#GEORGIAN DREAM

Georgia has moved to renew contracts with Israeli technology firm Cellebrite for software used to extract data from mobile devices, procurement documents show, as the country grapples with ongoing anti-government street protests.

Five Georgian interior ministry officials who were sanctioned by the West for their role in a violent crackdown on pro-EU protesters will be presented with one of the country's highest honours, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Friday.

Protesters rallied in Georgia's capital for a fourth straight night on Sunday and there were signs that opposition was spreading across the country to the government's decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union.

The ruling party held a major financial edge over the opposition, observers said.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili slammed the bill for its anti-European values and has rejected the idea of compromise.

Georgian riot police used pepper spray and batons as they attempted to clear protestors blocking Tbilisi’s parliament building. Gathering as lawmakers debated a ‘foreign agents’ bill, the protestors attempted to stop government officials from leaving via the back entrance.

The leader of the ruling party Mdinaradze, was punched in the face by opposition MP Elisashvili while speaking from the dispatch box.