By Eugene Kogan, Tbilisi-based defence and security expert

At a press conference on 7 November 2016, Georgia’s minister of defence Levan Izoria announced plans to reform the country's armed forces, air force and air defence, but concluded that the construction of a new naval capacity was too costly. The Navy was disbanded in 2009 and merged with the Coast Guard, which is part of the Border Guard Division and reports to the Ministry of the Interior (MIA). It should also be emphasised that Izoria's reform plans were not the first and probably will not be the last ones. READ MORE

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The 2018 U.S. IPO market is expected to see the debut of some of the most anticipated unicorns — companies that have reached $1 billion in valuation without tapping the stock markets.

• December 15, 2017

With the map of Syria’s conflict decisively redrawn in President Bashar al-Assad’s favor, his Russian allies want to convert military gains into a settlement that stabilizes the shattered nation and secures their interests in the region.

• December 15, 2017

European Union states and legislators agreed on Friday on stricter rules to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing on exchange platforms for bitcoin and other virtual currencies, the EU said in a statement.

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The United States would “badly” like to lift sanctions against Russia but will not do so until Moscow has pulled its forces out of eastern Ukraine and Crimea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Thursday, calling that the main obstacle to normal ties.

• December 7, 2017

Two American B-1B heavy bombers joined large-scale combat drills over South Korea on Thursday amid warnings from North Korea that the exercises and U.S. threats have made the outbreak of war “an established fact.”

• December 7, 2017

Brexit negotiations can move to phase two next week only on the basis of the tentative Irish border agreement which collapsed on Monday, otherwise talks to break through the impasse will resume in the new year, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday.

• December 6, 2017