Georgian police crack down on ‘foreign agent’ bill protesters with water cannon, tear gas

tbilsi, georgia — Georgian security forces used water cannon and tear gas against protesters outside parliament late on Tuesday, sharply escalating a crackdown after lawmakers debated a “foreign agents” bill, which is viewed by the opposition and Western nations as authoritarian and Russian-inspired.

Reuters eyewitnesses saw some police officers physically attack protesters, who threw eggs and bottles at them, before using tear gas and water cannon to force demonstrators from the area outside the Soviet-built parliament building.

Earlier, riot police used pepper spray and batons to clear some protesters who were trying to prevent lawmakers from leaving the back entrance of parliament. Some protesters shouted “Slaves” and “Russians” at police.

The bill has deepened divisions in the deeply polarized southern Caucasus country, setting the ruling Georgian Dream Party against a protest movement backed by opposition groups, civil society, celebrities and Georgia’s figurehead president.

Parliament, which is controlled by the Georgian Dream and its allies, is likely to approve the bill, which must pass two more readings before becoming law. Lawmakers ended Tuesday’s session without a vote, and the debate will resume on Wednesday.

The bill would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.”

Georgian critics have labeled the bill “the Russian law,” comparing it to Moscow’s “foreign agent” legislation, which has been used to crack down on dissent there.

Russia is disliked by many Georgians for its support of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia lost a brief war with Russia in 2008.

The United States, Britain and the European Union, which granted Georgia candidate status in December, have criticized the bill. EU officials have said it could halt Georgia’s progress toward integration with the bloc.

‘Prolonging the inevitable’

Tina Khidasheli, who served as Georgian defense minister in a Georgian Dream-led government in 2015-2016, attended Tuesday’s protest against her former government colleagues and said she expected the demonstrators to win eventually.

“The government is just prolonging the inevitable. We might have serious problems, but at the end of the day, the people will go home with victory,” she told Reuters.

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators have shut down Tbilisi’s central streets on a nightly basis since parliament approved the bill’s first reading on April 17.

On Monday, a government-organized rally in support of the bill was attended by tens of thousands of people, many of whom had been bussed in from provincial towns by the ruling party.

At that rally, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire who founded Georgian Dream, harshly criticized the West and hinted at a post-election crackdown on the opposition.

Ivanishvili told attendees that a “global party of war” had hijacked the EU and NATO and that it was bent on using those institutions to undermine Georgian sovereignty.

Ivanishvili, who says he wants Georgia to join the EU, said the foreign agent law would bolster national sovereignty, and he suggested that the country’s pro-Western opposition was controlled by foreign intelligence services via grants to NGOs.

He added that after elections due by October, Georgia’s opposition, which is dominated by the United National Movement Party of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, would face “the harsh political and legal judgment it deserves.”

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Kenya’s Ruto orders evacuations after deadly floods

Mai Mahiu, Kenya — Kenyan President William Ruto on Tuesday deployed the military to evacuate everyone living in flood-prone areas in a nation where 171 people have been killed since March by torrential rains. 

Seasonal rains, amplified by the El Nino weather pattern, have devastated the East African nation, with floodwaters engulfing villages and threatening to unleash even more damage in the weeks to come. 

In the worst incident, which killed nearly 50 villagers, a makeshift dam burst in the Rift Valley before dawn Monday, sending a torrent of water and mud gushing down a hill and swallowing everything in its path. 

The tragedy in Kamuchiri village, Nakuru county, was the deadliest episode in the country since the start of the March-May rainy season. 

Ruto, who visited the victims of the Kamuchiri deluge after chairing a Cabinet meeting in Nairobi, said his government had drawn up a map of neighborhoods at risk of flooding. 

“The military has been mobilized, the national youth service has been mobilized, all security agencies have been mobilized to assist citizens in such areas to evacuate to avoid any dangers of loss of lives,” he said. 

People living in the affected areas will have 48 hours to move, he said. 

“The forecast is that rain is going to continue, and the likelihood of flooding and people losing lives is real. Therefore, we must take preemptive action,” Ruto said. 

“It is not a time for guesswork, we are better off safe than sorry.” 

