Rally against pope’s visit (liberali Photo) TBILISI, DFWatch–A radical Orthodox Christian group Friday protested against Pope Francis’s visit to Georgia with a small gathering of about 30 persons shouting ‘devil’, ‘cursed’ and holding posters with messages like ‘Antichrist, get out of Georgia.’ […]
(Administration of President) Tbilisi, DFWatch – Pope Francis’s aircraft landed at Tbilisi International Airport on Friday afternoon. Next day he’s having a mass and sermon in Tbilisi second largest football stadium, where he’ll likely touch political themes. However, Georgia’s ambassador at Vatican isn’t optimistic the Pope will use a term ‘occupation’. Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, head of Georgian Orthodox Church, as well as President Giorgi Margvelashvili met the Pope at the airport. […]
Tbilisi, DFWatch - A member of Georgian parliament, notorious for his radical anti-NATO, antigay statements, Thursday withdrew his candidacy in a majoritarian district and expressed support to Georgian Dream and its founder, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. Nine days before the election Tamaz Mechiauri, MP and a leader of a party 'Tamaz Mechiauri – United Georgia", [...]
(Interpressnews) Tbilisi, DFwatch – Beauty salons have to formally register at the Public Registry from October 1, in order to be properly examined by the Ministry of Health in the frames of the government program aimed at eliminating Hepatitis C. […]
Giga Bokeria, Secretary of the Security Council (IPN) TBILISI, DFWatch–The National Movement will not prosecute Bidzina Ivanishvili and his supporters , Giga Bokeria, the party’s foreign affairs secretary said at a briefing on Wednesday. Bokeria predicts ‘inevitable’ loss by the Georgian Dream, […]
(interpressnews) TBILISI, DFWatch–Eleven people were detained for hooliganism Tuesday night during a rally of radical Georgian youth groups in downtown Tbilisi. The police interfered only after the march of Georgian Power, an overtly neo-Nazi bunch of teenagers, went sour, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Paata Burchuladze, a world famous operatic bass who recently formed a political coalition with three other parties, said that he asked Girchi, one of the most important parts of his coalition, to leave. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–An audio tape was published Tuesday which appear to capture a conversation between former President Mikheil Saakashvili and other UNM party members plotting a revolution in Georgia. The tape was uploaded to Youtube by a user called Creative Georgia News. […]
Georgian Dream secretary Irakli Kobakhidze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s governing party denies that it is planning a final campaign rally before the parliamentary election, despite claims to the contrary from its challenger UNM. One of Georgian Dream’s main challengers, the National Movement (UNM), […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian Railway is in talks about increasing rail freight between Iran and Bulgaria through Georgia. The target group of the plan is Iranian investors looking to establish a foothold in the European market. Through using the railway connection […]
Bidzina Ivanishvili. TBILISI, DFWatch–Businessman and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said Monday that he would like to see Irakli Garibashvili as president. Ivanishvili said this while meeting with local media in Rustavi, a town south of Tbilisi. He said the former PM is ‘a good option for a spare’ […]
(DF Watch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The pedestrian zone of Aghmashenebeli Avenue in Tbilisi opened on Sunday after several months of renovation work. The facelift of one of the oldest streets in the Georgian capital was financed by the local government and Tbilisi Development Foundation. Tbilisi City Hall decided to refurbish […]
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Student activists interrupted the traditional welcoming of new students at Tbilisi State University on Monday, in protest against the election of a former deputy education minister as new rector. An activist group called Auditorium 115 prevented Giorgi Sharvashidze […]
Marneuli Radio (DFWatch) TBILISI, DFWatch–In Marneuli, a predominantly ethnic Azerbaijani town in the south of Georgia, the community radio is the only media outlet which is critical of the local government and trying to be balanced, unbiased and objective. Parvin Abdulaev has show about traditions (DFWatch) Ainura has talk-show about travelling (DFWatch) The people behind Radio Marneuli went through many difficulties until they finally […]
Trustee of the village Tsnori, Tamaz Mateshvili, resigned after the incident. TBILISI, DFWatch–The trustee of a village in eastern Georgia has resigned after admitting that he hit a journalist in the face. The journalist, Gela Mtivlishvili, had showed up at a stretch of road where asphalt was being laid down in pouring rain in anticipation of a visit by […]
Students at Tbilisi State University held sit-ins in March and April, 2016. (DF Watch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Students at Tbilisi State University threaten to resume their sit-ins and blockades after a former deputy education minister Friday became new rector in what they claim was rigged a election. Gia Sharvashidze was backed by 21 members of TSU’s academic council. […]
