11.   Parliament gave Japanese police new powers to use wiretaps against organized crime Thursday, overcoming an all-night battle by opposition forces to defeat the measure.

12.   Parliament on Thursday gave President Leonid Kuchma sweeping new powers, which supporters say will speed up economic reform but opponents contend will lead to dictatorship.

13.   Parliament still must give final approval to the measure itself.

14.   Parliament gave it streamlined approval Thursday but reserved the right to amend it.

15.   Parliament gave preliminary approval last month to holding early elections, but the bill has to pass two more readings.

16.   Parliament gave the Interior Ministry temporary control of military police and some special commando units, allowing the government to use them without having to call out the army.

17.   Parliament on Monday gave a reprieve to a territorial law permitting medically assisted suicide, the most permissive euthanasia bill in the world.

18.   Parliament on Tuesday gave the Truth and Reconciliation Commission more time to complete its work, although the party that ruled during apartheid objected, calling the commission incompetent.

19.   Parliament on Wednesday gave near unanimous final approval to a set of constitutional amendments, mostly democratic reforms and guarantees of civil rights.

20.   After months of debate, parliament on Wednesday gave tentative approval to a bill determining how Ukrainians would vote for a new legislature in elections scheduled for next March.