Browsing: Main Headlines

Arizona has voted to repeal a 160-year-old law banning abortion, marking a major win for the Democratic-led effort to take the law off the books. Republicans had thwarted two earlier attempts to vote on ending the law, which bans abortions from conception without exceptions for rape or incest.

India’s general election, the largest-ever election, has begun and will take around 44 days until the polls close. To get people voting in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, companies in the city are offering a range of incentives – from free food to taxi rides.

Ukraine has begun using long-range ballistic missiles secretly provided by the US against invading Russian forces, American officials have confirmed. The weapons were part of a $300m aid package approved by Joe Biden in Match and arrived this month.

A UN Security Council resolution – which called on all countries to prevent an arms race in outer space, has been vetoed by Russia. The draft resolution was put forward by the US and Japan and was aimed at reaffirming a principle already set out in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

In a secretive meeting held about a year ago, a small group of lawmakers gathered to strategize on how to effectively ban the popular social media app, TikTok. The lawmakers, determined to keep their discussions away from the prying eyes of TikTok lobbyists, worked tirelessly to craft a bill that would effectively prohibit the app from operating in the United States.

The EU has called on international donors to resume funding to Gaza’s largest UN agency. Several nations had stopped funding the UNRWA agency after allegations that some employees took part in the October 7 attack on Israel. A review has found that Israel failed to provide evidence for its claim that thousands of UNRWA staff were members of terror groups.

On Tuesday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires to protest against cuts to public universities. The protesters called for education funding to be protected. The country’s new President, Javier Milei, was elected to office last year promising to bring Argentina’s finances under control with sweeping cuts to the public sector.

Spanish Justice officials have accidentally released a billionaire Dutch drug lord from prison in a major bureaucratic mix-up. Karim Bouyakhrichan, allegedly a leader of the Mocro Maffia, was arrested in Marbella in January after a five-year money-laundering investigation.

A $95bn foreign aid package has been approved by the US Senate that will see military support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Joe Biden is set to sign the legislation into law on Wednesday.

In a dramatic turn of events, prosecutors in former President Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial are seeking to hold him in contempt for his relentless attacks on witnesses and individuals involved in the case. The trial, which centres on a hush-money payment made to a porn star, has been filled with tension and controversy from the start.