A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that Texas could begin enforcing restrictions on abortion clinics that critics of the new rules say will force all but seven of the facilities in the state to shut down.
Australian special forces troops will be deployed in Iraq to assist in the fight against Islamic State militants, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday, and its aircraft will also join U.S.-led coalition strikes.
Opponents of a Wisconsin law that requires voters to present photo identification when they cast ballots asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to stop the measure from being applied to elections in November.
Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying defied pro-democracy protesters' demands to step down by Friday, and repeated police warnings that the consequences would be serious if they sought to surround or occupy government buildings.
