‘An actual revolution’: Communist Party organizer reveals true mission at UCLA anti-Israel rally
FIRST ON FOX: A watchdog organization with a focus on higher education released video this week showing an operative from an outside communist group taking part in an anti-Israel protest on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. “I’m a revolutionary organizer,” a woman named “Annie” tells an undercover journalist with Accuracy in Media in a video released on Wednesday. “I’m an outside agitator,” she adds with a smile. “I’m with the Revcoms, Rev Comm Corp, for the emancipation of humanity,” Annie said when asked what group she was with while describing her fellow communists as “comrades.” Revcom, which made news last fall for burning an American flag at a Jason Aldean concert, writes on its website that “this system of capitalism-imperialism is the source of all the outrages and madness that people are subjected to, here and all over the world—and it is long past time it be swept off the face of the Earth.” ANTI-ISRAEL ENCAMPMENTS SHARE COMMON TRAITS WITH MARXIST REVOLUTIONARIES, BLM AND THE KKK “Not this, but in general, yes,” Annie said when asked if she organized the specific protest at UCLA. “But we were part of it, we were here last night uniting the people. We’re part of a broad…We’re a little bit different because we’re about getting organized for an actual revolution.” The woman in the video appears to be Revcom activist Annie Day, but Fox News Digital could not independently confirm it. Revcom, led by political activist Bob Avakian, is described by Influence Watch as a “radical-left political party in the United States that seeks to overthrow the government and implement a socialist system of government. With a basis in the 1960s liberal activist movements, the RCP continues to spread its message of communist ideas and replacing the government system in the United States.” BILLIONAIRE FAMILY BANKROLLING BOTH ANTI-ISRAEL GROUPS AND THESE BATTLEGROUND DEMOCRATS Fox News Digital reached out to Revcom for comment but did not receive a response. “Our investigation confirms that in many cases, the antisemitic protests taking place on college campuses across the country are being organized and supported by outside agitators,” Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette told Fox News Digital. “It should come as no surprise that the Revolutionary Communist Party played a role in stoking the flames of hatred at UCLA.” Over 130 protesters were arrested earlier this month as law enforcement cleared an anti-Israel encampment which has become a common scene across the country in recent weeks as anti-Israel protesters have taken over several college campuses. Many of the arrested activists at campuses across the country have not been students, according to local law enforcement, and several of the protests have fingerprints of being organized by national groups propped up by progressive donors. Liberal megadonor George Soros and a variety of groups backed by progressive dark money operations have ties to the anti-Israel protests, Fox News Digital reported last month. Additionally, prominent donors to President Biden have reportedly been tied to some of the groups causing disruptions to college campuses.
2020 presidential candidate’s spouse wins primary for David Trone’s Maryland House seat
Former Biden administration official April McClain-Delaney prevailed over a crowded field to win the Democratic primary in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race for Delaney at 10:21 p.m. She won 39.15% of the vote, with 13,544 votes, a plurality in a field with 15 other candidates, according to unofficial results from the Maryland Secretary of State’s office. She will face Republican Neil Parrott in the general election in a race that is favored for Democrats. “Thank you to everyone who came out to support me today. From Montgomery to Garrett County we will continue this journey to keep the seat blue!” Delaney said after the race was called. Delaney previously served as deputy assistant secretary for communications in the U.S. Commerce Department. She is the wife of former Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., who represented the district for six years and ran for president as a Democrat in 2020. She is running to succeed Rep. David Trone, D-Md., who vacated the seat after three terms in Congress to run for U.S. Senate. DEM NEWCOMER AIMS FOR HISTORY WITH PRIMARY WIN OVER WEALTHY CONTROVERSIAL CONGRESSMAN In an upset, Trone lost the Senate primary to Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a newcomer to national politics who could be the first Black woman from Maryland ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Alsobrooks will face former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in the general election. Delaney won the primary for Trone’s seat with backing from several high-profile Democrats, including former House Speaker and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md. She raised more money than any other candidate in the race and self-funded her campaign with a $1 million loan. RACIAL SLUR, ALLEGED THREAT TO ‘EXECUTE’ MAN: WATCH MOST OUTRAGEOUS MOMENTS FROM THIS DEM SENATE CANDIDATE Before serving in the Biden administration, Delaney worked as a communications lawyer and an entrepreneur who focused for some 25 years on the regulation of communications satellites as well as safeguarding the digital privacy of children. Delaney was born and raised in Idaho, where her father was a russet potato farmer. LARRY HOGAN WINS REPUBLICAN SENATE PRIMARY IN MARYLAND; GOP AIMS TO FLIP DEMOCRATIC-HELD SEAT She met her husband, John Delaney, at Georgetown University Law Center and the two were married in 1990. They have four children together. John Delaney was the first Democrat to announce a run for the party’s 2020 presidential nomination in 2020, though his short-lived campaign ended before the Iowa caucuses that year. A former businessman who was once the youngest CEO on the New York Stock Exchange, Delaney ran as a centrist opposed to far-left policies advocated by some of his rivals in the primary, including “Medicare-for-all.” John Delaney dropped out of the presidential contest in January 2020, citing a lack of support for his candidacy. Fox News Digital’s Tyler Olson, Brandon Gillespie and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
‘Lackadaisical approach’: SC slams Uttarakhand on controlling forest fires
The top court was hearing a plea on raging forest fires in Uttarakhand.