(ipn) TBILISI, DFWatch–Beijing-Urumqi-Tbilisi flights have been scheduled from Friday, according to Georgia’s National Tourism Administration. China’s Southern Airlines, China’s largest flight companies, will carry out the flights two times in every week. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court has found a former interior minister and two other ex-officials guilty of beating a parliamentarian in 2005. The guilty verdict against Vano Merabishvili, Erekle Kodua and Gia Siradze […]
(Ministry of Finance.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Financial crime investigators in Georgia have confiscated a hundred home-made slot machines that were placed in several cities around the country. The grey and blue columns do not look like typical slot machines, but offer customers […]
Neighbors of the madrasa placed a pig’s head on the door. (TV 25.) TBILISI, DFWatch–In Batumi, the City Court on Monday ruled partly in favor of the Muslim community in a conflict about a planned religious boarding school called a madrasa. The court case, which has lasted two years, deals with a conflict among locals in the town Kobuleti, […]
Gia Lortkipanidze (Ipn) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia (POG) has indicted a former Georgian official and Odessa governor confidant in Ukraine for directing a brutal dispersal of opposition rally back in 2011. Gia Lortkipanidze, a deputy of then omnipotent […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–A young man was electrocuted in Batumi on Wednesday after he jumped into a swimming pool to save a three-year-old girl. The incident happened at about 11:00 in the morning in a guesthouse at a place called Benze. A girl fell into the pool in the garden […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–A group of orthodox Christian parents in Georgia are planning to demonstrate against Pope Francis during his visit the coming week. The group is called the Union of Orthodox Parents and is well-known among locals for its confrontational style and conservative views. […]
National Association of Energy and Environment TBILISI, DFWatch–Construction work on Georgia’s first wind farm has been completed near Gori, the Energy Development Fund of Georgia announced. The facility consists of six turbines, each with a power output of 3.45MW. […]
Gia Lortkipanidze doesn’t have time to answer questions about policy brutality on May 26, 2011, because he has to hold a speech in the parliament in Ukraine. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A former Georgian government official has refused to travel from Ukraine to Georgia to answer questions about a violent dispersal of anti-government protesters five and a half years ago. Gia Lortkipanidze is head of police in Ukraine’s Odessa region, […]
(SotnikTV) Tbilisi,DFWatch – Russian opposition journalist published a video on Tuesday stating he has to leave Russia and settle in Georgia ‘for some time’. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The Prosecutor General’s Office in Georgia on Tuesday charged four former officials for their handling of the dispersal of an anti-government rally in Tbilisi on May 26, 2011. The four are charged with exceeding their official powers. […]
Their robbery spree targeted two banks and a convenience store in Vazisubani, a district of Tbilisi. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Georgia arrested two men Monday who are suspected of robbing several banks and a convenience store in the Vazisubani district of Tbilisi two days earlier. One of the men was arrested on the Armenian border at Sadakhlo, […]
It took just four weeks into the new season for new match fixing to appear in Georgian football. According to a UEFA Betting Fraud Detection System report, which was sent to the Georgian Football Federation (GFF), the result of a September 8 match between Merani Martvili and Rustavi was manipulated. According to the UEFA report, an unusual number of bets were placed during the match for Merani to win and for more than 2.5 goals to be scored. Merani was a 2-1 winner in the match. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Ukrainian airline Dniproavia is beginning weekly flights to Tbilisi, Georgia, starting October 6. Flights will have a duration of 2 hours and 25 minutes each way. The airline has decided to use the Brazilian twin-engine jet Embraer 145, which is capable […]
Voting for Russia’s State Duma in Tskhinvali on Sunday. (RES.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia condemned the election Sunday for the Russian State Duma inside the two breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) called on the international community to react against this […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–A 17-year-old Georgian who was detained Friday by Russian soldiers patrolling the border of South Ossetia was returned on Saturday. Joni Gogichaishvili’s return was confirmed by the European Union Monitoring Mission to Georgia (EUMM), […]
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Russian border guards on Friday detained a 17-year-old Georgian near the border with South Ossetia. The incident took place in the village Bershueti. The detainee, Joni Gogichaishvili from the village Sobisi, was taken to the detention facility […]
(Batumelebi.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian Black Sea coast was hit by strong rain on Friday, flooding the streets and inundating ground floors and basements in Batumi, a city of 150,000 people. Emergency workers were still pumping out the flood water from houses […]
