78 pro-life orgs ask DOJ to stop undermining state laws by favoring aborting drug industry

Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday praised "the strategic importance" of Lufthansa as the German airline giant marked its centenary, but the celebrations were marred by a wave of recent strikes.

"Lufthansa provides technical and logistical support for the German government fleet," Merz said at Frankfurt Airport.

"It also modifies and maintains the armed forces' transport, reconnaissance and refueling aircraft. The civilian know-how of your company strengthens our country's ability to defend itself".

The hundredth anniversary of Europe's biggest aviation group -- which also operates Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines and has acquired a stake in Italy's ITA -- comes as thousands of flights have been cancelled in a wave of strikes this year. 

Both pilots and cabin crew have repeatedly walked out due to disputes over pay and pensions.

The first strike of the year began in February, with almost 800 flights cancelled on a single day affecting about 100,000 passengers as pilots and cabin crew walked out.  

Pilots from the main airline as well as some subsidiaries are set to strike again on Thursday and Friday, having already stopped work earlier in the week.

An AFP photographer saw hundreds of people dressed in yellow vests that carry the logos of the cabin crew and pilot unions protesting outside the event.

Unions accuse Lufthansa of refusing to put good revised offers on the table, while the group has accused the unions of "absurd" behaviour.

Opening the celebrations with a speech, the head of Lufthansa's supervisory board Karl-Ludwig Kley called on Merz to make it harder for workers to go on strike.

If the government did not take action to tighten laws on walkouts, the situation could "develop into an even bigger competitive disadvantage for our country," he warned.

Citing a letter to employees, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported Wednesday that Lufthansa had warned of the need to cut costs and was limiting hiring in response to the Middle East war.

vbw/sr/fz/yad

Just a stone's throw from the chalk cliffs of Dieppe in northern France, French Navy minehunter L'Aigle -- a veteran of the Gulf war -- scans the seabed with ultrasound for unexploded devices.

The Eagle, as the ship would be called in English, has been in service since 1987.

It is one of eight such vessels operated by the French Navy, as debate swirls over whether and how to demine the Strait of Hormuz, where the Middle East war has since late February brought key oil and gas shipping to a near halt.

The French minehunter is no stranger to that crucial stretch of water, having helped demine it in the wake of the Gulf War.

In the gloom of the ship's operations centre, an analyst scours the sonar's screen, where white dots glow, representing objects detected on the seabed. 

"Shrimp pots," he explained.

On another screen, the more accurate classification sonar displays an image, resembling a high-definition ultrasound scan, of a cylinder several metres in length -- could this be one of thousands of mines deployed some 80 years ago during World War II?

"We sent the mine clearance divers down this morning to check. It was a log," said L'Aigle's captain, Lieutenant Commander Jacquelin du Reau.

"There are lots of things underwater -– things that have fallen off boats or been carried in by rivers," he explained. 

But there are mines, too.

Last year, underwater deminers defused 853 explosive devices off the French coast and on French beaches, including several dozen mines.

- 'Self-propelled fish' -

As currents and storms constantly churn the seabed up, some devices may rise to the surface, du Reau said. For example, moored mines –- spiked balls that were once attached to a cable and floated near the surface, but have since sunk over time.

It's painstaking work -- L'Aigle moves at five knots, or even slower, and can detect an object up to 500 metres away.

Its hull is made of resin and is "non-magnetic" to avoid triggering the explosion of mines, which detonate in the event of magnetic or acoustic disturbance.

Once it has spotted a suspicious object, L'Aigle can approach to within 150 metres to determine whether it is a rock or a far more lethal threat, by scanning it with sonar from different angles.

A new generation of drones equipped with sonar will allow operators to remain at a greater safe distance.

On the aft deck, two yellow underwater robots fitted with cameras are neatly stowed away: these are PAPs, short for "Self-Propelled Fish" in French, used to identify and then detonate mines, just like the six mine-clearing divers on board the vessel. 

Ensuring an area is mine-free is a long-term task: "Clearing an area can take years," said du Reau.

But "opening a passage for ships is a matter of weeks," du Reau added.

"It isn't necessarily in our interest to clear" mines that do not directly hinder navigation and where swift progress is needed, he explained.

- Gulf experience -

In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned of a "danger zone" covering 1,400 square kilometres -– 14 times the size of Paris –- where mines may be present.

It will be essential to ensure these underwater threats are eliminated if France and Britain do build a "purely defensive" coalition of countries to help restore "freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz" after the Iran conflict. 

For a mission of this kind, knowledge of the operational area is invaluable.