The Kamuchiri disaster — which killed at least 48 people dead — cut off a road, uprooted trees and destroyed homes and vehicles. Some 26 people were hospitalized, Ruto said, with fears the death toll could rise as search and rescue operations continued. 

The Cabinet warned that two dams — Masinga and Kiambere — both less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) northeast of the capital, had “reached historic highs,” portending disaster for those downstream.  

“While the government encourages voluntary evacuation, all those who remain within the areas affected by the directive will be relocated forcibly in the interest of their safety,” a statement said. 

Monday’s tragedy came six years after a dam accident at Solai, also in Nakuru county, killed 48 people, sending millions of liters of muddy water raging through homes and destroying power lines. 

The May 2018 disaster involving a private reservoir on a coffee estate also followed weeks of torrential rains that sparked deadly floods and mudslides. 

Opposition politicians and lobby groups have accused Ruto’s government of being unprepared and slow to respond to the crisis despite weather warnings, demanding that it declare the floods a national disaster. 

Kenya’s main opposition leader, Raila Odinga, said Tuesday the authorities had failed to make “advance contingency plans” for the extreme weather. 

“The government has been talking big on climate change, yet when the menace comes in full force, we have been caught unprepared,” he said. “We have therefore been reduced to planning, searching and rescuing at the same time.” 

Environment Minister Soipan Tuya told a press briefing in Nairobi that the government was stepping up efforts to be better prepared for such events. 

“We continue to focus on the need to invest in early warning systems that prepare our population — days, weeks and months ahead of extreme weather events, such as the heavy rainfall we’re experiencing.”  

The international community, including the United Nations and African Union Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat, have sent condolences and pledged solidarity with the affected families. 

The weather has also left a trail of destruction in neighboring Tanzania, where at least 155 people have been killed in flooding and landslides. 

Late last year, more than 300 people died in rains and floods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, just as the region was trying to recover from its worst drought in four decades. 

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat worldwide, leading to drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere. 

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Botswana’s diamond industry gets boost amid global uncertainty

Gaborone — Botswana’s diamond trade is on the rise despite industry uncertainty over efforts to sanction Russian stones. De Beers has relocated its auctions headquarters from Singapore to Botswana, while the secretariat of the Kimberley Process, a trade regime that certifies rough diamond exports to eliminate trade in conflict gems, also moved to the African nation.

De Beers, which has a long-standing sales agreement with Botswana, sells 10 percent of its diamonds through auctions.

De Beers’ Executive Vice President Paul Rowley said the relocation of its auctions office is part of an effort to streamline its business operations and facilitate the further development of Botswana’s diamond sector.

“The auction platform coming across, it will bring some additional customers and also auction sales will also enable us sell to small players and perhaps some Botswana nationals will be able to register and engage in that platform. That will be very exciting from that perspective,” he said.

The relocation comes as the diamond industry reels from effects of a traceability initiative introduced by the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries, or G7, in a bid to sanction Russian diamonds.

Under the arrangement, all diamonds entering G7 markets are routed through Antwerp, Belgium, to ascertain their origin.

The tracking system, however, has caused disruptions to the supply chain, according to Rowley.

“Obviously there have been the G7 issues in the past few months. We continue to work closely with the G7 and try to find a solution that works for the industry as well as for the G7. We obviously all support [Russian] sanctions; it’s absolutely understandable. What we are concerned about are the unintended consequences of perhaps having a single node, which we think is very inappropriate,” he said.

The relocation of De Beers’ auctions office coincides with the Kimberley Process secretariat commencing its operations in Botswana. 

The Kimberley Process is a global initiative by the diamond industry to eliminate trade in conflict gems.

In mid-May, the Kimberley Process will hold its intersessional meeting in Dubai, where the G7’s tracking system is expected to come under intense debate.

The G7 countries and Russia are all members of the Kimberley Process. 

World Diamond Council President Feriel Zerouki told VOA that the G7 traceability scheme needs to be reviewed.

“The WDC believes that mechanisms for assuring a diamond’s provenance should be efficient, effective and equitable. However, we don’t believe that the approach of a single Antwerp entry point meets this test. Antwerp is not the source of any diamonds, so it’s basically not the best place to certify where a diamond has originated from,” she said.

