The ruling party, however, has a sufficient majority to override the veto, despite fears that the legislation will obstruct the country’s bid to join the EU.

Huge throngs of protesters blocked streets in the capital of Georgia and milled angrily outside the parliament building after lawmakers approved a bill that critics call a Russian-style threat to free speech.

The Georgian parliament approved a divisive bill that sparked weeks of mass protests, with critics seeing it as a threat to democratic freedoms and the country’s aspirations to join the EU.

Several thousand Georgians gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi on Sunday night in a fresh protest against a Russian-styled ‘foreign agent’ bill.

Opponents of the bill have dubbed it ‘the Russian law’, comparing it to legislation used to target critics of President Vladimir Putin.

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Georgia against a controversial ‘foreign influence’ bill after parliament advanced the measure.

Protesters called on the government to scrap the controversial bill which the European Union has warned would undermine Tbilisi’s European aspirations.

Georgia government says the bill is necessary to combat ‘pseudo-liberal values’ imposed by foreigners. Critics say it mirrors Russian legislation used to silence dissent.

Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Snr say Dr Tracey St. Julian used excessive force on their son’s neck and head when the child became stuck.

The former president is said to have lost 60kg after being imprisoned on abuse of power charges, which rights groups have denounced as politically motivated.

The controversial draft law was criticised as potentially stifling media freedom and civil society.

Thousands are rallying against legislation that requires organisations receiving more than 20 per cent funding from abroad to register as ‘foreign agents’.

Mikheil Saakashvili appeared in court via video link to show how much weight he had lost while incarcerated, as associates renewed calls for him to be freed for urgent medical treatment.

Saakashvili had refused food for 50 days to protest against his jailing on an abuse of office conviction he has denounced as politically motivated.

After more than a month and a half on hunger strike, imprisoned former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has been transferred to a military hospital.

Imprisoned and on hunger strike, Mikheil Saakashvili called on the United States for help as the former Soviet republic turns away from the pro-Western path he set it on 18 years ago.

Fears are growing for Saakashvili’s health because of a hunger strike lasting several weeks.

The owner of a flat and two workers have been detained on suspicion that work in the flat damaged a building wall and caused the collapse.

The detention on Friday of Georgia’s foremost opposition figure upon his return from exile raised the stakes in the polls seen as a test for the Georgian Dream ruling party.

The world’s first woman grandmaster, Nona Gaprindashvili, was said in the hit series to have ‘never faced men’, which her lawyers say is false and sexist.

Organisers of the Tbilisi March For Dignity cancelled the event, saying authorities had not provided adequate security guarantees.

The property has taken its place in the Georgian capital’s cultural rebirth, hosting a variety of festivals in its outside amphitheatre.

Bakhtadze, who has been in office since June 2018, said consultations to select his successor were ongoing and that the announcement would be made on Thursday.