A federal judge temporarily blocked an Ohio law Wednesday that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, allowing clinics to continue to provide the procedure as a legal faceoff continues. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett halts enforcement of the so-called heartbeat bill law that opponents argued would effectively ban…

Six youths have gone on trial in Spain accused of sexually abusing a girl of 14, in a case that has reignited a debate over the definition of rape. They are charged with abusing the girl at a disused factory in Manresa, a town in the north-eastern region of Catalonia, in October 2016. Depending on…

The vast expanse of sea ice around Antarctica has suffered a “precipitous” fall since 2014, satellite data shows, and fell at a faster rate than seen in the Arctic. The plunge in the average annual extent means Antarctica lost as much sea ice in four years as the Arctic lost in 34 years. The cause…

Donald Trump has said that if Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon, it will be prosperous and have the US president as “a best friend” – but also warned that the Islamic Republic would be “obliterated” in any war between the two countries. Will he? Won’t he? How Trump’s impulses are driving his Iran…

The US military launched a cyber-attack on Iranian weapons systems on Thursday, according to sources, as President Donald Trump backed away from plans for a more conventional strike in response to Iran’s downing of a US surveillance drone. The hack disabled Iranian computer systems that controlled its rocket and missile launchers, two officials told the…

The US will impose “major” additional sanctions on Iran in a bid to prevent the country obtaining nuclear weapons, President Donald Trump says. He said economic pressure would be maintained unless the leadership in Tehran changed course. “We’re putting additional sanctions on,” he told reporters. “In [some] cases we are moving rapidly.” It comes after…

For some U.S. citizens, the Trump administration’s 2017 tax cuts provided an economic boost. But for Carrie, a 50-year-old doctor living in Amsterdam, they have added to a slow-moving financial disaster that threatens a six-figure debt. Carrie says that when she finally explained her circumstances to an accountant earlier this year, she heard panic in…

US President Donald Trump has inadvertently revealed some details of his immigration deal with Mexico. Speaking to reporters, he refused to give details of the plans to curb migration, saying that he wanted to let Mexico announce it “at the right time”. However, he said this while waving around a single sheet of paper that…

Alabama seemed to be on the verge of correcting its decades-old sex ed law that requires schools to emphasize “that homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and that homosexual conduct is a criminal offense under the laws of the state.” A bill to remove the dated, homophobic language had already passed…

The Louisiana House of Representatives passed an abortion ban on a 79-23 vote Wednesday that would prohibit women from terminating a pregnancy once a fetal heartbeat has been detected. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards has indicated he will break with his party and sign the ban if it crosses his desk. The Senate already approved…

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