World
UN, EU, US urge Georgia to halt ‘foreign agents’ bill as protests grow
Thousands gather in Tbilisi to protest against the bill, which passed its second reading in parliament this week.
The European Union, United Nations, and the United States have condemned legislation making its way through Georgia’s parliament on “foreign agents”, as thousands of protesters snarled traffic in the country’s capital Tbilisi on Thursday with a large new protest against the bill.
Protesters poured into Heroes’ Square, a key junction through which much of Tbilisi’s traffic passes between the city’s neighbourhoods. Long queues of vehicles remained blocked.
“We are all together to show the Kremlin’s puppets that we will not accept the government that goes against the Georgian people’s wishes,” said protester Giorgi Loladze, 27, from Kutaisi, Georgia’s third-largest city.
Tens of thousands of protesters had shut down central Tbilisi a day earlier in the largest anti-government rally yet. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to clear some of them.
The bill – attacked by opponents as authoritarian and Kremlin-inspired – has completed two of three readings in the parliament and the latest comments reflected alarm in both Washington and Brussels over the country’s future direction.
The ruling Georgian Dream party says the law, which would require organisations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, is needed to ensure transparency.
The party’s billionaire founder said this week that Georgia must defend its sovereignty against Western attempts to dictate to it.
Crowds have protested nightly for weeks outside the parliament in Tbilisi. Inside the building, lawmakers have come to blows.
‘Deeply concerned’
The standoff is seen as part of a wider struggle that could determine whether Georgia, a country of 3.7 million people that has seen war and revolution since the fall of the Soviet Union, moves closer towards Europe or back under Moscow’s influence.
Gert Jan Koopman, director general of the European Commission’s enlargement directorate, reiterated the EU’s warning that the bill would put at risk Georgia’s hopes of becoming a member of the bloc.
“There are concerning developments in terms of legislation. The law … as it stands is unacceptable and will create serious obstacles for the EU accession path,” he told a news conference in Tbilisi.
Koopman said “the ball is very firmly in the court of the government”, adding it still had time to change course.
But the government – which put forward a similar law last year, only to withdraw it in the face of protests – has shown no sign it will climb down a second time, which could be damaging ahead of a parliamentary election in October.
UN rights chief Volker Turk on Thursday called on Georgia’s government to withdraw the bill and expressed concern at police violence against protesters.
The White House also expressed concerns on Thursday about the chilling effect such legislation could have on Georgians’ ability and willingness to express themselves.
“We are deeply concerned about this legislation – what it could do in terms of stifling dissent and free speech,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said at a US briefing.
Earlier, US Ambassador Robin Dunnigan said the Georgian government’s choices “have moved the country away from its Euro-Atlantic future” and urged it to recommit to integration with the West.
In a statement, Dunnigan said that senior US leaders had invited Georgia to discuss the issue, but that the country had not accepted the offer.
Britain, Italy and Germany have also criticised the bill.
Georgia’s parliament on Wednesday approved the second reading of the bill, which the opposition says is modelled on a law the Kremlin has used to crack down on opponents in Russia.
Parliamentary debates on Thursday were cancelled after what officials called an “attack” on the legislature.
Georgian television on Thursday showed Tbilisi’s Mayor Kakha Kaladze berating a reporter who asked him about police actions at Wednesday’s protest, calling her a “shameless scumbag”.
Lawmakers are expected to give the bill its third and final reading in around two weeks.
World
Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane Present Ravi Muppa’s ‘Incognito’ as New YouTube Shorts Channel Launches (EXCLUSIVE)
Indian auteurs Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane have joined forces again to spotlight writer-director Ravi Muppa’s short film “Incognito,” the debut release on shorts-only YouTube channel titled Oh Flip Shorts that is launching July 15.
The channel arrives courtesy of producer Ranjan Singh, with Kashyap serving as curator. The plan calls for a fresh short to premiere on the platform each month, with the goal of building an audience and community around independent short-form work.
“Incognito” stars Vikram Singh, Ayushi Nema and Dev Chauhan. The story follows a motel receptionist short on money who makes extra income selling hidden-camera footage of guests, then finds himself torn between self-preservation and intervening after filming a woman who appears to be a trafficking victim.
The short has already made the festival rounds, screening at more than 20 international events, among them the Oscar-qualifying Palm Springs International ShortFest.
