Tbilisi: Anti-Gay Riot
Region: GeorgiaEmbarrassment for government after police struggle to protect anti-homophobia march. By Tina Zhvania - Caucasus An attempt to hold a march against homophobia in the Georgian Tbilisi ended in rioting as hostile protesters attacked participants and police lines crumbled. Dozens of people were injured, including journalists and police offi... more
Views: 241Georgia:Combating Child Mortality a High Priority
Region: GeorgiaInfant deaths falling steady, but still higher than in many regional neighbours. By Salome Achba - Caucasus Despite a fall in the infant mortality rate in Georgia over the last decade, the country still scores poorly by the standards of other former Soviet states. Now the health ministry says that combating child mortality is a high prior... more
Views: 217Georgia: Debate on Hepatitis C
Region: GeorgiaThe disease is close to epidemic scale, says participant in discussion on how to tackle hepatitis C with limited resources. By IWPR team in Georgia - Caucasus CRS Issue 683, 18 Apr 13 An IWPR article on the high incidence of hepatitis C in Georgia prompted health officials, pharmaceutica... more
Views: 640Georgia Shifts from a Presidential to a Parliamentary System
Region: GeorgiaPresident loses some powers, but his allies use vote to show they still count. By Sopho Bukia Parliament in Georgia has voted to change the constitution to restrict the powers of President Mikhail Saakashvili. While the president was already a much-weakened figure, the tactics that his allies employed during the vote may help ensure their political survival. Georgia is... more
Views: 574Georgian Public Broadcaster Immersed in Political Battle
Region: GeorgiaNew government says planned management reform will make broadcaster more independent, but opposition disagrees. By Tinatin Jvania - Georgia’s public broadcaster has been hit by controversy after its director general Giorgi Baratashvili was sacked by the board. Now the government and opposition are accusing one another of trying to control the compa... more
Views: 425Georgia’s Health Service Struggling to Cope With High Rates of Hepatitis
Region: GeorgiaCaucasian state's health budget too small to pay high cost of treatment. By Manana Vardiashvili - Caucasus By its own admission, Georgia’s health service is struggling to cope with high rates of hepatitis C, with one in every 14 people in the country infected. Official statistics show 200,000 people infected with the disea... more
Views: 670Maternal Mortality in Georgia
Region: GeorgiaBy Nino Gvedashvil Maternal mortality rates remain stubbornly high in Georgia, a result of failing healthcare systems and low levels of awareness, experts say. The government has pledged to reduce the number of deaths among new mothers by two-thirds by 2015. Maternal mortality is often highlighted in the Georgia media. In recent months, TV reports have carried news of seven women dying in childbir... more
Views: 1015President Mikheil Saakashvili And Party's Election Defeat
Region: GeorgiaMikheil Saakashvili stays on until next year, but the coalition led by his opponent Bidzina Ivanishvili will start making the running. By Teo Bichikashvil President Mikheil Saakashvili has accepted that his party lost Georgia’s parliamentary election – the first time in the country’s history when an incumbent has willingly conceded defeat. Saakashvili ma... more
Views: 855Rape Cases Challenging to Prosecute in Georgia
Region: GeorgiaVictims often don't even file cases, or drop them later because legal process is so traumatic. By Nino Gvedashvili As the Georgian parliament looks at ways of combating sexual violence more effectively, rights activists say official figures seriously understate the scale of the problem, as victims often have a hard time bringing cases. Georgia’s Supreme Court says 170 rape ca... more
Views: 1467Georgia: Access to All Channels
Region: GeorgiaCable operators required to carry all TV channels, not just regime-friendly ones, ahead of October polls. By Nana Kurashvili Under pressure from opposition parties and NGOs, Georgian officials have agreed to force cable TV companies to broadcast all national news channels, including those critical of the government, during campaigning for the Octo... more
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