Georgia is a nation in turmoil where two worlds are being played out in the capital

Published

8 months ago

November 26, 2024

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There was something desperately oppressive that came with being in Tbilisi today.

Perhaps it was the sight of hundreds of police officers, massed together and lurking in packs, waiting for something to happen. Maybe it was the dark clouds that poured rain over the streets.

But most likely it was the sense that this is a city, and a country, that is uncomfortable with itself. That Georgia is a nation in turmoil.

A month after its general election, this is a country where many still seethe, convinced that their votes were negated by corruption and that their nation is now led by imposters.

Georgian Dream may have been announced as the winning party, but it was a victory widely denounced as illegitimate.

The European Union, which Georgia has long wanted to join, has pointedly refused to endorse the result. And so here in Tbilisi, there are two worlds being played out.

In one, inside the towering Soviet-era government building, the MPs of Georgian Dream, along with their billionaire oligarch founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, have convened the new parliament for the first time, endorsed themselves as the leaders of Georgia and declared all to be well with the world.

And in the other universe, which starts a short stumble away in the square outside the same building, there are opposition politicians denouncing the election as a sham, the government as illegal and the new parliament as unconstitutional.

And around them are thousands of protesters who say their country has been stolen, some of whom think it’s all a Russian coup with Ivanishvili at its centre.

As a firecracker is hurled over a temporary metal barrier, and into the parliament building, I bump into Luka, who has left his job in Paris to become an activist in his home country.

He tells me he’s already been arrested once for protesting, and says he was beaten and thrown into jail. He is unrepentant and full of ire.

“This regime is a dictatorship,” he says. “They have no regard for human life. They have no regard for human decency. They care about money and staying in power.

“The Russian grasp is stronger than we’ve even realised. So this should be a message to everyone in Europe as well, that Russia is not that easy to deal with.”

He says he is proud that the protests have been peaceful, but there is a streak of frustration: “We’re trying to avoid any type of bloodshed but given the reality of what we are facing, it’s becoming more and more clear with every passing day that at some point, we will have to get physical.”

There is a stage in the front of the building, surrounded by an array of booming loudspeakers.

Giorgi Vashadze, leader of the opposition Unity movement and one of the country’s best-known politicians, is telling his audience to keep strong, insisting that they will win in the end.

Vashadze is loud and forceful from the stage. When we meet a few minutes later, he is quieter and thoughtful. But ask him about the election, about the state of his country’s democracy, and his eyes light up.

“This is a constitutional coup,” he says. “This is completely against the Georgian constitution, against the will of Georgian people.

“This is a Russian special operation against Georgian national interest, and it’s been conducted by Georgian Dream.

“They call themselves the government of Georgia but from today on, we will not call them ‘the government’ anymore.

“We are fighting against Russian interests here in Georgia. So that is why we need support from our Western partners.”

He stops and fixes my gaze. I suspect that he sees our conversation as a way of getting his message out to some Western politicians.

I ask what kind of action he wants to see taken.

“Sanctions, sanctioning of the individuals who are behaving against the constitution and against the law and all different types of like real actions that they can follow.”

It is a call for somebody, somewhere, to do something. And that is the theme that comes across.

These people, huddled against the downpour, banging the parliament’s wall, whistling and booing, feel as if they have been cheated.

But they also feel ignored and unseen, desperate for help and fearful of the future. In this relentless rain, it is very hard to feel optimistic.

World

Gazan doctor being held in ‘inhumane’ conditions in Israeli jail, says lawyer

Published

2 hours ago

July 22, 2025

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Gazan doctor being held in 'inhumane' conditions in Israeli jail, says lawyer

The lawyer of a high-profile Gazan doctor detained by Israel since last December has spoken of her shock over his condition after being allowed a rare visit to see him in jail.

Ghaid Qassem has told Sky News that Dr Hussam Abu Safiya – the director of the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza – survives on very little food, including two spoonfuls of rice a day and has lost a third of his body weight. She said he has been subjected to severe beatings.

“As a young woman, seeing an older man – a respected doctor like Hussam Abu Safiya – broken in front of me, degraded, surrounded by prison guards, in the worst possible condition, how am I supposed to feel?” she said.

“The conditions of his detention are extremely harsh, inhumane, with continuous assaults.

“This is the sixth time he has been brutally attacked.

“The most recent incident was on 24 June 24, which coincided with the end of Israel‘s war with Iran and the strike on Soroka Hospital in Beersheba [Israel].

“It seems the prison authorities decided to take revenge. They raided Abu Safiya’s cell and began assaulting him.

“He was beaten, sustaining bruises on his head, neck, and back. Afterwards, he requested medical treatment because he felt abnormal heartbeats, but his request was denied.”

It is thought that since his detention Dr Abu Safiya has been held at a number of Israeli jails.

His lawyer said she was allowed access to meet with him at Ofer prison, near Jerusalem.

Ms Qassem said there was no proper healthcare or hygiene and it is claimed the paediatrician is being held in an underground cell.

“They can’t shower, their clothes aren’t replaced, not even underwear,” she said. “Scabies is rampant, skin diseases are widespread and the most basic medical attention is only given when they see you’re on the verge of death.”

Dr Abu Safiya was last seen in Gaza, wearing his white doctor’s coat as he walked through the rubble outside his hospital towards an Israeli tank in December 2024.

Before then he had become a well-known voice and face of the Kamal Adwan hospital, sharing videos about the siege of the medical facility and explaining how staff were struggling to continue working under Israeli bombardment.

The hospital has since been forced to close down.

