you back to our top story and take you live to georgia, where you can see the scene live in tbilisi, the capital. police in the georgian capital have been using water cannon, tear gas, as you can see there on your screens. it is almost 5:30am there, coming up to be what is to be the third day of protests. we have seen police and protesters clashing in the last few hours. the scenes have become far more chaotic and tense, with protesters demanding that they are heard, and they are angered by legislation that they say will restrict civil liberties. georgia s parliament have approved a first reading of this bill, despite the public protests and international condemnation. and we have seen police out in full force over these last several hours, raising questions about exactly how these clashes may end, or how these clashes may end, or how they may continue for. lots
this is bbc news. our top story this hour police in georgia crack down on protestors, as thousands demonstrate against controversial new laws. this controversial new laws. is the scene, live, in the capital, this is the scene, live, in the capital, tbilisi. let s stay with that story. we can now speak to rachel denber, who s the deputy director, europe and central asia division, at human rights watch. she joins us from new york. rachel, thank you for taking the time to come in the programme. now, we ve seen those pictures, we have seen police clashing with protesters, but what is your assessment on the significance of this so called foreign agent bill? of this so-called foreign agent bill? , , , .., bill? it s very significant. it is a retrograde bill? it s very significant. it is a retrograde law, - bill? it s very significant. it is a retrograde law, a - bill? it s very significant. it is a retrograde law, a bill, | is a retrograde law, a bill, that would impose scrutiny,
or seeking citizenship. why the dutch government says it will restrict the export of some equipment used to make microchips, citing national and international security concerns. hello, and welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we begin in the former soviet republic of georgia, where large crowds have been protesting against new laws, which critics say will limit freedoms. the biggest demonstrations have been in the capital, tbilisi. the protests have been ongoing through the night. this is the scene there now, just after 6am. we ve seen police using water cannon and tear gas to try to disperse the crowds. our correspondent rayhan demytrie is in tbilisi and sent us this report.
as russia s foreign agent law, which over the years has been used to stigmatize and silence critical voices. the georgian government says that it wants more transparency and that the bill has been copied from an american law. but in a statement, the united states embassy in tbilisi described it as kremlin inspired legislation and said it was a dark day for georgian democracy. this place outside georgia s parliament in the capital, tbilisi, has been the scene of so many anti government and anti russia protests over the years. but this time the governments may have gone too far. the country s opposition is powerless to change things inside parliament because the government holds a majority of seats. but it doesn t mean that the people of georgia are ready to give up the fight for their country to have a future in europe. we belong to europe. we are europe.
which appears to show a fight in the russian city of omsk between men drafted to the army and local police. the footage appears to show russian police trying to force the men onto buses, according to the reuters news agency journalist who shared the video. this footage has not been verified by the bbc. president putin has announced a call up of around 300,000 russians who have done compulsory military service. russia s decision to mobilize hundreds of thousands of extra troops has led to big queues of people trying to leave the country. this is the border between georgia and russia where queues of russian vehicles are stretching up to 30 kilometres, with some waiting up to 20 hours to cross. let s talk now to sandro jufalakiani, who is a journalist at the us funded radio free europe based in tbilisi. thanks very much for talking to ask talk us through what is going on at the border. we talk us through what is going on at the border. ~ ., talk us through what is going on at the border