House Republican demands Garland appoint special counsel to investigate Biden over stalled Israel aid
Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., on Tuesday demanded in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland that he appoint a special counsel to investigate President Biden for stalling military aid to Israel. The letter comes as reports Tuesday claimed the Biden administration has told key lawmakers it would send more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel. It was not immediately known how soon the weapons would be delivered, and the president put another arms transfer, consisting of 3,500 bombs of up to 2,000 pounds each, on hold earlier this month, citing concern for civilian casualties in Gaza. The Wall Street Journal first reported about the new package, said to include about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds. The Associated Press later reported the same, citing three congressional aides. Tenney’s office told Fox News Digital, however, the letter still stands, as regardless of the new aid, Biden did withhold weapons and is withholding others. Tenney wrote with “grave concern regarding President Biden’s recent announcement to freeze the delivery of 1,800 2000-lb bombs and 1,7000 500-lb bombs that were appropriated for by Congress and set to be delivered to Israel. This wrong headed and dangerous policy decision comes on the heels of the decision to the delay on the pending sale of Joint Direct Arrack Munitions (JDAMs) and Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs) to Israel. This delayed action by the Administration is arguably a violation of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA) and subsequent Supreme Court case law.” The ICA “outlines clear requirements for any deferral of budget authorities by the President and these requirements have been ignored by the Biden administration,” Tenney wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. “As such, I therefore demand that a special counsel be appointed to investigate, and if necessary, prosecute, any illegal actions by President Biden or his staff concerning the inexplicable delay of aid to Israel.” BIDEN MOVING FORWARD ON $1B IN WEAPONS FOR ISRAEL AFTER PREVIOUS SHIPMENT PAUSED OVER RAFAH CONCERNS: REPORT The letter noted how on April 23, the House “overwhelmingly” passed H.R. 8034, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, which was signed into law as part of a larger emergency aid package. “This bill appropriated funds in support of Israel’s ongoing military operations against Hamas. Congressional intent with this legislation is clear: this aid is urgently needed and must be delivered as expeditiously as possible. However, instead of following the law, the Biden administration has delayed the delivery of this essential aid that has already been obligated,” Tenney wrote. The congresswoman, who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, further alleged Biden’s “action through inaction” by holding off on approvals and other aspects of the weapons transfer process violates the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, especially since the president “has failed to send a special message to Congress as required by law.” “The decision to delay aid to Israel also undermines the principles of separation of powers outlined by the Constitution,” Tenney wrote. “Congress appropriated this aid to be obligated and expended expeditiously, and yet the Biden administration is unnecessarily delaying the expenditure of this aid. This potential violation of statute and dangerous failure to comply with Constitutional precedent by the Biden administration must be fully investigated by a special counsel. Due to the grave urgency of this issue, I demand that a special counsel be appointed immediately to investigate and prosecute any wrongdoing.” US MILITARY CONSTRUCTS HULKING METAL PIER AMID BIDEN’S $320 MILLION GAMBLE TO GET AID INTO GAZA Two congressional aides told the Associated Press that the new $1 billion shipment is not part of the long-delayed foreign aid package that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed last month. It wasn’t known if the shipment was the latest tranche from an existing arms sale or something new. The Biden administration has come under criticism from both sides of the political spectrum over its military support for Israel’s now seven-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza — at a time when Biden is battling for reelection against former President Donald Trump. Some of Biden’s fellow Democrats have pushed him to limit transfers of offensive weapons to Israel to pressure the U.S. ally to do more to protect Palestinian civilians. Anti-Israel protests on college campuses around the U.S. have echoed the same sentiment this spring. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Republican lawmakers have seized on the administration’s pause on the bomb transfers, saying any lessening of U.S. support for Israel — its closest ally in the Middle East — weakens that country as it fights Hamas and other Iran-backed groups. In the House, they are planning to advance a bill this week to mandate the delivery of offensive weaponry for Israel. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Game on as Republicans aim to flip heavily blue state Senate seat in push to regain majority
