(Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Iran doubles down on abortion and contraception restrictions
United Nation experts have decried the new legislation as a “direct violation of women’s human rights under international law."
How the omicron variant unsettled the world in just one week: A visual timeline
In less than a week, the detection of the omicron variant has disrupted global travel, ratted financial markets and posed a reminder that the pandemic is far from over.
El Salvador violated rights of woman who died in prison while serving 30-year abortion sentence, international court finds
El Salvador is one of the few countries in Latin America that penalizes abortion under any circumstance.
Nigeria reports West Africa’s first omicron cases, igniting confusion over timeline
The country's top health agency initially said some of the samples were collected in October.
World agrees to negotiate a global ‘pandemic treaty’ to fight the next outbreak
The new agreement will better coordinate the global response to a pandemic, but it will take years to negotiate.
1 in 3 people around the world have never used the Internet, a U.N. report estimates
Nearly 3 billion people have never gone online, the U.N.’s International Telecommunication Union said, and “the ability to connect remains profoundly unequal.”
How abortion laws in the U.S. compare to those in other countries
The United States Supreme Court made abortion legal in 1973. But over the last few decades, access to the procedure has increasingly declined in more than a dozen states that have since passed laws making it more difficult for people to get an abortion. Meanwhile, countries around the world have made it easier to get an abortion legally.
‘Don’t freak out’ over omicron, says chief of covid vaccine maker BioNTech
It's a notably different tone than taken by Moderna’s CEO Stéphane Bancel, who predicted existing vaccines wouldn't be as effective against omicron.
Covid is set to cost the tourism industry $1.6 trillion this year. Omicron could make it worse.
Many tourism businesses hoped for a recovery after last year’s shutdowns, but the omicron variant has brought back covid restrictions.
‘Sho-time’ beats ‘Baron Van Ripper-off’ for Japan’s word of the year
In the midst of rising coronavirus anxieties, Japan opts for a moment of national sports pride.
‘Killer robots’ may be coming. New Zealand wants to stop them.
At least 30 countries have called for a total ban on autonomous weapons, though major military powers such as the United States and Russia have downplayed the risks of killer robots.
Death threats, mock hangings and a used condom: Anti-vaxxers target Australian politicians
Recent developments have highlighted a serious edge to the country’s small but angry anti-vaccination movement.
Taliban wages campaign of targeted killings against former members of Afghan security forces
The killings come despite a pledge to grant amnesty to former Afghan security forces and officials, demonstrating that international pressure for the group to respect human rights has done little to sway the Taliban.
- Today's WorldView
- Analysis
Brazil’s far-right Bolsonaro reaches for an unlikely title: President of the Poor
To the surprise of some, Jair Bolsonaro, the same welfare critic who once suggested that one cure for poverty was birth control has also sought to reinvent himself as something of a fiscal Robin Hood, taking from Brazil’s public coffers to give to the poor.
Honduras elects democratic socialist as first female president, unseating conservative ruling party
Xiomara Castro's main rival conceded the race Tuesday, two days after the vote. Castro is the wife of former president Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted by the military in 2009.
U.S. removes terrorist designation for Colombia’s FARC
The State Department added terrorist designations for two splinter groups that abandoned the country’s 2016 peace deal.
Wife of Mexican drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ sentenced to 3 years in prison
In court in Washington, Emma Coronel Aispuro apologized to ‘all the citizens of this country’ for aiding the murderous Sinaloa Cartel.
Netherlands says omicron variant was within its borders a week before South African flights prompted panic
The variant had a foothold in multiple countries in Europe before travel restrictions were imposed.
Never-ending series of storms brings more flood fears to western Washington state, British Columbia
Seattle recorded its wettest autumn on record with over a foot and a half of rain from the onslaught of atmospheric rivers.
Saudis, UAE detect first cases of new coronavirus variant
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates say they have detected their first cases of the new coronavirus variant, marking the first known instances of omicron infections in the Persian Gulf region
Gang rams vehicles into prison, springs 9 inmates
A gang has rammed vehicles into a prison in central Mexico and escaped with nine inmates
Brazil confirms 3rd omicron case, considers new measures
Brazilian health officials have confirmed a third known case of the omicron coronavirus variant
Nigeria says it found first case of omicron in November
Nigeria has detected its first case of the omicron coronavirus variant in travelers that arrived from South Africa in the past week
Ugandan soldiers enter Congo to fight extremist ADF rebels
Uganda deployed foot soldiers inside Congolese territory, intensifying a military assault against rebels accused of attacking civilians in Congo and Uganda, according to a Ugandan military official
