French move to ban industrial food from 'restaurants'Worried its gastronomic reputation is being damaged by substandard eateries, France is considering banning establishments from calling themselves restaurants if meals are not made from scratch by in-house chefs.
04 June 2013
Russia's ambitious smoking ban goes into effect Russia's ambitious smoking ban, which aims to cut the number of smokers in half and improve public health, went into effect Saturday amid doubts that its measures can be fully enforced.
03 June 2013
New law reignites debate over Germany's 'baby hatch' Germany's "baby hatches", where women can safely leave their unwanted newborn, have come under fire as the government pushes a new law to guarantee a child the right to eventually know its mother's identity.
01 June 2013
Thousands protest gay marriage in Paris At least 150,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Paris to protest a new law allowing gay marriage, a largely peaceful gathering that later turned violent as riot police battled hundreds of right-wingers.
Japan parliament approves child abduction treaty Japan's parliament on Wednesday approved an international treaty on child abductions after decades of pressure from the United States and other Western nations.
22 May 2013
French president to sign gay marriage bill into law French President Francois Hollande will sign a gay marriage and adoption bill into law Saturday, after the Constitutional Council threw out a legal challenge by the right-wing opposition.
Lebanon 'liberal' for Mideast, but gays still targeted Lebanon has a reputation as the most liberal country in the conservative Middle East, but even a night on the town for gays can end in arrest and humiliating sexuality "tests".
08 May 2013
Libya adopts law barring Kadhafi-era officials Libya's General National Congress, under pressure from militiamen, on Sunday voted through a controversial law to exclude former regime officials from public posts in a move that could see the premier removed from office.
Modern Singapore grapples with archaic sex law With its gay bars and same-sex couples publicly displaying affection, the Tanjong Pagar district offers a glimpse of a Singapore whose outlook contrasts with its more conservative image.
Spain vows to tighten abortion law despite criticism Spain's centre-right government has vowed to "promptly" tighten the nation's abortion laws, angering the opposition Socialist Party which had eased access to the procedure.
US senators reach deal on gun-sale background checks Senators struck a hard-fought compromise Wednesday that could expand US background checks to all commercial firearms sales, which may result in the most ambitious change to gun laws since 1994.