Sudan conflict: The stories of survival from Bahri and Khartoum
BBC Arabic's new radio programme has been hearing about the suffering caused by the conflict.
2023-06-14 07:28
New SEC rule requires public companies to disclose cybersecurity breaches in 4 days
The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted rules to require public companies to disclose within four days all cybersecurity breaches that could affect their bottom lines
2023-07-27 01:22
Zelensky gets standing ovation as he calls on Canada to ‘stay with’ Ukraine: ‘Moscow must lose’
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called on Canada to “stay with” his country in its war against Russia, in his first visit to the country since the start of the invasion. The Ukrainian president arrived in Canada’s capital Ottawa late on Thursday night and addressed the parliament on Friday where he sought to bolster support from Western allies for Ukraine’s war. “Moscow must lose once and for all. And it will lose,” Mr Zelensky said during his address on Friday. He repeatedly thanked Canadians for financial support and for making Ukrainians fleeing war feel at home in Canada, prompting a number of standing ovations from dignitaries and parliamentarians. Mr Zelensky said Canada has always been on the “bright side of history” in fighting previous wars and said it has helped saved thousands of lives in this war with its aid to Kyiv. Canada is home to about 1.4 million people of Ukrainian descent, close to 4 per cent of the population. More than 175,000 Ukrainians have come to Canada since the war started and an additional 700,000 have received approval to come as part of an initiative that supports temporary relocation of those fleeing the war. The initiative allows for an open work permit for three years with pathways to permanent residency and citizenship. In his speech Mr Zelensky linked the suffering of Ukrainians now to the 1930s genocide caused by Stalin, when the Soviet leader was blamed for creating a man-made famine in Ukraine believed to have killed more than 3 million people. He also noted that it was in Edmonton, Canada, where the world’s first monument was erected in 1993 to commemorate the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide. The Ukrainian president expressed hope that a monument would one day be raised in Canada to Ukraine’s victory over Russia’s invasion, “maybe in Edmonton.” “I have a lot of warm words and thanks from Ukraine to you,” Mr Zelensky said in prime minister Justin Trudeau’s office before his speech. “You have helped us on the battlefield, financially and with humanitarian aid. ... Stay with us to our victory.” It is Mr Zelensky’s first visit to Canada since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He previously addressed the Canadian Parliament virtually after the war started. Mr Trudeau called the visit an opportunity to show Mr Zelensky “how strongly and unequivocally we stand with Ukraine” and announced an additional $650m Canadian (£394m) over three years for 50 armored vehicles that will be built in Canada. “We are shifting our approach to provide multiyear assistance to ensure Ukraine has the predictable support it needs for long term support,” Mr Trudeau said at a news conference. Mr Zelensky and Mr Trudeau also attended a rally in Toronto with the local Ukrainian community late Friday. The visit comes as cracks begin to appear in the united Western front backing Ukraine for the last 19 months of gruelling war against Russia with hard-right Republicans led by Donald Trump becoming increasingly hostile to sending more aid and key partner Poland saying it will no longer send arms to Kyiv. Ukrainian troops are struggling to take back territory that Russia gained over the past year and with no end to war in sight, Mr Zelensky has a hard road ahead to keep the momentum in favour of Kyiv going, a task for which allies like Canada play a key role. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Ukraine-Russia war - live: Putin’s Black Sea navy HQ hit in missile strike as Kyiv breaches frontline defences Cracks in Western wall of support for Ukraine emerge as Eastern Europe and US head toward elections Biden has told Zelensky US will give Ukraine coveted ATACMS long-range missiles, report says Zelensky makes passionate plea to US lawmakers on key Washington visit
2023-09-23 13:54
Joe Rogan calls for use of psychedelics after Bruce Willis' dementia diagnosis: 'I'd try mushrooms'
Joe Rogan suggested the use of psychedelic mushrooms as an alternative to treat cognitive decline in response to Bruce Willis' dementia diagnosis
2023-06-03 13:26
Antetokounmpo, Lillard combine for 65, and Bucks earn quarterfinal berth by topping Heat 131-124
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, Damian Lillard added 32 and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 131-124 on Tuesday night and clinch a home quarterfinal game in the NBA In-Season Tournament
2023-11-29 11:48
Why was '90 Day Fiance' star Amanda Wilhelm arrested? Violent incident from 2010 comes to light amid TLC show debut
Amanda Wilhelm was arrested for battery when she was 19, long before she appeared on the TLC show
2023-08-18 16:45
Princess Diana's sheep sweater smashes records to sell for $1.1 million
A red sweater adorned with a flock of sheep worn by the young Princess Diana has sold at auction for $1.1 million
2023-09-15 21:15
Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor dies aged 56
The Nothing Compares 2 U singer sold millions of albums and was praised for her activism.
