Azerbaijan women's basketball team clinch historic win in European cup final
The Azerbaijani women’s 3x basketball team clinched the silver medal at the European Cup to make history at the just concluded tournament in Copenha...
The UK government plans to lower the voting age to 16, enabling approximately 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the next general election.
This change will be introduced as part of a new Elections Bill, which also includes expanding acceptable voter ID to UK-issued bank cards, moving towards automatic voter registration, and tightening rules on political donations to guard against foreign influence.
Although 16-year-olds can already vote in some elections in Scotland and Wales, the voting age remains 18 for UK-wide and English local elections.
"They're old enough to go out to work, they're old enough to pay taxes ... and I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the government should go," Prime Minister Keir Starmer told ITV News.
Minister at the Minstry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Rushanara Ali described the move as “seismic” and said it would give young people a greater voice in the democratic process.
Ali noted the policy would compel politicians to prioritise youth concerns on issues such as crime, education, employment, and housing.
Voter ID
Labour previously opposed voter ID laws introduced in 2023, but now aims to resolve inconsistencies without fully abolishing the policy. Under new proposals, digital bank cards could be accepted as ID, provided proper safeguards are implemented to prevent misuse.
The government is also developing an automated voter registration system to help tackle the problem of nearly seven million UK residents being missing or incorrectly listed on the electoral register, particularly among young people and renters.
Additionally, reforms to political donation rules are being proposed to prevent foreign interference. Parties would need to verify the UK or Irish ties of companies donating to them, ensuring they are based, owned, or significantly operated in the UK or Ireland and capable of funding donations through post-tax profits. The Electoral Commission’s power to impose fines would increase to a maximum of £500,000 (around $669,000) for breaches of these rules.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
The Azerbaijani women’s 3x basketball team clinched the silver medal at the European Cup to make history at the just concluded tournament in Copenhagen, Denmark.
South Korean and Japanese defence ministers agreed on Monday to strengthen cooperation with Washington in response to North Korea’s nuclear threats and growing military ties with Russia, Seoul’s defence ministry said.
The Indonesian government removed finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in a cabinet reshuffle on Monday, state secretariat minister Prasetyo Hadi said.
Five people were killed in a shooting at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Monday, Israel's ambulance service said, while the police said the perpetrators had been killed.
Kazakhstan has launched Space Days 2025, a landmark international forum in Almaty that gathers astronauts, scientists, policymakers, and investors from across the globe to debate the future of space technology, education, and cooperation.
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