Former football player Kavelashvili becomes Georgia’s president in a blow to country’s EU aspirations

Update Former football player Kavelashvili becomes Georgia’s president in a blow to country’s EU aspirations
An electoral college controlled by Georgian Dream and boycotted by the opposition convened in parliament on Saturday to install former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili as president. (Reuters)
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Updated 15 December 2024
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Former football player Kavelashvili becomes Georgia’s president in a blow to country’s EU aspirations

Former football player Kavelashvili becomes Georgia’s president in a blow to country’s EU aspirations
  • Kavelashvili, 53, who was the only candidate on the ballot, easily won the vote given the Georgian Dream party’s control of a 300-seat electoral college
  • Critics have accused Georgian Dream of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow, accusations the ruling party has denied

TBILISI: Former football player Mikheil Kavelashvili became president of Georgia on Saturday, as the ruling party tightened its grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.
Kavelashvili, 53, who was the only candidate on the ballot, easily won the vote given the Georgian Dream party’s control of a 300-seat electoral college that replaced direct presidential elections in 2017. It is made up of members of Parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.
Georgian Dream retained control of Parliament in the South Caucasus nation in an Oct. 26 election that the opposition alleges was rigged with Moscow’s help. The party has vowed to continue pushing toward EU accession but also wants to “reset” ties with Russia.
Georgia’s outgoing president and main pro-Western parties have boycotted the post-election parliamentary sessions and demanded a rerun of the ballot.
In 2008 Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which led to Moscow’s recognition of two breakaway regions as independent, and an increase in the Russian military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow, accusations the ruling party has denied. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.
Pro-Western Salome Zourabichvili has been president since 2018 and has vowed to stay on after her six-year term ends Monday, describing herself as the only legitimate leader until a new election is held.
Georgian Dream’s decision last month to suspend talks on their country’s bid to join the European Union added to the opposition’s outrage and galvanized protests.
Who is the outgoing president?
Zourabichvili, 72, was born in France to parents with Georgian roots and had a successful career with the French Foreign Ministry before President Mikheil Saakashvili named her Georgia’s top diplomat in 2004.
Constitutional changes made the president’s job largely ceremonial before Zourabichvili was elected by popular vote with Georgian Dream’s support in 2018. She became sharply critical of the ruling party, accusing it of pro-Russia policies, and Georgian Dream unsuccessfully tried to impeach her.
“I remain your president — there is no legitimate parliament and thus no legitimate election or inauguration,” she has declared on the social network X. “My mandate continues.”
Zourabichvili rejects government claims that the opposition was fomenting violence.
“We are not demanding a revolution,” she told The Associated Press. “We are asking for new elections, but in conditions that will ensure that the will of the people will not be misrepresented or stolen again.
“Georgia has been always resisting Russian influence and will not accept having its vote stolen and its destiny stolen.”
Zourabichvili said Saturday’s vote was a “provocation” and “a parody” while a leader of one of Georgia’s main opposition parties said it was unconstitutional.
Giorgi Vashadze of the Unity National Movement Coalition said Zourabichvili is “the only legitimate source of power.”
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Kavelashvili’s win “will make a significant contribution to strengthening Georgia’s statehood and our sovereignty, as well as reducing radicalism and so-called polarization.”
“The main mission of the presidential institution is to care for the unity of the nation and society,” said Kobakhidze, a former university professor and later chairman of Georgian Dream.
Who’s the ruling party presidential candidate?
Georgian Dream nominated Kavelashvili — mocked for lacking higher education by Georgia’s opposition. Some protesters outside Tbilisi’s Parliament building on Saturday morning brought their own university diplomas while others kicked soccer balls.
Kavelashvili was a striker in the English Premier League for Manchester City and played for several soccer clubs in the Swiss Super League. He was elected to Parliament in 2016 on the Georgian Dream ticket and in 2022 co-founded the People’s Power political movement, which was allied with Georgian Dream and become known for its strong anti-Western rhetoric.
Kavelashvili was one of the authors of a controversial law requiring organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.
The EU, which granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that the country meets the bloc’s recommendations, put its accession on hold and cut financial support in June following approval of the “foreign influence” law.
How did opposition protests unfold?
Thousands of demonstrators converged on the Parliament building every night after the government announced the suspension of EU accession talks on Nov. 28.
Riot police used water cannons and tear gas almost daily to disperse and beat scores of protesters, some of whom threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the capital’s central boulevard. Hundreds were detained and over 100 treated for injuries.
Several journalists were beaten by police and media workers accused authorities of using thugs to deter people from attending anti-government rallies, which Georgian Dream denies. The crackdown has drawn strong condemnation from the United States and EU officials.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, in a video statement in support of the protests, said Georgia’s “European dream must not be extinguished.”
“Europe does not seek to sow chaos, Europe does not seek to destabilize or subjugate its neighbors,” he said. “The voice of Georgians must be listened to and respected.”
″(Kavelashvili) is not elected by us. He is controlled by a puppet government, by Bidzina Ivanishvili, by Putin,” protester Sandro Samkharadze said outside Tbilisi’s Parliament building. Another protester waved a sign saying, “We are children of Europe.”
Demonstrators vowed the rallies would continue. “If (the government) wants to go to Russia, they can go to Russia, because we are not going anywhere. We are staying here,” said protester Kato Kalatozishvili.


