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☆ Georgia passes 'Russia-style' law on foreign influence despite U.S. warnings and mass protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Georgian demonstrators protesting the controversial "foreign influence" bill stand in front of law enforcement officers blocking an area near the parliament building in Tbilisi on May 14, 2024. Georgian lawmakers on Tuesday passed a highly controversial "Kremlin-style" law on foreign influence, despite massive protests in the country and repeated warnings from the U.S. and European Union. Members of the Georgian Parliament physically came to blows as lawmakers held the third and final reading of the so-called "foreign agents" bill, before ultimately approving the legislation. The foreign influence bill calls for media outlets, nonprofits and other nongovernmental organizations to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has previously vowed to veto the bill.

Persons: Salome Zourabichvili Organizations: Union, Georgian Locations: Tbilisi, U.S, Georgian, Soviet Union

Tbilisi, Georgia CNN —Georgia’s parliament has passed a controversial “foreign agents” bill despite widespread domestic opposition and warnings from the European Union that its enactment would imperil the country’s chances of joining the bloc. Many Georgians fear their foreign agents bill will be used the same way in their country. Georgia’s parliament now has 10 days to send the bill to President Salome Zourabichvili, who has already vowed to veto it. However, EU leaders have made it clear that the foreign agents bill’s passage would jeopardize Georgia’s chances of accession. Georgian law enforcement officers detain a demonstrator near the parliament in Tbilisi on May 14.

Persons: Georgia CNN —, Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili, Giorgi Arjevanidze, Bidzina Ivanishvili, they’ve, Putin, ” Zourabichvili, Shakh, Levan Khabeishvili, “, ” Khabeishvili, ” Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s, Irakli, CNN’s Christian Edwards, Anna Chernova, Vasco Cotovio Organizations: Georgia CNN, European Union, EU, United, Getty, Soviet Union, Georgian, CNN, European Locations: Tbilisi, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Soviet, United States, Caucasus, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, AFP, Russian, Moscow

☆ Georgia’s Parliament Gives Final Approval to ‘Foreign Agents’ Measure
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Parliament of Georgia gave final approval on Tuesday to a contentious bill that has prompted a series of tense protests in the capital, Tbilisi, spurred by fears that the legislation could push the country back into the Kremlin’s orbit. President Salome Zourabichvili has promised to veto the bill. But Georgian Dream, the governing party in Georgia since 2012, has enough votes to override her veto. Georgia’s justice ministry would be given broad powers to monitor compliance. Violations would incur fines equivalent to more than $9,300.

Persons: Salome Zourabichvili Locations: Georgia, Tbilisi, Caucasus

☆ What is Georgia’s ‘foreign agents’ bill, and why is Europe so alarmed?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Georgia’s parliament is set to pass a highly controversial so-called “foreign agents” bill that has triggered widespread protests across the former Soviet republic nestled in the Caucasus Mountains. Here’s what you need to know about the proposed law and the uproar it has caused. The bill would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence” or face crippling fines. About 50,000 protesters gathered in Tbilisi to protest the proposed legislation on Sunday. The proposed law is modeled after a similar one in Russia that the Kremlin has used to increasingly snuff out opposition and civil society.

Persons: CNN —, Salome Zourabichvili, Irakli Kobakhidze, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Vano Shlamov, Ivanishvili, they’ve, Georgia’s, Kobakhidze, Mirian, Jake Sullivan, ”, Dmitry Peskov, “, Ursula von der Leyen, Anna Chernova Organizations: CNN, Getty, European, House, Washington, Georgian, EU, “ Locations: Soviet, Caucasus, Tbilisi, Here’s, Georgian, Georgia, AFP, Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Soviet Union, European Union, Georgia’s, Didn’t Georgia, Anadolu, backsliding, George, Brussels, “ Georgia

☆ Police use tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades on 'foreign agent' bill protesters in Georgia's capital
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