2023-07-27 02:21
Sooners QB Gabriel leads No. 12 Oklahoma into annual grudge match with No. 3 Texas in Dallas
Arch-rivals Texas and Oklahoma meet Saturday in Dallas looking for an inside track to the Big 12 title game and big momentum toward the College Football Playoff
2023-10-05 22:45
UN climate agency picks Argentina's Saulo as first woman leader
The World Meteorological Organization voted Thursday for Argentina's Celeste Saulo to become its first woman leader and steer the WMO's critical global...
2023-06-01 19:47
Ukrainian air defenses in Odesa outgunned as Russia targets global grain supply
Ukraine has been struggling to repel a wave of Russian strikes against the southern city of Odesa, its air defenses unable to cope with the types of missiles that Moscow has used to pummel the region this week.
2023-07-21 20:51
Texas women suing over anti-abortion law give historic and heartbreaking testimony in a landmark court case
In March, unable to legally obtain abortion care in Texas, Samantha Casiano was forced to carry a nonviable pregnancy to term, and gave birth to a three-pound baby who died hours later. Ms Casiano is among 13 women denied emergency abortion care under state law who are suing the state in a landmark case that is now in front of a Texas judge. In harrowing, historic courtroom testimony in Austin on 19 July, Ms Casiano and two other plaintiffs described their agony, isolation and heartbreak as they detailed their traumatic, life-threatening pregnancies and the state’s failure to care for them. As she described her experience to the court through tears, Ms Casiano vomited from the witness stand. “I watched my baby suffer for four hours,” she said in her testimony. “I am so sorry I couldn’t release you to heaven sooner. There was no mercy for her.” Abortion rights legal advocacy group Center for Reproductive Rights Texas filed the lawsuit on behalf of the women in March to force Texas authorities to clarify emergency medical exceptions to the state’s overlapping anti-abortion laws, marking the first-ever case brought by pregnant patients against such laws. Their testimony has underscored the depth of impacts from Texas laws and similar anti-abortion laws across the country, with abortion access stripped away for millions of Americans who are now exposed to dangerous legal and medical minefields during their pregnancies. The conflicting exemptions for medical emergencies in Texas have resulted in widespread confusion among providers and hospitals fearing legal blowback or severe criminal penalties, according to abortion rights advocates. Healthcare providers in the state found in violation of those laws could lose their medical license, face tens of thousands of dollars in fines, or receive a sentence of life in prison. The plaintiffs “suffered unimaginable tragedy” directly because of the state’s anti-abortion laws, Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Molly Duane said in her opening arguments. Texas officials and the state’s medical board have “done nothing” to clarify the law, she said. “I feel like my hands are tied,” said Houston obstetrician-gynecologist Dr Damla Karsa. “I have the skill, training and experience to provide care but I’m unable to do so. It’s gut-wrenching. I am looking for clarity, for a promise that I’m not going to be prosecuted for providing care.” Attorneys for the state have sought to dismiss the case altogether, arguing in court filings that the women lack standing to challenge the law because it is ultimately uncertain they will face similar complications again, that their “alleged prospective injuries are purely hypothetical”, and that some of the plaintiffs admitted they have since “struggled to become pregnant” again after their traumatic experiences. Amanda Zurawski, the lead plaintiff in the case, is still hoping to become pregnant after her life-threatening pregnancy. She called the state’s argument “infuriating and disgusting and ironic.” “Do they not realise the reason why I might not be able to get pregnant again is because of what happened to me as a result of the laws that they support?” she told the court. “Anybody who’s been through infertility will tell you it is the most isolating, grueling, lonely, difficult thing a person can go through.” ‘I wished I was dreaming. I knew I wasn’t’ Ms Casiano, a mother of four, was hoping for a girl. When she visited her physician for a checkup last September, “all of a sudden the room went cold” and quiet, she testified. Her daughter was diagnosed with anencephaly, a fatal birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of a brain or skull. “My first thought was … ‘maybe it’s a surgery, maybe she can be fixed,’ and then she said, ‘I’m sorry, but your daughter is incompatible with life, and she will pass away before or after birth,’” Ms Casiano said. “I felt cold,” she said. “I was hurt. I wished I was dreaming. I knew I wasn’t. I just felt lost.” A case worker at her obstetrician’s office gave her a pamphlet with funeral homes. She was