Georgia

Georgian President Denounces Russian Plan for Navy Base in Breakaway Region

Published

2 years ago

February 6, 2024

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili on Tuesday denounced a reported Russian plan to set up a navy base in the breakaway Abkhazia region as a threat to security in the Black Sea.

Last October, as Ukraine stepped up attacks on Moscow’s Black Sea fleet, Abkhazia’s separatist leader Aslan Bzhania said he has signed an agreement with Russia to establish a Russian naval base at the Black Sea town of Ochamchira “in the near future.”

“Russia’s plan to transform the Ochamchira port into its navy base is aimed at shifting the confrontation into the Black Sea, into our territorial waters, and at creating a threat to the strategic perspective of the Black Sea,” Zurabishvili said during an address to parliament on Tuesday.

Zurabishvili — who has repeatedly clashed with the Georgian government and accused it of being too close to Moscow — also warned Russia had “begun fresh attacks in its hybrid war on Georgia.”

Her role is largely ceremonial, though she has been a staunch backer of Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

Russia already has permanent military bases in Abkhazia and another Moscow-backed separatist region, South Ossetia — both of which it recognised as independent states in the wake of its war with the Caucasus country in 2008.

Ochamchire is a seaside town located near Georgia’s key maritime location of Anaklia on the Black Sea. It has been a base for Russian patrol vessels operating in the Black Sea since 2009.

Tucker Carlson and Modern-day Quislings

Tucker Carlson claims that he just wants dialogue with Russia. What we get instead is a pro-Russian propagandist with a huge platform seen as a tool by the Kremlin to advance its imperialist agenda.

Ochamchire port is too shallow to receive major ships and transforming it into a significant naval base would require massive renovation of its obsolete infrastructure.

Ukraine’s defence intelligence service said in October that Russia was actively “reconstructing the (Ochamchira) port infrastructure in some places to ensure that warships can be based there.”

Despite its stalled counter-offensive on the land, Ukraine has had more success fighting Russia in the Black Sea, sinking several Russian warships and being able to operate an export corridor for commercial ships along its southern coast.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the Russian navy “is no longer capable of operating in the western part of the Black Sea and is gradually retreating from Crimea.”

Ukraine last year struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet on the annexed Crimean peninsula in a missile attack, marking a major blow for Moscow.

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Georgia

Iowa women’s basketball lands Georgia transfer Dani Carnegie

Published

12 hours ago

April 12, 2026

Press Room

Iowa women’s basketball lands Georgia transfer Dani Carnegie

IOWA CITY — A transfer-portal pull from down south has the Iowa women’s basketball roster reconstruction off and running.

The Hawkeyes have landed Georgia transfer Dani Carnegie, she announced April 11 on social media. The first-team all-SEC combo guard visited Iowa City the weekend of April 10 and will have two years of eligibility left with the Hawkeyes.

A strong sophomore season spent grinding away in the SEC, Carnegie averaged 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in her lone season with the Bulldogs. The 5-foot-9 guard delivered 13 20-point outings and three double-doubles on a Georgia team that won 22 games and earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Carnegie entered the transfer portal once Georgia parted ways with former head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson.

Coincidentally enough, Carnegie’s Iowa career will start in the same place her Georgia career ended. Her final game with the Bulldogs came in an overtime loss to No. 10 seed Virginia in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Additional familiarity aids this Iowa pivot. Carnegie, who originally hails from Mount Vernon, New York, spent her freshman season at Georgia Tech, where she was teammates with Iowa point guard Chit-Chat Wright and played under Hawkeyes assistant LaSondra Barrett. The Barrett hire last offseason helped Jan Jensen land Wright and undoubtedly played a huge role here as well.

With Iowa losing Addie Deal, Emely Rodriguez, Teagan Mallegni, Callie Levin and Kennise Johnson to the transfer portal — along with departing seniors Hannah Stuelke, Kylie Feuerbach, Jada Gyamfi and McCabe — the Hawkeyes are going to need a handful of acquisitions that range from depth pieces to key contributors.

