Government

• Oppositiepartijen in Nepal hebben in Kathmandu stappen ondernomen om alle acht door de regering ingevoerde verordeningen te blokkeren, wat de politieke en juridische druk op de regeringspartijen vergroot. • Het artikel stelt dat de strijd zich concentreert op maatregelen die door de regering zijn doorgezet en nu in de Nationale Assemblee geconfronteerd worden met een georganiseerde poging om deze te vernietigen. • Het geschil is van belang omdat verordeningen een versneld middel zijn; het verwerpen ervan zou het vermogen van de regering om per decreet te besturen verzwakken en kan de parlementaire impasse verdiepen.

• De Senaat heeft wetgeving goedgekeurd die het salaris van congresleden zou inhouden tijdens federale government shutdowns, waardoor de vergoeding van wetgevers wordt gekoppeld aan de uitkomsten van budgetonderhandelingen. • Het voorstel is een procedurele stap om gekozen functionarissen financieel verantwoordelijk te houden voor de verstoringen van federale operaties en publieke diensten als gevolg van shutdowns. • De maatregel weerspiegelt de groeiende frustratie over terugkerende budgettaire impasses en de impact daarvan op de functionaliteit van de overheid en het levensonderhoud van federale werknemers.

• Sportwagenfabrikant verlengt levensduur van op benzine rijdende Emira, geproduceerd in Norfolk, om te blijven voorzien in de Amerikaanse markt • Business live – laatste updates • De topman van de luxueuze sportwagenfabrikant Lotus heeft opgeroepen tot overheidssteun voor zijn Britse fabriek, terwijl het bedrijf in Chinees bezit benadrukte dat het zijn Britse roots niet zal opgeven.

• De Israëlische ministeriële commissie voor wetgeving heeft wetsvoorstellen goedgekeurd die de regering volledige discretie geven over senior benoemingen in de civiele dienst, waardoor toezichtsmechanismen worden verminderd. • De commissie stelde beslissingen over radicalere voorstellen uit, waaronder wetsvoorstellen om de Oslo-akkoorden te annuleren en immigratie en het staatsburgerschap voor niet-orthodoxe bekeerlingen te beperken. • Deze stappen signaleren een verschuiving naar meer executieve controle, te midden van voortdurende debatten over gerechtelijke en administratieve hervormingen.

• Rhun ap Iorwerth zegt dat hij hoopt samen te werken met andere partijen en de Britse regering onder druk zal zetten voor extra bevoegdheden • UK politics live – laatste updates • De leider van Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth, heeft beloofd een stabiele minderheidsregering in de Senedd te vormen en stelde dat hij zal streven naar volwassen samenwerking met alle oppositiepartijen.

• De regering-Trump kondigde begin deze maand aan dat honderden babyvoedingmonsters die werden getest op giftige chemicaliën "voldoen aan een hoge veiligheidsstandaard", maar publieke gezondheidsvoorlichters waarschuwen dat deze claim in strijd is met gegevens die aantonen dat een meerderheid besmet was met gevaarlijke stoffen, zoals Pfas of ftalaten. • Onafhankelijke wetenschappers die de resultaten hebben beoordeeld, stellen dat de hiaten in de gegevens en de besmetting zorgen baren, hoewel zij toevoegden dat de testen ook enkele positieve punten laten zien en de US Food and Drug Administration prezen voor het uitbreiden van het testprogramma en het openbaar maken van de resultaten.

Denmark king asks Troeld Lund Poulsen to form government after PM struggles to gather supportThe king of Denmark has asked a centre-right politician to try to form a new government after a month-long effort by the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has failed to put together a ruling coalition.The announcement on Friday night shook the political establishment as Frederiksen has been a staple of Danish politics for decades. Her left-leaning party, the Social Democrats, won the plurality of votes in parliamentary elections in March. Continue reading...

• The Philippine Social Security System (SSS) rolled out an AI‑powered fraud‑detection platform on May 7, 2026, using anomaly‑detection models trained on 15 years of pension and contribution records. • Initial testing reportedly flagged over 44,000 suspicious claims during a six‑month pilot, with an estimated $187 million in potential fraudulent payouts prevented before the nationwide launch. • The system, developed in partnership with a local AI‑analytics startup, analyzes over 120 behavioral and transactional features per claimant and pushes alerts to human investigators via a dashboard.