Former two-term Gov. Larry Hogan, making his pitch to Democrats and independent voters, after cruising to the Republican Senate nomination in the overwhelmingly blue state of Maryland. “You know me. You know my proven track record of reaching across the aisle to find common ground for the common good.” Hogan told a couple of hundred supporters packed into a hotel ballroom in Maryland’s capital city. “You know that I’m not going to be just one more Capitol Hill Republican.” Hogan will now face off with Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who as Prince George’s County Executive steers Maryland’s second-most populous county, in the race to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin. It’s a general election showdown that may decide whether the Republicans win back the Senate majority in November. REPUBLICAN LARRY HOGAN TAKES STEP TOWARDS WINNING SENATE RACE IN BLUE STATE MARYLAND Democrats, as they try to defend their fragile 51-49 majority in the Senate, are playing plenty of defense as they defend 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs in November. Three of those seats are in red states that former President Donald Trump easily carried in 2020 — Ohio, Montana, and West Virginia, where Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election. Five more are in crucial general election battleground states. Polls indicate that Hogan remains very popular with Maryland voters, and his late entry into the Senate race in February gave Democrats an unexpected headache, and will force them to spend time and resources to defend an open seat in a state that was previously considered safe territory. CONTENTIOUS PRIMARIES IN THREE STATES SET UP CRUCIAL GENERAL ELECTION SHOWDOWNS Moments after Hogan was projected the primary winner Tuesday evening over half a dozen lesser known Republican rivals, the Senate Democrats’ campaign committee fired up a video which spotlighted that Hogan’s “a lifelong Republican.” And Alsobrooks, in her primary night victory speech, took aim at Hogan, emphasizing that “if he’s elected, he will give Republicans the majority.” But Hogan, in a Fox News Digital interview on Tuesday, said he would “try to convince them [Democrats and independents] that I’m going to be the same exact kind of U.S. senator that I was as governor.” And pointing to his approval rating as he left office early last year, he added that “77% of them thought I did a pretty good job as governor.” But Hogan faces an uphill climb. While the GOP has had success in gubernatorial elections, no Republican has won a Senate election in Maryland in nearly four decades. “I’m always going to be the underdog in Maryland, where it’s arguably the bluest state in the country, and we’re outnumbered two-to-one,” he acknowledged in his Fox News interview. While Hogan’s victory in the GOP primary campaign was never in doubt, Alsobrooks came from behind to defeat three-term Rep. David Trone in a competitive and contentious Democratic Senate nomination battle. SIX SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN NOVEMBER’S ELECTIONS Trone, the co-founder and co-owner of Total Wine and More and one of the wealthiest members of Congress, shelled out more than $60 million of his own money into his unsuccessful primary campaign as he took aim at Alsobrooks. “I think it’s been a very divisive, kind of angry Democratic primary that’s turned off a lot of voters,” Hogan argued. The Democrats quickly aimed for unity. Trone, in his concession speech, urged that “I need all of you to come together to support the Democratic Party, so we can hold the Senate… we cannot let the party of Trump take our Senate.” And Alsobrooks emphasized that Democrats need to be “united in our focus to keep the Senate blue.” Alsobooks also took aim at Hogan over the combustible issue of abortion, highlighting that “he will not support a national law to protect abortion rights.” Turnout for the Democrats in Maryland could be boosted in the general election courtesy of a measure on the November ballot codifying abortion rights. Hogan, who has repeatedly said he doesn’t support any attempts by his party to pass a federal abortion ban, highlighted the issue in his primary night speech. “Let me once again set the record straight tonight to the women of Maryland. You have my word that I will continue to protect your right to make your own reproductive health decisions, just like I did for eight years when I had the honor of serving as your governor,” he said. And Hogan argued in his Fox News interview that Democrats “are going to continue to use cookie cutter Republican attacks against me, but they don’t work against me.” Hogan, who was a successful business leader before entering politics, won the governorship in 2014 and was re-elected to a second term in 2018. During his last year as governor, Republican leaders in the nation’s capital and in Maryland heavily courted Hogan to run for the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections. But Hogan declined, saying in a news conference in February that year that “as I have repeatedly said, I don’t aspire to be a United States senator.” Fast-forward two years and Hogan changed his mind after another full-court press by national Republican leaders. Hogan, a very vocal GOP critic of Trump, flirted with a 2024 White House run before deciding against it. And he has repeatedly said he won’t vote for the former president in November. Asked if he’s concerned that his comments could cost him the votes of some Trump loyalists and supporters in the general election, Hogan answered that “the choice will be between me and a liberal Democrat. Hopefully, even if they’re a little upset with me about one particular issue or another, hopefully they’ll decide I’m the best choice for them.