GEORGIA: VIVA LA REVOLUTION

Independent: Georgia returns to normal after bloodless revolution
Georgian opposition leader Nino Burdzhanadze pledged today to hold elections in 45 days and called on police and security services to restore order after a wave of protest swept President Eduard Shevardnadze from office.

"Order must be restored immediately not only in Tbilisi but also in all the regions of the country," Ms Burdzhanadze said in a nationally televised speech. She has assumed the powers of temporary president.

Life in Tbilisi appeared to be returning to normal today after a night of street parties, and only a few dozen stragglers stood outside the parliament building, the epicentre of the protests. Traffic flowed freely along Tbilisi's main Rustaveli avenue for the first time in days, with the bustle of a normal work week getting under way.