Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a domestic storm over the two-week ceasefire with Iran, with critics accusing him of presiding over “the worst political disaster in history”.
The Israeli prime minister has sparked backlash from parties across the country’s political spectrum for choosing not to continue the conflict alongside Donald Trump.
There is also growing international outcry over ongoing Israeli strikes on Lebanon, that as of Thursday had killed 1,700 people, including 130 children. Western countries have insisted Lebanon must be part of the ceasefire, while Tehran claimed that attacks on the country represented a “grave violation” of the agreement.
Netanyahu is increasingly isolated on the world stage (AFP/Getty)
The developments have sparked outrage among Israeli politicians, who have urged Netanyahu to continue the war. Opposition leader Yair Lapid branded the Israeli PM’s handling of the conflict a catastrophe.
“There has never been such a political disaster in all of our history,” he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. “Israel wasn’t even at the table when decisions were made concerning the core of our national security.”
Advertisement
He praised the military for carrying out “everything that was asked of it” and the public for demonstrating “amazing resilience”, but said they had both been let down by Netanyahu due to what he called the leader’s “arrogance, negligence and lack of strategic planning”.
Lapid’s criticism was repeated by former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who said Israel’s failure to achieve its war goals would leave it “facing a vengeful Iran.”
“The reason why so many people feel disappointed tonight is that the leadership sold us illusions,” he said in a live broadcast on Wednesday.
“All their empty promises have exploded in our faces. Unfortunately, each of us sees with our own eyes that Hamas is getting stronger. Hezbollah and Iran are standing on their own two feet, and this is happening because a government that dismantles Israel from within cannot defeat the enemy from without.”
Advertisement
Yair Golan, centre-left politician and the head of the Democrats party, accused Netanyahu of lying.
“He promised a ‘historic victory’ and security for generations, and in practice, we got one of the gravest strategic failures Israel has known,” he said in a post on X, adding: “Blood was spilled … brave citizens killed (and) soldiers fell … none of the goals were accomplished.”
Lapid has called Netanyahu’s strategy a ‘historical disaster’ (AP)
“The nuclear program was not destroyed; the ballistic threat remains; the regime is in place and is even stronger coming out of this war,” he continued.
Netanyahu’s education minister Yoav Kisch hit back his critics, accusing them of “pumping up a defeat that’s echoed in the enemy’s media outlets”.
The Israeli PM has also faced growing international outcry over the IDF’s campaign in Lebanon, which aid agencies warn has created a humanitarian catastrophe. Over 250 people have been killed in 24 hours in the deadliest attacks on the country since the conflict began.
Advertisement
More than 100 sites were targeted in 10 minutes on Wednesday and more than a million people (20 per cent of the population) has been displaced since the war began in February.
Despite a ceasefire being agreed on Wednesday, Netanyahu and the White House said that the 14-day truce does not apply to Lebanese territory – a key demand for Tehran.
Netanyahu and Trump both acted jointly in declaring war on Iran (Getty Images)
But Netanyahu and the White House said that the ceasefire does not apply to Lebanese territory.
Israel says it must continue its attacks in order to defeat Hezbollah, an Iran-backed proxy group. However, large numbers of civilians have been killed so far and humanitarian groups have warned there are similarities to the IDF’s campaign in Gaza.
Spain, France and the UK have all called for the ceasefire to be extended to Lebanon.
Advertisement
Britain’s foreign minister Yvette Cooper called for the country to be “urgently included” and called Israel’s attacks “highly damaging” on Thursday, following similar comments by French president Emmanuel Macron.
The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas criticised the number of civilian deaths in Lebanon and said it was becoming “hard to argue that such heavy-handed actions fall within self-defence”.
Over 200 people were killed in one day in Lebanon on Wednesday after Israel’s deadliest strikes yet (Reuters)
Trump has also come under fire in Israel for agreeing a ceasefire.
“Donald, you came off as a duck,” said the far-right head of the country’s National Security Committee, Tzvika Foghel in a since-deleted post on X.
The head of the conservative Yisrael Beytenu party, Avigdor Liberman, said the agreement with Iran “gives the ayatollah’s regime a break and time to regroup.”
Advertisement
“Any agreement with Iran, without giving up on destroying Israel, enriching uranium, manufacturing ballistic missiles and supporting terror groups in the region, means we’ll return to another war in harder conditions with a heavier price,” he wrote on X.
The create your own pizza counters have long been a popular feature at Asda, allowing shoppers to choose a base, sauce, and toppings.
