🇷🇺👅🚫 The Georgian Copyright Association launches a public campaign “Turn off the Russian language”.
“We are launching a new action in support of Ukraine. Russian music is still widely used in our country, which, on the one hand, brings up a sense of false unity with Russia, and on the other, is a seemingly harmless, but powerful weapon in the hands of the enemy. Moreover, to abandon it during the ongoing war in Ukraine is the moral duty of every citizen of Georgia. Please join the campaign and contribute to the important work to reduce Russian influence," the association said in a statement.
🇺🇦 The Ukrainian Rada adopted a law banning Russian music on radio, television and public places. It is forbidden to use authors and compositions written after 1991. Musicians who do not publicly support the war may apply to the Ministry of Culture and may be granted a permit.

😷🚌🚫 As of today, the penultimate covid restriction has been lifted in Georgia: wearing masks in public transport has ceased to be mandatory.
There is only one rule left: the mask in medical institutions is still required.
❗️ Let me remind you that from 15.06. when arriving in Georgia, foreign citizens and local residents no longer need vaccines and tests.

👮🏻‍♂️ The Gori City Court issued an indictment against the men who killed 28-year-old British citizen Thomas Kennedy last October.
Then five local residents of Gori forcibly took away a mobile phone and a bank card from a foreigner, beating the victim until he lost consciousness. In order to hide the traces, they dumped the body in Kura (Mtkvari). Two of them received 20 years in prison today, the third - 21, and for a minor, the court will choose a sentence within seven days. The fifth defendant received 6 years in prison for failure to report.
❗️ Let me remind you that in March, Rafael Mursakulov was sentenced to 20 years for killing an Australian Shani Brook on Mount Mtatsminda.

❗️Giorgi Tabagari, the founder of the Tbilisi Pride NGO, announced today the start of the Maidan in Tbilisi.
“Tbilisi Maidan begins today! It will be the largest anti-government demonstration in 10 years. Hopefully this will lead to some changes. Government of Georgia, your time is up! Take responsibility for the failure and walk away,” Tabagari tweeted.

🇬🇪❤️🇪🇺 Action "Home to Europe" on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi.
There are a lot of people. If we count the rallies of past years and compare them, then the Parliament now clearly has more than 10,000 participants. The participants unfurled a large banner of the European Union, many Georgian flags. The mood is, on the whole, benevolent, although sometimes slogans of dissatisfaction with the current government are heard.
❤️ Most often, the audience shouts "Sa-kart-ve-lo!".

🇬🇪❤️🇪🇺 The number of participants in yesterday’s action in Tbilisi, according to preliminary estimates, was from 50 thousand people.
Incredible spectacle.
As a result of the action, a people's committee will be created. It will put forward demands to the government, and in case of non-compliance, it will do counteraction.
❗️A new rally has been scheduled after the decision of the European Union on June 24th.
📹 video "News of the Caucasus"

❗️The strike of Borjomi employees is over: in the near future the plants will be fully operational.
Details of the talks between the parties have not yet been disclosed.
The striking Borjomi employees made the following demands:
📍Return 50 illegally fired workers.
📍 return to the old contractual terms;
📍replacement of 3-6-month and 1-year contracts with open-ended contracts
ℹ️ The strike lasted 20 days and was accompanied by protests and blocking of entrances to the enterprise.

🦠 Coronavirus statistics for the past (from 14.06 to 20.06) week:
616 new cases (+101 in a week)
482 recovered
1 died
ℹ️ This week, the government abolished the rule of wearing masks in public transport and there is only one covid-restriction left in Georgia: the mandatory wearing of a mask in medical institutions.
❗️ Let me remind you that from June 15, everyone can fly into the country and come without tests and vaccines.

🚀 According to the Communications Commission, SpaceX plans to provide Internet in Georgia via Starlink satellite systems.
A meeting of the company's representatives and members of the communications commission took place in Tbilisi.
“We had a very interesting and important dialogue with SpaceX representatives who arrived in Georgia to get acquainted with the Georgian telecommunications situation. Currently, SpaceX is working on studying niches of interest to it in the Georgian market and is preparing for the commercial launch of Starlink in Georgia,” Ekaterina Imedadze, a member of the communications commission, told reporters.
ℹ️ At the moment in Georgia, the maximum Internet speed is 100Mb and a rather weak regional coverage.

🇬🇧🏦🚫🇬🇪 The Russian bank "VTB" is completely leaving Georgia.
This statement was made by the head of the bank Andrey Kostin. When asked about representative offices on international markets in the CIS countries and Asia, he said that they remained in all other countries except Georgia:
"With the exception of one country, we do not sell business to our subsidiaries anywhere. We have a principled position and we have remained everywhere. We only left Georgia, but the situation there is a little different."
ℹ️ VTB Bank sold the loan and deposit portfolio of its daughter-company in Georgia a few days after the introduction of international sanctions. The assets were acquired by Liberty and Basisbank. Previously, the bank was one of the leading financial institutions in the country and very famous. For example, VTB was the general sponsor of the Georgian national football team.

