Protests in Georgia leave over 40 hospitalized as EU talks suspended

A third night of protests in the Georgian capital against the government's decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union left 44 people hospitalized, officials said Sunday.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the parliament Saturday night, throwing stones and setting off fireworks, while police deployed water cannons and tear gas. An effigy of the founder of the governing Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili — a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — was burned in front of the legislature.

Georgia's Interior Ministry said Sunday that 27 protesters, 16 police and one media worker were hospitalized.