Prices start at £3.33 for a medium size and rise to £4.93 for the large option, and have often earned praise for their affordability.
However, shoppers are now concerned that Asda is planning to close down its pizza counters following a viral X post.
Advertisement
Outcry from Asda shoppers amid rumours of axing pizza counter
Rumours of Asda’s pizza counters closing follow a post from one X user, sharing: “Going to need @asda to confirm or deny the rumours that the create your own pizza counters are going from all stores.”
The post has since gained more than 811,000 views and created a lot of stir online.
One concerned shopper said, “The @AsdaServiceTeam @asda pizzas are unreal.
“Best not be getting rid of the pizza counters in stores.”
Another X user wrote: “If true, this is the worst news of 2026.”
Advertisement
Going to need @asda to confirm or deny the rumours that the create your own pizza counters are going from all stores
Following the viral post, an Asda spokesperson has confirmed they have no plans to remove pizza counters from any stores.
Advertisement
Sharing: “We know how much our customers love our pizza counters, and they can be reassured that freshly made pizzas will continue to be available in all 464 of our stores as usual.”
Do you like the Asda pizza counter? Let us know in the comments.
A British woman who left the UK for the USA has spoken about how one incident forced her to re-evaluate her whole life in the country
A woman who moved from Yorkshire to the United States at the age of 22 has spoken about how one moment in her new home country caused her to re-evaluate everything.
Advertisement
Kari Wells, who built a career on the American cable channel Bravo, moved to Aspen, Colorado where she met her now husband Duncan with whom she has two children.
Later, the pair moved to Atlanta, Georgia, which is where things took a turn when she was robbed in October 2019 by two gunmen.
In the ensuing robbery, Wells was knocked out when she was hit on the back of her head by one of the gunmen. Despite surviving, the robbery would have a major impact on her with Kari telling the Telegraph she later received treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that in turn led to her writing her book ‘From Attitude to Gratitude’.
Speaking to the publication, she said that the incident was a “literal way” of being forced to “re-evaluate” her life. She explained: “It’s like I was juggling it all, and I was so busy that I wasn’t really living my life. I was on this treadmill, missing out on a lot of great things.
Advertisement
“The aftermath was more traumatising than the event because you go into this state… something that I cannot even explain.”
During her recovery, Wells convinced her husband to make several changes to their home including parking their car across their gate that they secured with cable ties.
Furthermore, the pair also moved back to where they’d first met in Aspen, Colorado. The incident also brought into even sharper relief for Wells the “insanity” of gun violence in the USA.
Advertisement
Although Kari is one of many people who has moved from the UK and Europe to the USA, in recent years there has been a growing trend in the opposite direction with Americans now moving to the UK and Europe.
According to data from the Brookings Institution reported in The Wall Street Journal, the USA saw negative net migration for the first time in nearly a century in 2025 with more people leaving than arriving last year for the first time since 1935 and the peak of the Great Depression.
Although this massive moment has happened during US President Donald Trump’s second term, in a phenomenon some have dubbed ‘The Donald Dash’, others say the situation is more complex than one person becoming leader.
Other examples include economic changes and the rise of remote working meaning more people can work from anywhere on the planet and don’t have to be tethered to their job by geography.
Gun violence is also a factor with Berlin-based employee of a Texas real estate investment firm Chris Ford using an example of active shooter drills, reports the Independent.
This, he said, was one major difference between life in the USA and life in European nations such as Spain and the Netherlands: “You don’t face the prospect of your five-year-old going into a kindergarten and doing an active shooter drill. The wages are higher in the U.S. but the quality of life is higher in Europe.”
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
Hey, I know this guy. He’s the one who knocks! (Picture: AMC)
Endings are difficult. No, that’s not true. Endings are really difficult, and one of the hardest things to end is a good TV series.
After all, viewers have sometimes put years of their lives into watching a show, and if you don’t stick the landing, then people are going to feel like they wasted their time.
They went from two of the most beloved figures in entertainment to personas non grata after they failed to deliver a satisfying conclusion to Jon Snow and Daenerys’ story.
Advertisement
Yet, not everyone falls at the final hurdle like an incompetent athlete or clumsy horse.
In fact, plenty of shows end on a high note, impressing critics and fans.
Metro writers have their say
So, with this in mind, the Metro TV team thought we’d take a look back on the best endings in TV history.