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Biden aides fear president may be too worried to do his job after Hunter Biden trial begins: report
Aides for President Biden say he expresses daily worry for his son, Hunter Biden, and that this will only become more severe when the first son’s trial begins in June. White House staff and members of the First Family are concerned about how the trial will affect the president, three advisors who were granted anonymity told Politico. The younger Biden’s gun crime trial is set to begin June 3, and he could face jail time if convicted. “He worries about Hunter every single day, from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep,” one of the advisors told the outlet. “That will only pick up during a trial.” Hunter’s legal team attempted to delay the Delaware gun trial on Tuesday, but the judge in the case ordered proceedings to move forward. HUNTER BIDEN INDICTMENT MUDDIES WEISS’ CREDIBILITY AS WHISTLEBLOWERS FEEL VINDICATED: ATTORNEY Biden reportedly checks in with his son with a call or a text every single day, a practice that aides expect will continue once the trial begins. Hunter also faces a June 20 trial in Los Angeles for federal tax charges brought against him in the same investigation, headed by Special Counsel David Weiss. SHAPLEY ATTORNEY: HUNTER BIDEN PROSECUTOR ‘ALL OVER THE MAP,’ SHOULD TESTIFY TO CONGRESS Meanwhile, former President Trump is contending with four criminal indictments against him personally, the first of which has Biden’s presumptive November opponent tied down in a Manhattan courtroom. The New York v. Trump trial sees the former president charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. He has pleaded not guilty, and he has railed against the circumstances of the trial, particularly Judge Juan Merchan and the gag order he imposed on Trump.
‘Child predator’: Illegal immigrant with past sex conviction captured in border state
An illegal immigrant who was nabbed in Arizona by Border Patrol last week is a “child predator” with a conviction for child sex abuse, officials announced. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced Border Patrol agents in Douglas, Arizona, arrested a Mexican national and “child predator” with a previous conviction for felony aggravated criminal sex abuse with a victim under 13 years old. Border Patrol agents have encountered nearly 8,800 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions so far this fiscal year, which began in October. That compares to 15,267 last fiscal year and more than 12,000 in fiscal 2022. That’s amid more than 1.3 million encounters at the southern border so far this fiscal year, compared to more than 2.4 million last fiscal year. ‘FEARMONGERING’: CHINESE MIGRANT SURGE HEARING DISMISSED BY HOUSE DEMS DESPITE NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS The illegal immigrant is one of a number of sex offenders who attempted to enter the U.S. via the southern border, where agents are frequently overwhelmed by the numbers they are encountering. Agents in the Tucson Sector of Arizona encountered a Mexican citizen recently who was convicted in Nevada in 2009 following charges of sexual assault and lewdness with a minor. Meanwhile, it was revealed last week that a Guatemalan illegal immigrant now charged in Florida with the kidnapping and sexual assault of a child had been encountered at the border in January but had been released into the U.S. with a court date of 2027. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES LIMITED RULE TO MORE QUICKLY REMOVE NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS Other illegal immigrants are getting past Border Patrol, however. Sources told Fox News last week there have been 175,000 “known getaways,” meaning illegal immigrants who have evaded Border Patrol agents but have been picked up by other forms of surveillance but not apprehended since the fiscal year began in October. That means there have been an average of nearly 800 gotaways each day at the border. Officials have regularly expressed concern about the numbers crossing without being encountered, even though it is a relatively small number compared to the more than 1.3 million migrants encountered this fiscal year. “That number is a large number, but what’s keeping me up at night is the 140,000 known gotaways,” Owens told CBS News in March, when numbers were lower. Fox News’ Griff Jenkins contributed to this report. Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
Is the US still shipping weapons to Israel tacit support for war on Gaza?
