Legislators in Arizona’s upper house have voted to repeal an 1864 law banning abortion, a month after the state’s supreme court said the Civil War-era rule was valid. The turnaround was the latest development in the fraught US abortion debate, which is expected to play a huge role in this …

One of the first Irish cuckoos tagged as part of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has returned home after a winter that took him as far as the rainforests in the Congo basin. Last May, three Irish cuckoos were tagged in Killarney National Park to track their migration …

Communication and engagement on the immigration issue must improve on all fronts, the Tánaiste has told a meeting of the Fianna Fáil party. Micheál Martin said he wants to see a Covid-style response to the issue, before adding that the numbers of people claiming asylum have increased considerably over the …

Just six men will decide whether and when Israel launches a ground invasion of Rafah in the coming days. They are members of Israel’s war cabinet, which was set up shortly after the 7 October attack by Hamas. It was formed by Israel’s emergency unity government, the result of a …

Microsoft pledged a $2.2 billion (€2 billion) investment in artificial intelligence and cloud computing in Malaysia to help develop the country’s AI infrastructure. The tech giant’s chief executive Satya Nadella is on a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia – to announce a range of investments …

Police tore down a protest encampment at the University of Texas, arresting more than a dozen people, as unrest over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza simmered on US campuses. Officers also detained several people at Fordham University in New York and cleared an encampment set up inside a school …

The death toll from a highway collapse in southern China has risen to 36, state media have said. “As of 5:30 am on May 2… 36 people have died, and 30 people have been injured,” state news agency Xinhua said, adding that the injuries were not life threatening. State news …

US President Joe Biden’s administration faced renewed pressure from his fellow Democrats to influence Israel not to launch a full-scale invasion of Rafah, the city where almost half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people have taken refuge. 57 of the 212 Democrats in the House of Representatives signed a …

The US State Department accused Russia of having used a chemical weapon against Ukrainian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, while also announcing fresh sanctions against Moscow. In addition to the chemical agent chloropicrin, Russia also used “riot control agents (tear gas) as a method of warfare in …

Families of victims of the Troubles have said the introduction of the UK’s Legacy Act marked a “day of shame” as they protested outside the Northern Ireland Office in Belfast. New legacy rules take effect today in Northern Ireland that prevent access to the courts. A total of 38 legacy …