During each mine-clearing operation, a ship compiles a survey of the seabed. On any subsequent passages, the crew can then disregard objects that already appear in the database and focus on those that were not there before.

The British, the Americans and also the French have carried out numerous mine-hunting missions in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz over the years, compiling surveys of the seabed.

In 1991, following the Gulf War, L'Aigle neutralised some 15 mines that had been laid by the Iraqis.

mra/spm/ah/giv

Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered an investigation of Flavio Bolsonaro, the main rival of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in upcoming elections, for slander over a post linking Lula to drug trafficking. 

According to the Supreme Court order -- obtained by AFP on Wednesday -- the probe centers on a January 3 social media post by Bolsonaro, a right-wing senator and son of jailed former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.

In it, the younger Bolsonaro sought to link the left-wing Lula to drug trafficking, money laundering, "support for terrorists and dictatorships" and electoral fraud.

He paired images of the left-wing Brazilian president with Venezuelan former leader Nicolas Maduro, captioned: "Lula will be exposed."

Maduro was toppled from power in a US military operation on January 3 and whisked to the United States to face trial on drugs trafficking and weapons charges.

The Supreme Court said Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the investigation at the request of the justice ministry, which deemed that Flavio Bolsonaro "falsely, publicly, and disparagingly attributed criminal acts to the President of the Republic." 

Flavio Bolsonaro denounced the probe -- the latest ordered by the Supreme Court against the Bolsonaro clan -- as a "clear attempt to restrict freedom of expression."

In a statement he insisted that he would not submit to "intimidation or the use of the police and judicial apparatus to silence the opposition" and demanded that Lula's government "explain its relations with the Venezuelan dictatorship."

Federal police have 60 days to carry out the initial investigation before prosecutors decide whether to bring charges.

- Tight race -

The US-backed Bolsonaros and their supporters accuse the Supreme Court, and Moraes particularly, of hounding the former president and his family to disqualify them politically.

The Brazilian left, however, sees Moraes as a fearless defender of Brazil's young democracy in the face of far-right attacks on the country's institutions.

Bolsonaro, 44, has emerged as the leading figure on the Brazilian right after his father designated his eldest son as his political heir.

Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence after he was found guilty of having led a failed scheme to prevent Lula from taking office and retain power after losing 2022 presidential elections.

In elections in October, Flavio Bolsonaro is expected to be the main rival of Lula, 80, who is seeking a fourth term.

According to polling data released Wednesday by the firm Genial/Quaest, Bolsonaro would currently edge Lula in a head-to-head election.  

He has campaigned as a more moderate figure than his father, whose time in office was marked by rampant deforestation of the Amazon forest and Covid denialism, among other controversies.

ll/mel/cb/md

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned Wednesday of difficult times ahead for the global economy if war in the Middle East is unresolved and oil prices stay high, adding that inflation risks could seep into food prices.

"We must brace for tough times ahead" if the conflict persists, she told reporters at a press briefing during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's spring meetings in Washington.

The gathering brings government and financial leaders to the US capital this week, with policymakers looking to limit economic fallout from the war.

US-Israeli strikes launched against Iran on February 28 sparked Tehran's retaliation, virtually closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for oil and fertilizers.

Energy prices have since surged, squeezing countries -- especially vulnerable economies and those dependent on oil exports from the region.

"We are concerned about risks for inflation, moving into food prices should the delivery of fertilizers at a reasonable price (not be) restarted soon," Georgieva said.

But as countries move to limit price shocks on their citizens, Georgieva urged central banks to "wait and see" before adjusting interest rates if they can do so.

She said this was particularly the case where the public has a "well-anchored" expectation of inflation being kept under control.

"If we are to move faster out of the war, it may not be necessary to take action," she said.

But she conceded that countries where central banks lack such credibility might need to send stronger signals.

For now, "we are still at a time when a faster resolution of hostilities is possible," she said.

She urged IMF member countries to come forward to the Washington-based lender if they need financial assistance during the conflict.

"Currently, we have 39 programs, and prospective demand for new programs from at least a dozen countries, a number of them in sub-Saharan Africa," she said of the fund's financial aid.

"If you need help financially, don't hesitate. Move fast, because the sooner we act, the more we would protect the economy and the people," Georgieva said.

She also stressed the need to protect fiscal sustainability as countries move to help their populations, cautioning that "untargeted measures, export controls or broad-based tax cuts" could serve to "prolong the pain of high prices."

bys/msp

Bosnia approved Wednesday a $1.5 billion energy project led by investors close to US President Donald Trump that aims to reduce the Balkan country's reliance on Russian natural gas. 

