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announcer: and now, "bbc news" i am caitriona perry in washington. approving a law allowing groups to declare funding. donald trump examines his former fixer on his second day of testimony and his hush money trial. president biden unveils weeping tears of billions of dollars of chinese imports, from electric vehicles to steel. and ensuring ukraine of continued support during a surprise visit to kyiv. hello, welcome to world news

america. we began in georgia where protests and unrest swept the streets outside the parliament after the passage of a controversy law. critics say the foreign agent law would oppress opposition and foiled georges -- georgia's wanting to join the eu. first, let's look at some of the extraordinary scenes earlier today in georgia's capital. protesters divide security forces as they mobilized in huge numbers. at one point the police and protesters clashed on the steps of the parliament. some were dragged down those steps. not only where there clashes outside, but inside as well. a brawl erupted between opposing mps as a debate was taking place over the bill. georgians have been assembling trying to persuade the governing coalition against passing the legislation, ultimately to no avail.

let's hear from two protesters on why they decided to take a stand. >> i feel like this law is going to destroy the european future that my country has been fighting for and the values that their ancestors have been fighting for for ages, basically. if you look at georgian history and literature, it is everywhere. >> our government is trying to pass a law that will send us to russia. we know what happened in 2012 in russia when this law was adopted. state institutions collapsed, human rights weren't respected, and so on. we know the same scenario is repeating itself in georgia. caitriona: protesters have strong feelings that the legislation is tied to their northern neighbors, calling it the russian law. many believe that the bill was inspired by legislation in russia used to crush dissent there. what is in the bill? it will required nongovernmental organizations and independent media to declare foreign funding, 20% of their funds come

from outside georgia the groups will be required to register as organizations bearing the interests of a foreign power. georgia's foreign minister says the laws about ensuring transparency and has accused ngo's of trying to stage revolutions in georgia and spreading what he calls gay propaganda. he is the former chairman of the georgian dream party which has ushered in the new law. let's take you back to where our correspondent has been following the protest throughout the day. >> we just spoke to another 18-year-old. i was mentioning that these protests have been driven by georgian youth people as young as 15, 18 and up. we were talking to two 18-year-old girls. they did not want to open their masks saying, my mom would be worried. even though of course their parents are well aware that they

are here. these people are standing here because they believe it is more than just a law. it isn't just about this controversial law. they are worried that this is a major change in georgia's foreign policy. that with the adoption of this law governments somehow want to drag them back to russia. drag them back, they say, to the ussr. that is not with the georgian people want. more than 80% of the population see the future of their country as part of the european union. that is why they are standing here, as they say, fighting for their european future. we see the police here. they have pushed the protesters from the main area outside of parliament. the parliament is next-door. this 1950's old building that has been housing the georgian legislature for all these years. caitriona: reporting from the scene.

the u.s. has weighed in on george's new law with the white house press secretary saying, we have been outspoken about our concerns with the legislation, which runs counter to democratic values, adding that, if this legislation passes, it will compel us to fundamentally reassess our relationship with georgia. the former u.s. ambassador to georgia served in that post from 2015-2018. thank you for being with us. supporters say this is about preventing outside influence on politics and others say it will clampdown on dissent. what is your view? >> my view is that it is a tool that the georgian dream ruling party wants to have in order to suppress opposition. of course, the russian federation did pass a similar law in 2012, which they did used

to not only suppress the opposition but destroy it or force it overseas. the vast majority of georgians want to see georgia join the eu, join the west, as your correspondent said. this law, in addition to other movements by georgia in the past couple of years, takes georgia in a very different direction. caitriona: does it put eu membership out of reach? >> i think that you've seen very dire warnings coming from the eu that such legislation is inconsistent with the kind of integration steps that georgia will have to take and legislation will have to pass to

to encourage pluralistic voices, to not stifle them. i think that georgians understand, quite clearly, that this is going to take them away from the european union. away from the west. closer to regimes such as we see in russia and belarus. caitriona: the president of georgia has vowed to veto the bill. the parliament can override her rejection with a simple majority. what would it mean overall for democracy in the country if they override the president's veto? ian: i think it would be in many ways the final nail in the coffin of their aspirations to join the west. if they implement this law, the georgian dream government already controls the three branches of government. this will be their tool,

potentially, to destroy independent media and ngo watchdogs. so, i think it will lead to a very bad outcome, given that the vast majority of georgians oppose this law. caitriona: you mentioned the imposition that will have on foreign media, ngos, and so on. do you think such are the requirements of them that should this bill become law that it would result in many of them leaving georgia entirely? >> like i say, it would definitely lead to some bad outcomes. one of those could be that many pro-western advocates, or ngo advocates, will choose to leave. i think that the majority of them, if not all of them, will choose to disobey the law, as happened in 2012 in russia.