(Photo by Davit Kachkachishvili/Anadolu via Getty Images)Tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons were reportedly used by riot police against protesters in Georgia's capital Tbilisi as demonstrations over a so-called "foreign agent" bill escalated. Clashes lasted until late into Tuesday night, with police trying to disperse protesters which the Georgian internal ministry said were breaking demonstration laws by blocking entrances and exits to the country's parliament. "Totally unwarranted, unprovoked and out of proportion use of force ongoing in Tbilisi against peaceful protesters," Georgia's President Salome Zourabichvili said in a post on social media platform X. The bill would force non-governmental organizations, campaign groups and media platforms who receive at least 20% of funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents." They would also be under close scrutiny by Georgia's justice ministry and be made to share sensitive details with authorities, or be faced with large fines.

Persons: Davit Kachkachishvili, Salome Zourabichvili Organizations: Getty Locations: Tbilisi , Georgia, Anadolu, Georgia's, Tbilisi

☆ The Sinking Arizona Town Where Water and Politics Collide
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Jack Healy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In Arizona’s deeply conservative La Paz County, the most urgent issue facing many voters is not inflation or illegal immigration. It is the water being pumped from under their feet. Water experts say the pumping is sinking poor rural towns. The ground in parts of La Paz County has dropped more than five feet during three decades of farming. Now, he works at a water and ice business in Salome, population 700, selling five-gallon jugs.

Persons: Pipes, Wells, What’s, ”, Luis Zavala Organizations: Capitol, Democrats Locations: Paz County, Phoenix, La Paz County, Mexico, Salome

☆ Georgia presses on with Putin-style ‘foreign agent’ bill despite huge protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Christian Edwards | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Georgia’s government is attempting to force through a controversial “foreign agent” law, despite international condemnation and huge protests from its citizens. Critics of the law say is it is a Kremlin-inspired effort to undermine democracy which will damage Georgia’s bid to join the European Union. The ruling Georgian Dream party first tried to pass the bill 13 months ago, but was forced into an embarrassing climbdown following a week of intense protests. Nearly 80% of Georgians support European integration, according to a poll conducted in December by the National Democratic Institute. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, thousands of Russians – especially men of service age – have fled to Georgia to avoid conscription.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili, –, Irakli Gedenidze, ” Giorgi Bekurashvili Organizations: CNN, European Union, South Caucasus, “, Kremlin, EU, National Democratic Institute Locations: Soviet, Europe, United States, Tbilisi, Georgian, Russia, South, Russian, “ Russia, Georgia, Ukraine

☆ Violent clashes break out in Georgia amid controversial ‘foreign agents’ law debate
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Radina Gigova | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Violent clashes erupted between protesters and police in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, on Tuesday as the country’s parliament continued debating a controversial “foreign agents” bill, criticized by Western and domestic opponents as authoritarian and Russian-inspired. “Second night of massive protest in Tbilisi against the Russian Law,” Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili said in a post on social media on Tuesday. The Georgian Dream party, which has been pushing for the law, has the parliamentary majority which could override a presidential veto. At least one employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was injured during Tuesday’s clashes, the ministry said in a statement. If protesters “continue their illegal actions,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs will “administer special measures defined by law,” it warned.

Persons: ”, Salome Zourabichvili, “, Zourabichvili, Mamuka Mdinaradze, Aleko Elisashvili Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Russian, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rights Watch, Amnesty International Locations: Georgia’s, Tbilisi, Georgian, Britain, Russian, Soviet

☆ The Met Opera’s New Season: What We Want to See
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Contemporary works will be front and center in the coming season, the Metropolitan Opera announced on Wednesday, with four company premieres among its six new productions. It will be the fifth opera by Adams that the Met has presented, putting him in the same category as Tchaikovsky and Bellini. The lineup is part of the house’s efforts to attract new audiences by embracing contemporary operas, which are outselling many of the classics. The Met is still grappling with headwinds as it works to recover from the pandemic. In January, the company said it had withdrawn nearly $40 million in additional emergency funds from its endowment to help cover operating expenses.