The idea that US President Joe Biden’s pausing heavy weapons shipments to Israel signalled some unhappiness with Tel Aviv would seem to be in question as two United States officials confirm that its latest weapons aid package, worth approximately $1bn, has been moved to the congressional review process. Biden had last week ordered the pause of a shipment, including 1,800 US-made 2,000-pound (907kg) bombs, over concerns that they would be deployed by Israel during a land invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The 2,000-pound bombs are among the heaviest in the US arsenal, with a blast radius of 365 metres (1,200ft), generating razor-sharp shrapnel capable of reducing the human body and unarmoured vehicles to shreds. A further weapons shipment, including dozens of Boeing F-15 fighter jets, is also on hold as Gregory Meeks, the senior Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee awaits further information on Israel’s planned use for the jets. Nevertheless, the approved shipment, which includes tank rounds, mortars and armoured tactical vehicles, appears to reinforce comments by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday, suggesting that US concern over the 2,000-pound bombs was more about their potential for significant fatalities rather than any concerns over Israel’s intent to launch a land assault on Rafah. [embedded content] Rafah As Israel’s assault on Gaza entered its eighth month, Rafah was the last Gaza city that had not yet been attacked by land. It was a refuge for some 1.5 million civilians – about half of them children – according to UNICEF, who had fled the destruction of other cities, like Gaza City and Khan Younis, that were levelled by Israeli forces. Aid organisations set up their bases in Rafah, which was considered the safest zone in Gaza, despite being under regular Israeli attack from the air. However, since Israel intensified its attacks on Rafah earlier this month – claiming it was a stronghold for Hamas’s remaining battalions – thousands of Palestinians fled eastern Rafah to an under-equipped “humanitarian zone” in al-Mawasi announced by the Israeli army. Israel’s attack on Rafah has been heavily criticised by some of its allies. However, the US pause on a single shipment of deadly ordnance has so far been the only practical expression of international disquiet. A US report into Israeli violations of international law during the war found it was “reasonable to assess” that US weapons had been involved in these breaches, given Israel’s extreme reliance on US-manufactured weapons. A report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute concluded that, over the nine years leading up to 2022, 68 percent of Israel’s weapons were provided by the US. US-made 2,000-pound bombs being moved onto an aircraft elevator on board the USS John F Kennedy, on March 2, 2002. [Jim Hampshire/US Navy photo/Handout HK/Reuters] The rest was provided by Germany and an array of Western allies. Contacted by Al Jazeera, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, which is responsible for weapons exports, said that it would continue to review export licences on a case-by-case basis. The US State Department has so far declined to comment. Blurred lines While Biden has declared the full invasion of Rafah as a diplomatic “red line”, some believe that it is designed to be one that he will not have to enforce. In an interview with Israeli media on Sunday, US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew stressed that Israel’s assault on Rafah had yet to cross “over into the area where our disagreements lie”. “I’m hoping we don’t end up with real disagreements,” he said of the gradual assault on the city so far. Thus far, Israel is attacking sections of the city, issuing evacuation orders to specific neighbourhoods before entering them. “So far, Israel seems intent on carrying out a campaign on Rafah in the same, rather brutal, way it did in Khan Younis and Gaza City,” H A Hellyer, an authority on Middle East security at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Royal United Services Institute, said. [embedded content] “There’s nothing to say that Israel won’t just proceed with smaller munitions, anyway, and the [Israeli military] has been attacking Rafah before and after Biden’s speech,” Hellyer said. “To avoid embarrassing Joe Biden and his ‘red line’, however, the Israelis seem to be doing things more slowly, and with less reliance on massive weaponry, but the outcome is the same.