Issue no: 1115 • JANUARY 11 - 14, 2019 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY PRICE: GEL 2.50 In this week’s issue... Georgia’s Khachapuri Listed among Top 100 Dishes NEWS PAGE 2 Future of Russia’s “Breakaway Empire” POLITICS PAGE 4 TBC Denies Slander POLITICS PAGE 6 FOCUS Sales of HUAWEI ON H1N1 Smartphones Exceed 200 A look at the toll so mln Units in 2018 far and preventative measures you can take PAGE 2 Georgia's Position Worsens in EIU's Democratic Index Report BY THEA MORRISON he Economist Intelligence Unit (the BUSINESS PAGE 9 EIU), which is the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, the sister company to The City Full of Love, or... Economist newspaper, released its T2018 Democratic Index Report, where Georgia’s position has dropped by 5.50 points compared to 2017. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index provides a snapshot of the state of democ- racy worldwide for 165 independent states and two territories. This covers almost the entire population of the world and the vast majority of the world’s states. The Democracy Index is based on fi ve catego- ries: electoral process and pluralism; civil liber- ties; the functioning of government; political participation and political culture. Based on its scores on a range of indicators within these cat- egories, each country is then itself classifi ed as one of four types of regime: “full democracy”, “flawed democracy”, “hybrid regime” and “authoritarian regime”. Continued on page 2 Image source: Economist Intelligence Unit CULTURE PAGE 11 GEORGIA TODAY 2 NEWS JANUARY 11 - 14, 2019 Georgia's Position Worsens in Ajara Visited by an Unprecedented EIU's Democratic Index Report Continued from page 1 over the opposition,” the report stressed. Number of Visitors in 2018 The index added that in comparison to The report reads that Georgia’s fall, Georgia, Armenia saw the most improve- 5.50 down from 5.93 in 2017, was the ment among all “hybrid regime” countries steepest in the entire region. The coun- in Eastern Europe in 2018, raising its score try is in the category of “hybrid regime.” to 4.79, from 4.11 in 2017. This led to a The index underlines that Georgia’s jump in its ranking from 111 to 103. billionaire former Prime Minister, Bidzina This is the 11th edition of the Democ- Ivanishvili, returned to politics in May, racy Index, which began in 2006. It resumed leadership of the ruling party, records how global democracy fared in Georgian Dream (GD), and despite not 2018. holding an elected offi ce, “redirected The report says that for the fi rst time government policy. “ in three years, the global score for democ- “The Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikash- racy remained stable. According to it, a vili, resigned in June, citing his disagree- total of 42 countries experienced a decline ments with Mr. Ivanishvili, rather than in their total score compared with 2017; widespread popular discontent with the 48 registered an increase in total score. government, as the key factor in his deci- But as a percentage of the world’s popu- sion. Under Mr Ivanishvili’s infl uence, lation, fewer people lived in some form the government also intervened in the of democracy (47.7%, compared with second-round presidential election, offer- 49.3% in 2017). Very few of these (4.5%) ing a debt write-off to 600,000 citizens were classifi ed as living in a full democ- two weeks after the election day. This racy. Around one-third of the population appeared to provide the government lived under authoritarian rule, with a with a sizeable campaigning advantage large share represented by China. H1N1 Flu in Georgia: What You Should Know ism and Resorts of Ajara has been run- media platforms, press-info tours, par- TRANSLATED BY KETEVAN ning advertising campaigns since 2017. ticipation in international exhibitions, KVARATSKHELIYA • Estonia +88.2% online advertising, and other market- • Germany +79.2% ing activities. BBC, Euronews, CNN, • Great Britain +33.9% and Deutsche Welle are the television jara was visited by an • Lithuania +33.2% companies through which promotion unprecedented number of • Poland +11.5% videos about Ajara were discovered by travelers in 2018. The total “Two million visitors represents an millions of spectators worldwide,” he amount of international unprecedented number,” said the Chair- said, going on to note that the high tourists reached 1,931.179 man of the Department of Tourism and level of popularity of the region is also Alast year, which exceeds the fi gure of Resorts of Ajara, Sulkhan Glonti. “This emphasized by the fact that Airbnb has 2017 by 14.7%. is the fi rst time we have seen such a named Batumi among the top 19 trend- The indicator for the growth in the fi gure. It comprises the data of three ing cities of 2019. Airbnb is a platform number of international visitors shows administrative zones of Ajara (Sarpi, with more than 500 million consumers Batumi International Airport as leader, Batumi International Airport, and and is a valuable recommendation where international travel increased by Batumi Port). 