Persons: Jeanine Tesori, George Brant, Moby, Dick, ”, Jake Heggie, Gene Scheer, “, Osvaldo Golijov, David Henry Hwang, “ Antony, Cleopatra, John Adams, Adams, Tchaikovsky, Bellini, Verdi’s, Aida ”, Strauss’s, Salome, Puccini’s, Simon McBurney Organizations: Metropolitan Opera, Met

☆ Gallery fire destroys more than 4,000 artworks in Georgia’s separatist region Abkhazia
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A fire broke out at the National Art Gallery of Abkhazia — a pro-Russian separatist republic that is officially part of Georgia — in the early hours of Sunday morning, destroying at least 4,000 works of art, local state media has reported. “Everything burned down,” Acting Minister of Culture Dinara Smyr said, according to the region’s Apsnypress news agency. A view of burnt room of the National Art Gallery in Sukhumi, Abkhazia. Stringer/APThe National Art Gallery is in Sukhumi, the separatist republic’s capital city. The National Art Gallery’s Central Exhibition Hall caught fire overnight, and emergency services were called to the scene early Sunday morning, according to state media.

Persons: Georgia —, Dinara Smyr, ” Apsnypress, Alexander Chachba, ”, Stringer, Apsnypress, Robert Dzhpua, Salome Zourabichvili, “ Organizations: CNN, National Art, Abkhazia —, ”, Abkhazian, United Nations, Abkhazia’s, Statistics, Exhibition Hall, National, General’s Locations: Abkhazia, Russian, Georgia, Sukhumi, Russia

☆ TikTok is paying a small army of creator coaches to help influencers make money from livestreams
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Marta Biino | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

TikTok creators make money from livestreams by receiving virtual items from fans that can be converted into real money. Dozens of agencies have joined the TikTok Live partner program, two sources told Insider. How agents are helping creators boost livestream performanceUnsurprisingly, there is no single growth strategy that applies to all TikTok Live creators. "What's great about TikTok Live is that we get to see the data in real-time," Herndon said. On top of the agency program, TikTok also offers an "accelerator program" for individual creators who have already found success with livestreams to help them scale further.

Persons: TikTok, Salome Khazaradze, Khazaradze, Jack Healy, Bill Herndon, Herndon, Joseph Sottile, livestreams Organizations: Google, TikTok Spartans, ATRX Agency Locations: Europe

☆ A cruise ship carrying Russian passengers was greeted with jeers and heckles in Georgia and was forced to leave the port early
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Locals jeered at Russian passengers on a cruise ship in Batumi, Georgia on two separate occasions. A cruise ship with Russian passengers docked in Batumi, Georgia, was met with jeers from the locals protesting over the Ukraine war and over disputed territories currently occupied by Russia. Videos shared by Twitter users on Monday captured chaotic scenes of protestors in Georgia heckling the cruise ship after it arrived for the second time in five days. It will only stop when the Russian cruise ship leaves, hopefully earlier than scheduled." Local media outlet Formula News tweeted a video of protestors on Monday: "Protesters condemn the arrival of Russian cruise ship carrying pop stars and journalists supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the Georgian port city of Batumi."

Persons: jeers, Helen Khoshtaria, Salome Zourabichvili Organizations: Morning, Radio Free, RFE, Twitter, Miray Cruises, RBC, Russia axing, UN, International Republican Institute Locations: Batumi , Georgia, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Georgian, Batumi, Russian, Europe, Republic of Georgia, Soviet Union, Abkhazia, South Ossetia

☆ Tbilisi Pride festival canceled after violent anti-LGBTQ protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A Pride festival was canceled in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Saturday by organizers who say authorities failed to prevent violent disruptions from Russian-affiliated far-right groups. Festival organizers Tbilisi Pride said in a tweet that they were “compelled” to cancel the festival and “evacuate” the festival territory. “The Ministry of Interior of Georgia once again neglected to protect us from violent far-right groups and allowed the mobs to prevent us from exercising our freedom of expression and assembly even in private settings,” Tbilisi Pride said. Videos posted by Georgian activist channels showed clashes between police officers and anti-LGBTQ protesters in the festival area in Lisi Wonderland. Tbilisi Pride has accused the Georgian government of orchestrating and coordinating with Russian-affiliated, far-right group Alt Info, who they claim disrupted the event.