Germany's far-right AfD sends out mock plane tickets for migrants

Updated 5 sec ago
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Germany's far-right AfD sends out mock plane tickets for migrants

Germany's far-right AfD sends out mock plane tickets for migrants
The flyers are labelled "Deportation Ticket" and feature the passenger’s name as "Illegal Immigrant" and the destination as "Safe Country of Origin"
Several migrants have posted on social media about receiving the tickets over the past few days

BERLIN: German police said Tuesday they are investigating after the far-right AfD distributed election campaign flyers in the style of one-way plane tickets to send migrants home.
The flyers are labelled "Deportation Ticket" and feature the passenger’s name as "Illegal Immigrant" and the destination as "Safe Country of Origin".
AfD campaign demands -- such as cutting benefits for non-Germans and an end to "Islamisation" -- are also listed on the flyers distributed in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe.
Several migrants have posted on social media about receiving the tickets over the past few days, although the AfD has denied specifically sending them to foreigners.
The campaign has sparked a backlash in Germany, with critics comparing the stunt to the one-way tickets to Jerusalem that were distributed by the Nazis in the 1930s.
A Karlsruhe police spokesman told AFP an investigation had been launched into the possible charge of incitement to hatred after a tip-off from a member of the public.
The AfD in Karlsruhe has said in a statement that the flyers were being distributed in the city "in as large a number as possible and without any special requirements or restrictions".
"It is intended to bring our demands in this area, which are fully in line with the law, to the attention of the voters," it said.
The AfD has been buoyed ahead of Germany's election on February 23 after winning the endorsement of US tech billionaire Elon Musk.
One survey at the weekend had the party polling at 22 percent, just eight points behind the CDU/CSU conservatives who are widely expected to lead the next government.
Emboldened by the support of Musk, the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House and events in neighbouring Austria -- where the far right is on the brink of power -- the AfD has been sharpening its rhetoric as the election campaign heats up.
At a party congress last weekend, the AfD's top candidate Alice Weidel explicitly called for the "remigration" of foreigners.
Marcel Bauer, a parliamentary candidate for the far-left Die Linke, accused the AfD of using "fascist methods to incite hatred".
"This threat against our fellow citizens must have consequences," he said.

