Georgia needs stronger democracy: Rice (AAP)

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged further democratic development in the former Soviet state of Georgia, after meeting with opposition leaders. "Democracy is absolutely necessary, not because human beings are perfect but because human beings are imperfect," Rice said as she met six leading opponents of pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili. "It isn't built in a day, democracy. "We had the birth defect of slavery.... My ancestors were considered three fifths of a man," Rice said, referring to her family history as a black American. Among those who attended the meeting with Rice was former presidential candidate Levan Gachechiladze, who was defeated by Saakashvili in a January election. Also present at the meeting were representatives of civil society organisations working in the areas of the media, law and... [read full story]