Carnegie heads to Iowa City as a premier portal addition and legit scoring threat. That’s exactly what Iowa needs after last season’s productive run that, at times, lacked offensive consistency.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

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Georgia

Former Georgia F Jake Wilkins makes transfer portal decision

Published

24 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Former Georgia F Jake Wilkins makes transfer portal decision

Georgia transfer Jake Wilkins has committed to Cal out of the NCAA transfer portal, his agent, CSE Talent’s Darrell Comer, told DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony. Wilkins will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Wilkins averaged 4.9 points per game for the Bulldogs this past season over 10.2 minutes per game. He appeared in 32 games, but logged zero starts.

Before arriving in college, Wilkins was a four-star recruit in the 2025 class, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. Wilkins was the No. 45 overall recruit and No. 11 small forward in the cycle.

Notably, he’s the son of Dominique Wilkins, a Hall of Fame member and two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion. His also attended Georgia to play his college basketball. Now, his son is off the the west coast to continue his hoops journey.

Wilkins plan to enter the portal was reported on the day before it opened. Once April 7 rolled around, Wilkins, along with thousands of other college basketball players hit the open market. The NCAA transfer portal closes on April 22, 15 days after it opened.

He’ll join a Golden Bears squad coming off their best season in a decade. They finished 22-12 but failed to reach the NCAA Tournament. The last time Cal went dancing was in 2016 when they earned a No. 4-seed under former head coach Cuonzo Martin. Entering year four of the Mark Madsen era, they’ll look to turn that around during the 2026-27 season.

For his former team, Georgia, the Bulldogs would finish the season with a 22-11 record, including a 10-8 mark against the SEC. In turn, the Bulldogs received a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Eventually, they fell to No. 9 seed Saint Louis in the first round.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

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Georgia

Jackets Continue Setting ACC Standards at Lee and Athens

Published

1 day ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Jackets Continue Setting ACC Standards at Lee and Athens

CLEVELAND, Tenn. / ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s track and field teams opened the weekend with quality performances at the Lee Fast Break Athletics Invitational and Spec Towns Invitational on Friday evening.

Aaron Jones and Sarah Noel showcased their talents in Athens at the 400m hurdles with top ACC times. A. Jones came across the line at 52.00 in the race to set his fourth consecutive ACC standard time in the event. He beat out his personal best set last week by 0.07 seconds and strengthened his hold on the sixth fastest conference time set this season.

Noel nearly replicated her first sub-minute time in the 400m hurdles, finishing at 1:00.35 to record her second straight ACC standard mark.

Back at Lee, Taylor Wade and Alexander Arrambide required a photo finish in the 1500m to separate the two Jackets in the 1-2 finish. Wade’s leg extended just past Arrambide’s to secure the race victory and set the Lee facility record at 3:44.03.

In the women’s 1500m, Hannah Schemmel eclipsed her previous best at 4:30.63 to place second overall. Macy Felton and Sophie D’Elena finished 19th and 20th at 4:43.48 and 4:44.41 with Ellie Moritz clocking in at 4:52.68. Ella Grace Malcom set her personal best in the 800m at the Spec Towns Invitational to finish third overall at 2:17.10 with McKenzie Blackledge right behind at 2:18.11.

In the long distance races, freshman Sadie Honig ran 17:01.86 with Katie Hamfeldt pacing at 17:09.74 in the women’s 5000m. Fellow freshman Wyatt Windham led the squad at 14:26.45 for the men. Ava Coffey finished at 36:31.33 in the first heat of the 10,000m with the second heat beginning tomorrow. Caden Terrell set his season best at 21.72 in the 200m.

Georgia Tech will finish out the Spec Towns Invitational with field and running events throughout the afternoon on Saturday.

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GT_tracknfield), Instagram (GT_tracknfield), Facebook (Georgia Tech Track and Field) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.

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