A public school in the town of Akhalgori. (DFWatch.) AKHALGORI, DFWatch--Tskhinvali plans to close some of its public schools from due to lack of pupils. The list includes two Georgian schools. One the schools to shut its doors from the 2019-2020 school year is located in the village of Akhmaji in the Akhalgori district [...]
Mikheil Saakashvili. (Facebook.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree to restore the citizenship of Georgian politician Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday. Invigorated by the news of his restored Ukrainian citizenship, Saakashvili said he would return to Ukraine on Wednesday. “From Kiev I’ll be much closer to Tbilisi [...] Ivanishvili will feel my hot [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Oo7IrI3SI TBILISI, DFWatch--A notorious Georgian neo-Nazi was found guilty and sentenced to three and a half years in jail by a Tbilisi court on Friday. Giorgi Chelidze, the head of self-described "fascist" group "Georgian (National) Unity", was convicted of illegally purchasing and storing firearms. He was detained in September, 2018, and police said they found a [...]
(Sputnik-Abkhazia.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The opposition in breakaway Abkhazia ended their rally in front of parliament building in Sokhumi on Tuesday, after reaching a compromise with de facto authorities. The sides have agreed to postpone the presidential elections to August 26. The de facto parliament earlier decided to hold elections in July, while the opposition had [...]
(Sputnik-Abkhazia.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The opposition in Abkhazia rallied in front of the parliament building in Sokhumi Tuesday for the second day, vowing not to stop it until parliament postpones the presidential elections until fall due to the suspected poisoning of their leader. Overnight, opposition activists temporarily blocked the central highway at two locations north and [...]
Sandra Roelofs addressing the post-election rally in Zugdidi. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The ruling Georgian Dream party is leading in all of Sunday’s by-elections, including the symbolically important Zugdidi mayoral race. But the vote was marred by numerous controversies, as the opposition claims the elections have been massively rigged. Sandra Roelofs, the wife of Georgia’s ex-President [...]
UNM's spokesperson Khatia Dekanoidze (center). (1tv.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Tensions are running high in Georgia ahead of the May 19 by-election in Zugdidi, a town about 350km west of Tbilisi, with almost daily scuffles outside the office of the Local Election Commission. Both the governing party and the opposition accuse each other of attempting to rig [...]
(Radiotavisupleba.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch--A satirical bust of Georgia’s interior minister was placed in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi on Sunday, on the anniversary of the controversial police raids of two nightclubs. The statue’s pedestal was equipped with a red button, which if pressed made a voice say: "Let's start with an apology." This [...]
Immortal Regiment is sponsored by Russian President Vladimir Putin. TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgia’s counter-intelligence service SUS on Tuesday warned the organizers of a May 9 rally to commemorate Soviet victory in World War 2 that they may not use Communist symbols. Such symbols are prohibited by a law Georgia introduced eight years ago called the Freedom [...]
Nika Gvaramia, CEO of Rustavi 2. TBILISI, DFWatch--The director of Georgia main opposition TV company said Monday that the government has launched a new attack against it, and claimed the goal is to kill its editorial policy. Rustavi 2 director Nika Gvaramia also accused billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili of personal involvement in a new lawsuit [...]
TBILISI, DFWatch--The number of visitors from Russia to Georgia has skyrocketed, triggering several kilometer long lines at Zemo Larsi border crossing. Most of the queue is on the Russian side, where at least 600 cars were standing still Saturday, waiting to enter Georgia from North Ossetia - Alania; one of the constituent republics of the Russian [...]
Tatia Lortkipanidze. TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgian weightlifter Tatia Lortkipanidze is suing the coach of the national team for sexual harassment. Lortkipanidze, who won a bronze medal in the 2018 European Championship, is also suing the weightlifting federation for discrimination, she said at a press conference on Thursday. At the press conference, she accused the federation of discrimination by [...]
