The Supreme Court on Monday restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortion is provided across the nation. The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Those rules had been in effect for several years until a federal appeal court imposed new restrictions last week. Most abortions...

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Quad summit plan turns uneasy as India pushes ahead without top leaders: sources A stretch of awkward diplomacy was unfolding in the Indo-Pacific in April: New Delhi was planning to host a foreign ministers’ meeting that could have been framed as a leaders-level discussion, even if the top...

The US stock market is holding tentatively near its record heights on Monday, while oil prices climb with uncertainty about when oil tankers can resume crossing the Strait of Hormuz and restore the world’s flow of crude. Duelling claims about a possible Iranian strike on a US Navy vessel in the strait heightened the tensions. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 216 points, or 0.4 per cent, as of 9.35am Eastern time, and...

Amid the trade war with the United States, the last thing China needs is an economic confrontation with the European Union – Beijing’s major export destination. But with the EU seemingly determined to protect its market by introducing measures that many see as controversial, an economic stand-off appears inevitable. When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen blamed China last June for showing an “unwillingness to live within the constraints of the rules-based international system”,...

Austria declared three Russian diplomats personae ⁠non gratae over ⁠an “antenna forest” on the roofs of ⁠diplomatic buildings that could be used for spying, the government said on Monday. Numerous satellite dishes placed on buildings used by the Russian state in Vienna, particularly a residential complex for diplomatic staff, have long attracted ‌the attention of Austria’s main domestic intelligence service, which has warned for years they could be used to intercept other states’ satellite...

A shooting on Sunday night at a party at a lake near Oklahoma City sent least 13 people to hospitals, according to police and hospital officials. Edmond police spokesperson Emily Ward said authorities received reports of shots being fired at about 9pm at a gathering of young people near Arcadia Lake. She said on late Sunday that no arrests had been made yet. “This is obviously a very terrifying situation and we understand the concern from the public and those involved and we are working...

A drone hit a residential tower in an upscale Moscow district in a rare strike near the city centre ahead of the traditional World War II Victory Day parade. Moscow air defences repelled an attack by two Ukrainian drones, and one hit the building on Mosfilmovskaya Street, according to a post on Monday by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Emergency services were sent to the scene, and there were no reports of casualties. Mosfilmovskaya is about 6-8km (about 4-5 miles) from the Kremlin, and local media...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Durian Express? China brings in cheaper fruit with new Southeast Asia train 2. ‘Structural shift’: new routes for Middle East freight to bypass Hormuz 3. ‘Nowhere to go’: helpers pushed out of parks spend day off in tents at bus terminus 4. Why Beijing now wants its spies executed in Taiwan back...

A United Airlines jet with 231 passengers and crew escaped a major disaster on Sunday after one of its wheels clipped a light post and truck on a highway while on final approach to land in New Jersey. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials said the Boeing 767 landed safely at Newark Liberty International Airport after arriving from Venice, Italy, and the agency would investigate the incident. A preliminary investigation from New Jersey State Police said “while a United Airlines Aircraft...

Congratulations to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po for getting the city’s budget to sail through the Legislative Council. It wasn’t always such smooth sailing and Chan would do well to acknowledge as much. When Chan was first given the keys to the city’s coffers, they were full. Successive financial secretaries faced political pressure of a very different kind. There weren’t many issues that opposing parties saw eye to eye on. However, accusing the government of hoarding cash and not giving...

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is hospitalised in critical but stable condition, his spokesperson said Sunday, days after the Republican hoarsely told his talk show audience that his voice was “a little under the weather”. The spokesperson, Ted Goodman, did not say what sent Giuliani, 81, to the hospital, how long he has been there or what his prognosis is. “Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same...

One Palestinian man was killed and four others seriously wounded during an Israeli military raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the man’s wife was in labour at a local hospital when she was informed of his death. The Red Crescent said five people were hit by gunfire during an Israeli military operation. Nayef Firas Ziad Samaro, 26, was killed, according to the Health Ministry, and his body was...