Oneg Ben Dror, from Physicians for Human Rights Israel, told Sky News they believe Dr Abu Safiya is one of more than a 100 medical professionals from Gaza currently being detained in Israeli jails.

She said: “We know that more than 250 health care workers were arrested since the start of the war on Gaza.

“Part of them were released, and more than 100 are still detained. We have their names, and we managed to visit dozens of them while in detention.

“All those we met weren’t charged officially with any offence.

“We asked them about the interrogation and all of them said the questions they were asked weren’t about them or a specific offence.

“It was more information gathering about their workplace and people they knew and this is against international law arresting them while doing their job and holding them for intelligence gathering and as bargaining chips for a potential deal.”

A spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service (IPS) said: “All prisoners are detained according to the law. All basic rights required are fully applied by professionally trained prison guards.

“We are not aware of the claims you described, and as far as we know, no such events have occurred under IPS responsibility.

“Nonetheless, prisoners and detainees have the right to file a complaint that will be fully examined and addressed by official authorities.”

Dr Abu Safiya’s colleague, Dr Eid Sabbah, head of the nursing department at Kamal Adwan Hospital, told Sky News more than 30 medical staff from the hospital have been killed during the conflict.

He said: “We pray to God to give Dr Abu Safiya strength, to ease his suffering soon, and to see him free – just like the rest of our people, our patients, our wounded, and all the doctors who were detained from this hospital.

“He is in a very difficult situation. The news we are hearing is troubling and far from reassuring.

“He was the kind of doctor who took bold stands for his colleague. At the same time, he never abandoned his patients, even under extreme pressure.

“Despite calls urging him to evacuate the hospital for his own safety, he refused to leave. He stayed by his patients’ sides, fully committed to serving them – especially the children, the elderly, the women, and the injured.”

World

Gaza food situation ‘worst it’s ever been’, charity says – as UK promises £40m in aid

Published

8 hours ago

July 21, 2025

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Gaza food situation 'worst it's ever been', charity says – as UK promises £40m in aid

An aid worker in the central Gaza Strip has told Sky News the food situation in the enclave is “absolutely desperate” and “the worst it’s ever been”.

Her comments to Sky’s chief presenter Mark Austin come amid fresh international outcry over Israel’s restrictions on aid, as the UK has joined together with 24 other countries to say: “The war in Gaza must end now.”

Rachael Cummings, humanitarian director for Save The Children, is in Deir al Balah, a city in central Gaza where tens of thousands of people have sought refuge during repeated waves of mass displacement.

Middle East latest: Key points from UK statement on Gaza

She said: “One of my colleagues said to me yesterday, ‘We are all walking together towards death’. And this is the situation now for people in Gaza.

“There is no food for their children, it’s absolutely desperate here.”

“The markets are empty,” she said. “People may even have cash in their pockets yet they cannot buy bread [or] vegetables.

“My team have said to me, ‘There’s nothing in my house to feed my children, my children are crying all day, every day.”

Israel launched a ground assault on Deir al Balah on Monday morning, another charity said earlier.

Ms Cummings’s comments came as the UK and 24 other nations issued a joint statement calling for a ceasefire.

The statement criticised aid distribution in Gaza, which is being managed by a US and Israel-backed organisation, Gaza Health Foundation.

“The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,” it said.

The 25 countries also called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of hostages captured by Hamas during the 7 October 2023 attacks.

Lammy promises £40m for Gaza aid

Foreign Secretary David Lammy later promised £40m for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

He told MPs: “We are leading diplomatic efforts to show that there must be a viable pathway to a Palestinian state involving the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, in the security and governance of the area.

“Hamas can have no role in the governance of Gaza, nor use it as a launchpad for terrorism.”

Addressing the foreign secretaries’ joint written statement, charity worker Liz Allcock – who works for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in Gaza – told Sky News: “While we welcome this, there have been statements in the past 21 months and nothing has changed.

“In fact, things have only got worse. And every time we think it can’t get worse, it does.”

“Without a reversal of the siege, the lack of supplies, the constant bombardment, the forced displacement, the killing, the militarisation of aid, we are going to collapse as a humanitarian response,” she said.

“And this would do a grave injustice to the 2.2 million people we’re trying to serve.

“An immediate and permanent ceasefire, and avenues for accountability in line with international law, is the minimum people here deserve.”

The war in Gaza started in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage.

More than 59,000 Palestinians have since been killed, with more than half being women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

In recent weeks hundreds of Palestinians have reportedly been killed while waiting for food and aid.

The Israeli military has blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians.

World

Plane crashes into college campus in Bangladesh – at least 19 people dead

Published

14 hours ago

July 21, 2025

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Plane crashes into college campus in Bangladesh - at least 19 people dead

At least 19 people have died after a Bangladesh air force plane crashed into a college campus, the military said.

The aircraft crashed into the campus of Milestone School and College in Uttara, in the northern area of the capital Dhaka, where students were taking tests or attending regular classes.

The pilot was one of the people killed, and, according to the military, 164 were injured in the incident.

The Bangladesh military’s public relations department added that the aircraft was an F-7 BGI, and had taken off at 1.06pm local time before crashing shortly after.

Video shows fire and smoke rising from the crash site, with hundreds looking on.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.

Bengali-language daily newspaper Prothom Alo said that most of the injured were students with burn injuries.

Citing the duty officer at the fire service control room, Prothom Alo also reported that the plane had crashed on the roof of the college canteen.

Rafiqa Taha, a 16-year-old student at the school who was not present at the time of the crash, told the Associated Press that the school has around 2,000 students.

“I was terrified watching videos on TV,” she added. “My God! It’s my school.”