By Emma Batha, Thomson Reuters Foundation
4 Min Read
LONDON, May 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A Maltese lawmaker made history on Wednesday by calling for the decriminalisation of abortion in the Mediterranean island, which has one of the world’s strictest bans.
In the first such move to amend the country’s tough abortion laws, independent MP Marlene Farrugia presented a bill which would remove criminal sanctions for women who seek terminations.
“It’s a historic moment,” said Lara Dimitrijevic, a lawyer and director of the Women’s Rights Foundation which campaigns on abortion rights in Malta.
“It is not legalising abortion, but it is a very important first step.”
Vegas teen finds deflated balloons so desert tortoises don t Follow Us
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Christian Daniels, 15, retrieves stray balloon from desert areas with his dog Ruby, on Saturday, April 17, 2021, in Las Vegas. Daniels and his dad, Bill, go into desert areas to retrieve stray balloons that tortoises could eat and die . more > By - Associated Press - Saturday, May 8, 2021
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Look closely in the desert foothills a few miles northwest of Las Vegas, and you might see shades of color dotting the cloudless landscape of cactus and mounds of dirt with mountains to the west.
On a Saturday morning in April, a few miles from the nearest road, deflated Mylar balloons stuck to plants can be mistaken for colorful flowers.
5 Min Read
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -U.S. citizens are among the dozens killed and injured in a stampede at a religious festival in Israel, the U.S. Embassy said on Saturday, as criticism mounted in the wake of one of the biggest civilian disasters in the country’s history.
Ultra Orthodox Jews look at stairs with waste on it in Mount Meron, northern Israel, where fatalities were reported among the thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered at the tomb of a 2nd-century sage for annual commemorations that include all-night prayer and dance, April 30, 2021. REUTERS/ Ronen Zvulun
At least 45 people were crushed to death and more than 100 injured at the ultra-Orthodox Jewish festival on the slopes of Israel’s Mount Meron, held overnight between Thursday and Friday.
More than 100 people were injured, dozens critically, in a stampede at a Jewish religious gathering in northern Israel attended by tens of thousands of people, Israel's main rescue service said early Friday.
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
ISTANBUL, April 29 (Reuters) - The Turkish government’s decision to ban alcohol sales during a 17-day COVID-19 lockdown that starts on Thursday has angered some secular Turks who see it as President Tayyip Erdogan’s latest imposition of a religious lifestyle on all of society.
Erdogan announced the lockdown on Monday, saying schools and most shops would be closed and people would be required to mostly stay at home in order to curb a surge in infections and deaths.
On Tuesday, his Islamist-rooted AK Party government announced that alcohol sales would also be banned until May 17, prompting secular Turks to rush to stock up drinks cabinets before the measures come into force late on Thursday.