Latest Democracy News

UK court rules that extension of police powers to intervene in protests is unlawful

May. 21, 2024 08:50 AM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Britain's High Court ruled Tuesday that new regulations that gave U.K. police more powers to intervene in protests are unlawful. Civil liberties campaign group Liberty brought legal action against the British government over a law passed last year that lowered the...

In Cannes, Francis Ford Coppola talks Trump, self-financing 'Megalopolis' and why he has no regrets

May. 17, 2024 12:46 PM EDT

CANNES, France (AP) — Much attention has been paid to the $120 million of his own fortune that Francis Ford Coppola put up to make the futuristic epic “Megalopolis,” but the director himself isn't much concerned. “I don’t care. I never cared,” Coppola said of money,...

Taiwan’s foreign minister says China and Russia are supporting each other's ‘expansionism’

May. 17, 2024 07:57 AM EDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Russia and China are helping each other expand their territorial reach, and democracies must push back against authoritarian states that threaten their rights and sovereignty, Taiwan’s outgoing foreign minister, Joseph Wu, said in an interview with The Associated Press. ...

Shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico sends shockwaves across Europe

May. 16, 2024 09:17 AM EDT

The shooting Wednesday of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in the town of Handlova following a political event sent shockwaves across Europe three weeks before EU parliament elections are scheduled to be held. Leaders from across the political divide denounced the apparent...

Open letter before European Parliament election: Prioritize democracy as authoritarianism grows

May. 15, 2024 20:14 PM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Nearly 300 signatories have signed an open 10-point letter before next month's European Parliament election, saying lawmakers should be putting democracy at the top of their agenda in an increasingly authoritarian world. The letter, which was released on...

Slovakia's president says shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico is 'an attack on democracy'

May. 15, 2024 11:26 AM EDT
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia's president says shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico is 'an attack on democracy.'

3 men charged in the UK with assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service

May. 13, 2024 13:02 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — The office manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London and two other men appeared in court Monday on charges that they helped Hong Kong's intelligence service gather information in Britain, amid growing concern hostile states are trying to interfere with democracy...

How West Virginia's first transgender elected official is influencing local politics

May. 10, 2024 14:17 PM EDT

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) — When Rosemary Ketchum gets introduced as the first openly transgender person to win elective office in West Virginia, there's often a shocked look that comes across people's faces. “Folks will be like, ‘How did that happen?’ As if it's like I won the...

Lawyers' coalition provides new messengers for Black voter engagement

May. 08, 2024 16:40 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Young Black lawyers and law students are taking on a new role ahead of the general election: Meeting with Black voters in battleground states to increase turnout and serve as watchdogs against voter disenfranchisement. The Young Black Lawyers’ Organizing...

The EU's executive decides to end legal standoff with Poland over democracy concerns

May. 06, 2024 07:31 AM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's executive decided on Monday to end its 6-year dispute with member state Poland, saying Prime Minister Donald Tusk has initiated the necessary changes to reverse what the bloc called the previous government’s backsliding on democratic principles. ...