TBILISI: Georgia’s parliament on Wednesday approved the second reading of a bill on “foreign agents” that has been criticized as Kremlin-inspired, as police fired tear gas and stun grenades to clear a large crowd of protesters opposed to the draft law.

The bill, which would require organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, has sparked a rolling political crisis in the South Caucasus country.
Ever-growing numbers of protesters have been taking to the street nightly for almost a month, with a heaving crowd tens of thousands strong shutting down central Tbilisi on Wednesday, the largest anti-government demonstration yet.
Georgia’s Health Ministry, in a bulletin quoted by Georgian media, said 11 people, including six police officers, had received hospital treatment after Wednesday’s altercations.
Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, quoted by Georgian media, said protesters had tried to push their way into parliament using various objects and were attacking policemen.
Darakhvelidze said police action on Tuesday resulted in 63 arrests and six police officers injured.

President says to look to the election
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who opposes the bill but has only largely ceremonial powers, told protesters in a video posted on social media to show restraint. The real task, she said, was to oust the government in an October election.
“Our fate will not be determined by this law,” she said in comments quoted by media. “This fight will take place in the forthcoming parliamentary election after which (this) law and many others will be rescinded.”
Georgian media cited the country’s Orthodox Church, one of its most respected institutions, as calling for the government and protesters to hold talks to resolve a “political crisis.”
Protester Sergi Kapanadze said that for him the protest movement amounted to a struggle for Georgia’s national survival.
“What are we afraid of more?” he told Reuters. “Being gassed, being beaten up, or losing the country?“
Georgian critics have dubbed the bill “the Russian law,” saying it is inspired by laws used to suppress dissent in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Russia is unpopular among many citizens of Georgia, which lost a brief war with Moscow in 2008.
Both the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, condemned the violence. The EU gave Georgia candidate member status in December but has said the bill could halt its integration into the bloc.
Police cleared the crowd by the parliament building using tear gas and stun grenades fired from within the fortress-like complex. Water cannon were also deployed.
Protesters regrouped, with some lighting a bonfire outside parliament, and others attempting to build makeshift barricades to block key roads. A Reuters eyewitness saw at least one man carried away from the action, his face bloodied.
The protests have pitched the ruling Georgian Dream party against a coalition of opposition parties, civil society groups, celebrities and the president.
Parliament, controlled by Georgian Dream and its allies, voted to advance the bill, prompting a boos from protesters outside. The bill must pass one more vote before becoming law.
Wednesday’s parliamentary debate was tense, with opposition members expelled and scuffles between legislators, a not uncommon occurrence in Georgia’s often-rowdy parliament.
One pro-government deputy was seen throwing a book at opposition legislators, while others shouted and physically confronted opponents.
Levan Khabeishvili, leader of the United National Movement party, Georgia’s largest opposition bloc, spoke in parliament with his face heavily bandaged. His party said he was beaten by police at the previous day’s protest, leaving him with concussion, broken facial bones, and missing four teeth.
The bill’s supporters, including Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream and former prime minister, say the law would bolster sovereignty amid what he said were Western attempts to pit Georgia against Russia.

WASHINGTON: The US State Department accused Russia Wednesday of having used a chemical weapon against Ukrainian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, while also announcing fresh sanctions against Moscow.
In addition to the chemical agent chloropicrin, Russia also used “riot control agents (tear gas) as a method of warfare in Ukraine, also in violation of the CWC,” the department said in a factsheet.
“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident, and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield,” the State Department said.
Meanwhile the US Treasury Department announced sweeping sanctions aimed at crippling Russia’s military and industrial capabilities — including targeting nearly 300 entities in Russia, China and other countries accused of supporting President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
The sanctions are meant to punish companies that help Moscow acquire weapons for its war in Ukraine. They also target Russian government entities and companies involved in the country’s chemical and biological weapons programs.
Russia has said it no longer possesses a military chemical arsenal, but the country faces pressure for more transparency over the alleged use of toxic weapons.
According to the US National Institutes of Health, the chemical chloropicrin is used both as a warfare agent and pesticide. If inhaled, it poses a health risk.
“Today’s actions will further disrupt and degrade Russia’s war efforts by going after its military industrial base and the evasion networks that help supply it,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.
The accusations and sanctions come a week after US President Joe Biden signed a much-delayed bill to provide new funding for Ukraine as Kyiv’s military struggles to hold back Russian advances.
“Even as we’re throwing sand in the gears of Russia’s war machine, President (Joe) Biden’s recently-passed National Security Supplemental is providing badly-needed military, economic, and humanitarian support to bolster Ukraine’s courageous resistance,” Yellen said.
“Combined, our support for Ukraine and our relentless targeting of Russia’s military capacity is giving Ukraine a critical leg-up on the battlefield.”
As part of the measures, the State Department blacklisted additional individuals and companies involved in Moscow’s energy, mining and metals sectors.
The sanctions also targeted individuals connected to the death of Russian opposition leader Aleksey Navalny who died in a Siberian prison in February.
The almost 300 targets sanctioned included dozens of actors accused of enabling Russia to acquire desperately needed technology and equipment from abroad, the Treasury said.
Some of those targeted were based in countries such as China that have faced increasing pressure from Washington over support for Russia during its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.
“This support enables Russia to continue its war against Ukraine and poses a significant threat to international security,” the Treasury Department said.
Other than China, targeted non-Russian entities were located in Azerbaijan, Belgium, Slovakia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates.
These companies “enable Russia to acquire desperately-needed technology and equipment from abroad,” the statement said.