The Midwestern conservative state of Missouri on Friday became the first US state to ban abortion, hours after a Supreme Court ruling struck down decades of constitutional protection of the procedure.
“Missouri has just become the first in the country to effectively end abortion,” state attorney general Eric Schmitt said on Twitter. “This is a monumental day for the sanctity of life.”
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US Supreme Court ends constitutional right to abortion, states can ban it now
Friday’s outcome is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states. Authority to regulate abortion rests with the political branches, not the courts, Justice Samuel Alito wrote. Joining Alito were Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Thomas first voted to overrule Roe v. Wade 30 years ago. Thirteen states, mainly in the South and Midwest, already have laws on the books that ban abortion in the event Roe is overturned.
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Dead Sajid Mir comes alive in Pak but Masood Azhar still untraceable
Sajid Mir, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack handler who was declared dead long ago, has been arrested as claimed by Pakistan, reports from Paris and New Delhi said. Strangely, Pakistan has said that Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar, who is enjoying the patronage of the Pakistani establishment in Masood Azhar’s den Bahawalpur, is untraceable. Mir, the handler of David Coleman Headley, was said to be enjoying the protection of ISI either in Rawalpindi or Lahore.
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Pakistan prepares to play spoiler in India-Afghan ties again
Caught unawares by India sending an official delegation to Kabul for resumption of bilateral ties with the ruling Taliban, Pakistan has decided to play a spoilsport by directing its diplomatic missions abroad to point out alleged contradictions between India and the Islamic Emirate.
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Afghanistan quake: 1,150 dead, 3,000 homes destroyed, 118,000 children affected
The death toll from Wednesday’s earthquake in Afghanistan has risen to 1,150 and over 3,000 homes have been destroyed, the Associated Press reported citing data from state-run media. The Bakhtar News Agency said Friday the toll had climbed from previous reports of 1,000 killed and that at least 1,600 people had been injured in the 6.0 magnitude earthquake. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates 770 deaths.