(Facebook) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Cadets Military Lyceum named after Giorgi Kvinitadze accepted girls for the first time since its establishment in 2010. The opening ceremony of the academic year 2016-2017 was greeted by President Giorgi Margvelashvili […]
(Interperssnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s foreign trade turnover in the first eight months of 2016 was 16 percent more than in the same period last year, new figures from Georgia’s National Statistics Office show. The figures, presented in the latest preliminary monthly report by GeoStat, […]
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The beating of four Muslims by Georgian police may be brought up before the European Court of Human Rights after a human rights group in Georgia on Thursday filed a lawsuit at the Strasbourg court. The four were detained by police during a village […]
(ICK.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Strong wind blew the roof off buildings in a dozen villages in the east of Georgia on Wednesday, Information Center of Kakheti (ICK) reported. The wind lifted the roof off houses in about ten villages in villages in Lagodekhi municipality, in the Kakheti region, […]
PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili claims that Mikheil Saakashvili’s party has started several new organizations in order to foment unrest in Georgia ahead of the election. One of the new organizations started by the National Movement is Georgia in the Name […]
Tbilisi, DFWatch – Speaker of Georgian Parliament states he was offered a prime ministerial seat by the former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili back in April, 2015, when the post was held by Irakli Garibashvili. […]
Tbilisi, DFWatch – Natural gas distribution company in Tbilisi, KazTransGaz, issued an official statement on Wednesday calming down residents scared by an intense odour in their apartments. […]
Goderdzi Tevzadze outside the regional prosecutor’s office in Kutaisi Tuesday night. (Channel 1.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A policeman who has been wanted in connection with 22-year-old Demur Sturua’s suicide showed up at the regional prosecutor’s office in Kutaisi Tuesday night accompanied by his lawyer. Goderdzi Tevzadze was declared wanted by the Prosecutor […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia has secured a free trade agreement with China which is expected to boost Georgia’s export of wine. The agreement, which still needs to be confirmed formally, will exempt goods and services that were previously charged more than 40 percent […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Another prominent member left opera singer Paata Burchuladze’s party on Tuesday, accusing State for People of being financed by former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. “I am leaving Paata Burchuladze’s party, because it is not Paata […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Former Georgian PM Bidzina Ivanishvili lashed out at opposition politician Nino Burjanadze on Sunday, accusing her of bluffing when she proposed that Georgia should declare a non-bloc status. Burjanadze, a former parliament speaker, […]
(Muslims’ Department of Georgia) Tbilisi, DFWatch – Muslims in Georgia, as well as around the World, celebrate Eid al-Adha, known as Kurban Bayram, major religious celebration from 12 to 15 September. […]
Gogi Topadze (IPN) Tbilisi, DFWatch – Gogi Topadze’s party, former member of the ruling coalition, was rejected to participate in the upcoming parliament election by the Election Administration (CEC) together with 24 other minor parties. […]
George Benitez: ‘it’s very important to note, that NAC very rarely meets outside Brussels’. Voice of America’s (VOA) Anna Kalandadze spoke to George (Jorge) Benitez, Senior Fellow at the US Atlantic Council in Washington and NATOSource director, to discuss the North Atlantic Council’s latest visit to Georgia and other important aspects in bilateral relations. Excerpts of this interview ran on a VOA’s program. Here is the full interview: […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–A 60-year-old Georgian man was detained on Sunday near the border with Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia for violating the border. Valiko Khizanishvili, who is from the village Koshka, was detained when he was out in a field looking after cattle. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s Zviad Gogochuri on Saturday took gold in the men’s 90kg judo competition at the Rio Paralympics. This is the first gold by a Georgia athlete in the Paralympics since the country became independent in 1991. In the final, […]
Davit Bakradze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Krivikashvili on Friday appointed a new ambassador to Washington. Replacing Archil Gegeshidze is Davit Bakradze, the minister of Euro-integration who has been in charge of Georgia’s approaches to the European Union […]
Kakhi Kaladze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili on Friday announced a cabinet reshuffle which lets two GD politicians dedicate their time to campaigning as less than a month remains before a parliamentary election where no party or bloc […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The Republican Party proposes a new pension system based on entitlement earned through work experience. Appearing on Rustavi 2’s election special, spokesperson Davit Usupashvili drew a line between the Republicans […]