Botswana’s minister of minerals, Lefoko Moagi, meanwhile, hailed the establishment of the Kimberley Process secretariat in Gaborone.

“The Kimberley Process is an international and multi-stakeholder organization whereby we aim to increase ethical conduct in diamond trade and to prevent conflict diamonds from entering legitimate trade in rough diamonds. Therefore, this is very key for us; we will protect our diamonds with everything that we have,” said Moagi.

Botswana is the world’s second-largest producer of diamonds after Russia and is leading calls for the G7 traceability initiative to be revised.

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Seeking mediator role, Turkey courts Hamas

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is stepping up his efforts to play a more prominent role in the Gaza conflict. The Turkish leader recently hosted Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

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China prepares to start building EVs in Europe

China’s share of the European electric vehicle market has doubled in less than two years, with Chinese automakers accounting for 20 percent of EVs sold in Europe last year. The trend is raising alarm among European carmakers, and they are considering pushing for new tariffs. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Alfonso Beato in Barcelona. VOA’s Ricardo Marquina contributed.

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South Africa prepares to end captive-bred lion hunting

South Africa’s treatment of its big cats has long tarnished its reputation for conservation, from allowing captive-bred lion hunting to selling lion bones to East Asia for their purported “medicinal” qualities. But now, the country is ending all that. Kate Bartlett reports from Lionsrock Sanctuary in Free State province. Camera and video editing by Zaheer Cassim.

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Gabon divided over dialogue proposal to suspend political parties

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Gabon’s opposition is divided over a measure proposed at the country’s national dialogue to suspend close to 200 political parties until further notice and bar members of ousted President Ali Bongo’s Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) from taking part in elections for three years.

Backers of the measure say it eliminates parties created for reasons of corruption and personal ego, and prevents alleged vote-buying by PDG officials. Opponents say it will snuff out democracy.

Leaders of the talks, billed as Gabon’s Inclusive National Dialogue, say they have given a wide range of recommendations to the transitional president, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema.  

The resolutions and recommendations were handed to Oligui on Tuesday in the presence of Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera. Touadera is the regional mediator for Gabon’s planned return to civilian rule following an August 30 bloodless coup that ousted Bongo. 

The Bongo family had ruled the oil-producing nation for 57 years before the military takeover. 

In addition to the idea of indefinitely suspending political parties and temporarily banning PDG leaders from elections, officials say the dialogue recommends that legislation be enacted to avoid what it calls the proliferation of political parties for egoistic reasons. 

However, some dialogue participants say suspending political parties would allow Oligui to cruise to victory in the August 2025 elections. 

Joel Ngouenini, president of the political party Seven Wonders of Gabon’s People, or 7MP, said Tuesday on Gabon state TV that the country should not attempt to behave as if it were inventing a strange form of democracy.

Democracy, he said, means people should be given the right to express themselves through the ballot and it is not the duty of a government to decide if civilians love a political party or not. Ngouenini warned that Gabon will sink to a dictatorship should Oligui accept a recommendation that silences political freedom. 

Noel Bertrand Boundzanga, who heads the commission that recommended suspending all political parties, said he has received many petitions from opposition and civil society groups describing the proposal as highly undemocratic. 

He maintains that the move will benefit the country in the long run.

He said the recommendation was made unanimously by members of the political commission for the sake of democracy and the general well-being of all citizens. Boundzanga added that such a suspension would show politicians who created political parties in order to illegally obtain favors that Gabon has entered a new era. 

On other matters, dialogue officials recommended that the two-year period for transitioning to democratic rule should be maintained but could be extended for a maximum of 12 months in case of a crisis or unforeseen circumstance. 

Under the recommendations, Gabon would move from a semi-presidential to a presidential system, with a directly elected president presiding over the executive branch, which has separate powers from the legislative and judicial arms of government.   

Officials also proposed a seven-year presidential mandate renewable once from August 2025, when presidential polls are expected. No recommendations would prevent Oligui from running for president. 

The month-long dialogue wrapped up Tuesday with Oligui saying a new constitution will be prepared, taking the dialogue’s recommendations into account. He said a referendum on the new charter will be held in June. 

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Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others

LONDON — A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a east London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four others, British authorities said.

A 36-year-old man was arrested in a residential area near Hainault subway station, police said. The incident is not being treated as terror-related or a “targeted attack.”

