Controversial proposals for a new anti-terrorism law, which would allow the UK to place suspects under house arrest without the need for a trial, have cleared an important parliamentary hurdle.
After a lengthy and, at times, fiery debate, lawmakers voted by 272 to 219 late Monday to back the Prevention of Terrorism Bill. It must now be debated and approved by Parliament's upper chamber, the House of Lords.
Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Tony Blair's government yielded a point to critics of the anti-terrorism law being rushed through Parliament, agreeing that a judge rather than a politician should issue orders to confine people suspected but not convicted of terrorist offenses.
The government had proposed laws that would empower a government minister, acting on the advice of the UK's spy agencies, to impose curfews, travel bans and any other restrictions including on the use of the Internet.
Critics of the legislation contend that such orders should be made initially by a judge, not the home secretary.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke told the House of Commons on Monday that he intended to seek an amendment to the bill when it reached the House of Lords to oblige the home secretary to apply to a High Court judge for an order to place a person under house arrest or other confinement.
Clarke also announced that he would seek to grant police the power to arrest and detain a suspect while the application to the judge was being made.
Blair's government wants the new powers to electronically tag British citizens and foreign nationals, or place them under house arrest based on secret intelligence.
Blair has defended the plan as "absolutely necessary" in protecting the UK from terrorism. But opposition parties and civil rights campaigners say such unprecedented powers would erode the UK's centuries-old judicial process and the right to a fair trial.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of