Don’t agree with us? Send an email, but we think these are the best TV finales of all time
Advertisement
Breaking Bad
Jesse and Walt went out in a blaze of glory (Picture: Alamy)
Our Deputy TV editor, Tom Percival, thinks Walter White’s final send-off is pretty special…
Widely considered one of the best TV shows ever made, Breaking Bad saw the mild-mannered Walter White transform into the heinous Heisenberg as he sank deeper and deeper into Albuquerque’s criminal underworld.
In the end, it all came crumbling down around Walt as his double life was exposed, and he lost his family and fortune. Yet what I love about Breaking Bad’s finale is that in the final episode, we see the true synthesis of Walter’s two personas.
With nothing left to live for, the barriers between the nebbish Mr White and the narcissistic Heisenberg come down, and the true Walt is born. He’s a ruthless but confident genius entirely dedicated to undoing his biggest mistakes.
Honestly, endings don’t come more thrilling than this. It’s brilliantly cathartic to see Walt get revenge on those who wronged him, save his family, and sacrifice himself for Jesse in a hail of gunfire.
Advertisement
I know some people say it’s unrealistic, but Breaking Bad more than earned its dramatic and explosive finale.
Lost
They’re stuck on an island, and no one can find them. They’re… (Picture: Channel 4)
Freelance TV writer Rob Oliver, meanwhile, has his own thoughts…
For its very final statement, Lost proudly wore sentimentality and spirituality on its sleeve, and bravely argued that not only is there a place after death, but that we make that place ourselves by loving the people we love. These broken characters fixed each other over the course of the show.
Writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse also suggested with the finale that, whether it’s a benevolent god, an unknown entity, or a man-made energy, a greater force connects us to those we love. And it saves this argument for the very end.
What other TV show was brave enough to save its big philosophical mission statement for last? What other TV show still had something so valuable to say after almost 100 hours?
Advertisement
Lost’s finale stands above all others because it shoots for something incomprehensibly huge and sticks the landing. It successfully presents a worthy explanation of the meaning of life, arguing that it’s to make peace with your own death
Friends
(Picture: Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
TV Editor Sabrina Barr prefers a group who are always there for you…
I can’t remember a time when Friends wasn’t in my life. That might partially be down to the fact that I was only a month old when the first episode was released in 1994, but as soon as I was old enough to watch it with my parents, I was hooked.
I might have been too young to understand a lot of what went on throughout its 10-season run, but from an early age, Chandler, Phoebe, Joey, Rachel, Ross and Monica became my friends for life too.
To this day, the sitcom is still my ultimate comfort watch. You could quote any line, show me any still, and I could tell you instantly what episode it was from.
Advertisement
I remember watching the final ever episode of Friends with amazing clarity. I was 10 years old, sitting on the sofa with my parents as Rachel declared to Ross: ‘I got off the plane.’ We might have been in our lounge at home, but I could almost hear the collective gasps that resounded around the world.
Friends wasn’t just any old sitcom. It touched the hearts of billions around the world, and it couldn’t have delivered a more satisfying ending, both for storytelling purposes and to make fans happy.
Rachel and Ross are back together. Monica and Chandler are parents to twins, and Phoebe and Mike want to start a family of their own. Joey is struggling with everyone moving on, but remains an anchor for the gang. Everything is changing, and yet, everything is still exactly the same as it always was, because their friendship is at the heart of it all.
Succession
And you thought your family dinners were awkward? (Picture: Home Box Office (HBO))
TV reporter Milo Pope wants to get straight to business…
It’s a tale as old as time. You sit down to start a new series. It presents a fascinating set of characters, played by an extremely talented cast, but… it completely messes up the ending.
Advertisement
For Jesse Armstrong’s Succession, which did all of the above, thankfully, its series finale managed to leave a sweet taste in viewers’ mouths. Impeccably shot and written, every character’s story arc manages to come to a complete conclusion amidst the most high-pressure stakes imaginable.
But right at the end, it still sucker punches you with a truly shocking and unexpected ending. Truly magnificent
The Sopranos
Who doesn’t love a cut to black? (Picture: THA/REX/Shutterstock)
Senior TV reporter Rebecca Cook wants to make you an offer you can’t refuse…
When it comes to The Sopranos, a clear pick for the Mount Rushmore of great TV, it isn’t so much about the show’s finale episode as the final scene.
Set in a diner to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ (perhaps the most unlikely song choice Tony Soprano could make), James Gandolfini’s indelible mob boss watches his family arrive for a low-key dinner. Outside, Meadow can’t master parallel parking. Inside, there’s a shifty bloke looking at Tony from the bar.
