Latest news with #MikheilSaakashvili
Telegraph
6 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Telegraph style book: Ss
S Saakashvili, Mikheil safe haven is a tautology Sainsbury's Saint Laurent, Yves Saint-Saëns, Camille (note umlaut) St Andrews (Scotland); St Andrew's (Birmingham City stadium) St Bartholomew's Hospital: May be shortened to Barts but never St Barts or St Bart's St James's Palace St John Ambulance St John's wort St Thomas' Hospital Sana'a: The capital of Yemen Santa: We prefer Father Christmas Sarkozy, Nicolas Satan: Cap S but satanic is lower case satnav Sats: Not Sats tests Savile: For Lord, Row, Club, Jimmy, Saville Theatre and Inquiry Scalextric Schiffer, Claudia schoolboy, schoolgirl: But school-leaver Schumacher, Michael Schwarzenegger, Arnold Scorsese, Martin Scotch: Used for whisky, pies, pines, mists and wool shops. Scots or Scottish preferred in other contexts Scots Porage Oats: Prisoners do porridge Scott Thomas, Kristin Scouts: Not Boy Scouts. Scout leaders: Not Scoutmasters Sea Lords: They used to work at the Admiralty seasons: Are all lower case: spring, summer, autumn, winter seasonable: Appropriate for the time of year, opportune. Its opposite us unseasonable for weather that is unexpected seasonal: Occurring regularly at a particular season (see spring). Sebag Montefiore, Simon. His wife is Santa Montefiore second home owners (three words) Seinfeld, Jerry Selfridges selfie: Not 'selfie' senior and junior: After American names should be Sr and Jr Services. The Services takes the cap S, servicemen/women do not sewerage/sewage: Sewerage is the pipes, sewage the stuff Sharia law is a tautology: Islamic law is not shear: Something is shorn off, or shears off: it never sheers off sheikh, sheikhdom Shepherd's Bush shih-tzu Shia: Not Shi'ite ship: Uses 'she' as a pronoun: 'The Princess Louise is a ship. She is a beautiful ship' Sikora, Karol: Cancer expert Sikorsky (helicopters), Sikorski (Polish politician) silicon: The element from which chips are made: silicone is a sealant and is used to make cooking utensils Sindy doll Sinn Fein: No accents ski, skier, skied, skiing Sky News, Sky Sports smelt: Not smelled Snowdonia: Not Eryri. Snowdon: Not Yr Wyddfa somebody, someone Sotheby's: With apostrophe sound bite Speaker of the House of Commons: Always capped. specialty: The specific discipline of a doctor speciality: Something that is particular to a certain person, business or institution spelt not spelled Spielberg, Steven spilt: Not spilled spin doctor: Best used only ironically, ditto the verb to spin in this context spoilt: But despoiled spokesman: Not spokeswoman, spokesperson stadiums: not stadia Starmer, Sir Keir: Not Kier Start-up state: Lower case except when part of a title (State President, Council of State, but state-owned) stationary: not moving stationery: writing paper stiletto: The plural is stilettos Stratford upon Avon strike: Not strike action strangle: If someone has been strangled they are dead; if they are alive they have been throttled. However, there is a criminal offence of strangulation in which the victim is living suicide: Do not say 'commit suicide', but that a person took their own life. The coroner records a verdict of suicide. sun: Cap only in (rare) references to it as a star. The sun is out, our sun is one of many suns, the distance between the Sun and Alpha Major is... Sunni swap: Preferred to swop swashbuckler: Not a daredevil but a swaggering bully swath: Noun, a strip swathe: The verb
Reuters
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Georgia jails third opposition leader as crackdown expands
TBILISI, June 13 (Reuters) - Georgian opposition politician Nika Gvaramia was placed in pre-trial detention on Friday for up to nine months, the latest of several prominent government critics to be jailed. Having weathered mass demonstrations over a disputed October election and a subsequent decision to halt talks on joining the European Union, Georgian authorities have moved to clamp down on leading figures of the protest movement. Gvaramia had refused to testify to a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoing under jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who was in power from 2004 to 2012. If convicted of failing to comply with the commission, he could be jailed for up to one year. Gvaramia is a leader of the pro-Western Coalition for Change bloc which came second in the October election that the opposition rejected as fraudulent. The government rejected the allegation, but two U.S. polling organisations said there was evidence of manipulation. Gvaramia did not attend his court hearing, instead reporting to prison before the verdict was announced, in what his party said was an effort to show the decision was pre-determined by a biased court. In a post on Facebook, he wrote: "Not one step back! Our homeland is behind us! The oligarchy must fall! Glory to Georgia!" Two other Coalition for Change leaders, Zurab Japaridze and Nika Melia, are already in jail on similar charges. A media entrepreneur who served under Saakashvili in a series of ministerial roles, Gvaramia was previously imprisoned for abuse of office from 2022 to 2023, in a case Western countries said was politically motivated. Traditionally one of the Soviet Union's most pro-Western and democratic successor states, Georgia has moved in a sharply authoritarian direction in the past two years, with the ruling Georgian Dream party passing a series of laws critics have described as draconian. Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire ex-prime minister widely seen as the country's most powerful man, has repeatedly pledged to ban opposition parties, whilst also presiding over warming ties with Russia and souring relations with the West. Earlier this week, authorities issued court summons to over a dozen activists, journalists and opposition politicians on charges of insulting ruling party lawmakers. On Thursday, a court jailed a 21-year-old protester for four and a half years for assaulting police, in a case government critics have said is fabricated.
Straits Times
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Second Georgian opposition politician detained, his party says
Nika Melia, leader of Georgia's largest opposition party United National Movement (UNM), speaks during a rally in support of jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, in Tbilisi, Georgia November 19, 2021. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo Police in Georgia have detained an opposition politician, his party said on Thursday, the second such detention in a little more than a week of figures denouncing government policies bringing the country closer to Russia. The Coalition for Change, Georgia's largest opposition group, said one of its leaders, Nika Melia, had been detained. News reports said he was being held on charges of abusive behaviour towards a law enforcement officer and would be appearing in court. Previously one of the most pro-Western and democratic of the Soviet Union's successor states, Georgia under the leadership of the Georgian Dream party is accused by its opponents of moving in an authoritarian and pro-Russian direction. Last week, a Georgian court on Thursday placed Zurab Japaridze, another leader of the Coalition for Change, in pre-trial detention for an indeterminate period of time. Japaridze had refused to appear at a parliamentary inquiry into alleged crimes committed under jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili, between 2004 and 2012. Georgian Dream, after winning an election last November denounced as rigged by the opposition, said it would halt talks on joining the European Union until 2028. Membership of the 27-nation bloc is a popular goal among Georgians and incorporated in the constitution. Georgian Dream dismisses allegations that the November poll was falsified. The outcome triggered large-scale protests, with protesters confronting police and water cannon in the capital. Georgian Dream says it still wants to eventually join the EU, but also wants balanced relations with Russia, which ruled Georgia for around 200 years until 1991. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Court rules to arrest Georgian opposition leader as anti-government protests continue
A court in Georgia ordered opposition party leader Zurab Japaridze detained Thursday on charges of failing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry as protests continued against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Demonstrators waving Georgian and European Union flags blocked the central thoroughfare in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, demanding new elections and the release of dissidents. Demonstrators have gathered there each night since Nov. 28, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze halted the country's EU integration process. Ahead of Japaridze's hearing Thursday at a courthouse in Tbilisi, police surrounded the facility to prevent his supporters from entering. Only a handful of people were allowed into the cramped hearing room, angering his supporters. Two people were arrested, and Japaridze's lawyers left in protest following a failed motion to move the proceedings to a larger room. Japaridze, who heads the Girchi - More Freedom party, was detained after refusing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoings by the government of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. Opposition politicians have declined to attend the commission hearings, saying they are politically motivated by Georgian Dream to damage the opposition, particularly Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Speaking to reporters before the hearing, Japaridze said he knew that he would be arrested but that he did not recognize the legitimacy of Georgia's current parliament or its commission. 'The regime is trying to kill the civil society,' Japaridze said. 'They're killing the opposition parties and this is just one example of what they are doing now.' 