Persons: Lisi Wonderland, ”, “, Wonderland, Alexander Darakhvelidze, ” Darakhvelidze, Nobody, Irakli Gedenidze, Shalva Papuashvili, Papuashvili, Salome Zourabichvili, ” Zourabichvili, Mark Clayton, Clayton, Peter Fischer Organizations: CNN, First Channel, Tbilisi Pride, Interior, ”, ” Tbilisi Pride, Pride, Russian, Reuters, Georgian Interior Ministry, Georgian, Channel, UN Locations: Georgian, Tbilisi, Georgia, ” Tbilisi

☆ Anti-LGBT protesters break up Pride festival in Georgia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Anti-LGBTQ protesters scuffle with police as they try to break into the site of Tbilisi Pride Fest, in Tbilisi, Georgia July 8, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYJuly 8 (Reuters) - Up to 2,000 anti-LGBT protesters broke up a Gay Pride festival in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Saturday, scuffling with police and destroying props including rainbow flags and placards, though there were no reports of injuries. "The protesters managed to find... ways to enter the area of the event, but we were able to evacuate the Pride participants and organisers," Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Darakhvelidze told reporters. Georgia aspires to join the European Union but its ruling Georgian Dream Party has faced increased criticism from rights groups and the EU over its perceived drift towards authoritarianism. Georgia has passed laws against discrimination and hate crimes, but LGBT+ rights groups say there is a lack of adequate protection by law enforcement officials and homophobia remains widespread in the socially conservative South Caucasus nation.

Persons: Alexander Darakhvelidze, Nobody, Mariam Kvaratskhelia, Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, Alexander Lashkarava, Gareth Jones, Ros Russell Organizations: Tbilisi Pride Fest, REUTERS, Gay, Pride, Tbilisi Pride, Reuters, LGBT, European Union, Georgian, Party, EU, Thomson Locations: Tbilisi, Tbilisi , Georgia, Georgian, Georgia, . Georgia, South Caucasus

☆ The Art of Drinking? Right This Way, S’il Vous Plaît.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Chantel Tattoli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On a recent morning at the Louvre, Anya Firestone handed out bottles of Evian. “Because ‘the art of drinking’ begins with hydration,” she said. The set of ancient Babylonian laws included “an eye for an eye,” she explained, and it also dealt with issues of alcoholic beverages, like watered-down wine and the peoples’ “right to beer,” as she pithily put it. “Pretty impressive!” said Mr. Stanley, the chief executive of a memory care community near Austin, Texas. Mr. Stanley, 43, had hired Ms. Firestone to design a two-day visit around alcohol.

Persons: Anya Firestone, ’, Firestone, Manolo Blahniks, Charlotte Olympia, Matt Stanley, Salomé Bes, Hammurabi, ”, pithily, Stanley Organizations: “, Charlotte Locations: Evian, Austin , Texas

☆ Spain’s new $185m Royal Collections Museum is finally opening
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Al Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

There are just three works, among the 650 on display, signed by female artists, Leticia Ruiz, director of the Royal Collections, told CNN via phone. Luisa Roldan's 1692 sculpture “Saint Michael the Archangel Defeating the Devil (El Arcángel San Miguel venciendo al demonio)" will be on display for the first time at the Royal Collections Gallery in Madrid, Spain. The exhibit starts with the Hapsburg monarchs’ royal collections — located near the old city wall exhibit — and then one level below, the Bourbon dynasty collections. On a floor below that are the temporary exhibitions, which start with carriages from the Royal Collections and some on loan from other institutions, Ruiz said. A third of the museum’s 650 items will be rotated annually back to the royal palaces and other Patrimonio sites and replaced with other items from their collections.