🏦 Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili won a lawsuit against the Swiss bank "Credit Suisse": the Supreme Court of Bermuda determined the amount of compensation to be paid to the ex-premier of Georgia.
According to a Bloomberg article, the Swiss bank must transfer $607 million to Ivanishvili, which will be backed up by a final decision in the near future. We are talking about a dispute that Ivanishvili started after fraudulent transactions committed by his former personal banker Patrick Lescadron. He pleaded completely guilty, saying that he had falsified Ivanishvili's signature since 2008, but the Georgian billionaire's lawyers considered that he could not make transactions without the knowledge of the bank.
The billionaire is preparing for a similar dispute in Singapore, where he is seeking $800 million in damages. The case will be heard in September 2022.
ℹ️ Bidzina Ivanishvili is the former prime minister of Georgia and the former head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, currently the most powerful and wealthy person in the country.

🇦🇿🛫🇬🇪 From July 1, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) will start flights from Baku to Tbilisi.
Flights will operate three times a week - on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Tickets on site.
✈️ The airline "Buta" also flies on this route.
ℹ️ Let me remind you that the land border between the countries is still closed at the initiative of the Azerbaijani side.

🇬🇪 Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has entered into an open confrontation with the ruling Georgian Dream party.
At a special briefing, she vetoed a bill concerning changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure, which relate to the rules and terms of wiretapping in criminal cases. For example, the amendments provide for the extension of the maximum allowable period for undercover investigative measures from three to nine months.
The President calls her decision political, not legal:
“I did not use this right. I think that my veto will eventually be overcome and the bill will not change in essence, but I use it because I do not agree. This bill restricts human rights in the country.”

💔 Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili accused the Ukrainian authorities of opposing the country in its quest for EU candidate status, Ukrainians deny this.
🇬🇪 "One of the main initiators - I know this from our European and American colleagues - insistently demanded that Georgia should not receive the status of a candidate, was the representative of the Ukrainian authorities Mr. Arakhamia" - said the Georgian Prime Minister at yesterday's meeting with members of Parliament.
🇺🇦 In turn, the head of the Servant of the People faction (President Zelensky's party) David Arakhamia responded to the statement and accused the Prime Minister of Georgia of spreading fakes. "Ukraine will help Georgia to become a member of the European Union as much as possible," the politician said and expressed confidence that Ukrainians and Georgians will have a great future in the EU, adding, "And please do not pay attention to the blatant lies and fakes of the Georgian government, in particular prime minister who spreads false information simply on the order of one oligarch"

🇪🇺🇬🇪 MEP Gregorova accused the Georgian Prime Minister of lying, who said that the opposition was visiting Brussels and asked not to grant the country EU candidate status.
“Have you been to Brussels? I didn't see you there. And I participated in meetings with the opposition and almost all of them asked us to be granted candidate status. So don't lie. Come to Brussels and we can talk," the Czech politician wrote on Twitter.
ℹ️ She knows firsthand about the situation in the country, back in 2019 we and Egor Kuroptev traveled on the line of occupation (pictured) to the village of Gugutiantkari, where the Russian military divided the village into two parts with barbed wire and artificial barriers in the process so called "Border" and has been many times in Georgia over the past three years.

🇲🇩🇺🇦🇬🇪➡️🇪🇺 Officially: the European Parliament with 529 votes against 45 supported the resolution on granting Ukraine and Moldova the status of EU candidates and providing Georgia with a European perspective.
Georgia has so far received a refusal, but points are indicated, after correcting which the country can count on approval. After their implementation, the European Commission will return to the Georgian issue.
ℹ️ The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, urged Georgia not to be disappointed by not being granted candidate status for membership:
“Recognizing a European perspective, a step forward for them. This should not be taken in a negative way. Now they have a path and what they have to do, a schedule. So this is an important progress. Keep up the work, you are on a good track,” the diplomat said.
❗️The final decision will be signed tomorrow.

🇬🇪🇪🇺 Georgia denied EU candidate status, but European perspective recognized.
European Council President Charles Michel tweeted in Georgian.
"The Council has decided to recognize Georgia's European perspective and is ready to grant candidate status as soon as these priorities are met. Congratulations to the Georgian people. This is a historic moment in EU-Georgia relations."
President Zurabishvili answered him: “This is a historic day. The European perspective is recognized. Now we are ready to work with determination in the coming months to achieve candidate status.”
❗️The official part that was discussed last week is over. We return to our local everyday life. And here it will be interesting.

🇬🇪 Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili delivered a special briefing.
He said that 'Georgia's European perspective is a well-deserved achievement noted by all countries. Yesterday was truly historic. As soon as we fulfill the established priorities, Georgia will receive candidate status. This gives us the motivation to fulfill all the conditions set by the European Union as soon as possible. We are ready for it. And once again I want to congratulate Ukraine and Moldova."
👀 According to him, the government is ready to take steps to reduce polarization in politics: "On behalf of our team, I want to once again declare our readiness to always be ready for a constructive dialogue."
❗️At the end of his speech, answering a question from a journalist, Garibashvili said that he did not plan to resign.

⚡️The co-founder of one of the largest investment companies in the country - Silk Road Group, Levan Kacharava, was shot dead in Tbilisi.
According to preliminary information, the criminals fired more than 20 shots into the car where the man was.