Author: Wilson Diaz

A Wyoming judge blocked the state’s two abortion bans, ruling them unconstitutional. Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens concluded that abortion is health care, and the bans violate the state’s constitutional protection of health care autonomy. As a result, abortion remains legal in Wyoming. The lawsuit, filed in March 2023 by an abortion clinic, support groups, medical professionals, and two women of childbearing age, challenged the bans. The laws, which aimed to restrict abortions and abortion drug marketing, had been temporarily blocked since the lawsuit was filed. Owens ruled that Wyoming’s Constitution protects the right to make health care…

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed that Israel damaged a key component of Iran’s nuclear program during an attack on Iranian military sites last month. The specifics of the targeted component remain unclear. Netanyahu stressed that a nuclear-armed Iran threatens Israel’s security and regional peace, stating that Israel must stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Despite President Biden’s request not to strike Iranian nuclear or oil facilities, Israel went ahead with the attack, targeting missile production and air defense systems. Satellite images showed damage to Iran’s radar sites and missile production after Israel’s strike, weakening Iran’s missile capabilities. Diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to carry out a military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah regardless of whether there is an agreement with Hamas for a cease-fire and release of hostages held in Gaza. “The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas’ battalions there — with a deal or without a deal, to achieve the total victory,” Netanyahu’s office quoted him as saying in a meeting with families of hostages. Netanyahu has said it is…

A stone’s throw from the US border and around the corner from Tijuana’s seedy red-light district, Afghan families say they feel safe inside a first of its kind Muslim-only shelter. But they are afraid to wander far outside, traumatised by their journey across 11 countries to get here. Desperate to make it to the US after the Taliban takeover more than two years ago, they say they had no future in Afghanistan – their work alongside US allies made them targets. So they fled, enduring months of waiting in Iran and Pakistan. They flew to Brazil and then crossed the…

American oil firm, Barker Hughes, has expressed interest in investing in refineries in the country, as the federal government intensifies effort to end petroleum products importation. Nigeria, a major crude oil producer, imports all its petroleum products, which has put enormous pressure on its currency in the foreign exchange market. But speaking during a meeting with the Minister for State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, on the sidelines of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), Mr. Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman, President/CEO of Baker Hughes, expressed keen interest in sustaining and enhancing their investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas…

Anne Yoncha arrived in Missoula as a painter. When she got to the University of Montana to start her MFA in visual art, the immediate landscape triggered questions that eventually led her to a Fulbright in Finland, working with scientists and other artists to make interactive, data-based projects. Think of a Finnish rug, decorated with drawings based on microbes collected high up in Scandinavian skies. Or a choir singing tones based on data collected from its peatland. If you go Anne Yoncha’s exhibition “Second Nature” is on view at the University Center Gallery at the University of Montana through Nov.…

Sri Lanka and the United States of America are to conduct joint Naval exercises next year, the US ambassador to Sri Lanka said. Ambassador Julie Chung said this after she had met Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Kamal Gunaratne last week. “The United States looks forward to our upcoming Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Navy exercise in 2024. Our US-SriLanka75 partnership makes the region safer and Sri Lanka stronger,” Chung said on X (formerly Twitter). CARAT is a bilateral exercise between Sri Lanka and the United States to promote regional security cooperation and strengthen maritime partnerships. The CARAT – 2023…

Alphabet’s Google will run undersea cables powering internet access to at least eight Pacific island nations under a joint US-Australian deal set to be announced on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), according to a US official. The deal will expand an existing commercial project by Google in the region to the nations of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Source : AFR

Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s visit on German-American Day comes after the Republican-dominated Congress passed an interim budget that doesn’t include further aid to Ukraine German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier travels to the US on Friday for a surprise visit to celebrate German-American Day. During the trip, Steinmeier is due to meet US President Joe Biden in Washington. The two leaders will reaffirm their “strong ties,” the White House said in a statement on Thursday. Issues on the agenda include “defending democratic values and our shared commitment to support Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia’s invasion,” the statement added Steinmeier’s office said the visit was suggested by Biden, adding that…

The US on Thursday announced a new $150 million military aid package for Ukraine to bolster Kyiv’s ongoing counteroffensive that seeks to oust Russia from occupied territories. The latest tranche includes additional air defense weapons, artillery ammunition, and anti-tank weapons, the Pentagon said in a statement. It specifically includes National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) ammunition, AIM-9M air defense missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) ammunition. Additional 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles, Javelin anti-armor weapons, over 2 million small arms rounds, night vision gear, and other equipment are also…