Georgia's Foreign Ministry criticized Ukraine on Tuesday for urging the Georgian ambassador to return to Tbilisi for consultations over the poor health of imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who is also a Ukrainian citizen. The Foreign Ministry called Ukraine's action “an extreme form of escalation.” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry had summoned Georgian Ambassador George Zakarashvili to express its protest over the apparent significant deterioration in the health of Saakashvili, who was convicted of abuse of power while he was president in 2004-2013. “The decision of the Ukrainian authorities causes serious damage to the strategic relations between the two countries and represents a direct interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state,” Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said in its statement. Saakashvili appeared severely emaciated Monday during a videolink testimony to a court considering a new abuse-of-power case against him. Saakashvili and his supporters claim that he has been poisoned while imprisoned and that he now weighs about 60 kilograms (132 pounds), half of what he weighed when he was arrested in October 2021. Speaking from a private clinic where he is being held, he told the court that despite his poor health, he is “spiritually fit and determined to serve the country,” according to local news site Agenda. Saakashvili, who became Georgia’s president after leading the Rose Revolution protests that drove the previous president out of office, left for Ukraine after the end of his second term. He was later convicted in absentia of abuse of power and sentenced to six years in prison. He was arrested in October 2021 after returning to Georgia to try to bolster opposition forces before nationwide municipal elections. He is now on trial on charges connected to the violent dispersal of an opposition rally in 2007. Saakashvili holds Ukrainian citizenship and was governor of that nation’s Odesa region in 2015-16. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday called on Georgia to send Saakashvili to Ukraine for medical treatment. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

The Fourth of July marks Independence Day in the US. It is also a big day for hot dog lovers.

Masked assailants in the Russian province of Chechnya have attacked and beaten a prominent journalist and a lawyer

Ireland's finance minister says the budget aims to protect people from the impacts of inflation.

Yelena Milashina had received threats from Chechnya's leader before, but went to hear a court verdict.

A federal judge has blocked key agencies within President Joe Biden’s administration from communicating with social media companies about certain online speech in an extraordinary ruling as part of an ongoing case that could have profound impacts on the First Amendment. The preliminary injunction granted by Donald Trump-appointed US District Judge Terry A Doughty in Louisiana on 4 July prohibits the FBI and the US Department of Health and Human Services from speaking with platforms for “the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.” The ruling – which could obstruct the administration’s attempts to combat false and potentially dangerous claims about vaccines and elections – is a victory for Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri who have alleged that the federal government was overreaching in its attempts to combat Covid-19 disinformation and baseless election fraud narratives. Judge Doughty, who has yet to issue a final ruling, stated in his injunction that the Republican plaintiffs “have produced evidence of a massive effort by Defendants, from the White House to federal agencies, to suppress speech based on its content.” He did make some exceptions that would allow the government to warn platforms about national security threats, criminal activity or voter suppression. This is a developing story Read More Suspicious powder found at the White House when Biden was gone was cocaine, AP sources say Biden renews call for assault weapons ban after spate of July 4 shootings Watch live: Joe Biden addresses National Education Association

Festivalgoers got more of an adventure than they bargained for Sunday when a roller coaster ride got stuck at a fair in Wisconsin, leaving them hanging upside down for hours.

'At first, I thought he was joking because we were over two hours into our expedition and so close to the bottom,' said Jaden Pan

At least one person was killed and four others were injured in a shooting at a block party in northeast Indianapolis Monday night, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

The agencies say infrastructure is being destroyed and medics cannot not reach all the injured.

A powdery substance that was discovered at the White House Sunday evening, prompting a temporary evacuation of the complex, has been sent for further evaluation and testing, the Secret Service said.

By Tommy Wilkes LONDON The remaining insurers in a United Nations-backed coalition aimed at tackling climate change are