An Azerbaijani Vugar Huseynov was at the concert at Moscow's Crocus City Hall with his Armenian wife Lilit Israelyan. Neither of them survived. The couple has left a one-and-a-half-year-old child.

At least 133 people were killed and more than 140 injured when gunmen attacked a packed concert venue at Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow on March 22.

For the first time in history, the Georgian national football team wins a ticket to the European Championships UEFA Euro 2024.

In the penalty shootout, Georgia beat Greece with a score of 4-2. The main time of this last match of the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifying Playoffs ended with a 0:0 result.

After this glorious victory at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena Stadium in Tbilisi, which is now being celebrated all over the country, Georgia will go the European Championships this summer in Germany. Within its Group F Georgia is scheduled to play with Portugal, Turkey, Czechia.

Moody's Ratings today changed the outlook to stable from negative on Georgia's government credit ratings and affirmed local and foreign currency long-term issuer ratings and foreign currency senior unsecured rating at Ba2.

Moody's expects GDP growth in Georgia to remain solid - growth will stabilize at 5.5% in 2024.

The change to a stable outlook reflects Moody's assessment that the balance of risks has returned to stable. On the downside, concerns over governance at the National Bank of Georgia have developed.

Moody's assesses that the strength of executive and legislative institutions is weakening. In September 2023, the NBG altered the rules framework around the enforcement of Western sanctions on Georgian citizens. In Moody's view this raises risks for the financial sector.

While it appears less likely that Georgia will be directly exposed to military conflict, risks stemming from Russian military aggression remain elevated. Source here

🛩️ Direct flight 🇬🇪Tbilisi - 🇨🇿Prague will be inaugurated on 7th May 2024. Then flights are planned for every Tuesday and Saturday with Georgian Wings, using Boeing 737-300 aircraft with capacity for 148 passengers. Georgian Wings is commercial part of Georgian Cargo airline (Geo-Sky), based at Tbilisi International Airport, and founded in 2017. Prague is the company's first destination in EU.

Rolande Pryce, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, gave an exclusive video interview to Caucasian Journal. Ms. Pryce comments on Georgia's country portfolio, touching on the regional initiatives such as the Middle Corridor and the Black Sea Submarine Cable project supported by the World Bank. Watch the interview at: https://youtu.be/eE8bDaWnoFY

If you are EU/EEA citizen, you may take advantage of FREE online course of Georgian language offered by University of Malmö! Apply before 15 April. Course dates: 2 Sept - 19 Jan; level: Bachelor's; language of instruction: English. Admission details are here

What EU 🇪🇺 🇬🇪 integration will bring to people and industries in Georgia? In our new interview series, EU experts from various fields share their insights. Today's focus is on TOURISM and HOSPITALITY.
Petr STUDNIČKA 🇨🇿, Head of Hotel &Tourism Management Department at the University College, Prague: “European integration will bring more tourists to Georgia, shorter stays, and higher requirements for quality” ( 🇬🇪 Article is also available in Georgian): https://english.caucasianjournal.org/2024/04/petr-studnicka-european-integration.html

რას მოუტანს ევროკავშირში 🇪🇺 🇬🇪 ინტეგრაცია ადამიანებსა და ინდუსტრიებს საქართველოში? ჩვენს ახალ ინტერვიუების სერიაში ევროკავშირის ექსპერტები სხვადასხვა სფეროდან იზიარებენ თავიანთ შეხედულებებს. დღევანდელი აქცენტი ტურიზმსა და სტუმართმოყვარეობაზეა.

პეტრ სტუდნიჩკა 🇨🇿 : „ევროპული ინტეგრაცია განაპირობებს საქართველოში მეტ ტურისტს, ხანმოკლე მოგზაურობებსა და მაღალ მოთხოვნებს მომსახურების ხარისხზე“: http://georgian.caucasianjournal.org/2024/04/blog-post.html

Chanel announced that Georgian artist Tolia Astakhishvili is one of visual artists among 10 winners of its biannual Chanel Next Prize, which grants each artist an award of €100,000. In addition to prize money, each artist will receive two years of mentorship with the luxury brand’s cultural partners, such as the Royal College of Art in London.

Tolia Astakhishvili (b. 1974, Tbilisi, Georgia), who lives in Berlin and Tbilisi, works primarily in installation, drawing together mediums such as video, sound, found material, and architecture. Her debut solo exhibition in the United States will open later this year at Sculpture Center, New York.

Is it true that Tbilisi is one of Europe's top three most polluted metropolises?
Caucasian Journal meets with Martin SKALSKÝ 🇨🇿, chairman of Czech environmental NGO Arnika. Interview is with 🇬🇪Georgian translation (video or text). He talks about AIR QUALITY IN GEORGIA, citizens' air monitoring in Tbilisi, closure of copper plant in Alaverdi 🇦🇲, environmental cooperation with Czechia:
https://english.caucasianjournal.org/2024/04/martin-skalsky-on-environment.html

მარტინ სკალსკი: “აუცილებელია მოსახლეობის აქტიურობა და ცვლილებების მოთხოვნა”
The guest of Caucasian Journal is Martin SKALSKÝ, chairman of the Czech non-governmental organization Arnika and leader of Centre for the Support of Citizens (April 4, 2024). This interview is subtitled in 🇬🇪 GEORGIAN language: https://youtu.be/x4tH6_xkA8w

Open Letter from Fady ASLY, Chairman of the Georgian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce, regarding the "Foreign Agents Law," also known as the "Russian Law": https://english.caucasianjournal.org/2024/05/open-letter-from-chairman-of-icc.html

Georgia has fallen 26 places on the Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index; Azerbaijan fell 13 places; while Armenia gained six places on the index.

The RSF’s World Press Freedom Index ranked Georgia 103rd out of 180 — a sharp drop from its score of 77 in 2023. Georgia’s position on the annual index has been dropping steadily since its 2021 score of 60, with its rank falling by 29 places in 2022.
Leaders of the index are Norway and other Nordics.

The 21st edition of the World Press Freedom Index, compiled annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), sheds light on major l changes linked to political, social and technological upheavals. Source: https://rsf.org/en/index