Condemning the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade as "totally wrong-headed", President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order that would help safeguard access to abortion.
Following the Supreme Court's decision to end the constitutional right to abortions, Mr Biden pledged he would do everything in his executive authority to protect reproductive rights.
"While I wish it had not come to this, this is the fastest route available," he said from the White House.
As part of Friday's order, Mr Biden directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to protect and expand access to “medication abortion” and contraception.
The department also will to increase public education efforts on abortion access, and consider additional access to protect patient privacy.
Additionally, the White House counsel and Mr Biden's attorney general will meet pro bono lawyers and other organisations to encourage legal representation for patients and providers.
Mr Biden's action stops short of more aggressive action suggested by some Democrats who have argued that the Supreme Court's ruling was drastic enough for the president to flex his executive authority. But Mr Biden has repeatedly said codifying abortion rights into federal law is an action that only Congress can undertake.
"We need two additional pro-choice senators and a pro-choice House [of Representatives] to codify roe as federal law," Mr Biden said, urging pro-choice supporters to vote in the midterm elections later this year.
The Supreme Court's decision last month restored states' power to pass their own laws on banning abortion. Mr Biden condemned the ruling.
"Now the most extreme Republican governors and state legislatures have taken the court's decision as a green light to impose some of the harshest and most restrictive laws seen in this country in a long time," he said.
Restrictive abortion laws have already gone into effect in Republican-led states across the US, some of which do not grant exceptions in the case of incest or rape.
"These are the laws not only put women's life at risk These are laws that will cost lives," Mr Biden said.
The president also warned of "extreme" Republicans plotting to impose a nationwide abortion ban if they retake control of the US House and Senate later this year. Mr Biden vowed to block any such legislation.
"As long as I'm president and won't happen, because I'll veto it," he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris was expected to meet legislators from Indiana, Florida, South Dakota, Nebraska and Montana. Each state has a Republican-controlled state legislature and is expected to enact restrictive abortion laws in the next few weeks.
Ms Harris will “convey the administration’s commitment to protecting access to reproductive health care, and she will encourage the legislators to continue defending reproductive rights and freedoms at the state level,” the White House said in a statement.
Agencies contributed to this report
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Company%20profile
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Naga
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Scores:
Day 4
England 290 & 346
Sri Lanka 336 & 226-7 (target 301)
Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining
More from Aya Iskandarani
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
FINAL SCORES
Fujairah 130 for 8 in 20 overs
(Sandy Sandeep 29, Hamdan Tahir 26 no, Umair Ali 2-15)
Sharjah 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs
(Kashif Daud 51, Umair Ali 20, Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Sabir Rao 2-26)
Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