'We have to continue the fight; we have to go out to the streets. We will win this battle only from the street, because there are no democratic institutions holding elections in this country anymore.' Japaridze and six other opposition leaders who did not attend the commission are expected to appear before a court in coming days. If found guilty of failure to comply with a parliamentary investigative commission, they face up to a year imprisonment. Political unrest Georgia has seen widespread political unrest since the country's last parliamentary election on Oct. 26, which was won by Georgian Dream. Protestors and the country's opposition declared the result as illegitimate amid allegations of vote-rigging helped by Russia, sparking weeks of protests across the country. At the time, opposition leaders vowed to boycott sessions of parliament until a new parliamentary election was held under international supervision and alleged ballot irregularities were investigated. Georgian Dream has seen widespread condemnation by European leaders and international rights groups over its rough handling of protestors and perceived democratic backsliding. When asked whether the United States would 'impose real cost on the anti-American Georgian dream on behalf of the people of Georgia' at a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio replied: 'Is it in our national interest to have an anti-American government governing an important part of the world? And if not, we'll take appropriate actions to impose costs on that government.'
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Court rules to arrest Georgian opposition leader as anti-government protests continue
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A court in Georgia ordered opposition party leader Zurab Japaridze detained Thursday on charges of failing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry as protests continued against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Demonstrators waving Georgian and European Union flags blocked the central thoroughfare in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, demanding new elections and the release of dissidents. Demonstrators have gathered there each night since Nov. 28, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze halted the country's EU integration process. Ahead of Japaridze's hearing Thursday at a courthouse in Tbilisi, police surrounded the facility to prevent his supporters from entering. Only a handful of people were allowed into the cramped hearing room, angering his supporters. Two people were arrested, and Japaridze's lawyers left in protest following a failed motion to move the proceedings to a larger room. Japaridze, who heads the Girchi - More Freedom party, was detained after refusing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoings by the government of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. Opposition politicians have declined to attend the commission hearings, saying they are politically motivated by Georgian Dream to damage the opposition, particularly Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Speaking to reporters before the hearing, Japaridze said he knew that he would be arrested but that he did not recognize the legitimacy of Georgia's current parliament or its commission. 'The regime is trying to kill the civil society,' Japaridze said. 'They're killing the opposition parties and this is just one example of what they are doing now.' 'We have to continue the fight; we have to go out to the streets. We will win this battle only from the street, because there are no democratic institutions holding elections in this country anymore.' Japaridze and six other opposition leaders who did not attend the commission are expected to appear before a court in coming days. If found guilty of failure to comply with a parliamentary investigative commission, they face up to a year imprisonment. Political unrest Georgia has seen widespread political unrest since the country's last parliamentary election on Oct. 26, which was won by Georgian Dream. Protestors and the country's opposition declared the result as illegitimate amid allegations of vote-rigging helped by Russia, sparking weeks of protests across the country. At the time, opposition leaders vowed to boycott sessions of parliament until a new parliamentary election was held under international supervision and alleged ballot irregularities were investigated. Georgian Dream has seen widespread condemnation by European leaders and international rights groups over its rough handling of protestors and perceived democratic backsliding. When asked whether the United States would 'impose real cost on the anti-American Georgian dream on behalf of the people of Georgia' at a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio replied: 'Is it in our national interest to have an anti-American government governing an important part of the world? And if not, we'll take appropriate actions to impose costs on that government.'