Advertisement
There’s so much promise in the rousing Journey track and AJ telling his dad to ‘focus on the good times’. Yet, everything suddenly cuts to black in an ending more haunting than if we had seen what many believe happened next.
Did you think your TV was broken? Was the ending a cop-out? The fact that we’re still talking about it nearly two decades later is a testament to its brilliance. So, did the shifty bloke whack Tony? Well, if you were to make me choose once and for all, I’d say – cut to black
Scrubs
I’m no Superman (Picture: Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Deputy TV editor Tom again, with a second pick that he demanded be included on the list…
Scrubs may not be an obvious contender for a list like this, but I stand by the fact that it’s the best ending to a sitcom ever. Set on JD’s final day at Sacred Heart (until the revival at least), the episode ends with the young doctor finally getting the validation he’s always sought from his mentor, Doctor Cox.
As he heads out the door for the last time, we’re treated to a montage of the future showing JD finally marrying Elliott, staying close to Carla and Turk, and their kids falling in love.
Advertisement
Is it blatant fan service? Yes. But it’s also packed with great jokes (JD collapsing when he realises he’s actually going to be actally related to Turk) and moving moments as well.
For a show like this, which walked the fine line between hilarity and poignancy, I can’t think of a better way to see off the hard-working doctors and nurses at Sacred Heart hospital… let’s just pretend that ninth season never happened.
Six Feet Under
I can’t wait to see how these characters die! Wait… what? (Picture: Reuters)
Tom again. Now you’re just being greedy…
Most people hate when a show kills off its cast in the final episode, but there was no other way for a show set in a mortuary to end. Indeed, it’s the final montage at the end of the show’s sixth series that people remember best about Six Feet Under these days.
If you’ve never seen it, the show ends with a time-skip montage where we see how all the characters we’ve been following for six years die. Some pass away peacefully with their loved ones around them, others are taken far too soon, and some are violently snatched away from their families.
Advertisement
The only thing these deaths have in common? Well, they all serve to remind us of that horrible universal truth. We all die eventually.
And while you’d be forgiven for thinking that’s a horrible way to end a TV show, it’s also a powerful reminder of one of Six Feet Under’s key themes. The idea that you only get one life and you don’t know how long or short it will be, so you’d best live a good one.
This article was originally published on September 29, 2025.
Got a story?
Advertisement
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
In a statement online, GB News said: “Eamonn was taken ill last week and it was later confirmed he had suffered a stroke. He is currently responding well to treatment.
Advertisement
“Eamonn has asked for privacy as he focuses on getting better.
“His colleagues and everyone at GB News wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming him back to the People’s Channel when he is ready to return.”
Angelos Frangopoulos, the CEO of GB News, added: “Eamonn is a loved member of the GB News family, and we’re with him every step of the way as he recovers.”
Eamonn had been due to return to GB News Breakfast next week – Alex Armstrong will step in to present in his absence.
Advertisement
Eamonn has been open about his health struggles and battle with chronic pain for years. He underwent major spinal surgery in 2022 to tackle years of pain from slipped discs and subsequent complications, a procedure he has admitted “went wrong” and left him with limited movement.
The pinnacle of the National Hunt racing season is upon us, with the Grand National taking place today at Aintree.
Only three weeks on from the Cheltenham Festival comes another highlight of the British sporting calendar as Liverpool plays host to the world’s most famous steeplechase.
The three-day meeting is headlined by the feature race, which will include 2024 winner I Am Maximus.
The action at Aintree began on Thursday, followed by Ladies’ Day on Friday and then the showpiece comes today at 4pm.
Advertisement
Here’s everything you need to know…
When is the Grand National 2026?
The 2026 Grand National meeting runs from Thursday, April 9, to Saturday, April 11, with the Grand National steeplechase taking place at 4pm BST on the third day.
A new, earlier time for the feature race of the meeting was introduced in 2024, bringing the race forward by 75 minutes, and remains in place for the 2026 edition.
Advertisement
As ever, the famous Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool will host the race.
Nick Rockett won last year’s race
Peter Byrne/PA Wire
How to watch the Grand National 2026?
Advertisement
TV channel: In the UK, the Grand National meeting is being shown live and free-to-air on ITV1, with coverage starting at 12.45pm BST, today, Saturday.
ITV will broadcast every race bar the final of the day, with subscription channel Racing TV the only place to watch all the action across the three days.
