HOW RUSSIA IS LOSING INFLUENCE: PROTESTS IN GEORGIA & TAJIKISTAN

Amidst intense clashes inside and outside Georgia's parliament, lawmakers passed Wednesday's second reading of the controversial "foreign influence" bill. The proposed law would require media and non-commercial organizations to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. Critics say it resembles a Russian law used to silence dissent and stifle independent news media.
Protests against the bill began in mid-April, with a largely youth-led pro-EU protest movement clashing with security forces on several occasions. Protesters condemn what they see as a Russian-inspired law. On Tuesday, 63 protesters were arrested, and security forces used water cannon, tear gas, and stun grenades to break up a demonstration against the bill. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday expressed "great concern" over the situation. "I am following the situation in Georgia with great concern and condemn the violence on the streets of Tbilisi," von der Leyen wrote on X, formerly Twitter.