Author: News Desk

United States: US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has temporarily blocked lower court rulings that imposed temporary restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone. Mr. Alito imposed a five-day stay after a ruling by a conservative federal judge in Texas, parts of which were then upheld by a conservative appellate court based in New Orleans. For now, access to medication abortion remains unchanged until April 19. The pause gives the high court more time to deliberate on the restrictions imposed by the lower court. The Department of Justice and the drug’s manufacturer, Danco, had asked the Supreme Court to intervene to…

France: France’s constitutional court has approved President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms, leading to new nationwide protests against the plan. The nine-member Constitutional Council ruled in favour of key provisions, including raising the retirement age to 64 from 62, judging the legislation to be in accordance with the law. Six minor proposals were rejected, including collecting data from large companies to publish data on how many people over 55 they employ as well as a separate idea to create a special contract for older workers. The ruling paves the way for the President to implement controversial changes that have sparked months…

Florida, United States: The Republican-dominated Florida legislature has approved a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a proposal supported by the state’s governor, Mr. Ron DeSantis, as he prepares for an expected presidential run. Mr. DeSantis, who signed the bill into law, commented that “we are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida.” Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks. A six-week ban would give Mr. DeSantis a key political victory among Republican primary voters as he prepares to launch a presidential campaign built on his national brand as a conservative standard bearer. “We…

United States: The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a 21-year-old air national guardsman Mr. Jack Teixeira in Massachusetts, suspected of being responsible for the leak of US classified defence documents that laid bare military secrets and upset Washington’s relations with key allies. Mr. Teixeira was arrested at his home in the town of North Dighton by FBI agents. According to the helicopter news footage, a young man with shorn dark hair, an olive green T-shirt, and red shorts was made to walk backwards towards a team of agents standing by an armoured vehicle dressed in camouflage…

China: The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) will bring its events back to China later in 2023, ending a boycott instituted in late 2021 over concerns about the safety of former player Ms. Peng Shuai, who had accused a high-ranking government official there of sexual assault. According to a statement from the WTA, it would lift its suspension of tournaments in China in September 2023, despite making little progress on the situation that sparked the boycott. The WTA was widely praised for suspending its tournaments in China after Ms. Peng, in a social media post in November 2021, said former Vice…

Japan: The launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea has caused fear and confusion in Japan after a government-run alert system warned residents that the projectile could fall on or close to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. The emergency broadcasting system, J-Alert, told millions of people in Hokkaido to take immediate cover after the North fired what appeared to be a long-range missile. The system issued the evacuation warning just before 8 AM local time, but lifted it soon after, stating it had “erroneously” predicted that the missile would fall near the island. But Japan’s government later declared…

Myanmar: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations have strongly condemned the Myanmar military’s bombing of a village in the central Sagaing region that killed dozens of people, including children. The statement from ASEAN came after the Myanmar military confirmed the air attack on a ceremony held by the National Unity Government (NUG), a parallel administration, for a unit of its People’s Defence Force (PDF) militia. The United Nations, the United States, and others have already condemned the attack by the generals, who seized power from the elected government through a military coup in February 2021. “ASEAN strongly condemns…

United Kingdom: Scientists have developed a new technique for diagnosing Parkinson’s disease before symptoms show up, speeding up the hunt for a cure. Parkinson’s is difficult to diagnose since there is no specific test for the condition. Symptoms vary, and several other illnesses have similar symptoms, which means the condition can often be misdiagnosed. The new study published in the Lancet Neurology journal has come up with a way to identify the buildup of abnormal proteins associated with the disease long before symptoms show. The research method known as the alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay (alphaSyn-SAA) can accurately identify people who…

Taiwan: The ruling party of Taiwan has nominated Vice President Mr. William Lai as its candidate for next year’s presidential elections. The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) choice of Mr. Lai, a man who has been more outspoken on Taiwanese independence than President Ms. Tsai Ing-wen, is expected to cause dissatisfaction in China. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to reunite the self-governed island. The DPP’s announcement came two days after China formally ended three days of military drills around Taiwan that included simulated attacks on key targets on the island.…

Ireland: The US President Joe Biden has landed in Northern Ireland ahead of a four-day visit to the island to reassert his support for peace in the country and to celebrate his Irish roots. The US president was met at Belfast International Airport by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a visit expected to mix delicate political choreography with economic announcements and events linked to Mr. Biden’s Irish and Catholic heritage. Mr. Biden noted that he wanted to safeguard the Good Friday agreement, which was signed 25 years ago, and support Mr. Sunak’s post-Brexit deal for the region. The President…