Surasak Suwanmake | Moment | Getty Images The European Union Parliament on Wednesday endorsed the world’s first major set of regulatory ground rules to govern the mediatized artificial intelligence at the forefront of tech investment. The EU brokered provisional political consensus in early December, and it was then endorsed in the Parliament’s Wednesday session, with … Read more
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s lawmakers elected Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday as the country’s president for the second time. He is the widower of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto and the father of former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Zardari secured 411 votes from national and provincial lawmakers. His opponent, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who is backed by … Read more
Omar Chatriwala/Getty Images This week, US government officials are trying again to push legislation to ban TikTok, the popular short-form video platform. TikTok has been under intense scrutiny by the US government for years. Former President Donald Trump first attempted to force Chinese tech company ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell the app to American … Read more
PARIS — A bill to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the French Constitution goes to a historic vote on Monday, as lawmakers gathered for a joint session of parliament at the Palace of Versailles on Monday. The measure was promised by President Emmanuel Macron following a rollback of abortion rights in court … Read more
ISLAMABAD — Lawmakers in Pakistan’s National Assembly elected Sunday Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister for the second time. Allies of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan in parliament shouted in protest against his appointment, alleging rigging in last month’s election. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said Sharif secured 201 votes, defeating Omar Ayub of the … Read more
PARIS — The woman leading a push for a reckoning about sexual abuse in France’s world-renowned cinema industry urged lawmakers Thursday to establish a commission to investigate sex crimes and sexism in the sector. With French film-making in the spotlight ahead of the Oscars next month, Judith Godrèche gave emotional testimony to a French Senate … Read more
TALLINN, Estonia — A bill in Belarus that would outlaw the promotion of homosexuality and other behavior is set to land on lawmakers’ desks amid an unwavering crackdown on dissent initiated by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in 2020. Prosecutor General Andrei Shved said Thursday the proposed legislation establishes administrative liability for anyone promoting “abnormal relationships, … Read more
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s lawmakers voted on Thursday to approve over-the-counter access to the morning-after pill for ages 15 and above in a step to liberalize Poland’s strict reproductive law inherited from the previous nationalist conservative government. The vote in the lower house was the first step in the plans of the new pro-European Union … Read more
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Six months after becoming Cambodia’s new prime minister, the eldest son of the country’s long-serving autocratic leader on Wednesday won approval from lawmakers to have his youngest brother take the post of deputy premier. The development is the latest in a generational change in top positions in the Southeast Asian nation … Read more
ATHENS, Greece — Lawmakers begin a debate Wednesday on a landmark bill to legalize same-sex marriage that would make Greece the first Orthodox Christian country to do so. The Valentine’s Day session in parliament follows vocal opposition and protests from the church but also a shift in public opinion which – while still divided – … Read more