Tbilisi

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In One Hip 'Hood, 'Serious Wes Anderson Vibes'

'Forbes' has a list of the coolest neighborhoods in the world

(Newser) - Where do all the cool kids hang out? Forbes thinks it's got that figured out with its list of some of the hippest, most happening neighborhoods around the globe, culled from travel experts. These are districts that aren't necessarily crammed with the most famous landmarks or where you'...

On 8K-Year-Old Shards, Proof of Ancient 'Social Lubricant'

Scientists believe they've found proof of production of 'world's oldest' grape wine in nation of Georgia

(Newser) - Wine has been used as a "social lubricant, mind-altering substance, and highly valued commodity" throughout the ages. Now, a discovery just south of Tbilisi details just how far back through the ages the beverage has existed, the BBC reports. Per a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy ...

Meat-Throwing Thugs Attack Vegan Cafe

Some of them were wearing sausages

(Newser) - Simply avoiding a vegan cafe wasn't good enough for a group of men in Tbilisi, who stormed the establishment in the Georgian capital Sunday night and pelted diners with meat. The men "entered and started to be violent," the Kiwi Cafe says in a Facebook post . "...

Flooded Zoo's Escaped Tiger Kills Man, Is 'Liquidated'

Tiger in Tbilisi, Georgia, also injured another man

(Newser) - A tiger roaming the streets of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi—one of several creatures that escaped the Tbilisi zoo this weekend amid heavy flooding—killed a man today in a main city square, and wounded another, reports the BBC . The killing set off a hunt by camouflaged special forces,...

Zoo Demands Investigation Into Animals Shot in Flood

4 lions, 3 tigers, 2 jaguars among those dead in Georgia

(Newser) - Rescue workers in the Georgian capital are still searching today for more than 20 people and an undetermined number of potentially dangerous animals missing after severe flooding ravaged the area around a zoo and left at least 12 people dead. None of the dead were killed by the zoo animals...

Wild Animals Roam Streets After Floods Destroy Zoo

Tbilisi residents warned to stay indoors after dangerous creatures freed

(Newser) - Some 1.1 million people in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi have been told to stay indoors after widespread flooding left their streets decidedly more wild than usual: Lions, tigers, bears, wolves, and a hippopotamus escaped their confines at the city's zoo after surging waters destroyed them, reports al...

Georgia Sees Russian Hand in Mutiny, Coup Attempt

Tbilisi says Russia-backed revolt was set to topple government

(Newser) - A revolt has broken out at an army base near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, which the government is calling a Russian-backed military coup, the Guardian reports. The Georgian defense minister says the soldiers were being confined in their barracks, and at least one person has been arrested. The Georgians...

Georgia Needs Our Help—Not a Seat at NATO
Georgia Needs Our Help—Not a Seat at NATO
OPINION

Georgia Needs Our Help—Not a Seat at NATO

Investment, not guns, is the way to face down Russia: Kristof

(Newser) - Nicholas Kristof travels to Tbilisi, where ambitious, America-loving Georgians live in fear of a resurgent Russia. The United States needs to support this capitalist enclave in the Caucasus, writes the New York Times columnist—but not by letting it join NATO. The reason? President Mikheil Saakashvili may be brilliant and...

Russian Role in CIA Agent's Murder Probed

Questions linger over 1993 killing as Georgia's geopolitical significance surges

(Newser) - The first shot of a new cold war with Russia may have been fired into a CIA station chief's head in 1993, the Wall Street Journal reports. A vodka-swilling villager was swiftly jailed for the killing of Freddie Woodruff, the top US spy in newly independent Georgia, but that man,...

Georgia Pushing to Rebuild Shattered Army Even Bigger

Nation hopes for US help in building modern military to face Russia threat

(Newser) - The dust has barely settled from the catastrophic clash with Russia but Georgia's leaders are already keen to start rebuilding the country's pulverized army, the New York Times reports. Ambitious plans are being made to remake the military bigger and better than before—with plenty of US help. But Western...

Georgian War Lays Bare Bush Policy's Failures
Georgian War Lays Bare
Bush Policy's Failures
OPINION

Georgian War Lays Bare Bush Policy's Failures

US encouraged Georgian bluster; provoked Russian paranoia

(Newser) - The Georgian war crystallizes the failure of the Bush administration's foreign policy, writes HDS Greenway in the Boston Globe. Besides the ready-made justification the Iraq war provides to any invading country, America has stoked Georgian boldness, "and now America's client is wiping blood from its nose," he writes....

West Worries as Russia Digs In
 West Worries as Russia Digs In

West Worries as Russia Digs In

Troops seen reinforcing positions in Georgia despite pullback agreement

(Newser) - Russian forces appear to be hunkering down rather than beginning their promised withdrawal from Georgian territory, the New York Times reports. Troops are digging in along the highway to Tbilisi and military vehicles are moving in both directions, alarming the West, according to Reuters. Pentagon officials say they have seen...

Georgia Signs Ceasefire; Negotiators Head to Moscow

Kouchner brokers accord as new threats arise in Abkhazia

(Newser) - Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has signed a ceasefire agreement drafted by the European Union, which EU mediators will present to Moscow later today. Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, visited Tbilisi this morning and said that the Georgian leader was "determined to make peace." Kouchner will now try...

Thousands Flee as Russia Attacks Central Georgia

Russian army bombards Gori as war moves beyond provinces

(Newser) - Thousands of Georgians are fleeing the central city of Gori as the Russian army continues to wage major attacks beyond South Ossetia, reports the Times of London. Russia launched a massive aerial bombardment of Gori amid reports that it was on the verge of a ground invasion. The move from...

NATO Warns Russia Over Georgia Buildup

Moscow sends troops to breakaway regions; peacekeeping role doubted

(Newser) - NATO chided Russia today for sending additional troops into the breakaway Georgian provinces, saying the show of force “undermined Georgia’s territorial integrity,” the BBC reports. The alliance also warned Tbilisi against exacerbating the situation: Georgia has warned against Russian intervention, and, according to Moscow, also increased troop...

Saakashvili Declared Victor in Georgia Vote
Saakashvili Declared Victor in Georgia Vote
UPDATED

Saakashvili Declared Victor in Georgia Vote

No runoff election needed; but opposition cries foul

(Newser) - Official results today showed Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili won re-election with 52.8% of the vote, thus avoiding a runoff election that could've given detractors the chance to unite behind a single candidate, the BBC reports. Protesters claimed foul play, opposition leaders alleged unfair conditions and violations, and main challenger...

Georgia Says Russia Behind Mass Upheaval

Former Soviet republic declares state of emergency after alleged coup attempt

(Newser) - Saying Russian intelligence was behind six days of mass protests, the president of the former Soviet republic declared a state of emergency today in the capital, Tbilisi, Reuters reports. "There was an attempt at a coup and creating disorder," the prime minister said after police attacked unarmed demonstrators...

Georgia Claims Russian Attack
Georgia Claims Russian Attack

Georgia Claims Russian Attack

Missile fired on ex-Soviet republic lands without exploding

(Newser) - Georgia has accused the Russian military of launching a missile at a small village in its territory. Reuters reports that the missile narrowly avoided a town west of Tbilisi and landed in a farm. The Georgian interior minister decried what he called an "act of aggression" but the Russian...

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