Lawmakers

The BBC's chairman acknowledged Monday that it was too slow in responding over a misleading edit of a speech by US President Donald Trump but rejected claims that the broadcaster's impartiality was being undermined from within its own board. Senior BBC leaders were quizzed by Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee amid a major crisis at the publicly funded corporation after its director general and head of news both quit earlier this month and Trump threatened to file a billion-dollar lawsuit. The BBC drew Trump's ire and deep public scrutiny after an internal memo compiled by one of its former external advisers was leaked to the British media. The memo criticised cases of alleged biased reporting over a documentary on Trump that was aired days before the 2024 US presidential election, as well as other BBC coverage including its stance on transgender issues, Gaza, and race. Chairman Samir Shah said the broadcaster should have acted much quicker in addressing the ...

Across the country, 45 per cent of MLAs have declared criminal charges, while 29 per cent face serious criminal charges

The Oct 25 referendum in Republika Srpska will ask 1.2 million voters if they accept decisions by envoy Christian Schmidt and Bosnia's top court that banned leader Milorad Dodik from office

British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales, in what could be one of the most consequential social policy decisions they will ever make. Members of Parliament supported legalising assisted dying when they first debated the issue in November by 330 votes to 275. Since then, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has undergone months of scrutiny leading to some changes in the proposed legislation, which is being shepherded through Parliament by Labour lawmaker Kim Leadbeater rather than the government. Leadbeater is confident lawmakers will back the bill. We have the most robust piece of legislation in the world in front of us tomorrow, and I know that many colleagues have engaged very closely with the legislation and will make their decision based on those facts and that evidence, and that cannot be disputed," Leadbeater said on Thursday on the eve of the vote alongside bereaved and ...

Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in Brooklyn Park, while Senator John Hoffman and his wife were injured in a separate attack nearby in Champlin, Minnesota, early Saturday morning

German lawmakers are set to vote Tuesday on whether conservative leader Friedrich Merz will become the country's 10th chancellor since World War II. Merz seeks to take the helm of the 27-nation European Union's most populous member after outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government collapsed last year. The country has the continent's biggest economy and serves as a diplomatic heavyweight. Merz's portfolio would include the war in Ukraine and the Trump administration's trade policy on top of domestic issues such as the stagnant economy and the rise of a far-right, anti-immigrant party. If Merz fails to win a majority, the lower house of parliament called the Bundestag has 14 days to elect a candidate with an absolute majority. If that also fails, the constitution allows for the president to appoint the candidate who wins the most votes as chancellor, or to dissolve the Bundestag and hold a new national election. 80th anniversary of World War II Merz needs to win over at least 31

In a democracy, citizens hold the highest office, vested with significant rights and responsibilities

At least three lawmakers were injured on Tuesday after chaos erupted in Serbia's parliament, where smoke bombs and flares were thrown.

In this matter, the Supreme Court observed that there is an "apparent conflict of interest" in allowing a law-breaker to be a lawmaker

With nearly 5,000 cases pending against sitting and former members of Parliament and members of legislative assemblies, the Supreme Court has been urged to issue directions to ensure expeditious disposal of cases against the lawmakers. The latest affidavit filed by senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who has been appointed amicus curiae by the apex court in a PIL seeking expeditious disposal of criminal cases against MPs/MLAs, said that legislators have great influence on the investigation and/or trial of cases against them, and trials are not allowed to be concluded. "It is submitted that despite orders by this court from time to time and monitoring by the high court, a large number of cases are pending against the MPs and MLAs, which is a scar on the democratic setup of our country. "The pendency of a large number of cases, some of them for decades, shows that the legislators have great influence on the investigation and/or trial of cases against them, and the trial is not allowed to

A bipartisan duo in the the US House is proposing legislation to ban the Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek from federal devices, similar to the policy already in place for the popular social media platform TikTok. Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., on Thursday introduced the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act," which would ban federal employees from using the Chinese AI app on government-owned electronics. They cited the Chinese government's ability to use the app for surveillance and misinformation as reasons to keep it away from federal networks. The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans," Gottheimer said in a statement. We simply can't risk the CCP infiltrating the devices of our government officials and jeopardizing our national security." The proposal comes after the Chinese software compa

Celebrating the largest representation of the community in the history of the US Congress, Indian American lawmakers on Friday said that they are looking forward to welcoming more Indian American members of Congress in the future. When I first took office in 2013, I was the only Indian American member of Congress and the third ever in our nation's history, said Congressman Dr Ami Bera, the senior-most Indian American lawmaker in the House of Representatives. Since that day, I have been committed to ensuring we grow our representation in Congress. In the past decade, I am proud to be joined by incredible Indian American colleagues from around the country -- Representatives Jayapal, Khanna, Krishnamoorthi and Thanedar, he said. With the swearing-in of the 119th Congress, our cohort has grown to a record six members with the election of Representative Subramanyam in Virginia. I look forward to welcoming even more Indian American Members of Congress in the future! Bera said, days after