Persons: Frank, Emilio Tuñon, Luis Mansilla, Velazquez, Caravaggio, Goya, Cervantes ’ “ Don Quixote, ”, Ana De la Cueva, Saint Michael the Archangel, Luisa Roldan, Leticia Ruiz, Ruiz, —, Luisa Roldan's, Miguel venciendo al, Roldan, ” Ruiz, “ It’s, Diego Velazquez’s “, “, Caravaggio’s, Salome, Saint John the Baptist, de la Cueva, De la Cueva, Isabel the Organizations: Madrid CNN —, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Patrimonio Nacional, CNN, Royal Collections, Royal, Spain’s, Patrimonio Locations: Madrid, Spain, Spanish, Campo, Miguel, Bourbon, Royal Palace

☆ Tourists kept turning up at a woman's house in London after it was mistakenly listed as up for rent on Booking.com
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A woman told the BBC that tourists kept showing up at her house after a Booking.com error. Around 20 guests showed up in the last month, thinking her house was a holiday rental, she said. "We just need it to stop somehow," Arsenius told the BBC. The tourists who have turned up are from countries including Algeria, Canada, India, and the US, the BBC reported. The company told the BBC in a statement that scammers are behind the mistake and that it had removed the listing from its site.

Persons: Booking.com, scammers, —, Karin Arsenius, Arsenius, Sabrina Salomé Schneider, Schneider Organizations: BBC, Service Locations: London, Plumstead , London, Algeria, Canada, India, Argentina, Booking.com

☆ Georgia's flagship airline bans president over Russia flights criticism - TASS
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TBILISI, May 21 (Reuters) - The founder of Georgia's national airline Georgian Airways has banned the country's president from using its services after she said she would boycott the airline over its resumption of flights to Russia, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Sunday. Russia announced this month it was lifting a four-year old ban on direct flights with Georgia and removing a decades-old visa requirement for Georgians travelling to Russia. President Salome Zourabichvili urged Georgian authorities to thwart the Russian initiative, an appeal they ignored. Many Georgians oppose any rapprochement with Moscow whose troops garrison two breakaway regions - Abkhazia and South Ossetia - that make up around one fifth of the country's territory. President Zourabichvili, whose position is largely ceremonial and whose relations with the government are strained, has warned that deepening ties with Russia could jeopardise the country's chances of the EU one day.

CNN —Police in Georgia have removed protesters from outside a hotel where relatives of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are allegedly staying, according to the public broadcaster First Channel. According to First Channel, the opposition United National Movement party held a protest outside the Kvareli Lake Hotel in northeastern Georgia on Saturday to express their anger following Georgian media reports that Lavrov’s relatives were staying in the hotel. Reporters on the ground said the situation outside the hotel had grown “tense” on Saturday after protesters pelted eggs at a minibus that left the hotel carrying Russian tourists. ‘Tense’ protest scenesVideos posted on social media showed violent scenes of police officers roughly grabbing protesters gathered outside the hotel. The protests came after Georgian media reported that Lavrov’s relatives had traveled to Georgia for the wedding of the brother of Lavrov’s son-in-law, Alexandre Vinokourov.

☆ Factbox: Why is Georgia in turmoil over a "foreign agents" law?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jake Cordell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

TBILISI, March 9 (Reuters) - Ruling lawmakers in the South Caucasus country of Georgia on Thursday scrapped plans to introduce what critics called a Russian-inspired "foreign agents" law after two days of intense street protests in the capital Tbilisi. Here is a guide to what's going on:WHAT IS THE PROPOSED 'FOREIGN AGENTS' LAW? - Swathes of Georgian civil society, including election monitors, corruption watchdogs and independent media outlets would have been covered by the law. - Rights groups say the "foreign agent" tag is a designed to make it easier for the government to discredit its opponents. - It says it is modelled on the U.S. 1938 "Foreign Agents Registration Act", which primarily covers lobbyists and organisations directly working for or under the control of foreign governments.

