World News

France's lower house of parliament on Tuesday agreed to pick an MP from President Emmanuel Macron's centrist coalition as the first woman speaker, despite the ruling alliance losing its majority in legislative elections.

The 19 June election saw surges for the far right and hard left and opposition forces have said they will not be lured into a lasting arrangement to support Macron's government, which is 37 seats short of an overall majority.

TOKYO -- A record 181 of the 545 people standing in Japan's July 10 House of Councillors election are women, comprising 33.2% of all candidates, also a high.

The total of 181 female candidates announced on June 22 was up 77 from the previous upper house contest in 2019. It was the first time for the figure to top the 146 female candidates in the chamber's 1989 election, when the so-called "Madonna boom" led by Takako Doi, then head of the now-defunct Japan Socialist Party, occurred.

Droupadi Murmu: Here is everything you need to know about BJP's candidate for Presidency.

Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, was  on Tuesday named the ruling NDA’s candidate for the forthcoming Presidential election. The decision was taken at the BJP’s parliamentary board meeting.

Rachel Keke, who coordinated successful strike for better pay and conditions, takes on Macron’s former sports minister.

A hotel housekeeper who led a strike for better pay and conditions at one of the biggest hotels in Paris could become the first cleaner to be elected to the French parliament on Sunday, as a left alliance challenges Emmanuel Macron’s centrists.

France has lagged in gender parity in politics, coming 33rd out of 185 spots on the Inter-Parliamentary Union's monthly ranking of women in national parliaments

France's new parliament will see a slight decrease in women MPs after the weekend's poll, a setback from the previous cycle when women filled nearly 40 percent of seats.

When Colombians on Sunday elected their first leftist president ever, they also voted for their country’s first Black vice-president. Francia Marquez, a Black single mother who worked as a maid before challenging international mining interests as a fiery environmentalist, now becomes Colombia’s first Black female vice-president. Her victory marks a turning point in a country plagued by social inequalities and historically governed by conservative elites.   

Alberta politics becoming more open to diverse candidates, says UCalgary political science professor Susan Franceschet. 

Despite the long race ahead, a United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership ballot boasting a record number of women is already a winning ticket for Alberta, says a UCalgary political scientist.

Election campaigning is underway in Papua New Guinea with strong participation from women who are "young and determined".

Although there are 86 women candidates standing in this year's elections compared with 167 in 2017, campaigners are pushing for a female presence in the Parliament and are hopeful that attitudes will change.

RNZ Pacific's Papua New Guinea correspondent Scott Waide said seeing women come out to campaign is encouraging.

By accommodating more women and dropping some controversial leaders from the cabinet, the Biju Janata Dal chief is gearing up for assembly and general elections.

Bhubaneswar: Barely a week after completing three years in his fifth term as the chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has effected a major reshuffle of his cabinet with an eye on the 2024 assembly and general elections.