Georgia is convulsed by political upheaval again after its pro-Moscow government, fresh off parliamentary elections denounced as rigged by its critics, decided to suspend negotiations for the small former Soviet republic to join the European Union.

The ancient streets of Georgia's capital city were again choked with smoke on Sunday night, as anti-government protests continued into a fourth consecutive night.

Protests overtook the streets of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, after the government paused its efforts to join the European Union.

Georgia's president said Monday that mass pro-EU protests involving tens of thousands of people showed no sign of stopping after police fired water cannon and tear gas on a fourth night of demonstrations.

Georgia's president, locked in a standoff with her own government, appealed to European countries on Monday to confront what she described as a Russian attempt to impose control on her nation. Preside