Category Archives: Uncategorised

Georgians learn to love their US fast food

TBILISI/Georgia, JULY 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — US fast-food chain Wendy’s has just opened its sixth restaurant in Georgia, Dunkin’ Donuts its eighth. Despite a general economic downturn, the fast-food scene in Georgia has exploded over the past year or so.

The lone McDonald’s in central Tbilisi had since the 1990s been the only US fast-food restaurant in the country. Now locals can choose between Wendy’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Burger King, KFC, Subway and Domino’s Pizza.

And Georgians, whose culture hinges around long meals with friends and family, have turned the fast-food sector into a social scene of their own.

The fast food restaurants in Tbilisi are often filled with women dressed in high heels and their best dresses, men in buttoned-up shirts, young children in their Sunday clothes and teenagers sporting the latest fashion.

“We come here every Saturday,” Nitsa, 13, said as she started to tuck into her burger at a Wendy’s restaurant in central Tbilisi. “We like the food a lot, but we also just love to sit here and talk for hours.”

Families come for a day out and young couples for a romantic dinner. Most are also looking for a change from Georgian food.

Tamuna Mosidze, who was pregnant, had another reason for choosing to eat in one of McDonald’s fast-food restaurants.

“It’s the best service in town and you know the ingredients are quality,” she said.

And the US fast-food restaurants appear to have noticed this distinctive Georgian feel about their restaurants.

Sophie Chogovadze, head Marketing Wendy’s and Dunkin Donuts, said: “We wanted to make it about the experience, to make it more than just tasty food.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Chinese workers increase in Kazakhstan

JULY 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The number of Chinese migrants working in Kazakhstan doubled this year, according to the Kazakh ministry of labour. More than 12,000 Chinese labourers work in Kazakhstan, a third of the total foreign workforce. The increase shows how important Kazakhstan has become for China.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Turkmen minister visits Afghanistan

JULY 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s foreign minister Rashid Meredov will travel to Afghanistan for talks with his Uzbek counterpart, media reported. Turkmenistan has become increasingly worried about the build up of Taliban forces on its borders. It also has an interest in stability in Afghanistan because of the proposed TAPI pipeline that will pump gas to Pakistan and India.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Armenian constitution row heats up

JULY 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – YEREVAN — Armenia’s opposition accused President Serzh Sargsyan of trying to fiddle with the constitution so that he can run the country from parliament after he leaves the presidency in 2018.

Last week, Armenia’s Constitutional Court unveiled plans for a transition to a parliamentary democracy. Armenians are due to vote on the reforms in December.

The government has said a new system would strengthen democracy.

The opposition disagree.

“Serzh Sargsyan is carrying out the reform with one purpose only: to circumvent the constitutional ban on seeking a third term as president and thus extend his own power, Levon Zurabyan, the head of the ANC parliamentary faction,” said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Armenia’s constitution currently concentrates power with the president. It limits him or her to two terms of five years, a ceiling that Mr Sargsyan will hit in 2018.

David Harutyunyan, an MP from the ruling Republican Party, defended the constitutional changes.

“The basic idea of constitutional reform is to prepare the country for a peaceful change of power, he told journalists at a press conference.

“The current constitution with a semi-hybrid form of government has brought some countries to a dangerous situation. For Armenia, it may have even more damaging consequences.”

There is precedent for reducing the power of the president and switching to a parliamentary democracy in the Central Asia and South Caucasus region.

Mudslides hit rural Tajikistan

JULY 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Landslides in eastern Tajikistan have killed at least seven people and destroyed 50 homes, media reported quoting local officials.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Georgia’s parliament passes new budget cuts

JULY 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Highlighting the recent economic downturn across the region, Georgia’s parliament passed a new budget for 2015 that cut government spending and reduced projected GDP growth of the country to 2% from 5%.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Georgia’s parliament speaker travels to Brussels

JULY 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s parliamentary speaker Davit Usupashvili travelled to NATO HQ in Brussels to urge for its membership of the Western military alliance to be sped up. “I told our partners very clearly, unequivocally that Georgia is ready for more,” he told Georgian media.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Turkmenistan hopes to finish East-West pipeline

JULY 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan hopes to complete construction of is 300km East- West gas pipeline by the end of the year, local media reported quoting government officials. The pipeline is important because it will pump gas from Turkmenistan’s fields in the east to the Caspian Sea for shipment to Europe.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Turkmen port receives investment from Japan

JULY 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Japanese officials said they want to invest in the Caspian port of Turkmenbashi on the western shores of Turkmenistan. The port is currently being expanded and could become a major hub.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Kyrgyz forces foil attacks

JULY 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kyrgyz National Security Committee said it had prevented two attacks planned by the extremist group IS. Kyrgyz special forces said it killed six men during two gunfights in Bishkek. Allegedly, their targets were a square in Bishkek and the nearby Kant airbase, leased to Russia’s military.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)