Iconic 70s band Boney M recently aided Tbilisi’s ‘disco diplomacy’ effort in regaining breakaway South Ossetia by playing an electrifying show in a state-controlled village in the conflict zone. And for Sunday’s Tbilisoba, famed Italian act Ricci e Poverti put on a performance in Freedom Square. What band would you like to bring to Georgia next?
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Wednesday, October 24
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All four sides sit down for Tbilisi talks on South Ossetia conflict
The first full Joint Control Commission session in more than year opened October 23 in the OSCE’s Tbilisi office. The two-day session of the quadripartite dialogue format, meant to bring together sides involved in the South Ossetian conflict, follows a number of cancellations for sessions scheduled both in Tbilisi and the de facto secessionist capital of Tskhinvali. (more)
Top MP queried on links to arrested ex-minister
A top majority MP, returning to parliament after months away, refused to comment on any personal links to arrested ex-minister Irakli Okruashvili but expressed support for the investigation against him. MP Givi Targamadze returned from Ukraine this week, where he was with a Georgian team of election observers for that country’s parliamentary elections. (more)
Sokhumi hosts conference to push Winter Olympics investments
A conference began yesterday in the de facto Abkhaz capital to discuss Abkhazia’s potential involvement in preparation works for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in the Russian city of Sochi, less than 40 kilometers from the breakaway region. (more)
Italian Embassy hosts celebration of Italian life, language and art
From October 22–28 the seventh “Week of Italian Language and Culture in the World” is taking place in Tbilisi, with the theme “The Italian Language and the Sea.” (more)
News in Brief

A lower vote threshold may be good for democracy, but is bad news for the opposition
President Mikheil Saakashvili proposed a package of electoral reforms last week, including lowering the vote threshold needed to win parliamentary representation from seven percent to five percent. His party stands to benefit. (more)


Public poll: Georgia’s most watched TV channel
The newspaper Kviris Palitra asked 460 Georgians which TV channel they watch most often. Respondents ranked eight choices in order of preference. Imedi TV, co-owned by prominent tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili and widely considered to be unfriendly toward the government, came first. (more)
Georgia stands firm on conditions for Russian WTO accession
Russia must share control of the border points leading to Georgia’s secessionist territories if it wants to join the WTO, Tbilisi’s negotiators reiterated on October 21 in Geneva. (more)
High inflation in Azerbaijan, president admits, but workers still doing well
On October 22, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev discussed his country’s economic performance over the past nine months. (more)



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