Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Ivanishvili reluctantly agrees to run as a French candidate

Bidzina Ivanishvili continues to pursue his goal of reclaiming his Georgian citizenship, but accepts that he might have to run as a Frenchman under a constitutional change that seems set to be passed. (Photo: Mari Nikuradze.)

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili continues his struggle to be allowed to stand for election for parliament in October.

His lawyers say a recently proposed constitutional change to allow non-Georgians to hold office has not made the

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Six detained for assassination attempt on Abkhazian leader

A burnt-out car after the attack on de facto leader Alexander Ankvab in February; the sixth assassination attempt he has survived.

TBILISI, DFWatch – The de facto authorities in Abkhazia yesterday detained six suspects in the case about the assassination attempt on the president in February.

On February 22, Alexander Ankvab’s car was fired on with machine guns and a

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Allegations of a plot against Ivanishvili not taken seriously

Former Public Defender, and now Ivanishvili supporter, Sozar Subari believes there is a plot by the government to kill opposition businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili.

TBILISI, DFWatch – The government in Georgia does not take seriously allegations about the existence of a plan to kill President Saakashvili’s main competitor, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Full transcript here

But one of the politicians in Ivanishvili’s coalition says that

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Media regulatory body denies harassment

Zurab Bazghadze, director of marketing and development of Global TV, says the commission which regulates media has made them take certain popular Russian channels off the air, and it may have been done to aid their competitor Silknet, which is closer to the government. (Photo: Mari Nikuradze.)

TBILISI, DFWatch – The media regulatory body in Georgia Thursday said a cable station was trying to politicize the situation in order to divert attention from its own violations.

The body has fined Trialeti TV 5 000 lari (about USD 3 000) for broadcasting on a

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Court removes licence requirement for cable broadcasters

Satellite broadcast will still require a license, but cable is exempt, follow the ruling. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia’s Constitutional Court made a decision in favor of canceling the requirement of a license for cable broadcasting. But a license is still needed for satellite broadcasting.

The court partly satisfied an appeal by the Public Defender, who

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Georgia protests destruction of royal grave in Moscow

Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani, a prince and writer who lived in the 18th century, is buried at Vsesvyatsky Cemetery in Moscow.

TBILISI, DFWatch – The Georgian Foreign Ministry has formally protested against how Russia is treating a royal cemetary in Moscow.

Tbilisi believes that authorities in Moscow are going ahead with construction work on the cemetary, which contains the graves of the

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Arab Spring negotiator comes to Tbilisi for talks

Frank Wisner (left) came on invitation by Bidzina Ivanishvili (right), and the two answered questions from journalists outside Ivanishvili's futuristic complex in Tbilisi. In January 2011, Wisner was sent by Obama to defuse the Egyptian crisis. (Photo: Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch – Frank Wisner, former US Ambassador to the UN, who last year negotiated with Hosni Mubarak to defuse the Egyptian crisis, is in Georgia to hold meetings.

Wisner arrived on invitation of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Georgian president’s main political

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