Police said the 14-year-old died in the hospital from his injuries. Two police officers were in hospital being treated for stab wounds. Two other people were also injured.

Chief Supt. Stuart Bell described the incident as “truly horrific.”

“I cannot even begin to imagine how those affected must be feeling,” he said outside the homes in east London where the crime happened.

The Metropolitan Police said they were called early Tuesday to reports of a vehicle being driven into a house in a residential street and people being stabbed.

Video on British media showed a man in a yellow hoodie holding a long sword or knife walking near houses in the area.

Witnesses say they heard police shouting to the suspect urging him to put down the weapon as they chased after him.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said police do not believe there is a threat to the wider community.

“We are not looking for more suspects,” he said. “This incident does not appear to be terror-related.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the incident was “shocking,” adding: “Such violence has no place on our streets.”

King Charles III said his thoughts and prayers were with the family of the young victim, and he saluted the courage of emergency workers, Buckingham Palace said.

Transport for London said Hainault station was closed due to a police investigation in the area.

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Scottish government faces no-confidence vote Wednesday

LONDON — The Scottish government will face a no-confidence vote Wednesday, one it is expected to win after First Minister Humza Yousaf said he would resign.

Yousaf’s resignation Monday came just 13 months after he replaced Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s leader and sparks another leadership contest in the Scottish National Party.

The crisis in the SNP gives an opportunity for the U.K. opposition Labour Party to regain ground ahead of a national election expected this year.

The motion of no confidence in the government was submitted by Scottish Labour last week, after Yousaf said he was ending a coalition with the Scottish Green Party. Scottish parliament listings showed the vote was scheduled for Wednesday.

Facing a separate vote of no confidence in his own position as first minister, Yousaf said he would step down as Scotland’s leader, as opposition parties, including the Greens, lined up to vote against him. That vote now won’t take place.

However, Labour’s wider motion of no confidence in the whole government is set to be opposed by the Greens, meaning that it will likely fail and that the SNP will have chance to form a new minority government under another leader.

Former leader John Swinney has said he is considering standing, while Yousaf’s former leadership rival Kate Forbes is seen as a possible candidate.

If the Labour no confidence motion passes, it will result in the resignation of the government and likely Scottish elections thereafter.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it would be a democratic outrage for the SNP to choose another leader — and thus First Minister — without a parliamentary election.

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Gun attack on Shiite mosque in western Afghanistan kills 6 worshippers

ISLAMABAD  — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said Tuesday that an overnight attack on a Shiite mosque in a western region bordering Iran had killed at least six people, including a child.  

  

An Interior Ministry spokesman reported that an “unknown armed person” stormed the mosque in the Guzara district in Herat province and sprayed worshippers with bullets before fleeing.  

  

“Six civilians were martyred and one was injured,” Abdul Mateen Qani said on social media platform X.  

  

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting, but suspicions fell on a regional Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), or Daesh. 

  

The extremist Sunni group has taken credit for plotting almost all recent attacks on Shi’ite mosques, hospitals, and public gatherings in the country.  

  

Hassan Kazemi Ghomi, the Iranian ambassador in Kabul, condemned Monday’s attack, calling IS-K a “common external threat” to both countries and the region at large.  

  

“We consider Afghanistan our partner in the fight against terrorism, and cooperation in this area will be a top priority,” Ghomi, also the special presidential envoy for Afghanistan, wrote on X.  

  

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, denounced the mosque shooting. 

  

“Investigations and accountability for perpetrators and protection measures for Afghanistan’s Shi’a communities are urgently needed,” the UNAMA stated on X.  

  

IS-K has also routinely plotted deadly bomb attacks against leaders and prominent religious scholars linked to the ruling Taliban.  

  

The violence has increased since the then-insurgent Taliban reclaimed power in 2021 when the United States and NATO withdrew their troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of war with the Taliban. 

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Maldives expected to accelerate shift away from India toward China after parliamentary polls

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu is expected to strengthen ties with China following the landslide win by his party in recent parliamentary elections. The polls, held under the shadow of rivalry between India and China for influence in the archipelago, are being seen as a setback for India’s bid to limit Beijing’s presence in the Indian Ocean region. Anjana Pasricha in New Delhi has a report.

