The first ‘cyberflasher’ is convicted under England’s new law and gets more than 5 years in prison

LONDON — England’s first convicted cyberflasher was sentenced Tuesday to 5 1/2 years in prison after sending unsolicited photos of his genitals to a teenage girl and a woman. Nicholas Hawkes, 39, a convicted sex offender, was the first person in England and Wales convicted of violating the Online Safety Act, which went into effect … Read more

Indian farmers protest in New Delhi demanding new legislation for minimum crop prices

NEW DELHI — Thousands of farmers crowding buses and trains traveled to the Indian capital on Thursday to press their demand for new legislation to guarantee minimum profitable crop prices, after weeks of being blocked from the city. They avoided using their tractors after authorities barricaded highways into New Delhi with cement blocks and barbed … Read more

TikTok ban moves forward as House passes bill; fight shifts to Senate

The House approved a bill Wednesday that calls for China tech giant ByteDance to divest TikTok or the popular social video app will effectively be banned in the U.S. The measure passed with a resounding 352-65 vote and with one member voting present. The legislation, dubbed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, … Read more

UK to introduce laws to quash convictions of those affected by Post Office scandal

LONDON — The British government introduced legislation Wednesday to quash the wrongful convictions of hundreds of Post Office branch managers in England and Wales who were caught up in one of the United Kingdom’s biggest miscarriages of justice. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the legislation “marks an important step forward in finally clearing” the names … Read more

India announces steps to implement a citizenship law that excludes Muslims

NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Monday announced rules to implement a 2019 citizenship law that excludes Muslims, weeks before the Hindu nationalist leader seeks a third term in office. The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a fast track to naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to Hindu-majority … Read more

France’s Macron announces legislation allowing ‘aid in dying’ under strict conditions

PARIS — French president Emmanuel Macron has announced new legislation to legalize “aid in dying” that will allow adults facing end-of-life illness to take lethal medication, a first in the country. The move follows last year’s report indicating that most French citizens support legalizing end-of-life options. In an interview published Monday by French newspapers La … Read more

Hong Kong proposes life terms for treason and insurrection in new national security bill

HONG KONG — Hong Kong unveiled a new national security bill Friday that proposes up to life imprisonment for offenses like treason and insurrection, a move deepening worries over further erosion of the city’s freedoms after Beijing imposed a similar law four years ago that all but wiped out dissent. The proposed law will expand … Read more

Democrats walk out of Kentucky hearing on legislation dealing with support for nonviable pregnancies

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers walked out of a Kentucky committee hearing Thursday when the GOP-led panel took up a bill to expand access to prebirth and newborn services for pregnant women carrying nonviable fetuses that are expected to die before or soon after birth, in a state that bans abortion in such cases. … Read more

Polish lawmakers OK morning-after pill for ages 15 and over in a first step to ease reproductive law

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

Slovak president challenges the government’s move to eliminate the special anti-graft prosecutor

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia’s president said Friday that she will challenge at the Constitutional Court an amendment to the country’s penal code that eliminates the office of the special prosecutor dealing with major crimes and corruption. President Zuzana Caputova said she was also asking Slovakia’s top court to freeze the legislation, which was approved by … Read more