A lawyer for Shein summoned to a British parliamentary hearing evaded questions Tuesday on whether the fast-fashion giant sells products containing cotton from China, angering lawmakers seeking answers on the retailer's labour practices and allegations of forced labour in its supply chains. Executives from Shein and its rival Temu were grilled on their labour rights compliance and how they source their products at Parliament's business and trade committee Tuesday. The hearing came amid reports that Shein, which was founded in China but is now based in Singapore, is preparing for a 50 billion-pound ($62 billion) listing on the London Stock Exchange in the first quarter of this year. Both global retailers are growing in popularity worldwide for selling mostly Chinese-made clothes and products at bargain prices. But they have drawn criticism over allegations that their supply chains may be tainted by forced labour, including from China's far-west Xinjiang province, where rights groups .

The lower house of Russia's parliament on Tuesday approved a bill that would set the stage for Moscow to remove the designation of the Taliban in Afghanistan as a terrorist group. Under the bill passed by the State Duma in the second and third readings, the official terrorist designation of an organisation could be suspended by a court. The legislation still needs to be approved by the upper house and signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law. The Taliban were put on Russia's list of terrorist organisations in 2003, and any contact with such groups is punishable under Russian law. At the same time, Taliban delegations attended various forums hosted by Moscow. Russian officials have shrugged off questions about the seeming contradiction by emphasising the need to engage the Taliban to help stabilise Afghanistan. The Soviet Union fought a 10-year war in Afghanistan that ended with Moscow withdrawing its troops in 1989. Since then, Moscow has made a diplomatic comeback as a pow

They criticised the introduction of the 'License Exception Restricted Fabrication Facility,' a list-based approach which they argued would be ineffective in protecting US national security

South Korea's ruling party chief showed support Friday for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol for imposing martial law, in a bombshell reversal that makes Yoon's impeachment more likely. People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun said he had received intelligence that Yoon had ordered the country's defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of anti-state activities during martial law. Han on Thursday had said he would work to defeat the impeachment motion even though he criticized Yoon's martial law declaration as unconstitutional. Han said there was a need to prevent damage to citizens and supporters caused by unprepared chaos. Han said Friday that Yoon poses a significant risk of extreme actions, like reattempting to impose martial law, which could potentially put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in great danger. Impeaching Yoon would require support from two-thirds of the National ...

What is martial law and how has it been implemented across the globe during times of emergencies? Let's find out

India's Ambassador to the United States Vinay Mohan Kwatra has begun meeting top American lawmakers to strengthen the India-US relationship, which enjoys bipartisan support in the US Congress. Kwatra, who assumed his post as the top Indian diplomat to the US in August, met Senator Jon Ossoff from Georgia at his chambers at the US Capitol on Wednesday. Appreciate his warm welcome and his support towards strengthening the India-US partnership! Kwatra said in a social media post after the meeting. On Monday, he met Senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire. Thank you Senator Jeanne Shaheen for your time, thoughts and a productive conversation on the strong upward trajectory of the India-US relationship. Look forward to working together to further strengthen our engagement! Kwatra wrote. After the November 5 general elections, the Republican Party gained a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The new Congressional term begins in January. Until then, the ...

As senators prepare to consider President-elect Donald Trump's picks for his Cabinet, they may be doing so without a well-established staple of the confirmation process: an FBI background check. The Trump transition team has so far not signed the requisite agreements with the White House or the Justice Department to allow the FBI to screen his personnel choices, both for the process of obtaining security clearances and meeting the Senate's usual standards for nominations. That means the Senate could be asked to vote on Trump's picks without the usual rigorous background checking meant to uncover personal problems, criminal histories or other red flags that would raise questions about a nominee's suitability for the job. There already are questions about problematic issues related to a number of the people Trump wants in his administration. There are very real liabilities on the security side if you don't get this right, said Dan Meyer, a Washington lawyer at the Tully Rinckey law fi

The US Congress has passed a temporary measure that keeps government agencies funded into December, avoiding a shutdown for now while punting final spending decisions until after the November 5 election. The Senate approved the measure on Wednesday by a vote of 78-18 shortly after the House easily approved it. The bill generally funds agencies at current levels through December 20. But an additional USD231 million was included to bolster the Secret Service after the two assassination attempts against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Money was also added to aid with the presidential transition, among other things. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law. This bipartisanship is a good outcome for America, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said moments before the vote. I hope it sets the tone for more constructive, bipartisan work when we return in the fall. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., billed the measure as doing only what's absolut