Outraged Georgians slam fake Russian invasion report

OUTRAGED Georgians yesterday slammed a local television channel that sparked panic by broadcasting a faked report announcing that Russia had launched an invasion and the country’s president was dead.

The Georgian opposition condemned the newscast as a state-sponsored stunt aimed at smearing President Mikheil Saakashvili’s critics while the president himself added to the furore by appearing to defend the broadcast.

The report, aired Saturday night on privately owned Imedi television, said Russian tanks were headed for the capital Tbilisi, Saakashvili had been killed and that some opposition leaders had sided with invading forces.