Protests Erupt in Georgia After Beaten Journalist Dies
Voice of America
TBILISI, GEORGIA - Several thousand people protested Sunday evening in front of the Georgian parliament, demanding that the ex-Soviet nation's prime minister resign over the death of a journalist who was attacked and beaten by anti-LGBT protesters.
Cameraman Alexander Lashkarava was found dead in his home by his mother earlier Sunday, according to the TV Pirveli channel he worked for. Lashkarava was one of several dozen journalists attacked last Monday by opponents of an LGBT march that had been scheduled to take place that day in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Organizers of the Tbilisi March for Dignity canceled the event, saying authorities had not provided adequate security guarantees. Opponents of the march blocked off the capital's main avenue, denounced journalists covering the protest as pro-LGBT propagandists and threw sticks and bottles at them. Lashkarava, according to his colleague Miranda Baghaturia, was beaten by a mob of 20 people. Local TV channels later showed him with bruises on his face and blood on the floor around him. Media reports say he sustained multiple injuries and had to undergo surgery but was discharged Thursday from a hospital.Israeli Ofer Kalderon, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, waves before being handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas fighters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 1, 2025. Israeli Yarden Bibas, 34, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 1, 2025.
A rescued pug plays in the home of Cheryl Gaw in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2025. Cheryl Gaw plays with some of the 2,500 pugs she has rescued in South Africa at her home in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2025. Pugs pause for a photograph at the home of Cheryl Gaw in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2025.
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