Emergency rule to end Friday

A state of emergency that was imposed after a police crackdown on opposition protests will end Friday, said Georgia’s parliamentary speaker, a close ally of President Mikheil Saakashvili.

“The state of emergency will be lifted on Nov. 16, and we will switch to a normal life,” Nino Burjanadze said in a televised statement.

Saakashvili imposed the state of emergency last week, after violently dispersing opposition protests in the capital, Tbilisi. Independent newscasts and demonstrations were banned.

The protests were sparked by the arrest of former Defense Minister Irakly Okruashvili, after he alleged that the president was involved in corruption and a murder plot.