(Imedi.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A worker died at a construction site in western Georgia on Thursday, after falling from a building. The incident happened on Aghmashenebeli Street in Kutaisi. The victim was a middle-age man. An investigation has been launched […]
Khatuna Lagazidze has asked the government for protection for herself and her family. (ghn.ge) TBILISI, DFWatch–Political commentator Khatuna Lagazidze is leaving opera singer Paata Burchuladze’s party. She expresses concern about her own safety and asks the authorities for protection for herself and her family against ‘criminal elements’ in the party. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–More than 3.5 million voters had registered in Georgia by August 12; eight weeks before the election for parliament. Ana Mikeladze, Speaker for the Central Election Commission, said Wednesday that from June 10 until today, more than […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The ruling Georgian Dream announces its party list for Oct. 2, 2016 parliamentary elections, featuring mostly ‘new faces’ on its top and leaving many of its prominent members behind. The list is headed by Giorgi Kvirikashvili, current PM […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Muslims in Batumi took one step closer to building a second mosque in the city by purchasing a plot of land on Wednesday. The initiative group for constructing a mosque in Batumi on September 7 purchased a property on Abashidze Street […]
Tbilisi, DFWatch – Former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili criticizes Alliance of Patriots, a conservative political party, which often resorts to the populist nationalistic narrative, for having ‘no clear platform’ and advises them to inform voters what exactly they want and what direction they want to steer the country. […]
(Palitra TV.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The financial crimes unit in Georgia’s Finance Ministry exposed a shop for selling fake Nokia and Samsung phones on Wednesday, which may lead to up to five years in jail. The Investigation Service revealed that phones were illegally labelled […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–A company in Georgia is offering air taxi services from November this year, taking customers to every airport in Georgia. The air taxis are run by Adjara Group. Head of marketing and business development Oto Berishvili […]
Davit Usupashvili (IPN) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Republican Party wants to have a U.S. military base in Georgia before the country becomes a full member of NATO. This was one of the statements made by Republican Party members during a debate on Rustavi 2 Tuesday evening, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–A former Georgian defense minister has revealed the existence of a contract which appears to invalidate the takeover of one of the main TV stations in the country, as the Supreme Court is considering the case. The city court in Tbilisi decided in November […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Six streets in the old part of the Georgian capital will become pedestrian zones, Tbilisi City Hall has decided. City Hall explained that there is a demand from people to have more pedestrian areas in Old Tbilisi and that there is need for more tourism […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Georgia Monday night arrested a 24-year-old suspected of murdering a car repairman a few hours earlier at in Tbilisi. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) informs that a man was arrested for premeditated murder and illegally purchasing, […]
Tamar Chugoshvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A former human rights advocate who is running for parliament claims the former ruling party, the National Movement (UNM), is planning to provoke conflicts in the election campaign. Tamar Chugoshvili, a candidate for parliament for Georgian Dream […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Despite the falling oil price, Azerbaijan has confirmed its commitment to the implementation of large-scale projects like the Southern Gas Corridor, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Energy Minister Namig Abbasov said at a conference […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–An enraged customer pulled a gun on an electrician and shot him at a car repair place in central Tbilisi on Monday. The fatal disagreement took place on Kipshidze Street in the western Vake district. Police said the customer had a quarrel with an electrician […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–In a vote on Monday, a majority in the EU Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) supported giving visa-free access to the Schengen area for Georgian citizen. 44 voted for lifting visa rules for Georgian citizens, […]
The twenty organizations behind the new coalition say their goal is ‘to build a free and independent state, with effective democratic institutions, based on full respect for human rights and freedoms.’ Presenting the initiative at a press conference in Tbilisi on Monday, and in […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–A committee in the European Parliament will discuss today whether to offer visa-free travel to the Schengen area for Georgian and Ukrainian citizens, as well as citizens of Kosovo. Claude Moraes, head of the Civil Liberties, Justice and […]
