Thursday, March 19, 2026

News

Khazaradze quits Anaklia deep water port project but vows to 'fight till the end' as money laundering trial continues

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi city court on Friday released the two founders of Georgia’s largest bank against a 700,000 lari bail each. The two were also barred from leaving the country without notifying  investigators. The defendants, Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, said they will step down from their managerial positions at Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) in order … Read more

Georgia detains opposition politician for attempting coup d'etat

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Georgia Thursday detained the leader of an opposition party and charged him with participating in an attempted coup d’etat. Irakli Okruashvili, who served as defense minister and prosecutor general during Mikheil Saakashvili’s presidency, was apprehended as he was on his way to meet with members of a new political party, Victorious Georgia, … Read more

Georgia charges two in case of leaked compromising video of outspoken female GD lawmaker

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Georgia have identified the person responsible for uploading to the internet a compromising video of an outspoken female member of parliament. The person identified by his initials as D.A. is currently serving a prison sentence in Armenia, a spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Tuesday.  The spokesman added that … Read more

NATO asked Georgia's breakaway region Abkhazia to reopen checkpoint in 2016

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TBILISI, DFWatch–NATO asked breakaway Abkhazia to reopen a checkpoint to Georgia proper in 2016, local media report. The incident happened after the de facto authorities closed all but one of the crossings along the administrative border line that separates the breakaway republic from the rest of Georgia. Temur Nadaraia, who heads the de facto administration … Read more

Main opposition candidate in Abkhazia stands down due to ill health, replacement vows to stay on same course

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TBILISI, DFWatch–One of the opposition parties in Abkhazia has officially nominated its chairman Alhaz Kvitsinia as a candidate for president of the breakaway republic. A local party official said this in a speech at a party congress of the Amtsakhar party, one of the largest opposition parties in the disputed region. Aslan Bzhania, the joint … Read more

Alliance of Patriots sends three MPs to Moscow to 'enhance relations' between Georgia and Russia

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Three members of the Georgian parliament are to visit Moscow and meet the Russian Duma member whose recent visit to Tbilisi led to the country’s worst political crisis for years. The three Georgian MPs represent the Alliance of Patriots and plan to meet Duma member Sergey Gavrilov, who sparked outrage last month when he … Read more

Anti-government protesters's tent camp attacked at GD leader Ivanishvili's private resort

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TBILISI, DFWatch–A group of angry men assaulted a small protest rally at the residence of Georgian Dream leader, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili on Wednesday, according to the opposition United National Movement. The residence is situated at Shekvetili, a Black Sea coastal resort in Ozurgeti Municipality in western Georgia. The group of attackers consisted of 50 men, … Read more

Russia grants South Ossetians right to stay indefinitely

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Russia has granted citizens of South Ossetia the right to stay in Russia indefinitely, in a move seen as yet another step toward annexation of the tiny breakaway territory. Under the current bilateral agreement between Moscow and Tskhinvali, citizens of the breakaway republic are allowed to stay in Russia for up to 90 days … Read more

Owner of Georgia's largest bank plans to go into politics

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TBILISI, DFWatch–The founder of Georgia’s largest bank has announced his intention to establish a “public movement”, a step seen by many as a bid to enter politics. Mamuka Khazaradze, the founder of TBC Bank, wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday that the June 20 events were a “watershed” that moved him to act. “I … Read more

Tbilisi Pride canceled due to safety breach but conservatives gather regardless

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Organizers of Tbilisi Pride called off the queer rights march after the location was revealed online, but opponents were suspicious and mobilized anyway. The first gay rights march in the Caucasus was originally planned for June but postponed due to anti-government protests that turned violent. Monday was set as new date for Tbilisi Pride, … Read more