The project is being pushed by a newly created company headed by Joseph Flynn, the brother of Trump's former adviser Michael Flynn, and Jesse Binnall, previously one of Trump's lawyers.

In addition to a pipeline, the project would build gas-fired power plants to reduce coal-based electricity production in a country badly affected by air pollution.

The law approving the project, called the Gas Pipeline Southern Interconnection, was passed by the upper house of the Bosniak-Croat parliament a week after securing approval from the lower chamber.

The Bosniak-Croat federation, through which the pipeline will run, and the majority-Serb Republika Srpska make up Bosnia since the 1990s ethnic war. The two entities are largely autonomous.

Environmental groups criticised the deal, with two NGOs urging lawmakers ahead of the vote to reject a "harmful project" that they say carries "serious legal and financial risks".

"One of the key decisions on Bosnia's energy sector was made hastily, under enormous political pressure from the fossil fuel lobby of the US administration", Nina Kresevljakovic of the Sarajevo-based Aarhus Centre NGO told AFP after the law was backed.

Critics also focused on the fact the company, AAFS Infrastructure and Energy, has never carried out a project of this size.

It was set up as a company only in late 2025 according to US regulatory filings and has "no experience in the sector", Kresevljakovic said.

- 'Crucial importance' -

But Amer Bekan, the company's director in Bosnia, argued that it operated as an "investment platform that brings together international partners".

These include "engineering companies and financial institutions with proven track records in large infrastructure and energy projects", he told AFP.

The project is of "crucial importance for the region" and a "priority for the Trump administration", Binnall said in Sarajevo earlier this month.

The next step in the process is signing of an agreement between AAFS Infrastructure and Energy and the Bosniak-Croat federation.

An agreement is also needed between Bosnia and Croatia, as the pipeline connection to the rest of the European gas network will pass through Croatia.

That deal is expected to be signed at a summit meeting in Dubrovnik later this month.

The pipeline, which AAFS will build and operate, will connect Bosnia to the European network gas network, notably the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on Croatia's northern island of Krk, which receives significant volumes of US gas.

No details have been announced about the start of construction work, but the project is considered to be of major importance for Bosnia, which would be affected by the European Union's ban on Russian gas imports set to come into effect in 2027.

The new interconnection will have a maximum annual capacity of three billion cubic metres, enough to supply three or four gas-fired power plants whose construction is also planned as part of the project.

Bosnia currently imports between 230 and 250 million cubic metres of natural gas per year, mostly for domestic heating, and has depended entirely upon Russian gas imported by pipeline through neighbouring Serbia.

rus/ljv/rl

(The Center Square) – No matter what a state offers in terms of natural beauty, work and social opportunities, tax and economic policy — as unglamorous as they sound — will play a role in the state’s attractiveness and success over time, the authors of Rich States, Poor States say.

That’s why Utah, a state perhaps recognized for its natural beauty but known more for its large religious population, has ranked first every year in the American Legislative Exchange Council report evaluating states’ economic competitiveness. It’s also why “flyover states” like Arkansas, Indiana and Oklahoma rank in the top 10 for economic outlook, while states like California, Hawaii, Illinois and New York, despite their stunning vistas or metropolitan attractions, rank in the bottom 10.

Rich States, Poor States ranks states for economic outlook based on 15 economic policy variables, like personal income tax rate, corporate tax rate, property tax, sales tax and state minimum wage. It’s Utah’s continuous improvement across these 15 policy areas that has enabled it to stay at the top in the report’s 19th edition, released Wednesday.

“Utah doesn't rank badly in any of the 15 variables. Until recently, it was actually above 25 (above the median) on every single one,” Joshua Meyer, director of ALEC's tax and fiscal policy task force, told The Center Square. “The total state and local sales tax burden has been rising and is now 38th, but the state is 22nd or better on the other 14 variables.”

Utah ranked first for its state minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, which along with other states like Georgia and Wyoming, is the lowest in the country. Though a low minimum wage means a lower baseline pay for more low-wage hourly-paid positions, it also means lower labor costs for employers. It also has a relatively low corporate income tax, public employee population and tax burden overall (after considering property and sales tax).

Arkansas made the top 10 last year for the first time and moved up to sixth from 23rd just five years ago.

“Rich States, Poor States did not find Arkansas to be very competitive for much of the report’s history,” Meyer said, but it “has improved across many variables.”

