The Georgian parliament on Thursday voted to approve Irakli Kobakhidze as the South Caucasus country's new prime minister, after the ruling Georgian Dream bloc nominated him for the office last week. Kobakhidze, who had chaired the ruling party since 2021, is known for his fiery rhetoric and balances sometimes trenchant criticism of the West and Ukraine with statements about his country's desire to join the European Union and the NATO military alliance. Former prime minister Irakli Garibashvili said last month he was resigning to give a successor time to prepare for parliamentary e...