Briefly

BULGARIA

Government resigns after mass protests

In the wake of large-scale protests over economic policy across Bulgaria, the country's Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov formally submitted his government's resignation on Thursday, the registry of the National Assembly confirmed. Earlier in the day, Zhelyazkov announced his resignation minutes before lawmakers voted on a sixth no-confidence motion against his government. Nevertheless, the motion, brought forward by opposition parties over what they described as failures in economic policy, secured only 106 votes in the 240-seat parliament, well short of the majority needed for passage. The ruling coalition didn't vote. On Wednesday, tens of thousands of people protested across Bulgaria, opposing the government's economic policy.

AUSTRALIA

Social media ban faces lawsuit from Reddit

The message board website Reddit filed a lawsuit on Friday asking Australia's High Court to overturn the country's social media ban for people under 16, as well as its inclusion in the law, calling the law an infringement of free political expression. The US-listed firm, which has operations in Australia, called the ban "invalid" on the grounds that "it infringes the implied freedom of political communication", in a court filing signed by its lawyers, Perry Herzfeld and Jackson Wherrett. The filing named the Commonwealth of Australia and Communications Minister Anika Wells as defendants. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government declined to comment on the merits of Reddit's challenge. "The Albanese government is on the side of Australian parents and kids, not platforms," a statement said.

Agencies - Xinhua