Day: October 24, 2025

Jeremy Shapiro welcomes Jana Kobzova and Jim O’Brien to discuss the latest twists in diplomacy between Ukraine, Russia and the West…

After the EU adopted its 19th sanctions package against Russia, UK PM intends to make the case for using Russia’s frozen assets to fund Ukraine’s defences

The U.S. First Lady has been communicating with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the issue.

Georgia’s former Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvili, has been indicted on serious money-laundering charges, as the Prosecutor General’s Office asked the court to set bail at GEL 1 million as a pretrial restraint, required the ex-official to surrender his passport, and barred him from leaving the country.

Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakidze announced at an October 24 briefing that Garibashvili “secretly and covertly engaged in various types of business activities and received large amounts of income of illegal origin” when he served as Georgia’s defense and then prime minister in 2019-2024. “As a public official, he was required to declare both his income and expenses,” Gvarakidze added.

The indictment follows an ongoing investigation targeting former high-level Georgian Dream officials, including Irakli Garibashvili, former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili, former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, and their associates. Authorities searched their homes on October 17, seizing millions of dollars in cash and valuables, and have arrested several of their associates.

On October 22, a State Security Service official announced that Garibashvili had been questioned at the agency’s Anti-Corruption Service, “fully cooperated” with the investigation, and “admitted to receiving illicit income over the years.”

To be updated…

Tropical Storm Melissa plodded through the central Caribbean early Friday, with forecasters warning it could soon strengthen and brush past Jamaica as a powerful hurricane while unleashing potentially “catastrophic” flash flooding and landslides in southern Haiti.