Georgia drops foreign agents law after massive protests

Georgian lawmakers have voted to drop a controversial bill that opponents — and thousands of protesters gathered in the capital — warned could stifle dissent and curtail media freedoms. The bill, which according to its critics was modeled on a Russian law, would have required media and NGOs that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence.” It was rejected 35-1 at a parliament session Friday morning that lasted just four minutes, and came less than a day after Georgia’s ruling party said it would withdraw the bill.