Measures would remove some penalties for those helping women access abortion but are ‘small-scale step’, say campaigners Poland’s lower house of parliament has approved two bills aimed at loosening a near-total ban on abortions, in what campaigners have described as a “small-scale step” ahead of protests calling on the government to fulfil its promises to overhaul the country’s laws. The new measures, which are likely to be vetoed by Poland’s nationalist president, would remove some of the criminal penalties for those who help women to access abortion care and allow terminations in cases of foetal abnormalities. Continue reading...
Poland’s parliament votes to ease abortion ban but faces likely veto from president

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Taiwan charges five men over plot to run over comedian for his Xi Jinping jokes
Person named ‘K’ from China paid five defendants to injure Huang Yi-hao, New Taipei prosecutors say Taiwanese prosecutors have charged five men over a plot to ram a car into a comedian who made fun of the Chinese Communist party and Xi Jinping. Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of transnational repression to silence critics on the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to take by force if necessary. Continue reading...

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