Coverage of the National itself is from 3:15pm BST with the race getting underway at 4pm.
Live stream: The race will also be available to watch live and for free online via the ITVX app and website.
Advertisement
Live blog: You can follow every race live from Grand National Day at Aintree with Standard Sport’s live blog.
Grand National 2026 weather forecast
The UK has been blessed with sunshine of late, but there is expected to be showers across all three days of the meeting.
Hitting a high of just 12C, expect overcast conditions with occasional sun at Aintree.
Advertisement
Grand National 2026 prize money
The total prize fund for the race is £1 million, the highest amount of money that any race over obstacles is contested for, and it breaks down as follows:
“The Grand National is the main reason I got into the sport, it has always been a great spectacle. It is a dream, it is the most prestigious race, it’s worldwide, it is very exciting to have a ride in the race alone, if you’re not in then you can’t win and it doesn’t matter what price they are, hopefully they have a good chance and I am really looking forward to it.”
The incident happened at the supermarket on the Causeway, in Billingham town centre, around 2.25am this morning (April 11).
Two men in dark clothing were caught on CCTV forcing entry before leaving with a large quantity of goods, including alcohol and scratch cards.
Police launched a search but the suspects had fled the scene.
Advertisement
Cleveland Police say one of the men was wearing a grey tracksuit with a black gilet and a black face covering, and was carrying a duffle bag.
The second man was wearing all-black clothing.
Enquiries are ongoing and officers are urging anyone who may have captured the two men on doorbell or dash cam footage to get in touch on 101, quoting reference number 067408.
Lebanon experienced one of the deadliest days in its recent history, as widespread Israeli air strikes brought horror and destruction to the country on Wednesday, just hours after a ceasefire was announced in Iran.
The attacks, that came in the middle of the day without warning, killed more than 300 people, a third of them women, children and the elderly, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Some of the attacks hit busy, densely populated neighbourhoods, places that had not been targeted before and where people felt they were safe.
Israel said it carried out more than 100 air strikes in just 10 minutes on what it described as targets linked to the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah.
BBC Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega has spoken to residents in Beirut, a city that is still in shock.
When Soviet president and Communist party secretary Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the policies of perestroika (reconstruction) and glasnost (openness) in the mid-1980s, it marked the beginning of cautious reforms of the Soviet Union. Georgia, or the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, to give it its full name at the time, was on the periphery of the union.
Far from Moscow, it lay hidden on the other side of the Caucasus mountain range on the edge of the Black Sea. As a doctoral candidate in linguistics on a research grant to Tbilisi University, I spent one year living there, between 1987 and 1988. I was conducting research on the Georgian language.
Travel at the time was very difficult, and could only happen via Moscow. I did not return to Sweden for the duration of my stay. In the recent publication, We Witnessed the Soviet Break-Up: Five Scandinavian Researchers on the Final Years of the USSR, Seen From the Caucasus, I detail how this gave me a front-row seat from which to observe the speed at which society was shifting – and how language was key to that transformation. I also observed how old cultural traditions had endured despite decades of Communist propaganda and harsh Sovietisation.
The 1987 May Day parade. Karina Vamling, Author provided (no reuse)
Rapid transformation
The May Day parade was long one of the key moments in the Soviet calender. I witnessed the last time it was held in central Tbilisi, in 1987. People were carrying red flags. Banners declaiming “Glory to the Communist party” and “Glory to our multinational Soviet Fatherland” were draped on the main buildings.
Advertisement
Next year, however, the national movement across the republic was pushing for a free Georgia. In November 1988, many took part in a hunger strike in front of the Georgian parliament against changes in the constitution that would reduce the rights of the Georgian republic. Protesters wanted what they termed the “Russification of Georgia” to come to an end.
Georgian society was multiethnic and multilingual, counting Russians and Georgians alongside Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Abkhaz, Ossetians, Greeks and many others. Georgian was the main language within the Georgian education system as well as in broadcasting and the press and, technically, according to Article 6 of the Constitution of Soviet Georgia recognised as the republic’s official language. However, during the Soviet period, Russian speakers could easily live and work in Georgia without knowing Georgian: Russian was the lingua franca for inter-ethnic communication within the republic and the Soviet Union at large.
The hunger strikes of 1988. Karina Vamling, Author provided (no reuse)
As a non-Indo-European language, Georgian boasts its own script and a written history that dates back to the 5th century AD. It is a cornerstone of the Georgian identity. Within the wider push for greater political freedom, Georgians now fought for the implementation of the constitutional status of Georgian. This included increased demands for knowledge of Georgian in workplaces and administration, while also investing in teaching Georgian as a second language.