UK anti-corruption minister resigns over ties to ousted Bangladesh PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, second right, and Tulip Siddiq, left.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, second right, and Tulip Siddiq, left.
Updated 8 min 56 sec ago
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UK anti-corruption minister resigns over ties to ousted Bangladesh PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, second right, and Tulip Siddiq, left.
  • Tulip Siddiq, 42, had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week he had full confidence in her
  • Siddiq was named as part of Bangladesh’s investigation into whether her family were involved in siphoning off funds from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects

LONDON: The British minister responsible for financial services and fighting corruption resigned on Tuesday after weeks of questions over her financial ties to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, ousted last year as prime minister of Bangladesh.
Tulip Siddiq, 42, had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week he had full confidence in her.
The resignation of a second government minister in two months is a blow to Starmer, whose approval ratings have plunged since his Labour Party won a general election in July.
Siddiq was handed the portfolio for financial services policy after the election, a role that included responsibility for measures against money-laundering.
In a statement, Siddiq said although an investigation into her financial affairs found she had not breached the ministerial code of conduct, her position was “likely to be a distraction from the work of the government.”
“I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position,” she said.
Starmer swiftly appointed Emma Reynolds, who was a pensions minister, to Siddiq’s role.
Hasina, who had ruled Bangladesh since 2009, is being investigated there on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Hasina and her party deny wrongdoing.
Siddiq was named in December as part of Bangladesh’s investigation into whether her family were involved in siphoning off funds from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects.
The anti-corruption commission alleged financial irregularities worth billions of dollars in the awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract, saying Hasina and Siddiq may have benefited.
After facing further scrutiny over the use of properties in Britain linked to Hasina and her supporters, Siddiq referred herself to the government’s independent ethics adviser.
Siddiq lived in a north London property given to her family in 2009 by Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer who has represented Hasina’s government, documents filed with Companies House and the Land Registry show.
She also acquired a separate property in London in 2004, without paying for it, from a developer linked to the Awami League, Hasina’s political party, the Financial Times reported this month.
Hasina fled Bangladesh after being toppled following weeks of protests.
Siddiq’s departure follows the resignation of British transport minister Louise Haigh late last year. Haigh acknowledged a minor criminal offense before she entered government, relating to a mobile phone that she had wrongly reported stolen.


Pokrovsk mine halts work as Russia advances in Ukraine

Pokrovsk mine halts work as Russia advances in Ukraine
Updated 20 min 49 sec ago
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Pokrovsk mine halts work as Russia advances in Ukraine

Pokrovsk mine halts work as Russia advances in Ukraine
  • The mine and the city of Pokrovsk are at risk of being captured by Russian forces
  • The site is Ukraine’s last producer of coking coal — a key pillar for the war-torn economy used in the production of steel

kYIV: A major coal mine around the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk halted operations and evacuated staff, the operator said on Tuesday, with advancing Russian troops just a few kilometers from its facilities.
The mine and the city of Pokrovsk are at risk of being captured by Russian forces, who are pressing hard to try to seize the strategically important city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
“Metinvest announces the suspension of operations at Pokrovske Coal due to the evolving frontline conditions, power supply shortages and the deteriorating security situation,” the mine’s owner, steelmaker Metinvest, said in a statement.
“Faced with a deteriorating security situation, we cannot risk the lives of thousands of employees and their families,” CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said in a statement.
The site is Ukraine’s last producer of coking coal — a key pillar for the war-torn economy used in the production of steel.
It employed around 10,000 people before the war and produced 5.6 million tons of coal in 2023, according to the mine’s CEO Andriy Akulych.
The closure is a blow to Ukraine, whose economy has been ravaged by the Russian invasion.
The eastern Donbas region, that Russia claims as its own and where the toughest fighting has taken place, is Ukraine’s historic industrial heartland, a bedrock of heavy industry dating back to the Soviet era.
The Pokrvosk mine was also a major source of exports and contributed “significant” revenues to the state budget, the company said, adding that it was “implementing an emergency action plan to ensure the supply of essential raw materials” to its steel plants elsewhere in Ukraine.
That included increasing deliveries from the group’s US-based coal company and using up reserves — though experts said Ukrainian steel would likely become less competitive without access to the mine’s coal.
“With the loss of Pokrovsk, the steel industry would need to import coking coal, which will most likely increase of the price of Ukrainian steel products leading to a decrease of its exports,” Volodymyr Landa, senior analyst of Kyiv-based Center for Economic Strategy, told AFP.
Russian forces are around six kilometers (four miles) from the center of Pokrovsk, according to the DeepState website, which is close to the Ukrainian army.
The city is an important logistics hub and sits on a major road that runs west toward the city of Dnipro.


