Abortion decriminalised in New South Wales

 

Politicians in New South Wales have voted to decriminalise abortion, despite more than 10,000 people protesting against changing the law. The Bill, which removes the killing of an unborn child from the criminal code, passed the Australian state’s upper house by 26 votes to 14. The new law will allow women in New South Wales to have an abortion up to 22 weeks, or later when two doctors agree. Over 100 amendments were put forward during the 70 hours of debate, and MPs opposing the Bill eventually secured more safeguards for women, doctors and babies born alive after abortion.

 

Cardinal Newman becomes Britons first modern-day saint in Rome ceremony

 

The canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman took place at the Vatican on Sunday, in a historic ceremony attended by tens of thousands. The Victorian priest, hymn writer, and poet was declared a Saint before a congregation of 20,000, at an open-air ceremony in St Peter's Square. The leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols was alongside the Pope to witness the canonisation of the first English saint of the modern age. Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols told Premier it's a day of celebration for Britain's Catholics: "I've been describing it as a party. "It is just a moment of great joy that this man who whose life is so full, and whose sensitivities are so important, and who struggles through so many difficulties, we can see much more clearly into his heart. And what a great disciple of Christ he was.” The former Anglican priest controversially converted to Catholicism in 1845 and went on to found a society of priests known as the Birmingham Oratory in 1848. Cardinal Nichols honoured Newman's dedication to the people of Birmingham, where he served as a parishioner for 40 years.

 

US conducted cyberattack on Iran following strike on Saudi oil – report

 

The United States reportedly conducted a cyberattack against Iran in the wake of last month’s strike on key Saudi oil facilities, which many Western countries have blamed on the Islamic Republic. The late September attack took aim at Tehran’s ability to spread propaganda and affected physical hardware, the Reuters news agency reported Wednesday, citing two unnamed US officials. “It highlights how [US] President Donald Trump’s administration has been trying to counter what it sees as Iranian aggression without spiraling into a broader conflict,” the report said. “The strike appears more limited than other such operations against Iran this year after the downing of an American drone in June and an alleged attack by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on oil tankers in the Gulf in May.”