86.74% of tourists were source for visitors. 23.7% in 2018 year-on-year. represented by travelers from our tar- “Analysis of the time period of visits The positive dynamics of international get counties, which is vital for us as gives us the opportunity to state that tourist fl ow escalation were maintained we have put a lot of effort into achiev- Ajara is no longer just a summer desti- from traditional markets as well as from ing the given result and have actively nation: it is becoming attractive year- new target countries of the European worked for the promotion of our region round, which is our paramount aim,” Union, where the Department of Tour- and country through international Glonti said. free-of-charge for pregnant women, BY AMY JONES children, socially vulnerable persons, pensioners, and those suffering with certain diseases. he H1N1 fl u strain, com- It is also recommended to regularly wash Georgia’s Khachapuri Listed monly known as swine fl u, your hands with warm water or an alcohol- is spreading throughout based hand sanitizer to prevent the spread Georgia. The Minister of of the fl u. Moreover, taking care of your Health of Georgia stated general well-being by exercising, sleeping Tthat 640 people are currently being enough, and eating a balanced can among Top 100 Dishes treated with the virus in the country, of strengthen the body against the fl u. which 39 are in intensive care units. 10 khachapuri can often be consumed as a BY THEA MORRISON people are known to have died from the WHO IS AT RISK? full meal. It can also be bought at numer- sickness so far. Although the current Anyone could become sick with H1N1. ous kiosks located alongside Georgian numbers are far from epidemic levels, However, children, pregnant women, roads, however, it is also served at it is important to take precautions to the elderly, and people suffering with asteAtlas has specialized restaurants, known prevent the spread of the disease. Here certain diseases are most at risk. The included as khachapurnayas,” the arti- is everything you need to know about government is offering Tamifl u medica- Georgian tradi- cle reads. H1N1 fl u. tion to such people. tional dish The website also listed khachapuri in the other famous Geor- WHAT IS H1N1 FLU? WHAT IS THE Tlist of top 100 dishes of the world. gian traditional H1N1 fl u, often known as swine fl u, is a GOVERNMENT DOING? “This simple cheese bread dishes. subtype of infl uenza A virus, which is a On 9 January, the Ministry of Education known as 'khachapuri' is the common cause of infl uenza. announced that children would not return most famous dish in Georgia. to school or kindergarten until 21 Janu- The pastry is traditionally topped SYMPTOMS ary, prolonging their winter holidays by with melted cheese, eggs and The symptoms are similar to seasonal one week in order to slow the spread of butter,” the website says. fl u symptoms. You will typically suffer swine fl u. Moreover, they are getting The article reads that there are from a cough, fever, sore throat, runny ready for next season with plans in place different types of khachapuri, nose, headache, body aches, chills, and to purchase double the amount of anti- adding the most common addi- fatigue. As symptoms progress, more fl u vaccines in autumn 2019, up from tions include traditional Georgian serious problems such as pneumonia, a 41,000 last year to 80,000 for 2019. Sulguni or Imeretian cheese. lung infection, or breathing problems TasteAtlas says khachapuri is shaped can occur. NO NEED TO PANIC into different forms and, depending on Deputy Director of the NCDC Paata the baking procedure and its form, can HOW TO AVOID Imnadze, stated “there is no threat of an be consumed individually or shared. CATCHING THE FLU epidemic. Infl uenza morbidity is about 195 “Two of the most common varieties Vaccination is the best prevention cases per 100,000 people, while the epi- include the Imeretian khachapuri, shaped method. Amiran Gamkredlidze, the demic rate is 400. There are 277 cases per into a circular form, and Adjaran Head of the National Disease Control 100,000 people. We are far from the peak khachapuri, the open-faced version Center has stated that there is a ready for the time being as the epidemic limit topped with butter and a raw egg on top. supply of Tamifl u medication available for our country is 500 cases per 100,000.” Although it is considered a snack, GEORGIA TODAY 4 POLITICS JANUARY 11 - 14, 2019 Future of Russia’s “Breakaway Empire” blesome for Moscow as Kiev and Chis- BY EMIL AVDALIANI inau at times consider constraining the breakaway territory, and Moscow can do little as it has no direct land or air s the West-Russia tensions route.