A core idea behind Rich States, Poor States is that a state’s key economic and tax policies play a real role in its attractiveness as a place to live and raise a family. More people will either move there for a job or choose to move there because of the quality of life they believe is possible for them there. This plays out with Arkansas, according to Meyer. 

“The state saw net outmigration as recently as 2015, but has seen net in-migration of more than 80,000 just from July 2020 to July 2025,” Meyer said. “So Arkansas isn't on the level of Texas or Florida or North Carolina, where many tens of thousands move in on net each year, but people and businesses do seem to be validating the policy direction identified in Rich States, Poor States.”

Meyer also explained why Indiana remained in the top 10 this year, placing seventh.

“When you compare Indiana to, say, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, and Ohio, its economy seems to be the best at delivering for workers,” Meyer said. 

Indiana also earned a No. 1 ranking for its minimum wage, which is also $7.25. It’s a right-to-work state, meaning employees can’t be required to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment, and it doesn’t utilize an estate or inheritance tax. It also has a relatively low public employee population and property tax burden, among other policy strengths.

“The state has seen net in-migration over the last eight years or so,” Meyer said. “And while that doesn’t sound like much for a top-10 state, it is exceptional when compared to other states in the region. There are a couple that have seen post-COVID in-migration, but Indiana has seen more in-migration and for longer.”

One of the report’s authors is Art Laffer, an economic adviser to former President Ronald Reagan and a primary architect of “Reaganomics.” Laffer is known for saying that people “vote with their feet,” meaning that Americans’ movements are as much — if not more — a reflection of state and local policy as their choices at the ballot box.

Other states that landed in the top ten were Tennessee, Idaho, North Carolina, Arizona, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Florida.

California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont finished in the bottom 10.

Download PDF

In a quiet space secluded from the throngs of daily visitors to Madrid's Prado art museum, a team of experts perpetuate an ancient tradition of restoring centuries-old European cultural treasures.

Creations by some of art's most illustrious names -- Goya, Velazquez, Rubens, Caravaggio, Bosch and El Greco -- are conserved in the vast, bright space at one of the world's most-visited museums.

The Prado has always put an emphasis on the conservation and restoration of art since it opened to the public in 1819.

Cutting-edge technology and modern tools to analyse and treat paintings and sculptures allow Almudena, Marta, Maria, Alvaro, Alicia, Elena, Sonia and Eva to maintain the tradition.

The team is capable of caring for the museum's most prized collections as well as works from other institutions.

In February, the Prado launched the restoration of "Pablo de Valladolid", an emblematic portrait that Spanish master Velazquez produced in the 17th century.

But the work will first undergo a deep technical analysis by new equipment, the museum said in a statement.

Scanning technology will allow the experts to identify and locate the materials used by the artist, while multispectral infrared reflectography will reveal details invisible to the naked eye.

Everything contributes to a deeper understanding of the artist's technique, the work's state of conservation and preparing its restoration.

ppm-mdm/imm/cw

(The Center Square) – Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America led 77 of its pro-life organization colleagues in sending the acting U.S. attorney general a letter asking the Department of Justice to stop undermining pro-life states’ laws by favoring the abortion drug industry over these states. 

President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Marjorie Dannenfelser told The Center Square that “the DOJ has a clear opportunity to stand with states seeking to uphold their laws and protect women and the unborn from the dangers of unregulated abortion drugs sent through the mail.”

“Instead, the DOJ is siding with the abortion industry, dismissing legitimate state concerns and even attempting to dismiss the case of [an abortion pill] coercion survivor Rosalie Markezich,” Dannenfelser said.

She said Markezich’s ex-boyfriend “ordered the drugs online from California and pressured her to take them against her will in Louisiana.”

Dannenfelser stated that the “reckless Biden-era holdover policy” of mail-order abortion drugs “has created a dangerous public health crisis by stripping away basic medical safeguards – including doctor visits and ultrasounds – allowing these powerful drugs to be shipped across state lines with a click of a button.”

Dannenfelser told The Center Square that the letter SBA Pro-Life America and 77 other pro-life groups sent to the DOJ “urges the Trump-Vance administration to reverse course and stand with vulnerable women and the unborn rather than continuing to defend Biden’s disastrous COVID-era mail-order abortion scheme.”

“Our government’s choice to side with an industry that profits from ending the lives of unborn children and endangering women has real, painful consequences for Americans everywhere,” Dannenfelser said.

“It has turned high-risk drugs into something that can be bought and shipped with a click – often landing in the hands of abusers and sending women and girls to the emergency room,” Dannenfelser said.

