🇺🇿🛫🇬🇪 Since May 21, Uzbekistan Airways will launch direct flights to Tashkent — Batumi — Tashkent.
Flights will be operated on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

😷🦠 The obligation to wear a mask in enclosed spaces will be maintained.
The statement was made by the head of the council for immunization, Ivane Chkhaidze.
“This is the only remaining restrictive measure to remain. Despite the improvement in the epidemiological situation, the end of the pandemic has not yet been announced, as before, dozens of people get sick every day, people die. There is a risk of a new mutation, so we have to be careful.”

🚫🎥 The Georgian Film Academy has canceled screenings of a documentary film about the ex-premier of the country and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Georgian director Salome Jashi said the academy cited the "political" nature of her film "Taming the Garden".
ℹ️ The film documents Ivanishvili's unusual hobby of collecting trees from all over Georgia.

🇦🇲 Those arriving from Armenia to Georgia from May 1 will not be required to present vaccination certificates or negative covid tests.
Let me remind you that you can easily travel from Georgia to Armenia by land by minibus, taxi or private transport, there are many flights.
ℹ️ The rules for entering Georgia remain unchanged for now. Travelers need a PCR test or a vaccine.

📉 Moody's downgraded the outlook on Georgia's ratings from "stable" to "negative" and confirmed the issuer's long-term ratings in national and foreign currencies at the level of "Ba2".
"The decision to change Georgia's rating forecast to "negative" reflects the increased risks of geopolitical events "in connection with the situation in Ukraine, "given the ongoing, albeit "frozen", tensions in Georgia's relations with Russia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia," the agency said.

🇬🇪📦🇺🇦Georgia is still in the first place in the delivery of humanitarian goods to Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian Post (Ukrposhta), according to data as of April 20, in terms of the number of basic humanitarian goods received by mail (food, primary medical medicines, clothing), the Georgian Post is still in first place with more than 520 tons of cargo. Romania and Belgium, which are next with 80 tons, are noticeably behind the Georgian parcels.

💧🚫Due to the breakthrough of the main water pipeline, several districts of Tbilisi were left without water, and traffic was blocked on the streets.
On Marshal Gelovani Avenue and several streets, due to the strong flow of water, the passage was closed for three hours. GWP informs that the water supply will be gradually restored by 14.00 30.04

⚡️The Borjomi Company temporarily suspends its work due to sanctions and financial difficulties caused by the war in Ukraine.
"We would like to inform you that IDS Borjomi Georgia has been in a difficult situation since the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine. The situation was aggravated by limited access to bank accounts, the possibility of receiving foreign currency earnings and settlements with creditors," the company said.
❗️Both Borjomi bottling plants will be temporarily shut down from April 29. The company employs about 1,000 people.
Alfa Group, which has come under international sanctions, is one of the largest private investment holdings in the post-Soviet space, owns 60% of IDS Borjomi International shares.

🇬🇪💧The current situation around Borjomi in Georgia.
This morning, the company announced the closure of two bottling plants and the cessation of operational activities due to sanctions and the war in Ukraine. As of today, both bottling plants are closed. It was also reported that at the moment Borjomi has limited access to bank accounts, there is no possibility of receiving foreign exchange earnings and settlements with creditors. The company's income for 2021 amounted to $140 million, of which 41.9 in Russia, 18 in Ukraine, 14.3 in the Baltic countries, 13 in Kazakhstan, 11 in Georgia, 6.4 in Belarus.
🗣What they say about it in Georgia:
Mamuka Khazaradze (founder of the Lilo Party and TBCBank): “The state should buy shares in Borjomi. The brand and thousands of jobs are at stake.”
Gia Khukhashvili (economic expert): “The brand of this company is an integral part of Georgian culture. The enterprise must be immediately nationalized.”
The government has not yet given an official assessment of what happened.