☆ Georgian ruling party withdraws 'foreign agents' bill after two nights of protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Georgian ruling party pulls foreign agent billMove follows two nights of protests in GeorgiaEU praises withdrawal of foreign agent billProtests to continue, says Droa partyTBILISI, March 9 (Reuters) - Georgia's ruling party said on Thursday it was dropping a bill on "foreign agents" after two nights of violent protests against what opponents said was a Russian-inspired authoritarian shift that imperilled hopes of the country joining the European Union. The Georgian Dream ruling party said in a statement it would "unconditionally withdraw the bill we supported without any reservations". The bill would have required Georgian organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents" or face fines. Georgian Dream had previously said the law was necessary to unmask critics of the Georgian Orthodox Church, one of the country's most powerful institutions. The European Union's delegation to Georgia praised the decision to withdraw the bill, writing on Twitter: "We welcome announcement by the ruling party to withdraw draft legislation on 'foreign influence'.

☆ Georgian protesters rally in Tbilisi after violent clashes with police
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jake Cordell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The ruling Georgian Dream party say it is modelled on U.S. legislation dating from the 1930s. In violent clashes on Tuesday evening, protesters threw petrol bombs and stones at police, who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds. Critics say Georgian Dream is too close to Russia and has taken the country in a more repressive direction in recent years. Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze defended the bill again on Wednesday, saying it would help root out those working against the interests of the country and the powerful Georgian Orthodox Church. He criticised Georgia's "radical opposition" for stirring up protesters to commit "unprecedented violence" during Tuesday's rallies, according to Georgian news agencies.

☆ Georgian police use tear gas on protesters after parliament backs 'foreign agents' law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/9] A protester sits on his haunches in front of police officers, who block the way during a rally against the "foreign agents" law in Tbilisi, Georgia, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli GedenidzeTBILISI, March 7 (Reuters) - Georgian police used tear gas to disperse protesters on Tuesday in central Tbilisi after parliament gave its initial backing to a draft law on "foreign agents" which critics say represents an authoritarian shift in the South Caucasus country. The law, backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, would require any organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as "foreign agents", or face substantial fines. Georgian television showed protesters angrily remonstrating with police armed with riot shields who then used tear gas. "The future of our country doesn't belong to, and will not belong to, foreign agents and servants of foreign countries," he said.

☆ Georgian police use tear gas to halt protest against 'foreign agents' law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TBILISI, March 8 (Reuters) - Police in the ex-Soviet state of Georgia used tear gas and stun grenades early on Wednesday to break up a protest outside Parliament against a draft law on "foreign agents". The crowd then gathered outside parliament, where some people pulled aside light metal barriers designed to keep the public away from the building. Speaking in Berlin earlier on Tuesday, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Garibashvili reaffirmed his support for the law, saying the proposed provisions on foreign agents met "European and global standards". [1/10] Police use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a rally against the "foreign agents" law in Tbilisi, Georgia, March 7, 2023. Late on Tuesday night protesters angrily remonstrated with police armed with riot shields who then used tear gas and watercannon.

☆ Brawl erupts in Georgia parliament over 'Russian-inspired' foreign agent law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People take part in a protest against the controversial "foreign agents" bill outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia March 6, 2023. Critics have compared it to a 2012 Russian law, which has been steadily expanded since then and used to crack down on Russian civil society and independent media. "The Russian legislation that now is proposed in parliament is against Georgia's national interests, against our European aspirations," said Irakli Pavlenishvili, a civil rights activist and opposition politician. However, Givi Mikanadze, a Georgian Dream lawmaker, told national television: "Georgian society absolutely deserves to know which organisations are being financed, from which sources. Last month, more than 60 civil society organisations and media outlets said they would not comply with the new "foreign agent" legislation if it becomes law.

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