“The DOJ and FDA have both the authority and the duty to act immediately and restore commonsense safety standards,” Dannenfelser told The Center Square. “Voters nationwide strongly support it and the GOP base demands it.” 

When the Department of Justice was reached for comment, a spokesman told The Center Square: “President Trump is the most pro-life President in history, and his track record speaks for itself.”

“The Department of Justice represents FDA in these matters, and FDA is continuing to review the safety data for mifepristone,” the DOJ spokesman said. 

“We asked the courts to stay these cases while that review is ongoing,” the DOJ spokesman said.

In its letter to acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, SBA Pro-Life America urged the DOJ “to stop siding with the abortion drug industry against pro-life states,” according to an SBA press release. 

“Louisiana, Florida and Texas, and Missouri, Idaho and Kansas sued the FDA in three separate cases to protect their citizens from the harms of abortion drugs and to stop policies that undermine their state laws, and the DOJ previously moved to dismiss all three cases,” the SBA press release said.

According to the release, “a recent report from a pro-abortion group claims there were over 1.1 million abortions in the U.S. in 2025.”

Additionally, there was “a 26% increase of mail-order drug abortions in states with pro-life laws,” the release said.

(The Center Square) – The U.S. House will decide whether to advance a bill reauthorizing a controversial government surveillance authority, but it may not have the votes to pass.

Expiring in five days, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows federal intelligence agencies to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance on foreign nationals of suspicion.

The House Rules Committee advanced an 18-month extension of FISA Section 702 on a party-line vote Tuesday night, with several Republicans who might have opposed the extension absent.

Many Democrats and some Republicans oppose authorizing a clean extension without also implementing significant privacy reforms.

Despite FISA’s foreign focus, Americans’ electronic data – including emails, text messages, and phone calls – is often swept up as well. Intelligence agencies will then routinely search databases without obtaining a warrant, known as “backdoor searches.”

“The problem with ‘well let’s take 18 months and then see what happens’ is a lot can happen in that time,” House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in his testimony to the Rules committee. “We need rules that are going to bind the government, regardless of who’s in power.”

Some lawmakers suggested either passing a shorter clean extension or including warrant requirements for data sourced from American soil within the proposed 18-month extension.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, however, testified in support of a clean extension, despite a year ago penning an essay explicitly calling for FISA Section 702 warrant requirements. 

Jordan argued that the Trump administration has pursued transparency reforms that make FISA Section 702 a “totally different program, totally different situation today” than a year ago. He also expressed concerns that if FISA Section 702 is not reauthorized, it could be challenged in court.

“We probably don’t want that when we’re in the middle of two conflicts and we’ve had multiple terrorist attacks and threats here on the homeland,” Jordan said. “So I think that is a big concern, and I would argue it’s better to reauthorize […] versus having to fight in the court.” 

Jordan and Republican leaders still need to convince enough lawmakers in their own party in order for the clean extension to pass the House floor, however. 

Reps. Michael Cloud, R-Texas; Andy Harris, R-Md.; Warren Davidson, R-Ohio; and several others remained unconvinced as of Tuesday night.

“Reauthorizing FISA Section 702 without reforms to protect privacy would be a major disservice to the American people,” Davidson posted on X after exiting a FISA-related meeting with the White House. “I was encouraged by discussions tonight, but after a weak path through Rules Committee we shall see…”

The House is scheduled to vote on advancing the 18-month extension Wednesday evening.

A critically endangered Borneo orangutan has been born at Madrid's zoo, described by keepers as strong and developing normally.

After an eight-and-a-half-month pregnancy, mother Surya gave birth to a male weighing about 1.5 kilos (3.3 pounds) on April 2, the Madrid Zoo Aquarium said in a statement.

The zoo released a video showing Surya cradling the newborn, which will be named through a public vote from a list of options proposed by the caretakers.

Surya has now given birth to four offspring, with keepers describing her maternal care from the outset as exemplary, and the baby feeding regularly, a key indicator of healthy development.

"When the baby is nursing, everything stops. She stays completely still until he finishes, and only then moves to eat or do anything else. She is a real supermom," said Maica Espinosa, a primate keeper at the zoo.

Orangutans usually give birth to a single baby or occasionally twins. They give birth, at the most, once every six years, and the interval between babies can be as long as 10 years.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies Bornean orangutans -- known for their dark brown fur and gentle temperament -- as "critically endangered", citing rapid habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade as major threats.

The species lives in the wild only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and on the island of Borneo, which is divided among Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

ds/imm/gv