Hollywood stars at Georgia-Russia war film premiere

Thousands of opposition supporters rallied in Georgia on Saturday calling for President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign, accusing the ex-Soviet state's Western-backed leader of authoritarianism.Around 6,000 protesters from the National Assembly opposition alliance marched through the capital Tbilisi, holding rallies in central Freedom Square and outside the Georgian public television studios.Nino Burjanadze, one of the alliance's leaders and a former parliamentary speaker for the Saakashvili government, described the protests as a "decisive struggle".

Georgia on Friday marked its first "Soviet Occupation Day", a commemoration of the Red Army invasion in 1921 held amid present-day tensions with Russia."The red flag was coloured with our people's blood," said Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in a televised speech in the capital Tbilisi, which fell to Soviet forces 90 years ago."We should never forget that 80,000 of our people were killed and 400,000 deported (in the Soviet era)," Saakashvili said.

Many were wondering what Russia's response to Germany's deposit confiscation drill in Cyprus would be. The confusion was moderated somewhat after it was uncovered that the very Russians who were supposed to be punished, have been able to withdraw some or most of their Cyprus-based cash either before the Cyprus D(eposit Confiscation)-Day or during the capital controlled blackout using various disclosed loopholes.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Wednesday took to the waters of the Black Sea for a marathon swim, in a tough-guy show of macho prowess reminiscent of his arch-foe Vladimir Putin.Saakashvili swam 3.5 kilometres (2.2 miles) out into the Black Sea in a bid to promote Georgia's western coast region of Adjara as a tourist destination, officials said."The water is super!" Saakashvili said after emerging from the swim, which saw him throwing a water-polo ball around with Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava and Sports Minister Lado Vardzelashvili.

Georgia's pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili vowed Friday to pursue reforms to bolster the country's image as "European, civilised and democratic" and improve its battered economy.In a state of the nation speech before parliament, Saakashvili promised to improve media freedoms as well as return Georgia's economy to growth after a recession sparked by the global economic downturn and war with Russia.

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) -- Georgia sent a direct flight to Russia Friday in a sign that tensions may be easing 17 months after the two countries fought a war....

Georgia and Russia, who fought a brief war last year, have agreed to re-open their land border to traffic three years after it was closed, Georgia's foreign ministry said Thursday.The two countries have reached a deal to re-open the Upper Lars checkpoint, which was closed in 2006, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said.It is the only land border crossing that does not go through Georgia's Russian-backed rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia which were the focus of the 2008 conflict.