Efforts were made to develop Georgian terminology in technology, science and other fields where Russian had been dominant. Citizens who had little or no knowledge of Georgian were under pressure to learn.
During my time in the country, I was welcomed with more openness and engagement, and less suspicion, than during the three years I had spent in Moscow. I experienced the extent to which hospitality was an ancient Georgian virtue. “A guest is a gift from God,” local people would say.
Georgians were proud of their cuisine and ancient wine production. When a guest entered a home, the dinner table would quickly transform into a feast, what is know as a “supra”. This came with its own specific structure and rules. The man of the house would assume the role of toastmaster (tamada), and the wife and female members of the family would prepare and serve the food. They would be called in from the kitchen for a toast in honour of the women. In some traditional families, the men would sit at one end of the table, and the women and children at the other.
These traditions were discernible across the different cultural communities within Georgia. Tensions at the time were growing between Tbilisi and the central Soviet authorities in Moscow, and within Georgia itself, with minorities in the autonomous entities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Advertisement
In the summer of 1989, the first violent Abkhaz-Georgian clashes took place. I was on a day trip, travelling from Sokhumi, the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, to a wedding in a small town called Zugdidi in the Megrelia region when violence broke out. Unable to return to Sokhumi as planned, I ended up spending one week with a family on the outskirts of the town.
Being there was like stepping back in time. The household was run by a young woman called Tsira, who, as a widow, dressed all in black. According to tradition, she would remain in black for the rest of her life. Her eldest son, who was 12-13 years old at the time, appeared to be seen as the man of the house.
A journey back in time. Tsira’s yard in Zugdidi. Karina Vamling, Author provided (no reuse)
Tsira’s neighbours came round and my friends from Sokhumi sat with them, discussing the conflict in Megrelian, the local language. Tsira prepared food, chicken and maize porridge over an open fire in a small wooden hut in the yard. Smoked cheese hung from the ceiling.
At one point, we visited the cemetery. Tsira sat on a stone bench by a black marble bust of her husband while relatives and guests sat around the grave. The women brought out Soviet champagne and food. I observed how toasting and eating bread dipped in wine were important in a ritual of honour and remembrance.
These religious practices showed how, within the official atheism of Soviet society, Georgian Orthodox traditions persisted – as they still do today. Another such religious practice common in Georgia during Soviet times was to hold a commemorative supra 40 days after a person had passed away. During this period, the men were not supposed to shave. The 40 days are considered the time it takes for the soul to reach heaven and God.
Advertisement
In 1990, I heard the crowd shouting “occupiers, occupiers” in front of the general staff of the Caucasian Military District in Tbilisi. The newly adopted Soviet law, dubbed the “law of non-secession” made the idea that the Soviet Union might break up feel a utopian dream. And yet it did, merely a year later. Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union on April 9 1991 and the split was finalised on December 26 with the dissolution of the USSR.
Protests in 1990. Karina Vamling, Author provided (no reuse)
In the intervening decades, the ethnopolitical conflicts that were fomenting during this early post-Soviet period have only deepened, not least following the Russo-Georgian war of 2008. Today, they remain largely unresolved and the situation in Georgia, highly volatile.
The Georgian language, however, has reclaimed the media, education and the streets. Russian has been replaced by English among the young generation of Georgians who do not carry this Soviet heritage.
The PSNI has issued traffic and travel advice for those travelling through Lisburn city centre on Saturday evening.
Advertisement
Road users and members of the public are advised of potential traffic disruption until 11pm on April 11 due to a planned parade.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “The outward parade is expected to leave at 6.45pm from Rathvarna Drive and will then take the following route: Ballymacash Road, Prince William Road, Ballymacash Road, Antrim Road, Antrim Street, Bow Street, Market Square (with a short stop) and Railway Street/Wallace Avenue.
“The return parade is expected to leave Wallace Avenue at 8pm and will take the following route: Railway Street, Market Square, Smithfield, Market Place, Chapel Hill, Longstone Roundabout, Chapel Hill, Bow Street, Market Square, Railway Street and Wallace Avenue.
Advertisement
“It is expected to finish at approximately 11pm. Police officers will be present to manage traffic and public safety throughout the parade.
“To avoid potential delays, please seek an alternative route for your journey where possible during these times.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login