Controversial influencer Andrew Tate released from house arrest

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate released from house arrest
Updated 14 January 2025
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Controversial influencer Andrew Tate released from house arrest

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate released from house arrest
  • The US-born Briton has been under house arrest since late August 2024
  • Andrew Tate has dismissed the case as a “set up“

BUCHAREST: A Romanian court on Tuesday lifted the house arrest order imposed on controversial influencer Andrew Tate, replacing it with judicial control, his spokesperson said.
The US-born Briton has been under house arrest since late August 2024, after authorities raided his home over accusations including forming an organized criminal group, trafficking of minors, sexual relations with a minor and money laundering.
At the time, his brother Tristan was placed under judicial control, which requires him to appear before authorities regularly.
Andrew Tate has dismissed the case as a “set up.”
The Bucharest Tribunal on Tuesday said it “replaces the measure of house arrest ordered against the defendant Andrew Tate with judicial control for 60 days,” according to a statement by the brothers’ spokesperson.
The judicial control measure grants Tate the freedom to travel throughout Romania, but he is not allowed to leave the country.
The court “rejects as unfounded the proposal to extend the measure of house arrest imposed on the defendant Andrew Tate” requested by prosecutors in early January, the statement added.
The ruling comes after a Romanian court last month granted an appeal by Tate in an older case, refusing to put him on trial over human trafficking charges for now, and referring the case back to prosecutors.
Prosecutors allege that 38-year-old Tate, his brother, 36, and two women set up a criminal organization in early 2021 in Romania and in Britain, and sexually exploited several victims. The brothers say they are innocent.
The Tates also face rape and assault allegations in separate cases in Britain, where they have also been accused of tax evasion.
Andrew Tate moved to Romania years ago after first starting a webcam business in the UK.
In 2016, Tate appeared on the “Big Brother” reality television show in Britain but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views.
Giving tips on how to be successful, along with misogynistic and sometimes violent maxims, Tate’s videos have made him one of the world’s best-known influencers.


Indian police arrest 44 men accused of raping teenager over five years

Indian police arrest 44 men accused of raping teenager over five years
Updated 14 January 2025
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Indian police arrest 44 men accused of raping teenager over five years

Indian police arrest 44 men accused of raping teenager over five years
  • Case came to light after the girl narrated gang rape to volunteer during a gender awareness program
  • There were more than 31,000 reported rapes in 2022 in India, the latest year for which data is available

KOCHI, India: Police in India’s southern state of Kerala have arrested 44 men accused of raping an 18-year-old girl over a period of five years, a police official said on Tuesday, in a case that has shocked the coastal tourist resort.
The victim, an athlete who belongs to the so-called lower caste community known as Dalits, told police in a statement that she was sexually abused by 62 people over a period of five years.
Police have identified 58 of those men, some of whom are minors and arrested 44 over the last two days, officials said.
“We have identified the remaining 14 and they would be arrested soon,” the Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Pathanamthitta district where the crimes took place, PS Nandakumar, told Reuters.
The case came to light after the girl narrated the gang rape to a volunteer during a gender awareness program. Nandkumar, who heads the investigation, said details of how the crimes were committed were still being investigated.
In her statement to the police, the victim said the abuse began when she was 13 after her neighbor allegedly raped her.
Local media reported that four of the accused were minors.
Under Indian law, accused in rape cases that involve lower castes do not immediately get bail. Reuters was not able to reach any of the accused for a comment.
There were more than 31,000 reported rapes in 2022 in India, the latest year for which data is available, and conviction rates are notoriously low.
The rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata caused outrage across the country last year, with protests and street marches calling for action against the accused.