The man is appealing Zugdidi City Court’s sentence. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The City Court in Zugdidi last Friday sentenced a man to seven years in jail for raping a woman and attempting to force her into marriage. Defense lawyers say the man, who was arrested April 11, will appeal the verdict. According to the Prosecutor […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–A man was arrested in western Georgia on Saturday for harassing a witness in the Demur Sturua case. Sturua committed suicide on August 7 and left a note indicating that a local policeman had pressured him to give up names of people who were cultivating […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s State Audit Office (SAO) has asked the court to fine six political parties for bribery, illegal donations and other election violations. The office asked the court to issue a 4,000 lari fine to Rima Beridze, a majoritarian candidate for Georgian Dream, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The eco-activists of Guerilla Gardening rallied in front of Tbilisi City Hall again on Friday, demanding the dismissal of the two bureaucrats in charge of tree cutting in the capital. They demand the dismissal of the head and the deputy of City Hall’s […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The economy minister on Friday summed up the summer tourism season in Georgia together with the head of the National Tourism Administration. According to Minister of Economy Dimitry Kumsishvili, 4,247,729 foreigners visited Georgia in the […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–This year’s grape harvest has begun in Georgia’s eastern Kakheti region. More than 1,850 tons of rkatsiteli grape and more than 1,110 tons of saperavi has been processed in Dedoplistskaro. Wine producing companies pay 80 tetris for saperavi, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–One man died and one was injured in an execution style shooting in central Tbilisi on Friday. The Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested a man born in 1981 who is charged with premeditated murder and illegally carrying a weapon. The accused fired multiple […]
(keda.ge) TBILISI, DFWatch–Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili has called on the municipal council in a valley in Georgia’s southwestern Adjara region to stop making sexist statements. After a meeting of the Keda Council on August 26, a member of the National Movement […]
(Ministry of Defense.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A funeral service was held Thursday for two Georgian military divers who disappeared during an exercise in the Black Sea more than two weeks ago. The funeral service was held at the location where the soldiers were last seen during a training course on August 16 […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Three prison guards were arrested on Wednesday in the case of the prisoner who escaped from the court building in Rustavi. According to the Prison Ministry, one of the detainees is head of shift of the guard service at the second department, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s most famous folk dance ensemble Sukhishvili has turned down an invitation to perform in Sevastopol and Simferopol, two cities in Crimea. The Georgian National Ballet, as it is formally called, posted a short note on Facebook about their decision. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Bidzina Ivanishvili is confident that the governing Georgian Dream party, which he founded, will have at least 100 seats in the next parliament. The billionaire businessman says he cannot imagine that Georgian Dream will get less than 90 MPs in the next assembly. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s first wind farm is almost completed. Wednesday the first turbine was installed in Gori, close to the television tower. The wind power plant in Gori will be the first of its kind in Georgia. Earlier, there […]
Tserakvi, DFWatch – Festival brings South Georgia’s multi-ethnic community together with visitors from Armenia and Azerbaijan for music, art, sport, and activism. The festival was held for the third time with more guests and artists performing. […]
Actor Aidan Quinn’s character overpowering the prison doctor in the 1987 film ‘Stakeout’. Otar Varamashvili, the escaped prisoner. TBILISI, DFWatch–It could have been a scene from a Hollywood movie, the moment when a prisoner escaped from Rustavi City Court on Wednesday. According to reports, the escapee was in the waiting room for defendants when he said he was feeling sick. […]
Defense Minister Levan Izoria. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia is halting exercises at sea as there are no certified instructors, Defense Minister Levan Izoria said Wednesday. A search for two military divers who went missing during an exercise was called off yesterday. The soldiers went missing […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Russian President Vladimir Putin is not an enemy of Georgia, but a very significant politician, according to former Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze. The opposition figure whose party Democratic Movement is without representatives […]
