Thursday, March 19, 2026

News

16 detained in Georgia for spreading compromising video of ruling party politician on social media

by

TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Georgia detained 16 persons on Friday after compromising videos were spread on social media showing a well-known politician from the ruling Georgian Dream party. The detainees, who include two opposition activists and a popular singer, are charged with keeping and distributing videos depicting someone’s private life. The opposition immediately criticized the government, … Read more

Abkhazia may block people from leaving to seek medical treatment because it undermines the breakaway region's 'statehood'

by

GALI, DFWatch–Sokhumi ponders prohibiting Abkhazians from travelling to Georgia proper for medical treatment and in search of other opportunities, because these developments undermine the breakaway region’s ‘statehood’. “Those Abkhazians who go to Georgia and receive Georgian citizenship in exchange for loans or other social benefits are actually betraying their nation. I hope the legislators will … Read more

UK fugitive surrenders to police in Tbilisi, Georgia

by

TBILISI, DFWatch–Jack Shepherd, 31, a UK national who was sentenced to six years in jail last July for the unintentional killing of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown, surrendered to police in Tbilisi, Georgia where he has been hiding for months. Prior to his surrender, Shepherd gave an interview to the Georgian TV station Rustavi 2 in which … Read more

20 students may fail exams due to Abakhazia's flu quarantine

by

TBILISI, DFWatch–Due to the closure of the Enguri checkpoint, students from breakaway Abkhazia’s Gali district are unable pass their exams, which may result in their expulsion from the university. The problems come on the heel of a quarantine declared in early January by Georgia’s two breakaway republics Abkhazia and South Ossetia in order to prevent … Read more

South Ossetia cut off from Russia as personnel unable to clear road of snow for a week

by

TBILISI, DFWatch–The only road that connects South Ossetia to Russia was still blocked Monday after being closed for traffic seven days ago due to heavy snowfall and avalanches. Personnal dispatched by Tskhinvali has been trying to clear the road throughout the weekend and even carried out several controled explosions to try to trigger artificial avalanches. … Read more

Two gas inspectors in KazTransGaz detained for failing to act on gas leak warning before deadly explosion

by

TBILISI, DFWatch–The police on Friday detained two people in relation to the deadly gas explosion in Tbilisi which claimed the lives of four, including a 4 year old boy, his mother and an aunt. The two detainees are employees of KazTransGaz and are part of a crew that was dispatched to the scene of the … Read more

Four people killed as gas explosion rocks apartment block in Tbilisi

by

TBILISI, DFWatch–Four people were killed and seven people injured when an explosion rocked a block of apartments in uptown Tbilisi Wednesday evening. Among the injured is one child, whose condition is serious, health minister Davit Sergeenko said. The explosion is thought to have been caused by a natural gas leak in a flat in Didi … Read more

Abkhazia, South Ossetia declare quarantine to limit spread of flu virus

by

TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s two breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on Friday declared a quarantine in order to prevent the spread of the influenza virus H1N1 from Georgia proper. The quarantine will last for two months and not 20 days, as previously reported. In practice, a quarantine means an almost total ban on entering and … Read more

Flu death count reaches 13 in Georgia

by

TBILISI, DFWatch–13 people have died from flu in Georgia since the start of this flu season, the country’s health minister said on Thursday. The number of hospitalizations due to influenza diagnosis has increased to 845 from the previous 616. 44 patients are intensive care at different hospitals throughout the country, Health Minister Davit Sergeenko said. … Read more

Abkhazia considers 20 day quarantine to stem flu epidemic, locals say real reason is shortage of medicines

by

GALI, DFWatch–Sokhumi plans to announce a 20 day quarantine and close Enguri checkpoint,  the sole passage between Georgia proper and breakaway Abkhazia, locals familiar with the situation told DFWatch. Although breakaway officials claim no instances of H1N1 influenza virus have been reported so far in Abkhazia, DFWatch has witnessed at least dozens of instances of … Read more