Lucy Papachristou

Amid the debris six metres beneath Tbilisi's main thoroughfare, roadworks that have frustrated residents have yielded an archaeological prize: a cache of 10th-century pottery among the ​oldest medieval works ever found in the Georgian capital.

The demolition of a modernist arts ​complex in the Georgian capital Tbilisi has ignited outrage from some residents about ‌the future of the city's skyline and from the Italian architects who designed it.

Armenia on Friday began a trial of the head of its ​ancient Apostolic Church and six senior clerics for disobeying a state order, the latest move in a standoff with the government which ‌accuses the church leader of links to foreign spies.

The EU has imposed sanctions on Georgia's Kulevi oil refinery for processing Russian crude, marking ‌the first action against a major Georgian company as Brussels broadens efforts to target entities outside Russia that help sustain its oil revenue.

Armenia has seized control of a cement ​company owned by an arrested opposition leader, state media said on Thursday, as critics accuse ‌Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of waging a crackdown on opponents since winning re-election last month.

The leader of a pro-Russian Armenian opposition party was placed in pre-trial detention for two months on Tuesday after ​being detained on suspicion of large-scale fraud and money laundering, ‌the Armenpress news agency reported, citing a court ruling.

Armenia's parliament passed a ​law on Friday that raises the bar for citizens based abroad ‌to be able to come home and vote, following reported efforts by Moscow to use Armenians living in Russia to influence an election last month.

A Russian court has jailed ​the owner of an LGBT nightclub and two of the club's employees in ‌what it said was the first case brought under a ban on what Moscow calls the "LGBT movement".

Armenia's governing Civil Contract party won an election seen as a test of its handling of a ‌peace deal with Azerbaijan and its growing turn to the West, despite what international election observers called blatant interference and pressure by Russia.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's ruling Civil Contract party, which has brought Armenia closer to the West since taking power in 2018, is squaring off against three main pro-Russian opposition candidates.