On May 23, the first informal conference between the Regional Civil Society Network (R-CSN) and international/donor organizations was held at Sheraton Metechi Palace, organized by CiDA (Civil Development Agency). The aim of the conference was to enhance the communication between R-CSN member CSOs and donors as well as hold the informal discussion about various topical issues.

Georgia’s Patriarch’s sermons are of a great public interest. He always discusses topics that are important for Georgia and gives reasonable suggestions how to handle them. The Easter Sermon was not an exception. His Holiness Ilia the Second came up with an idea of banning abortions in Georgia. The topic proved to be important to Georgians as the case was broadly discussed by media. I found articles about it on Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty and on EurasiaNet.org. The pieces give interesting and useful information, which will help to understand the depth of the problem.

During the past few days the foreign press abounded with articles about Georgia. The New York Times, Business Insider, BBC News and The Economist dedicated their analyses of the developments that recently took place in Georgia. Surprisingly, the predominant topic in the media was the gay rally held in Tbilisi, although the entire country in the last week seemed to have been concerned about the tragic death of Georgian soldiers in Afghanistan. The articles mostly carried information about casualties of the conflict between the two parties – pro-gay and anti-gay. On one side there were the organizers and participants in the gay parade who wanted to peacefully demonstrate their desire to legitimize their way of life and on the other side there was a crowd of young people, inspired and led by the priests who expressed their anti-homosexual position violently.

In Georgia, a lot of people with Autism seem to go unnoticed and undiagnosed. For many Georgian families, having a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder may not be the life they had envisioned or want to acknowledge. But plans to raise awareness of the complex brain disorder have been recently put into action. Autism is a disorder that impairs people’s social communication due to improper brain development. Though it does affect adults, it is most prevalent in children. According to Mayo Clinic, “children with autism generally have problems in three crucial areas of development — social interaction, language and behavior.”

May 6, 2013 Dirk Lehnhoff, the 55 year old German lawyer with extensive international experience in cooperative legislation development and with the support of countries like the Russian Federation, Estonia, Serbia, South Africa and others was elected president of Cooperatives Europe.

On May 11, at the Ethnographic Museum under the open sky (below Turtle Lake), New Wine Festival was held for the fourth time. It was meant to be the most democratic festival that is free for everybody, once again reminding us that we live in Georgia - the cradle of wine, which is already a landmark registered in Europe.

Europe Day was also marked by Tbilisi Music Week. On May 10, the Estonian Embassy in Tbilisi hosted a concert party at the Royal District Theatre.

Exclusive report from the ‘bordering’ village of Sachkhere region

Dwellers of Sachkhere region (Western Georgia) have come to pieces – kidnapping of people still goes on there in the 21st century. Today, instead of Lezhgians Georgians are kidnapped by Ossetians. Several days ago from the nearby forest Ossetians kidnapped 4 inhabitants of Khvani village of Sachkhere region. In Khvani we visited Petre Rikadze whose son, grand-son and nephew were taken prisoner by Ossetians.

‘I LEARNT FROM GEORGIANS THE MEANING OF ‘TSUTISOPELI’

Jeweler’s art, reflecting English culture and traditions, in which Mark Evans and his family were engaged since 1934, was their family business; it was not left unnoticed by the Queen of Britain and the Prince of Wales. As a token of recognition, Mark was honored to become the jeweler of the Royal family.

Coalition of NGOs appealed to the new parliament with the idea of decriminalization of drugs. Deputy of Chair of Health Committee Koba Davitashvili is the author of the bill that was initiated. The idea of the project is to help drug addicted individuals re-socialize not to punish them according to the criminal code, because “it thwarts the process of re-socialization”. The project has opponents too.

Gela Barkalaia, founder and head of ‘Mate Motors’ was among the privileged people, for whom all roads for doing business, were open. He was proud of friendship with the Nationals and even inscribed figure ‘5’ with flowers in front of his office. But one day his and the old friends’ roads parted. Barkalaia was detained and made to pay a solid sum.

Unstable and rainy weather will last in Georgia for approximately 10 days. The weather will brighten up in some regions today, but it will still be raining in Tbilisi

My very Georgian friend Mancho, who lives on the West coast, called me up on the East Coast at three o’clock in the morning to yell and complain. And while I was mostly asleep, she managed to convey her frustration in such a manner that I was immediately awake. What had happened was the following. A recent transplant from Zugdidi, a young computer technician had come to Los Angeles. This fact on its own would not be any of our business, but the Georgian transplant then proceeded to make friends with Mancho in a grocery store line.

Georgia has recently been noted for having high divorce rates. More and more people are deciding to terminate their holy marital unions. It looks like some relationships do come with an expiration date.