🇬🇪💔 Georgia says goodbye to Vakhtang Kikabidze.

From the large concert hall with the song of Chito Gvrito and applause, the coffin and a large funeral procession advanced to the Vera cemetery.
Perhaps Buba would have asked everyone, as he usually did, to smile, but today it was impossible to hold back the tears.

🌬The National Environment Agency states that the cause of air pollution in Tbilisi is ...the Karakum desert.

According to their report dust and poor air quality are associated with transboundary pollution and most likely came from Central Asia.
Users on social networks are skeptical of this statement, commenting that they smell burning for several days and have difficulty breathing during peak traffic hours.

👮🏻‍♂️ An employee of the Batumi City Hall faces up to 9 years in prison because of a bribe.

According to the anti-corruption agency of the State Security Service of Georgia, the detainee accepted 2,400 lari ($900) from a citizen and promised official patronage to operate a catering point in Batumi without a permit.
This crime is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 6 to 9 years.

⚡️⚡️ Tragedy in Kakheti.

Tonight in the city of Sagarejo (40 km from Tbilisi) an armed man (former soldier, born in 1974) opened fire from a machine gun at people from the balcony of a residential building. According to eyewitnesses, the shooting lasted for about an hour.
👮🏻‍♂️According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, five people died, including one policeman. Five people were injured, they underwent operations, the condition is assessed as serious.
The attacker committed suicide...

❗️Details of the shooting in Kakheti.

Nodar Atuashvili, shooter at Sagarejo, served in the Georgian Defense Forces from 2006 until 2021, and also participated in a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.
📍 There was a child in the apartment with him, but he managed to run out of the house and hide.
📍The attacker fired from a machine gun at passers-by, arrived police officers and ambulances
❗️ Five people died, five more are in the hospital.
📹 video Mtavari Archi

💨 The National Environment Agency is warning of strong hurricane-force winds in several areas.

From January 20 to 23, a strong wind is predicted in the Kolkheti, Imereti and Gori-Surami regions, the gusts of which will reach 30 m/s.

⚽️ The registration of volunteers for the U-21 EURO 2023, which will be held in the summer in Georgia, has begun.

The country will host the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship alongside Romania. Competitions will be held from June 21 to July 8 in three cities of Georgia - Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi. The Georgian national team will play the first match on 21.06 against the Portuguese team. The final match will take place at the Batumi Arena in Adjara.
📌 The Football Federation has already started registering volunteers, you can fill out the form and sign up at the link: https://volunteer.uefa.com/register

🇷🇺🛫🚫 Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili opposed the resumption of air traffic between Russia and Georgia and demanded to tighten the visa regime with the Russian Federation.

The statement was published on her official website.
“I do not welcome the return of direct flights to Russia. At a time when all our partner countries, in word or deed, express maximum solidarity with the selfless struggle of Ukraine, for me and, I am sure, for the majority of society, the position of the government and the ruling party is incomprehensible. We are mindful of Russia's tricks and must understand that the Kremlin brings up such topics when it hopes to create a split between us and our Western partners. This cannot be allowed!”
ℹ️ Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov expressed the opinion that direct flights canceled by Russia after the anti-Kremlin actions in the summer of 2019 should be returned. These words were supported by representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party

🚇 Georgia will receive about 55.6 million euros from the EBRD for the modernization of the Tbilisi metro.

Loan and grant agreements were signed by Minister of Finance of Georgia Lasha Khutsishvili and Vice-President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for Policy and Partnership Mark Bowman, who is in Georgia on a working visit as part of the Caucasus tour. Financial resources in the amount of about 55.6 million euros will be directed to the repair of stations and escalators of the Tbilisi metro.
ℹ️ "The complete reconstruction of the metro stations of the capital will be completed in 3-4 years," said Vice Mayor Irakli Khmaladze.

🌞 Smog over Tbilisi will begin to dissipate tomorrow.

Monitoring systems are already noticing a slight improvement in air quality over the Georgian capital today. Although the concentration of PM2.5 in Tbilisi is now 9.8 times higher than the WHO recommended average annual air quality, it is much better than a few days ago (15.8 times higher).
The cause of the smog has not yet been officially named, although several versions have been discussed:
- sand masses from the Karakum desert
- poor quality of materials used for heating
- strong gas pollution from vehicles
- air masses from Ukraine
🌥 The temperature in Tbilisi this week will remain within +5 +7 degrees. Small wind 5-7 m/s. Rain and snow on the weekend, sunny for the rest of the week. It is extremely surprising what kind of smog it is and where it will disappear so abruptly.

🤼 On March 12, a superfight will take place at the UFC tournament: Merab Dvalishvili will meet with one of his main rivals, Peter Yan.

The Georgian fighter takes third place in the UFC super lightweight rating, and the Russian is in second position. Dvalishvili has a tense relationship with the Russian athlete. At press conferences, Merab often emphasizes the fact that 20% of Georgia's territory is occupied by Russia, the country on whose behalf Petr Yan competes.
Dvalishvili won the last eight fights in the UFC (in the last confrontation he convincingly defeated one of the best athletes in the division, Jose Aldo). As for Petr Yan, he lost the last three fights, but the judges' decisions, according to experts, were controversial.
ℹ️ UFC competitions are among the top three most popular sports in Georgia. Along with rugby and football, matches are watched in the capital's bars and villages. Over the past few years, the number of fighters from Georgia in the UFC has increased markedly.