- 'Windmill love' sees Dutch artist become mill operator
- US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
- Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
- Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
- Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
- Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
- Blinken set for talks with Chinese foreign minister in Laos
- Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
- Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
- Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
- What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
- Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
- Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
- Concern grows as Venezuela blocks election observers
- 'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
- 'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
- Blinken, in Laos, set for talks with Chinese foreign minister
- Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
- Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
- Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
- G20 pledges to work together to tax ultra-rich
- The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
- Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
- Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
- Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
- Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
- Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
- New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
- NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
- Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
- Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
- Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
- Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
- Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
- Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
- Norris hoping for more after topping Belgian practice times
- West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
- Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
- Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
- Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
- Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
- S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
- Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
- Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
- G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
- European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
- Harris gets vital Obama backing in battle against Trump
- Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
- Stocks rise as inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
- Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
Georgian MPs proceed with controversial 'foreign influence' law
Georgian lawmakers gave a first green light Wednesday to a controversial "foreign influence" law that has sparked mass street protests over concerns it would undermine Tbilisi's European aspirations.
The bill, which 83 ruling Georgian Dream party MPs backed after its first reading, has been criticised as mirroring a repressive Russian law on "foreign agents" used there to silence dissent.
Opposition deputies boycotted the vote, and on Monday and Tuesday night thousands took to the streets to protest the draft law.
In chaotic scenes past midnight, Georgian riot police chased demonstrators in the labyrinth of narrow streets near parliament, beating them and making arrests, an AFP journalist saw.
Several local media outlets said police had attacked their journalists.
Another protest is scheduled for Wednesday evening.
- Further away from the EU -
If adopted, the bill would require any independent NGO and media organisation receiving more than 20 percent of funding from abroad to register as an "organisation pursuing the interests of a foreign power".
The proposed measure has sparked a backlash both inside Georgia and in the West.
A similar bill targeting "foreign agents" was dropped last year after mass protests outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, during which police used tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators.
The turmoil comes ahead of crucial parliamentary elections in October, seen as a key democratic test for the Black Sea country.
The bill still needs to pass votes following its second and third readings -- and get past a highly likely presidential veto.
But the ruling Georgian Dream party holds a commanding majority in the legislature, allowing it to pass further stages and vote down a presidential veto without the backing of any opposition MPs.
President Salome Zurabishvili -- who is at loggerheads with the ruling party -- said the measure contradicted "the will of the population" and denounced it as "a Russian strategy of destabilisation".
Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili insisted the initiative was about "boosting transparency" and said it would not damage Tbilisi's bid for EU membership.
But European Council President Charles Michel said the law "will bring Georgia further away from the EU and not closer".
In December, the EU granted Georgia official candidate status. But it said Tbilisi would have to reform its judicial and electoral systems, reduce political polarisation, improve press freedom and curtail the power of oligarchs before membership talks could be formally launched.
A former Soviet republic, Georgia has sought for years to deepen relations with the West, but the current ruling party is accused of trying to steer the Black Sea nation toward closer ties with Russia.
Once seen as leading the democratic transformation of ex-Soviet countries, Georgia has in recent years been criticised for perceived democratic backsliding.
P.Anderson--BTB