👨‍💻📈 In March 2022, a record number of companies and legal entities were registered in Georgia.
According to a report released today by Geostat, 9,114 companies were registered in the country last month, up 72% from the same period last year. Such a number of firms were not registered even before the pandemic. For example, in March 2019, 4620 firms were registered. It is not yet clear whether the record increase in foreigners' applications to the House of Justice was the reason for such a large increase in the number of companies.
🙈 This afternoon I had to submit a small certificate to the House of Justice, so in line, having received a ticket, I was...172nd.

🏝🎡🏗🛖 At what stage is the construction of an artificial island in Batumi.
At the moment, the geological and drilling works necessary to start the first stage have been completed and a tender has been announced for its launch. The winner will be announced at the end of May, and construction work will begin in 7-8 months. Interest was shown by the largest design organizations in the world: two Dutch, two Belgian, four Turkish and Spanish companies.
ℹ️ Let me remind you that the construction of the largest investment project in Batumi was announced in October 2021. According to the project, it is planned to create two artificial peninsulas and one ultra-modern island with the arrangement of various infrastructure on them. At the first stage, the investment is $30 million, and the building area is 90 hectares. The project is supported by the governments of Georgia and Adjara.

🛢 Where does oil, gasoline and fuel come from in Georgia.
In connection with the discussed global sanctions and resource prices, this issue will be of interest to many. Moreover, the cost of fuel has once again risen to a record high, having overcome the level of four lari.
In January-February of the current year, the largest volume of imports of gasoline and diesel fuel was carried out by:
🇷🇴 Romania - 52.8 thousand tons (28.9% of all imports)
🇧🇬 Bulgaria - 35.6 thousand tons - (19.5%)
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan - 34.9 thousand tons - (19.1%)
🇷🇺 Russia - 29.2 thousand tons - (16%)
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan - 23.1 thousand tons - (12.6%)
🇹🇷 Turkey - 3.6 thousand tons - (2%).
📈 In the first quarter of 2022, purchases in Russia increased significantly (by 57%) (54.4 thousand tons) .
🇮🇷 Iran can be singled out among the new markets: imports of oil and oil products from there amounted to only 184,450 dollars, but this is +845 percent by 2021
🇬🇪 The share of domestic production in oil supplies has increased. In 2021, the total figures amounted to 446 thousand tons (an increase of 26% growth), although this is only 3% of annual consumption.

❗️😷 Georgia may cancel the mask regime in closed spaces.
This was announced by the head of the Center for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze. According to him, the authorities are discussing that in Georgia the wearing of masks should continue to be mandatory only for certain groups, for example, from a certain age or for people with chronic diseases that are at risk. A decision is expected to be made soon.
🦠 Over the past day, 153 new cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the country and no one has died from this disease.
🧪 I will tell NCDC (I know that they read the channel there) that it is possible to cancel tests and vaccines for incoming foreign citizens.

🇬🇪💧 According to the Prime Minister of Georgia, "pleasant information" about "Borjomi" will become known in the near future.
“I will tell you one thing, our main motivation is to protect the national interests of our country as much as possible. We are actively working now and will very soon inform our citizens of good news on this issue. I do not want to talk about the details today, but I assure you that we are working on all these problems," Garibashvili said.
💰 Experts believe that one of the scenarios could be a government buyout of the company's assets and nationalization of the enterprise.
❗️Yesterday, IDS Borjomi Georgia (owned by Russian Alfa Group) announced that it was forced to temporarily suspend production at both bottling plants. According to the statement, the reason for this is the restriction of their access to bank accounts due to sanctions.
💧Today, the Government bought the "Water of Tskaltubo" from a private owner for $8 million.