prescribed antidepressants. She could not be referred for abortion care anywhere in the state. Texas was the first to implement a near-total ban on abortion, months before the US Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion last June, a decision that triggered a wave of state laws and legislation from anti-abortion lawmakers and governors to restrict care and threaten providers with criminal penalties. Amanda Zurawski endured several rounds of fertility treatments, tests, surgeries and misdiagnoses before learning she was pregnant in May of last year. “We were at first in shock … we were over-the-moon excited,” Ms Zurawski said. But her obstetrician discovered that she dilated prematurely, and soon after her membranes ruptured, draining amniotic fluid and endangering the life of her expected child. Doctors informed her there was nothing they could do under what was recently enacted state law, despite knowing with “complete certainty we were going to lose our daughter,” she said. The condition led to life-threatening sepsis. Doctors ultimately induced labor. Her daughter, which she named Willow, was not alive when she delivered. Ms Zurawski and her husband are still trying for pregnancy, but the trauma has closed one of her fallopian tubes, and a doctor had to surgically reconstruct her uterus. They also are considering in vitro fertilization, surrogacy and adoption. She previously testified to members of Congress about her experience, a story she will continue to tell, even if it is “excruciating” to do so, she told the Texas courtroom. “I know that what happened to me is happening to people all over the country. … So many people are being hurt by similarly restrictive bans,” she said. She has spoken out “because I can, and I know a lot of people who are experiencing or will experience something similar who can’t speak out, and it’s for those people I will,” she said. Healthcare providers caring for pregnant patients in the months after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade have faced severe obstacles for providing standard medical care in states where abortion is effectively outlawed, leading to delays and worsening and dangerous health outcomes for patients, according to a first-of-its-kind report released earlier this year. Individual reports from patients and providers like those named in the Texas lawsuit have shed some light on the wide range of harm facing pregnant women in states where access to abortion care is restricted or outright banned. But reporting from the University of California San Francisco captures examples from across the country, painting a “stark picture of how the fall of Roe is impacting healthcare in states that restrict abortion,” according to the report’s author Dr Daniel Grossman. More than a dozen states, mostly in the South, have effectively outlawed or severely restricted access to abortion care after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization last June. The decision has also opened new legal challenges, ones that could once again reshape the future of abortion access in America, while anti-abortion lawmakers and Republican candidates face a public that is overwhelmingly against such bans. ‘I don’t feel safe to have children in Texas anymore’ Ashley Brandt sent a picture of an ultrasound to her husband when she found out she was pregnant with twins. But after her 12-week ultrasound last May, doctors discovered one of the twins had acrania, in which the skull of the fetus is not formed, and brain tissue is exposed to amniotic fluid. The condition is fatal. Despite no chance of the twin’s survival, Ms Brandt was not eligible under Texas law for a procedure called a selective fetal reduction; Twin A still had some signs of life, like muscle spasms and cardiac activity. They traveled to neighbouring Colorado for care, and she returned home the day after the procedure. She gave birth to her daughter in November. “If I had not gone out of state and just done what was legal in Texas, my daughter … would likely have been in the [neonatal intensive care unit],” she said. “All of my ultrasounds leading up to labor I would have had to watch twin A … deteriorate more and more, every ultrasound. … I would have to give birth to an identical version of my daughter without a skull, without a brain, and I would have to hold her until she died, and I would have to sign a death certificate, and hold a funeral.” She said the state has failed to account for medical emergencies like hers. “I don’t feel safe to have children in Texas anymore,” she said. “It was very clear that my health didn’t really matter, that my daughter’s health didn’t really matter.” Read More ‘I felt I couldn’t tell anyone’: The stigma of abortion keeps women silent. It’s time for us to shout Ohio voters are likely to decide the future of abortion rights One year after Roe v Wade fell, anti-abortion laws threaten millions. The battle for access is far from over
2023-07-20 08:59
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