Parliament approves Bulgaria’s new center-right government

September 10th, 2009 Trust approves GM deal of Opel to Magna, SberbankBERLIN — The Opel Trust has given its approval for the sale of General Motors Co's European unit Opel to a consortium of Magna International Inc. and Russian lender Sberbank.

September 7th, 2009 Israel approves 366 new West Bank apartmentsJERUSALEM — Israel has officially approved construction of 366 new apartments in the West Bank. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday that he intends to soon approve about 84 more.

August 28th, 2009 Moldova's Parliament elects new speakerCHISINAU, Moldova — Moldova's pro-Western coalition government has chosen a new parliament speaker in a vote that was boycotted by the Communist legislators. Last month, the four-party coalition won a narrow victory in a national election in Moldova, a former Soviet republic.

August 25th, 2009 Bulgaria's church deplores Madonna concertSOFIA, Bulgaria — Orthodox Church officials are urging Bulgarians to keep away from a planned Madonna concert this weekend, accusing the pop singer of showing disrespect to Christianity. The powerful Church of Bulgaria has issued a statement expressing "disapproval and disagreement" with Saturday's event, and says the U.S.

August 21st, 2009 Pittsburgh approves permit for G-20 rallyPITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh has approved a permit for a protest rally the day before the Group of 20 economic summit and has picked two locations for protesters to gather when the world's economic leaders meet next month. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl isn't identifying the locations, saying details still must be worked out with the Secret Service.

August 20th, 2009 Colombia's senate approves Uribe re-election billBOGOTA — Colombia's Senate voted late Wednesday to pass a bill calling for a referendum on whether to change the constitution to allow President Alvaro Uribe to run for a third term. The measure, which is to be voted on by the lower House next week, was approved 56-2 by senators after deputies from two opposition parties left the 102-member chamber.

July 23rd, 2009 French parliament approves law on Sunday laborPARIS — France's parliament has given final approval to a law allowing more businesses to stay open Sundays despite protest from labor unions. The Senate approved the measure 165-159 on Thursday.

July 21st, 2009 Japan Cabinet approves dissolution of parliamentTOKYO — Japan's Cabinet agreed to dissolve the powerful lower house of parliament Tuesday, setting the stage for national elections that could transform the country's political power structure. Parliament was widely expected to formally disband Tuesday afternoon, but the two main political parties had already shifted into election mode earlier in the day, holding separate meetings of their lawmakers in Tokyo.

July 10th, 2009 Parliament OKs German bank assets planBERLIN — A plan to allow German banks to offload bad assets into special government-guaranteed vehicles cleared its final legislative hurdle on Friday. The legislation passed the upper house of parliament, which represents Germany's 16 states, after winning approval from the lower house a week ago.

July 6th, 2009 Bulgarian conservatives win election by big marginSOFIA, Bulgaria — Official results confirm Bulgaria's conservative opposition has won parliamentary elections by a wide margin. Outgoing Socialist Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev conceded defeat hours after polls closed late Sunday, clearing the way for Sofia Mayor Boiko Borisov to form the next government.

June 24th, 2009 German cabinet approves 2010 budgetBERLIN — Germany's cabinet has approved a budget for 2010 that foresees taking on record debt to help safeguard the country against the global financial crisis, the finance minister said Wednesday. The new budget anticipates euro86.1 billion ($120.35 billion) in fresh debt, more than double the euro40 billion for the current year and the largest credit to be taken out by the German government since World War II.

June 3rd, 2009 California city approves ID cards for residentsOAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland is set to become the third U.S.

May 21st, 2009 KATHMANDU - Normal business of the legislature parliament that has been obstructed for over two weeks after Prime Minister Prachanda resignation is likely to resume today. The parliament will resume with an informal understanding between Prachanda and the Speaker of the legislature parliament Subash Chandra Nemwang.

May 13th, 2009 French Senate approves Internet piracy lawPARIS — France's Senate has given final approval to a law that would punish people who download music and films illegally by cutting off their Internet connections. The law creates what could be the world's first government agency to punish online pirates.

May 6th, 2009 EU Parliament approves multibillion spending planSTRASBOURG, France — The European Parliament has approved the use of euro5 billion ($6.7 billion) of unspent EU budget funds to boost green energy and Internet links across the EU. The endorsement on Wednesday means the EU can now start spending the money, which comes from unused EU farm subsidies, on a list of projects already approved by EU leaders at their March summit.