🇬🇪⚽️❌ The Georgian football clasico has been declared invalid - the decision on the result will be made by the disciplinary committee.
The central match of the 10th round of the league between Kutaisi "Torpedo" and its principal rival "Dinamo Tbilisi" was stopped due to a fight at 90+6 minute.
By this time, the capital's team was leading 2:1. It all started with a conflict between fans in the stands. Then the incident reached the substitutes and even the players. The captain of "Kutaisi" Vazha Tabatadze tried to take possession of the ball - the Kutaisi players were annoyed by the actions of the Belarusian goalkeepers’ coach of "Dynamo" Taikevich, who was playing for time. Spectators ran onto the field and began to threaten the players and the referee. Chief referee Nonikashvili, considering the safety of the participants in the game under such conditions insufficient, declared the end of the match and sent the teams to the locker rooms.

🇬🇪🚘 The largest commodity group in terms of product imports in Georgia in 2021 was cars ($898.8 million).
A foreign citizen can buy a car with only a passport. The setup is very easy and fast. When I bought a car here a year and a half ago, this process took about two hours. Very often, cars are brought to Georgia “on order”, the auto-selection service is not very developed here, but there is someone to contact. Many of the imported cars are usually sold (before the war) further, to Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries.
👮🏻‍♂️ According to the statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2021, 84939 cars were imported into Georgia, as a result of which the car fleet exceeded 1.4 million. That is, according to statistics, every second inhabitant has a car. According to the report, 90% of imports are used cars.
📊 Rating of the most imported cars in Georgia:
Toyota Camry - 4868 (5% compared to 2021)
Ford Transit - 4674 ( 38%)
Toyota Prius - 4417 (-32%) - the most popular car in the country
Chevrolet Cruze - 3397 ( 107%)
Electric vehicles - 331 (0.4% of total imports). Of these: 62 - Nissan Leaf, 50 Tesla.

🇬🇪🚫🇪🇺 70% of European tourists have canceled their travel bookings to Georgia.
This was announced by the President of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants Shalva Alaverdashvili. He said that the cancellations are mainly due to the war in Ukraine and for security reasons. At the same time, an increase in tourists from Israel and the Persian Gulf countries is predicted. The Arab states are seen as a priority for 2022. Let me remind you that even last year, during the pandemic, at the peak of the season, 50 flights a week arrived from there.
🇷🇺 The number of tourists from the Russian Federation to Georgia, which was traditionally many before, is still difficult for experts to estimate this year. On the one hand, Russian travelers have very few holiday destinations, and on the other hand, the tense political situation and attitude towards them due to the war in Ukraine. In addition, there are no direct flights between the countries, and Russians need a reason to travel through Lars.
🇺🇦 Ukrainians, who have increased the number of trips to Georgia in several times over the past two years (third place in 2021), are definitely not up to tourism now. I wish them strength of spirit, strength and peace.

🇬🇪👨‍💻 The possibility of creating a technopark in the Kutaisi building of the former parliament and around it is being considered.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili made a special statement on this matter:
"As you know, in recent months, IT specialists, experts, many young people working in these companies, thousands of Georgians who work and serve global companies have been actively flocking to the country. There are proposals from large groups, including global companies and transnational organizations, about creating a technology park unique for the region."
ℹ️ From 2012 to 2019, the Parliament of Georgia was located there. A huge and modern building in western Georgia, built during the Saakashvili presidency, has been empty for more than three years after the top legislator returned to the capital.
Its location in Kutaisi was touted as a boost to the regional economy and as a way to bring the country together.

⚡️ There was an earthquake in Georgia.
Aftershocks (at least two) were strongly felt in Tbilisi. It was similar in strength to February earthquake.

🌋 Earthquake in Georgia: according to preliminary information, the magnitude is quite strong - 5.3.
The epicenter is near the village of Irganchay near Dmanisi, in the south of the country, 93 km from the capital.
ℹ️ A similar earthquake in the area was recorded on February 13th. Its magnitude was 6.1. As a result of that earthquake in the municipality, a school building and about 20 houses were damaged.

⚡️😷 From 02.05. The mask regime in Georgia will operate only in medical institutions and public transport.
This was stated by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.