of course, putin used the refusal to register as foreign agents as an excuse to close them down. it is a very dramatic moment in georgia right now. caitriona: i am wondering, as a former u.s. ambassador, what role you see for the u.s.. the u.s. secretary of state is in georgia saying that there would be restrictions from the u.s. that would affect the finances or travel of those responsible. what would that look like? what do you see the u.s. doing? ian: exactly what he says. i think that there will be travel restrictions imposed on those who supported this law, who voted for this law. of course, there will be some financial sanctions put on those

who are promoting this rollback of western integration and democratic institutions. it will really be a matter of negotiations between washington and brussels on the scope of it, how many people to sanction. the west needs to send a very firm signal of support for the masses of georgians who are risking their well-being on the streets of georgian cities. caitriona: the former u.s. ambassador to georgia, ian kelly, thank you. drilling michael cohen in a cross-examination on tuesday. earlier in the day he claim to the former president approved a plan to reimburse him for a hush money payment made to the adult film star stormy daniels p the

allegation mr. trump denies is at the heart of the prosecution's case. it argues that the former president falsify business records to conceal the payment. high-profile republicans showed up at the courthouse in support of the ex-president, including mike johnson criticizing the trial as a political sham. let's go to our north america correspondent, who has been following matters closely for us. john, talk is through the court. paint a picture. there were lots of supporters for the former president as he faced his rival at this point, michael cohen. john: yeah, it's not the first time we've had high-profile political figures here outside and inside the courtroom. today, a veritable cheering squad of senior republican figures here to show their

support. speaking to the media outside. there are governors, republican senators, five, swami, people believed to be vying for possible places as donald trump's vp pick. beyond that political circus there is a point. notably you mentioned we had mike johnson here adding to the criticism of the trial as somehow corrupt, as antidemocratic. some people say that although there are possibly legitimate discussions to be had, a debate about -- as there are with all high-profile trials -- about the strength of the evidence and possibility of a conviction. that is different from the charge that this is somehow motivated and directed from the biden lighthouse. a charge without any evidence. critics will suggest that there

is something dangerous about senior republican figures, some of those with important constitutional roles, adding to that commentary, seeming to undermine the institutions of american democracy and a certain irony given that it comes on behalf of a man himself who is accused of having acted to prevent the democratic transfer of power in 2021. caitriona: if we look at michael cohen's testimony in the box for a second day, what did he say about the issues of the case? john: well, the prosecution have tried to use michael cohen's testimony to draw a direct line between the hush money payments to stormy daniels, which michael cohen himself made, a direct line between that and donald trump himself. not only knowledge of the payment, but knowledge that it was improperly disguised as

legal expenses, which is the charge at the heart of this case. we have the beginnings of his cross-examination this afternoon by the defense. as expected, they went for the jugular, they went in very hard, attempting to make an issue of his integrity painting him as a liar. somebody motivated by bitterness against his former boss. in some ways the prosecution had already anticipated this. they had got their retaliation in early. during that part of his evidence under question from the prosecution, mr. michael cohen admitted freely to having lied, being convicted of criminal charges in 2018. the purpose he said all along was that he was doing those things, lying, in the pay, in the protection of donald trump himself. it will come down to which of those two narratives, those two interpretations of mr. michael cohen's character, the jury chooses to believe. caitriona: president biden

unveiled new tariffs on an estimated $18 billion worth of chinese imports, including electric cars, solar panels, and steel. the white house says beijing's unfair trading practices harm america. under the new policy tariffs will quadruple from 25% to 100% on the electric cars. the rate on semiconductors will double. china criticized the move, warning that it would seriously affect the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation. the levees are the latest escalation in a trade war with beijing that has roots in former president donald trump's administration. president biden earlier contrasted his policies with those of mr. trump. while in office mr. trump favored broad tariffs on american goods. on the campaign trail the former president has proposed higher tariffs on foreign imports and investment restrictions between

the u.s. and china. president biden says that he is taking a more targeted approach, increasing tariffs in emerging high-tech industries like clean energy and semiconductors. let's listen. pres. biden: my predecessor promised increased american exports and boosting manufacturing. he did neither. he failed. he signed a trade deal with china. they are supposed to buy 200 million dollars worth of american goods. caitriona: the biden white house will remain trump era tariffs on an estimated $360 billion of chinese imports. joining us is a china policy advisor in the trump administration who is now a senior fellow and director of the huston institute's china. he criticized then president donald trump stares when he was running for office, but as president he has essentially built upon them.

is that surprising to you? >> not at all. we are in the height of the campaign season. there is the partisan statements. the fact is the trend of imposing tariffs on china started with donald trump and i think it will continue on with the current administration. the campaign rhetoric doesn't really hide the fact that we have to hold china accountable for its practices. it isn't targeted tariff. the issue now has become increasingly clear that we are dealing with an economy in china that is fundamentally nonmarket. that is why we have to really heighten this approach to china. not just to target on specific goods. obviously, those are necessary, but to treat china as a totally different economic system.

