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Petition to make abortion access easier given to European Commission

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Petition to make abortion access easier given to European Commission
By&nbspGregoire Lory&nbsp&&nbspYolaine de Kerchove

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The issue of abortion is making its way onto the European Commission’s agenda. As part of a European citizens’ initiative, the “My Voice, My Choice: For Safe And Accessible Abortion” movement submitted a petition with over 1 million signatures to the Commission on Monday.

The petition calls on the Commission to present a proposal to set up a funding mechanism to guarantee safe and affordable access to voluntary termination of pregnancy.

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The coordinator of this initiative, Nika Kovač, recalls the situation of many women in Europe.

“In Europe, 20 million women do not have access to safe and accessible abortion. This means that women continue to die because of limited access to abortion,” she explains.

“We know that even if abortion is banned, women will always find a way to have it. And it’s often dangerous,” adds Nika Kovač.

The members of this initiative also stressed the importance of the petition in the current political context.

“When you see what is happening all over Europe, in Malta, in Poland, in so many countries, and the way the far right is trying to use fundamental human rights, to suppress them, to make them a subject for debate…I think it would be shameful not to fight to defend them,” says Anastasia Giamali, an activist who came from Greece to support the text.

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Strong differences

This initiative is a reminder that there are major disparities across Europe when it comes to time limits and rules on abortion.

25 EU Member States have legalised voluntary termination of pregnancy. However, the time limit for abortion varies from 10 weeks in Portugal and Croatia to 24 weeks in the Netherlands. The vast majority of countries set a 12-week window for an abortion.

Poland and Malta are the two Member States with very restrictive legislation. Warsaw allows abortion in cases of rape or danger to the mother’s life. In Malta, the life of the mother and the viability of the foetus are the necessary conditions for abortion.

The Commission has until March to decide whether or not to act on the petition. The Commission also stated in a press release that the initiative does not seek to create a European right to abortion.

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Rescuers comb Venezuelan quake rubble, thousands reported missing

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Rescuers comb Venezuelan quake rubble, thousands reported missing
Rescuers worked through the night on Friday to save hundreds of Venezuelans trapped in rubble and find thousands more missing after two of the biggest earthquakes in Latin America’s modern history ​smashed areas in and around the capital Caracas.
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Video shows gaping hole after small plane crashes into towering skyscraper

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Video shows gaping hole after small plane crashes into towering skyscraper

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Video captured a large emergency response after a small plane crashed into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper on Friday, prompting an immediate information blackout from Chinese authorities, The Associated Press reported.

Video and photos shared on social media appear to show the aircraft plummeting to the ground after smashing a large hole in the 108-story CITIC Tower, located in the Chinese capital’s business district. 

Police, fire and EMS workers were spotted at the scene preventing witnesses from taking photos and attempting to clear the area.

People gather near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026, after an eyewitness reported plane debris at the base of Beijing’s tallest building. Video footage taken from a nearby building by the witness showed fire trucks blasting water at smoke billowing from the 528-metre (1,732-foot) CITIC Tower, while the wreck of a plane lay on the ground beside the building. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)

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SEE IT: SMALL PLANE CRASH IN CALIFORNIA LEAVES GAPING HOLE IN ROOF, PILOT KILLED

A person working inside the high-rise said the plane crash triggered the building’s fire alarms. 

Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicated the aircraft was a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, which took off about 30 miles east of the city and crashed shortly before 6 p.m. local time. 

ADS-B data for the flight only includes a partial flight path and stops prior to the crash, according to air traffic data.

A hole is seen (R) on the side of the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026, after a reported plane crash. (Peter Catterall/AFP via Getty Images)

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The AP reported that photos and videos of the incident escaped the country’s “great firewall” and were circulated on social media platform X, though Chinese censors have removed content about the crash from the country’s restricted internet. 

No information has been released by government officials or state-run media, as of Friday afternoon.

Police personnel block the road near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)

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The cause of the crash, identity of the pilot, and the number of casualties remain unclear.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

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Burkina Faso cuts diplomatic ties with former colonial ruler France

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Burkina Faso cuts diplomatic ties with former colonial ruler France

The military government, in power since a coup in 2022, accused France of having ‘neo-colonial ambitions’.

Burkina Faso has broken off diplomatic relations with France, further widening the rift with its former colonial ruler.

“The government of Burkina Faso hereby informs the national and international community that it has decided to sever diplomatic relations with France with effect from today, June 26, 2026,” said Friday’s statement read out on national television.

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The military government led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, in power since a coup in September 2022, is pursuing a policy against critical voices and Western countries, especially France.

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In the TV announcement, the government accused France of persistently acting against its interests.

“The essential conditions for promoting relations based on mutual ⁠respect, reciprocal trust, respect ⁠for the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and national sovereignty are not in place,” said Communications ⁠Minister, Gilbert Ouedraogo.

He said the decision ⁠followed a review of relations with Paris. He accused France of having “neo-colonial ambitions, made evident by its active support for subversive networks and the terrorists who are plunging our country and the Sahel into mourning”.

In January, political parties in Burkina Faso were formally dissolved by the military government, which has also seized all their assets in a move analysts say is a major blow for democracy in the West African nation.

Landlocked Burkina Faso is grappling with several armed groups which have seized control of land in the country’s north, south and west. These include the al-Qaeda-backed Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), which also operate in neighbouring Mali and Niger.

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Burkina Faso’s military has been accused of committing atrocities, including the ethnic cleansing of Fulani civilians, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch found last April.

According to the government statement released on Friday, the decision to cut ties with France “exclusively concerns diplomatic relations between the two states” and “does not call into question the historical, human, cultural and social ties between the people of Burkina Faso and France”.

It added that French nationals in Burkina Faso will continue to be protected in accordance with the law.

Once a significant power in northern, central and western Africa, France has seen its influence shrink in recent years, especially as many of its former African colonies, particularly in the Sahel, have distanced themselves and become more closely aligned with Russia and China.

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