Russian peacekeepers must leave, Tbilisi says
Tbilisi is giving the boot to Russian peacekeepers in Georgia’s conflict zones, Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze announced Wednesday at the end of a closed door meeting between top lawmakers and ministers. “A decision on the withdrawal…of the peacekeepers has been adopted. As to the concrete date [of the withdrawal], consultations with the international community and our partners are still underway, so that this doesn’t turn out as a surprise to them,” Burjanadze told news media, saying the exact date would be announced later on. [more]
Patarkatsishvili gives up Imedi
Business tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili is passing off management rights for his Imedi media group, his business partners announced on October 31. The news comes just days after Patarkatsishvili, Imedi’s founder, announced he would finance the country’s political opposition parties. News Corp representatives told journalists in Tbilisi that Patarkatsishvili would grant Imedi’s power of attorney to their company, giving News Corp legal authority to manage Patarkatsishvili’s shares in the media holding. [more]
PM tells OSCE: JCC not enough
Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli reiterated Georgia’s stance that the Joint Control Commission’s (JCC) is insufficient for settling the South Ossetia conflict, in a speech to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on October 30.
Noghaideli expressed gratitude to the OSCE for its involvement in conflict resolution in Georgia, but highlighted the ineffectiveness of the JCC negotiation format. [more]
News in Brief



Will you go to the rally on Friday?
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November 2 protest make or break for the opposition—and crucial for Georgia’s democracy
Tomorrow, the government faces its biggest public challenge since taking power.
The day after the dramatic arrest of ex-minister Irakli Okruashvili at the end of September, thousands of discontented and newly galvanized voters trod the steps of parliament to protest the Saakashvili administration. [more]
Letter to the Editor


Public opinion: how many people will attend the opposition protest on Friday?
Nearly 60 percent of Georgians questioned plan to attend the opposition protest this Friday, November 2. [more]
Construction boom in Georgia
The construction sector is one of the fastest growing in Georgia’s economy: in 2003 it accounted for five percent of GDP; in 2004 this figure rose to six percent; by 2006 it was seven percent. [more]
NATO refuses to protect Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan and Baku–Erzurum pipelines
NATO has refused requests from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran for security equipment to help protect regional pipelines, according to Azerbaijani Prime Minister Abid Sharifov. [more]



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Thursday, November 1
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