from that systemic approach to solve this u.s.-china trade issue. caitriona: joe biden has focused on sectors that the u.s. considers to be of strategic importance like semiconductors and clean energy. how will that impact china? miles: we often forget that even though the world economy is depended on china, chinese market and manufacturing capabilities, on the larger scheme of things china needs the rest of the world more than the other way around. therefore, those kinds of sanctions, those in positions of tariffs, will have a fundamental impact on china's economy. china's economy serves the purpose of the state. it isn't market driven, is geopolitically driven. you mentioned about in addition to computer chips the reason why china has this excess of electric vehicles, which is scaring not only americans but europeans too, is because the

chinese state subsidizes the ev industries in china. for every tv unit produced, not sold, each company will receive a generous bonus from the chinese government. that is why they stimulated this enormous rush making ev cars and the result is that you have millions of chinese ev cars that are resting and rotting in what we call the ev rave yards across china. millions of them. that is why they want to export cheap ev cars to the rest of the world, to saturate the market. not to be sold, but to get the chinese government subsidy. the subsidy, the function of the state, antimarket practice is at its core. we have to take those behaviors into consideration. caitriona: if the u.s. is taking this tough approach to china, would you expect to see a retaliation from china? miles: china will retaliate, but as i say on balance the

retaliation isn't going to be nearly as severe as the damage done on the chinese. the chinese economy, chinese technology, chinese society needs the rest of the world much more than the other way around. i don't think that this is an expectation. it's reality. caitriona: in the u.s., there have been some people criticizing this move. the national retail federation for one saying that putting tariffs on imported goods, it is the u.s. consumers that pay the price for that. that it will drive up inflation. what is your view? miles: i think that wall street always likes to say that there is an indisp -- indispensable aspect of the chinese economy. that myth has been busted to a large degree. the chinese economy is in shambles due to primarily institutional innovations and shortfalls. on the other hand, it has very

little impact on the u.s. economy. the u.s. economy is booming. that is simply not true. i think that there are definitely some impact, but the impact on the whole is that we have to take action. inaction is going to be much more expensive than action at all. caitriona: we will leave it there. thanks for joining us on bbc news. miles: thank you. caitriona: an update on the situation in gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing intensive findings in both parts of the territory. the u.n. says 450 thousand people have fled rafah in the past week as is really forced to step up their campaign against taza in the southern gaza city. that is about one third of the population. in the north of gaza, thousands are fleeing israeli bombardment.

meanwhile, critical supplies like fuel, medicine, and aid are running out with both major aid crossings into gaza close for more than a week. the united nations says that the situation is untenable. let's go to ukraine, where the u.s. secretary of state, antony blinken, made a surprise visit to kyiv, telling ukrainians that more american weapons are on the way and that putin has destroyed in ukraine and russia should and must pay for what it has destroyed. mr. blinken met with president zelenskyy in the midst of the new russian offensive in the northeast. he says that that offensive is aided by north korean munitions, iranian drones, and chinese components. here is secretary blinken speaking earlier, emphasizing the u.s. support for a sovereign ukraine. sec. blinken: the coming months will demand a great deal of ukrainians who have already sacrificed so much.

but i have come to ukraine with a message. you are not alone. the united states has been by your side since day one. we are with you today. we will stay by your side until ukraine's security, sovereignty, ability to choose its own path is guaranteed. caitriona: let's go to kyiv where we can speak to our state department correspondent who is with secretary blinken. talk to wes about this visit. what is the overall objective for the secretary? tom: i think it was meant to show solidarity in the form of a fresh flood of american ammunition, particularly getting to the front line. we learned something important. the first artillery shells and missile interceptors from that package that was announced by washington three weeks ago has now, some of them, have made it to the front line.

it was a whirlwind trip. he arrived at 5:30 in the morning, got a train from the polish border, the first meeting was with president zelenskyy. profuse thanks from the ukrainian leader. we heard that mr. blinken really try to sell a message of reassurance, to say that we're in this for the long term. i think it is a promise that he can make, not necessarily one that he can keep given that there will be a presidential election later this year. mr. biden and mr. trump are in quite different places on the issue of military assistance to ukraine. caitriona: indeed they are. thank you for joining us. that is it for today. thank you so much for watching world news america. i am caitriona perry. you can keep up-to-date always at bbc.com/news, but for now,

goodbye. take announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. cunard is a proud supporter of public television. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

>> good evening. geoff bennett is on assignment. on the newshour tonight. the prosecution star witness michael cohen's grilled by the defense in former presiden