Tag Archives: Georgia

Air Cairo to fly regularly to Tbilisi

SEPT. 22 (The Bulletin) — Air Cairo, Egypt’s low-cost airline, will launch a regular flight to Tbilisi from November. The flight will connect Egypt and Georgia directly by air regularly for the first time. This year, airlines from the Middle East have been rushing to boost connections with Georgia. Georgia is increasingly popular with Middle Eastern tourists wanting a cool, pseudo-European escape from the summer heat and also with businessmen looking for improved access to the EU and Russia.

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— This story was first published in issue 344 of The Conway Bulletin, now called the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Sept. 24 2017.

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2017

Georgia’s Parliament weakens Georgian Dream constitutional changes

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SEPT. 22 (The Bulletin) — In what is being described as a major victory by opposition parties in Georgia, Parliament agreed to water-down the ruling Georgian Dream’s planned constitutional changes and allow blocs to contest the next parliamentary election in 2020. Georgian Dream had wanted to ban election blocs. It also ditched plans enforce the so-called Bonus System, which hands all votes from parties failing to pass a 5% threshold to the winning party, from the 2024 election.

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— This story was first published in issue 344 of The Conway Bulletin, now called the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Sept. 24 2017.

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2017

Freed Russian blogger accuses Georgia of colluding with Azerbaijan

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SEPT. 21 (The Bulletin) — In a blog post after being released from a prison in Azerbaijan, Russian-Israeli travel blogger Alexander Lapshin accused Georgia of colluding with the Azerbaijani authorities in handing over information about his movements. Mr Lapshin had been jailed this year for crossing into the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani business, including state-owned oil and gas company Socar, invest heavily in Georgia. Georgia has previously been accused of colluding with Azerbaijan in sharing intelligence and handing over dissidents.

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— This story was first published in issue 344 of The Conway Bulletin, now called the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Sept. 24 2017.

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2017

Georgia fights crop eating stinkbug

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TBILISI/SEPT. 21 (The Bulletin) — Georgia’s agriculture ministry said it would deploy planes to drop chemical pesticides over thousands of acres of agriculture land in the west of the country to stop the spread of the Asian stinkbug.

The Asian stinkbug has been blamed for destroying thousands of tonnes of Georgia’s hazelnut harvest this year.

Local farmers and businesses have started to turn on the government for not doing enough to stop the spread of the bug after months of warnings. The government has said in response that it has done all it can to halt the spread.

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— This story was first published in issue 344 of The Conway Bulletin, now called the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Sept. 24 2017.

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2017

Wife of imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist says Georgian authorities colluded

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SEPT. 19 (The Bulletin) — Leyla Mustafayeva, the wife of the imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, accused the authorities in Georgia of continuing to spy on her and her family. Mr Mukhtarli is being held in detention in Baku after he was abducted outside his home in Tbilisi in May. The Georgian authorities have denied that they collaborated with their Azerbaijani counterparts.

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— This story was first published in issue 344 of The Conway Bulletin, now called the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Sept. 24 2017.

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2017

Russia is a threat to Georgia, says US

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SEPT. 19 (The Bulletin) — In its 2018 ‘National Defense Authorization Act’, the US Congress recognised Georgia’s assistance to its operations in Afghanistan and said that Russia was a constant threat to its survival. After the US, Georgia has the largest troop presence in Afghanistan, a policy it is leveraging to win support for its pro-West policies.

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— This story was first published in issue 344 of The Conway Bulletin, now called the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Sept. 24 2017.

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2017

First lesbian to run for political office in Georgia

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SEPT. 16 (The Bulletin) — Nino Bolkvadze, a gay lawyer, will compete for a seat in the Tbilisi City Council elections next month, the first lesbian to run for political office in Georgia. Ms Bolkvadze will run for the Republican Party, a staunchly pro-European party, in the election. Georgia is still regarded as a strongly conservative country with strong anti-LGBT rights movements.

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— This story was first published in issue 344 of The Conway Bulletin, now called the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Sept. 24 2017.

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2017

Suicide bomber in Afghanistan injures three Georgian soldiers

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SEPT. 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A suicide bomb attack at the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan wounded three Georgian soldiers, media reported quoting the defence ministry. One of the soldiers, a lieutenant, was in a critical condition. In August a suicide bomber killed one Georgian soldier. Georgia is supporting US operations in Afghanistan.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Foreign direct investment into Georgia falls in H1 2017

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SEPT. 11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Foreign direct investments into Georgia, a vital part of its economy, fell by 5.5% in the first half of 2017, compared to the same period in 2016, data showed. FDI between January and June measured 751m, down from $794.4m. This was the lowest H1 result since 2014. Construction is the biggest driver of FDI and this fell by nearly a third from 2016 to $272m.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Saakashvili forces his way into Ukraine

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SEPT. 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Defying his former ally-turned-foe Ukrainian Pres. Petro Poroshenko, former Georgian Pres. Mikheil Saakashvili forced his away into Ukraine two months after his Ukrainian citizenship was revoked.

Mr Saakashvili has called politicians in Ukraine corrupt. After crossing the border from Poland into Ukraine, he headed by Lviv in west Ukraine.

Since quitting as Georgia’s president in 2013, Mr Saakashvili has promoted himself as the scourge of official corruption. Mr Poroshenko made him governor of Odessa region in 2015 but Saakashvili quit in 2016. Georgia wants Mr Saakashvili extradited to face various criminal charges.

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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017