• Conservative opposition leader Han Dong-hoon on May 8, 2026, launched a fierce attack against progressive President Lee Jae-myung and his ruling Democratic Party. • He criticized the government's aggressive legal campaigns using special counsels against former President Yoon Suk-yeol and associates. • Key Democratic Party plans include dissolving the prosecution service and expanding the Supreme Court bench massively to consolidate judicial influence.

• Péter Magyar's Respect and Freedom Party (Tisza) won a two-thirds supermajority with 141 of 199 seats last month, ending Viktor Orbán's 16-year Fidesz rule. • Reforms focus on restoring judicial independence, media freedom, eliminating political influence in state institutions and companies. • The government plans to join the European Public Prosecutor's Office to tackle EU budget fraud, corruption, and fund misuse, amid increased scrutiny of Orbán-era exposures.

• In April 2025, China-aligned attackers exploited a Taiwanese software company's server as a malware distribution point, highlighting aggressive regional tactics. • Earth Kasha, linked to APT10, expanded spear-phishing from Japanese think tanks in 2024 to Taiwanese government agencies in March 2025 using ANEL malware. • Groups like Earth Preta, Baxia, and Kurma targeted APAC governments and telecoms with backdoors, rootkits, and cloud exfiltration, shifting the global cyber balance.

• DMK allies including IUML, VCK, and Left parties met Chief Minister MK Stalin amid TVK chief Vijay's ongoing bid to form the Tamil Nadu government following recent elections. • Sources indicate IUML is open to supporting TVK externally but only with Stalin's approval, reflecting delicate coalition dynamics. • The meetings highlight persistent uncertainty two days post-polls, as DMK maneuvers to counter TVK's majority claim.

• The Department of Justice asked an appeals court to pause the $83 million verdict against Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case, hoping for Supreme Court review. • DOJ argues the federal government, not Trump personally, should bear responsibility for the $83.3 million award. • The move highlights ongoing legal battles over presidential immunity and liability post-presidency.

• Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) defeated the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala assembly elections, unseating the Communist government that had ruled since 2016. • LDF, in power continuously since 2016, lost key seats amid anti-incumbency, marking India's first Communist-free state landscape since 1977. • The shift eliminates the last Communist-led state government in India, reshaping southern politics and boosting opposition momentum post other regional upsets.

• Singapore has completed a comprehensive review of its political salary framework but deferred any final decision citing impacts from the ongoing Middle East conflict. • The announcement was made by Minister Chan Chun Sing, highlighting caution amid global economic uncertainties affecting the city-state's finances. • This deferral reflects Singapore's policy of linking political remuneration to economic performance and national circumstances during crises.

Ministers also approve exploration in 70 new areas of country’s waters, prompting accusations of madness and greenwashingThe Norwegian government has been heavily criticism for approving plans to reopen three North Sea gas fields nearly three decades after they were closed to help fill the gap in energy supplies created by the Middle East war.Amid sharp price rises in oil and gas since the US and Israel’s attack on Iran in February, Oslo has also given its approval for oil and gas companies to explore in 70 new locations in the North Sea, Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea. Continue reading...

• Actor-turned-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats in Tamil Nadu elections, falling 10 short of the 118-seat majority needed to govern alone. • TVK is seeking outside support from Congress (5 seats), CPI (2 seats), CPM (2 seats), and VCK (2 seats) to secure 129 total seats and form a minority government, with potential swearing-in as early as May 7. • The alliance signals a historic rupture in the DMK-Congress alliance that has governed Tamil Nadu for years, as Congress considers backing TVK instead of its long-time partner DMK which won 59 seats.

Ilie Bolojan’s PNL loses confidence vote after less than a year amid austerity drive and far-right surgeRomania’s pro-European government has collapsed after losing a confidence vote, unleashing renewed political turmoil less than a year after the ruling coalition was sworn in and with the far right surging in the polls.“This censure motion is false, cynical and artificial,” the liberal prime minister, Ilie Bolojan, told parliamentarians before the vote on Tuesday. “Any country in a multitude of crises would try to consolidate governments, not to change them.” Continue reading...