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may also have concerns closer to home as he tries to navigate between warnings from international allies and the urging of far-right members of his cabinet, who are pressing for an assault on Rafah, irrespective of ceasefire talks elsewhere. “My sense is that Netanyahu attaches far more importance to his government collapsing due to the far-right he’s included in his cabinet, than he does to losing Joe Biden’s support, which I still don’t see happening,” Hellyer said. Stockpiles Israel’s bombardment of Gaza – and its killing of more than 35,000 Palestinians – has been underpinned by its US weapons supply. A 10-year agreement, signed in 2016, allows for the export of military aid worth $3.3bn a year from 2018, plus a further $500m a year for air defence systems. Congress approved a further $26bn in aid to Israel last month, including $5bn to bolster air defences, as well as the “bundled” weapons shipments which fall beneath the threshold needed for congressional oversight. Palestinians wait for food aid in Rafah on November 8, 2023. Famine is imminent in northern Gaza, with hundreds of thousands struggling to avoid starvation [Hatem Ali/AP Photo] It all means that while Israel’s actions have now been openly linked to the suspension of some weapons shipments, the overall partnership remains strong. According to Senator Jim Risch, one of the senior Republicans sitting on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, millions in military aid has been earmarked for Israel, including joint direct attack munitions (JDAMS), used to convert “dumb” bombs into precision weapons. Tank rounds, mortars and armoured tactical vehicles
Riots in French island territory New Caledonia over voting change
NewsFeed Several people have reportedly been killed in violent protests in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia, after France’s parliament passed a new law granting voting rights to French residents there. Published On 15 May 202415 May 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
NATO warns Georgia ‘foreign agents’ bill is ‘step in wrong direction’
Protests set to continue as Western nations urge Georgian authorities against adopting ‘Kremlin-style’ measure. NATO has warned Georgia that its approval of new contentious legislation branding overseas-funded NGOs as “foreign agents” was a “step in the wrong direction”. It was also a move “away from European and Euro-Atlantic integration”, the military alliance that Georgia aspires to one day join said on Wednesday, a day after the United States warned that the “Kremlin-style” law would force it to reassess ties with the country. Tens of thousands of protesters, who have been demonstrating in the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, for weeks, are expected to rally against the bill outside parliament later on Wednesday. “We urge Georgia to change course and respect the right to peaceful protest,” said NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah. Protesters block a street during a rally against the controversial ‘foreign influence’ bill in Tbilisi [File: Giorgi Arjevanidze/AFP] The European Union urged Georgia to withdraw the legislation, which it said would set back the country’s ambitions to join the 27-nation bloc. “The adoption of this law negatively impacts Georgia’s progress on the EU path,” said a statement from EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi. “The choice on the way forward is in Georgia’s hands. We urge the Georgian authorities to withdraw the law,” they said. US Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien, who visited Tbilisi on Tuesday, said Washington could impose financial and travel restrictions unless the bill underwent change or if security forces forcibly broke up protests as has occurred in recent weeks. ‘Russian law’ The law requires media and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and other nonprofit groups to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad. It has been dubbed “the Russian law” by opponents, who compare it with legislation used by the Kremlin for the past decade to crack down on its opponents. The ruling Georgian Dream party says it is needed to promote transparency, combat “pseudo-liberal values” promoted by foreigners and preserve the country’s sovereignty. A woman holds Georgian national and EU flags in front of riot police blocking a street in Tbilisi [File: Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP] President Salome Zourabichvili, who is increasingly at odds with the governing party, has promised to veto the bill, but Georgian Dream has a majority sufficient to override it. Zourabichvili has 14 days to act. On Tuesday, she met with the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Iceland who visited Tbilisi in connection with the controversial legislation. “We talked about what the next steps are. I very clearly explained to the representatives of friendly countries that with my veto, I would under no circumstances enter into some fake, artificial, deceitful negotiations. No and never!” she said after the meeting. “I will not betray the spirit that is in this country today and needs to open a path. I will be the opener of this path. This message will be delivered by our friends everywhere so that no one thinks that you can use the President of Georgia to save the image of this government,” Zourabichvili said. “Today, not this issue is on the agenda, Georgia’s survival is on the agenda,” she added. Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Lithuanian foreign minister, said the Georgian government was turning its back on the European direction and so it was important to show support for Georgia’s pro-Western society and its president. Adblock test (Why?)