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Civil society groups train more youth as human rights advocates in Rwanda

Human Rights Watch has released crucial archives from the 1994 genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda, revealing ignored warnings that could have saved lives. These warnings by rights defenders highlight their vital role in safeguarding communities. Thirty years on, civil society groups are intensifying efforts by training more youth advocates to protect human rights in Rwanda. Senanu Tord reports from Kigali, Rwanda.

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Threat of ‘large-scale massacre’ in Sudan’s Darfur is imminent, US official says  

new york — A senior U.S. official warned Monday that more than 2 million people in El Fasher, in Sudan’s western Darfur region, are under imminent threat of a “large-scale massacre” from a paramilitary group’s attack and urged the international community to pressure the warring parties to de-escalate.

“There are already credible reports that the RSF and its allied militias have razed multiple villages west of El Fasher,” U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters at the United Nations. “And as we speak, the RSF is planning an imminent attack on El Fasher.”

The RSF is the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group that is made up of elements of the Janjaweed fighters who carried out a genocide in Darfur in the early 2000s.

The head of the RSF has been locked in an armed power struggle with the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces for just over a year. The fighting has spread from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, to other parts of the country, and now looks ready to engulf North Darfur and the civilians trapped there.

The U.N. Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the situation Monday and was briefed by U.N. political and humanitarian officials.

“A crisis of epic proportions is brewing, and to avoid further death, destruction and suffering, five things need to happen, immediately,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “First, the RSF must end its siege and buildup of military forces in El Fasher and swear off any attack on the city. All parties to the conflict must take urgent steps to de-escalate.”

She also called for protection of civilians and respect for international law; for external actors to stop providing the combatants with weapons; and for safe and unimpeded aid access. She also demanded the parties return to the negotiating table.

“Because this conflict will not be solved on the battlefield, it will be solved at the negotiating table,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

“The last thing that Sudan needs is a further escalation on top of this conflict that’s been going on for a whole year,” British Deputy U.N. Ambassador James Kariuki told reporters after the meeting. “The council is concerned about the humanitarian crisis — about the scale of the famine risk — and it is concerned about the displacement of people.”

In a statement Saturday, the 15-members of the U.N. Security Council repeated their call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, leading to a sustainable cease-fire. They also reminded countries of their obligations to comply with a U.N. arms embargo on Sudan.

Alarm bells

The U.N. began raising the alarm on the situation in El Fasher earlier this month, warning that fighting there could “unleash bloody intercommunal strife throughout Darfur.”

El Fasher is also a long-established humanitarian hub, and fighting there would further complicate aid deliveries.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday that the security situation has already effectively cut off humanitarian access to El Fasher.

In a statement, OCHA said more than a dozen aid trucks with supplies for 122,000 people are stranded in neighboring Northern State. The trucks cannot continue to El Fasher because of the insecurity and lack of guarantees for safe passage.

The U.N. says 330,000 people are dealing with acute food insecurity in El Fasher — many of them displaced persons who moved there seeking safety. The World Food Program reached 40,000 of them in the past month.

On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ office said his special envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, is engaging with the parties to try to de-escalate tensions in El Fasher.

Analysts at the Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab have also been tracking the situation and warned in a report on April 19 that the RSF likely already control the north, east and west roads into the city and have essentially trapped the Sudanese Armed Forces in El Fasher with no resupply or escape route.

That means civilians are also trapped, including tens of thousands of African Zaghawa, Masalit, Fur and other non-Arab ethnic groups, whose communities were victims of the genocide two decades ago.

The United Nations has called on the parties to allow civilians safe passage out of the city.

Since the war began last April, more than 8 million people have been forced from their homes in search of safety. Nearly 2 million of them have fled Sudan to neighboring countries. Of those who remain, 18 million are facing acute hunger, with 5 million a step away from famine.

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Partnering with Russian troops unlikely to bring security benefits for Niger after US pullout, analysts say

U.S. officials are negotiating the removal of American troops from Niger after the country’s military junta ended a longstanding pact. Niger is the latest Sahel country to eject Western forces and replace them with Russian troops. Analysts say similar moves have not improved military security for Niger’s neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso. Henry Wilkins reports.

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