Originally envisioned to run 1,700km from Melbourne to a port near Brisbane, the mega infrastructure project will now only connect Beveridge in Victoria to Parkes in NSWGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Albanese government will drastically scale back the beleaguered inland rail project, abandoning plans to connect country NSW and Queensland by rail, as the price tag blows out to more than $45bn.Originally envisioned to run 1,700km from Melbourne to a port near Brisbane, the mega infrastructure project will now only connect Beveridge, on the outskirts of Melbourne, to Parkes in central-west New South Wales – about half the distance – with the government reallocating $1.75bn of the funding to other national rail upgrades. Continue reading...

Parties accused of ‘fiscal denial’ and failing to tell voters the scale of the challengeThe next Scottish government will need to make “really difficult” spending decisions soon after taking power, including tackling its large public sector pay bill, senior economists have said.Economists with the Fraser of Allander Institute, at the University of Strathclyde, believe the manifestos published by Scotland’s political parties during the campaign failed to tell voters about the true scale of the challenge. Continue reading...

• US GDP expanded at a 2.0% annualized rate in Q1 2026, rebounding from 0.5% in the prior quarter, driven by government spending, exports, and investment. • Consumer spending stayed strong in March, bolstered by rising personal income and consumption. • Manufacturing PMI hit its strongest since May 2022 per S&P Global, though possibly due to inventory buildup rather than demand.

Lobbyist Tara Singh says stripping projects of subsidy contracts would undermine investor confidence in UKBritain could be beset by levels of economic chaos last seen under Liz Truss if a Reform UK government were to fulfil its promise to strip renewable energy projects of subsidy contracts, according to the industry’s chief lobbyist.The anti-renewables policy put forward by Nigel Farage’s populist party would severely undermine investor confidence in the energy industry and across the wider UK economy, the new chief executive of RenewableUK said. Continue reading...

The Olympic Games minister, Tim Mander, and the child safety minister, Amanda Camm say they were not in a relationship when they were sworn inFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueensland’s opposition has accused the LNP government of being in an “integrity crisis” over an allegedly undisclosed affair between two ministers and has urged the government to show how the pair are avoiding conflicts of interest.But one prominent political commentator has warned Labor’s attack strategy may backfire – saying the issue “would not even make the list of things to be tested in the pub”. Continue reading...

• India's government is changing airport privatisation rules to restrict any single entity from controlling more than 4 airports, down from Adani's current portfolio of 6, as 11 new airports are put up for bidding. • The policy shift aims to increase competition in the airport sector and prevent monopolistic control, marking a significant change from the 2018 bidding process where Adani won all 6 airports with no bid caps. • The move balances investment attractiveness with competition concerns, as industry stakeholders debate whether the new rules will deter or encourage participation from multiple operators.

• India's Centre has notified 100% foreign direct investment in insurance companies, easing prior 74% cap restrictions. • The policy change aims to attract global capital, potentially lowering premiums and expanding coverage for consumers. • It holds significance for LIC by enabling strategic partnerships and sector modernization amid rising demand.

Wilderness Society says changes undermined intent of national standards intended to reverse decline of plants, animals and ecosystemsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGreen groups have accused the Albanese government of watering down a proposal to protect threatened species and ecosystems.National environmental standards were the key plank of reforms to Australia’s nature laws, passed by the parliament in November. Continue reading...

• A federal appeals court has overturned a lower‑court injunction that had ordered the Trump administration to restore the flow of federal grants to several local governments, reopening billions of dollars in funding that had been withheld. • The decision follows a dispute over how the administration interprets the conditions attached to federal grants, with cities arguing that the withholding amounted to political retaliation. • The ruling could influence how future administrations may or may not condition aid on policy compliance, and it has implications for federalism and local autonomy.

Congress advances Homeland Security funding after Republicans used procedural tool to pass up to $75bn for ICE and border patrolSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA historically long 75-day partial government shutdown has ended after the House voted narrowly to advance funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following a late-night Republican rally to boost a GOP budget blueprint.The tides turned on Wednesday evening when the House passed the Republican resolution following a last-minute deal over unrelated ethanol fuel provisions that flipped enough holdouts to push it over the line. Continue reading...