A doctor in Birmingham, England, will face criminal charges for offering to perform a sex-selection abortion.

In the first-ever speech by a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Duma, Patriarch Kirill has called on the Russian government to build on its support for the family and traditional marriage by defunding abortion in the country, with the objective of eliminating the killing of pre-born children altogether.

This week, Congress returns with House leaders vowing to revisit the anti-abortion bill they pulled off the floor last week. The ban on abortions after 20 weeks was withdrawn when it appeared there weren't enough Republican votes to pass it.

Bonds is the first fashion brand to get hauled before the fun police this year. The intimate apparel label had to defend a Boxing Day campaign promoting its women's line.

A Canberra doctor has admitted taking drugs left over from operations for his own personal use, including an opioid used to prevent pain after surgery.

Considerable attention has been paid to how boys’ educational achievements in science and math compare to girls’ accomplishments in those areas, often leading to the assumption that boys outperform girls in these areas.

Members of the Scottish Parliament have been warned that legalising assisted suicide would make terminally ill young people feel like an “unburdenable load” on their families. A committee of MSPs has also been told that elderly patients could be encouraged to kill themselves to avoid costly care bills if the plans are brought in.

Amid saturation advertising from online betting agencies throughout the state election campaign, University of Queensland law professor Graeme Orr said that while the outcomes of elections were less dependent on the players than in sports games, the explosion in novelty betting, such as predicting an election date or the outcome of a leadership contest, could easily be exploited by insider knowledge.

Within hours after the Supreme Court announced it would decide whether the Constitution requires every state to recognize marriages between persons of the same sex, the New York Times published an editorial gleefully predicting the inevitable outcome. When its ruling comes down in June, the Times assures us, the Supreme Court will "end the debate once and for all."

The New South Wales government is targeting the state's migrant communities through a new public-awareness campaign about the illegality of under-age forced marriage.

Privatisation, transparency, mining, the reef, health and bikie laws are the key policy battlegrounds in Saturday’s poll.

High-profile independents are expected to reap the reward of the protest vote in some regional seats, with analysts describing Palmer United and Katter’s Australian parties as “spent forces” in Queensland.

The LNP will miss out on Family First preferences – because they didn't return their phone calls. Family First state director and party chairman Simon Green said he had attempted to speak with LNP state director Brad Henderson about a preference deal, but never heard back.

At least 60 detainees are being held at Lorengau jail after being arrested during the protest as the PNG prime minister says ‘issues’ on Manus have been resolved

The Islamists who committed the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris should be not be described as “terrorists” by the BBC, a senior executive at the corporation has said.