Lawmakers

Plea in SC against automatic disqualification upon conviction for 2 years

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the "automatic disqualification" of lawmakers upon their conviction and being sentenced to a jail term for two years or more according to section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act. The plea, filed by a Kerala-based social activist, said the immediate reason for approaching the apex court was a recent development related to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as a member of Parliament from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, after he was convicted by a court in Gujarat's Surat in a 2019 criminal defamation case. The petitioner, Aabha Muralidharan, has sought a declaration that the automatic disqualification under section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 is ultra vires the Constitution for being "arbitrary" and "illegal". The petition has claimed that an automatic disqualification of people's representatives of elected legislative bodies restrains them from "freely discharging their duties

As AI booms, lawmakers struggle to understand the technology

The inaction over A.I. is part of a familiar pattern, in which technology is again outstripping U.S. rule-making and regulation

S Korean lawmakers impeach interior and safety minister over crowd crush

South Korea's opposition-controlled parliament on Wednesday voted to impeach the country's interior and safety minister, Lee Sang-min, holding him responsible for government failures in disaster planning and the response that likely contributed to the high death toll in a crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people in October. The impeachment suspends Lee from his duties and the country's Constitutional Court has 180 days to rule on whether to unseat him for good or give him back the job. Lee is seen as a key ally of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose office issued an irritated response to his impeachment, accusing opposition lawmakers of abandoning legislative principles and creating shameful history. Lee issued a statement expressing regret after lawmakers voted 179-109 in favor of impeaching him and said he would defend his case in the Constitutional Court.

Pak EC suspends 271 lawmakers for not submitting financial statements

Pakistan's top election body has suspended the membership of 271 lawmakers across the country for not submitting their statements of assets and liabilities. The statements have to be filed by December 31 every year, and the lawmakers were directed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to submit their financial statements up to June 30, 2022, by January 16, 2023. It also warned that failing to submit the financial statements would result in the suspension of their respective memberships. The ECP said on Monday that those targeted include 136 Members of the National Assembly, 21 senators, and 114 Members of Provincial Assemblies.

Collective effort essential for achieving prosperity, says Nepal's PM

Nepal's newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' said on Monday that collective effort was essential for achieving prosperity as he exuded confidence that the new parliament will be successful in meeting the expectations of the people. Speaking at the first meeting of the House of Representatives after the November general elections, Prime Minister Prachanda also said that the parliament should be taken as an "examination centre" by the lawmakers. President Bidya Devi Bhandari had called the first session of the new Parliament on January 9. Prachanda told the lawmakers that the people had elected them on the condition that "we deliver good governance and prosperity, and to make it meaningful, parliament should be taken as an examination centre," My Republica newspaper reported. He stated that all political parties should stand together to fulfill the common promises of good governance and prosperity made to the people during the elections. He also made it clea

19 state legislatures have less than 10% women lawmakers: Govt data

Women representation in parliament and most state legislatures across the country is below 15 per cent with 19 of state assemblies having less than 10 per cent women lawmakers, according to a government data. The state legislatures which have more than 10 per cent women lawmakers are Bihar (10.70), Chhattisgarh (14.44), Haryana (10), Jharkhand (12.35), Punjab (11.11), Rajasthan (12), Uttarakhand (11.43), Uttar Pradesh (11.66), West Bengal (13.70) and Delhi (11.43). According to the data presented by Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju in the Lok Sabha on December 9, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have less than 10 per cent women legislators. In the recently held Gujarat assembly elections, 8.2 per cent of the elected representatives are women, whereas, in Himachal Pradesh, only one woman has been elected this time. According to the data, the share of women MPs

For the first time, women outnumber men in New Zealand's parliament

For the first time in New Zealand's history, a majority of lawmakers are women. Soraya Peke-Mason from the liberal Labour Party was sworn in to Parliament on Tuesday, replacing former Speaker Trevor Mallard, who left to become ambassador to Ireland. With the resignation of another male lawmaker, it has tipped the balance in Parliament to 60 women and 59 men. Whilst it's a special day for me, I think it's historic for New Zealand, Peke-Mason told reporters. The milestone places New Zealand among a half-dozen nations in the world that this year can claim at least 50% female representation in their parliaments, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Other nations include Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates. Globally, about 26% of lawmakers are women, according to the union. New Zealand has a history of strong female representation. In 1893, it became the first nation to allow women to vote. Current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is the nation's third fema

US lawmaker introduces bill to ban Chinese app TikTok on govt devices

The bill also looks to prohibit the installation and use of TikTok at military installations and national security agencies CIA, NSA, FBI, etc

FB whistleblower forms non-profit for training lawyers against Big Tech

Haugen, a whistleblower who exposed Facebook and testified in front of lawmakers about illegal activities, is raising up to $5 million to kick off a nonprofit organisation that will train lawyers

Ukrainian Parliament votes to extend martial law for 30 days until May 25

The presidential proposal on the prolongation of the martial law was supported by 300 lawmakers in the 450-seat assembly, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Zheleznyak's statement on Telegram

US lawmakers refer Amazon to DOJ for potential criminal conduct

A bipartisan group of members of the US House Judiciary Committee has sent a stinging letter to alert the Department of Justice to "potentially criminal conduct by Amazon and its senior executives".

Instagram CEO faces lawmakers amid anger over potential harm

The CEO of Facebook's Instagram is facing lawmakers angry over revelations of how the popular photo-sharing platform can harm some young users and demanding that the company commit to making changes.

United States lawmakers reach agreement to fund govt until Feb 18

The Congress has until midnight on Friday to pass a measure that would continue funding federal government operations during the pandemic

Authorities call fatal stabbing of UK lawmaker David Amess terrorist act

A long-serving member of Parliament was stabbed to death Friday during a meeting with constituents at a church in England, in what police said was a terrorist incident. A 25-year-old man was arrested in connection with the attack, which united Britain's fractious politicians in shock and sorrow. Counterterrorism officers were leading the investigation into the slaying of Conservative lawmaker David Amess. In a statement early Saturday, the Metropolitan Police described the attack as terrorism and said the early investigation has revealed a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism. Amess, 69, was attacked around midday Friday at a Methodist church in Leigh-on-Sea, a town about 40 miles (62 kilometers) east of London. Paramedics tried without success to save him. Police arrested the suspect and recovered a knife. They did not identify the suspect, who was held on suspicion of murder. Police said they believed the suspect acted alone, and were not seeking anyone else in ...

Lawmakers, Indian Americans welcome nomination of Garcetti as Indian envoy

Powerful US lawmakers and eminent members of the Indian-American community have welcomed the nomination of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as the country's next envoy to India

Top US lawmakers and experts support historic QUAD leadership summit

Top US lawmakers and experts applauded the first Quad summit of leaders from the US, India, Australia and Japan and supported the move of Biden to address the challenge posed by China in Indo-Pacific

US lawmakers call on President Biden to help defend Hong Kong's autonomy

A group of bipartisan US lawmakers overseeing congressional China policy have lambasted Beijing's recently announced plans to overhaul Hong Kong's election system

Gamestop mania: Robinhood, Citadel spar with lawmakers over retail trading

The exchange elicited a mea culpa from Tenev, who admitted the brokerage fell short of meeting its customers' needs

Lawmakers in Washington facing off with GameStop saga's key players

The episode has been portrayed as a victory of the little guy over Wall Street titans, but not everyone is buying it

French lawmakers debate controversial bill aimed at tackling radical Islam

Opening the debate, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, the bill''s sponsor, said the aim is to stop "an Islamist hostile takeover targeting Muslims."