“I’ve always loved short films as they are the first stepping stone for a director to test their storytelling style and give an actual practice to them of shooting a story,” Kashyap said. “Continuing the same, this is our effort to showcase some excellent short films, curated by me and presented by filmmakers whose work I look up to. We’re glad to begin with ‘Incognito’ by Ravi Muppa, and very hopefully that it’ll be liked by the audience.”
“‘Incognito’ is gripping and beautifully atmospheric, a true blue genre short with an out of the box ending. Congratulations to Ravi and his team and I’m so happy that we can present this to the audience,” Motwane added.
As revealed by Variety, plans for a feature-length version of “Incognito” are already underway, with Invention Studios joining Flip Films and Campfire Studios as co-producers. Kashyap, Nicholas Weinstock, Divya Souza and Singh are attached to produce.
Muppa, whose earlier development credits include “Stree” (2018), “Bala” (2019) and “The Family Man” (2019), said: “The film has been an incredibly special journey, and I’m deeply grateful to the producers, collaborators, and champions who believed in it and helped carry it forward. I’m especially excited that this is just the beginning, as we now look ahead to expanding ‘Incognito’ into a feature,” Muppa said.
Singh, who produced the short through his Flip Films banner, added: “We are thankful to Anurag for the curation, and Vikram and other directors to lend their support to the same. Every month we’ll be premiering one new short on the channel and hope that we’ll be able to make a community very soon.”
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Four Americans were reportedly caught in a fiery multi-vehicle crash in Mexico that left at least 10 people dead and about 10 others injured.
The massive pileup happened Sunday after a tractor-trailer crashed into multiple vehicles on a highway in the western state of Jalisco, according to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit.
While the agency reported 10 deaths, Mexico’s Army, Air Force and National Guard said nine people were killed.
Jalisco Civil Protection told Reuters that four Americans suffered minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital.
EIGHT BELIEVED DEAD AFTER B-52 CRASHES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE
A vehicle was left charred and mangled following a massive multi-vehicle pileup in Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday. (Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit)
“Four patients in minor condition, all U.S. citizens, were transferred to the Arboledas Hospital in Guadalajara by a private ambulance from the highway,” Jalisco Civil Protection said.
Reuters reported that two of those killed were minors.
Another two of the injured were identified as National Guard members who suffered serious injuries and were taken to a hospital in Guadalajara, according to Reuters.
Videos circulating on social media appeared to show several vehicles engulfed in flames along the highway connecting Guadalajara and Tepic, sending multiple plumes of black smoke into the air.
MISSOURI SKYDIVING PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED ALL 12 ABOARD IS A ‘DEVASTATING LOSS,’ COMPANY SAYS
A firefighter works to douse the smoking engine of a destroyed vehicle after a devastating highway collision in Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday. (Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit)
According to Mexican officials, the crash happened when a tractor-trailer apparently suffered a brake failure and slammed into a line of vehicles that had stopped because of an earlier accident.
“According to initial reports, a trailer reportedly suffered a failure in its braking system and ended up crashing into several vehicles that were stopped due to a prior incident,” Mexico’s Army, Air Force and National Guard said in a post on X.
POPULAR FLORIDA SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER KILLED IN DRIVE-BY SHOOTING WHILE INSIDE LUXURY SUV
The initial accident reportedly involved a rear-end collision between two tractor-trailers. As emergency crews responded, a third tractor-trailer crashed into the scene, according to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit.
“As a result of this second impact, three private vehicles and two tractor-trailer trucks were completely destroyed by the fire,” the authorities said. “Additionally, two other private vehicles and an official Dodge Charger unit belonging to the National Guard sustained material damage. “
Mexican authorities inspect the incinerated frame of a tractor-trailer on a highway connecting Guadalajara and Tepic in Jalisco, Mexico, on Sunday. (Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of Nayarit)
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Firefighters later extinguished the blaze, officials said.
Local outlet El Financiero reported that the driver of the tractor-trailer was detained by the National Guard.
Reuters contributed to this report.
At least 27 people were killed and 63 injured, many critically, after a fire ripped through a popular pub in Bangkok. Authorities are investigating whether the pub, located near the iconic Chatuchak Weekend Market, had adequate escape routes.
Published On 13 Jul 2026
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