The ruling party in Georgia, Georgian Dream (GD), announced on Tuesday that it will file a constitutional lawsuit to ban three opposition parties for their alleged unconstitutionality.

Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili stated that the lawsuit will be directed against the United National Movement, the Coalition for Change, and the Lelo Party. According to GD, a conservative populist party under the leadership of Bidzina Ivanishvili, these parties have repeatedly rejected the legitimacy and constitutional authority of the ruling government.

The lawsuit cites several alleged violations, including attempts to overthrow Georgia’s constitutional order. GD claims that the parties declared the 2024 parliamentary elections “illegitimate,” forcibly entered the Parliament building, and launched protest actions aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order. The lawsuit also accuses them of human rights violations during their previous terms in office and of undermining the country’s territorial integrity in connection with the August 2008 War.

The lawsuit is based on Article 23 of the Georgian Constitution, which authorizes the constitutional court to ban a political party if there is evidence that it seeks to overthrow or forcibly change the constitutional order, undermine the country’s independence or territorial integrity, or propagate war or violence, among others.

Opposition leaders condemned the planned lawsuit as “(…) illegal as the entire illegitimate, Russian-backed regime itself.” Irakli Kupradze, leader of Lelo party, said, “The anti-national and anti-Georgian Georgian Dream decided to deliver a decisive blow to democracy and ban the pro-Western opposition parties.” Tina Bokuchava, chair of the United National Movement, added that “(…) this could become a new opportunity for the country’s democratic political forces, those who truly fight against Ivanishvili’s treacherous criminal gang and for a better future for Georgia, to unite in a common resistance movement”.

Georgia is currently facing a democratic backsliding, with rights organizations expressing concerns over the persecution of opposition figures and civil society groups. Ahead of October’s local elections, Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, and Commissioner Kos, called on the Georgian authorities to uphold the rights to freedom of assembly and expression, and to release those arbitrarily detained. The European Union (EU) has repeatedly voiced concern over the democratic decline in Georgia. The European Parliament has described the current authorities as illegitimate and urged the holding of new parliamentary elections. Observers warn that the move to ban opposition parties could further undermine Georgia’s stalled bid for EU accession.

Florida coach Billy Gonzales said his Gators are bringing energy to their preparation for their annual rivalry game with Georgia in the wake of Billy Napier’s firing on Sunday.

“They were excited about just getting on the field, getting back on the grass, and it went well,” said Gonzales, who has been promoted from receivers coach into the interim head coaching role.

“So, we’re obviously getting ready for this week’s game, and guys are working hard right now.”

Florida opened as a 7 1/2-point favorite, but the line has dipped to 7 points, an indication that the majority of the early money is being bet on the Gators in their 3:30 p.m. game against the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday in Jacksonville.

Gonzales wasn’t shy about how Florida planned to attack Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, who has led Georgia to a 6-1 start that’s including a 4-1 mark in SEC play.

It’s a Florida defense that sacked Texas quarterback Arch Manning six times in a 29-21 win over a Longhorns team that was ranked No. 9 at the time of the teams’ meeting, on Oct. 4.

“I’m looking at some of the stats, you know, we just got done talking about completion percentage, and looking at his last game (Stockton) was 26 of 31 for four touchdowns, so he does a great job of making great decisions,” Gonzales said at his press conference on Monday, referencing Stockton’s performance in his most recent outing, a 43-35 win over Ole Miss.

“The main thing is for us is to hopefully be able to cause some pressure to him, and to cause pressure means being able to coverage in the back end as well.”

Gonzales knows Stockton has plenty of help, too, starting with playmaking receiver Zachariah Branch, UGA’s clear No. 1 target with a team-high 35 receptions for 362 yards.

He’s extremely explosive …. watching him on film, he’s a guy that you can get the ball and he’s quick,” Gonzales said. “He’s got a great first step, accelerates from zero to five extremely fast. A playmaker. They’ve got a bunch on the perimeter.”

It will be the Bulldogs first game without receiver Colbie Young, who suffered a fractured leg on the opening series of UGA’s win over Ole Miss and is out indefinitely.

Georgia acquired Texas A&M transfer Noah Thomas through the transfer portal and he’s considered among the top options to replace Young as a perimeter threat, despite his relatively limited production (4 catches, 54 yards) to this point of the season.

Smart indicated the Bulldogs have several other options, including the usage of additional tight ends in various alignments.

“We know about their tight ends — they’ve had some good tight ends there,” Gonzales said.

“They’ve got some great athletes.”

Gonzales also noted how Georgia backs Chauncey Bowens and Nate Frazier are of similar size and production and run behind a big offensive line.

“They’ve got some playmakers on the perimeter,” Gonzales said, “but I know we’ve got some great players on the defensive side that are excited to go against them as well.”

Authorities in the country of Georgia say they have disrupted a major nuclear smuggling attempt involving several Chinese nationals accused of trying to buy uranium on the black market, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) announced Saturday that three Chinese citizens were detained in Tbilisi while attempting to illegally purchase roughly 4.4 pounds of uranium for $400,000, according to the outlet.

Officials said the suspects were planning to traffic the nuclear material to China via Russia, the outlet reported. 

“Three Chinese citizens have been detained in Tbilisi while attempting to illegally purchase 2 kilograms of nuclear material — uranium,” the agency said, according to the AP. 

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Video footage released by the agency shows security officers in the Georgian capital seizing bottles containing what was identified as uranium and arresting multiple individuals at the scene.

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Two bottles identified as uranium were confiscated over the weekend in Georgia’s Tbilisi.  (State Security Service of Georgia)

According to the SSSG, one of the suspects had overstayed his visa and was living in Georgia illegally, the AP said. He allegedly led efforts to locate and acquire the radioactive substance, even bringing in experts from abroad to assist, the outlet added. Other members of the group reportedly coordinated the operation from China.

The perpetrators were identified and detained while “negotiating the details of the illegal transaction,” the security service reportedly said.

The agency did not specify when the arrests occurred or provide the identities of the suspects.

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Georgian officials escort a suspect after authorities foiled a uranium smuggling plot in Tbilisi. (State Security Service of Georgia)

The latest arrests follow a similar case in July, when Georgian authorities detained a foreign national and a Georgian citizen accused of planning to sell uranium worth $3 million. Officials said that material could have been used to construct explosive devices or carry out terrorist attacks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.