or curfews to battle the virus. The Interagency Coordinating Council met on Monday and … Read more

Georgia denies that PM Gharibashvili's visit request was turned down by Baltic states

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies claims by the opposition that the three Baltic countries refused to host PM Irakli Gharibashvili, who was planning a visit. One of the largest online publications in Lithuania, 15min.lt, confirmed, based on anonymous sources, that the PM’s request to come on an official trip to Lithuania was rejected. … Read more

For the first time, Georgia's president criticizes the country's ruling party

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TBILISI, DFWatch–President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili has criticized the ruling Georgian Dream party for unilaterally abandoning the EU-mediated agreement.  She also reiterated the importance of the country’s European development. This is the first time the president has criticized the political movement that brought her to the presidency. Salome Zourabichvili was able to win the 2018 … Read more

Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling to run for mayor of Gori for Georgia's ruling party

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian Dream has nominated Olympic champion Vladimer (Lado) Khinchegashvili as a candidate for mayor of Gori in the October local elections. Following the results of the previous elections in this city, the 30-year-old athlete, who has not yet made a public announcement to leave the sport, will most likely win this election. Lado Khinchegashvili … Read more

Georgia responds to Russian threat of 'countermeasures' to NATO drills

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TBILISI, DFWatch–As NATO’s military drills ‘Agile Spirit 2021’ got underway in Georgia this week, spokespersons for both Georgia and Russia made warning statements illustrating the risk of another round of conflict.  Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov first said NATO’s Agile Spirit 2021 exercise with 2,500 military personnel from 12 alliance members and three partner countries right … Read more

GD withdrawal from EU-brokered political agreement fuels confrontation ahead local elections

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Georgian Dream’s withdrawal from the EU-brokered political agreement has fueled ongoing political confrontation in the country. The case has even reached the point where part of the opposition is considering boycotting the local elections scheduled in October. One MP, Zurab “Girchi” Japaridze, has already left parliament. On Wednesday the GD announced about pulling out from … Read more

Georgia's public defender calls on law enforcement to prosecute perpetrators of July 5 violence

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s public defender calls on law enforcement bodies to react to the violent attacks on journalists during the night of July 5 and the following days and make the results public. After crowds of ultra conservatives hunted down journalists in the street and beat them in the night of July 5 to 6, locally … Read more