The genetic mother of twins born through a surrogate pregnancy has defeated the Irish government in a landmark lawsuit and won the right to be declared the mother on the children's birth certificates.
Afghanistan's president praised Pakistan on Tuesday for releasing a group of Taliban prisoners, a move he hopes will kick-start peace talks with the militant group, the president's office said.
Pressure mounted Thursday for the Irish government to draft a law spelling out when life-saving abortions can be performed _ a demand that came after a pregnant woman who was denied an abortion died.
The debate over legalizing abortion in Ireland flared Wednesday after the government confirmed that a woman in the midst of a miscarriage was refused an abortion and died in an Irish hospital after suffering from blood poisoning.
The Vatican on Tuesday told Irish bishops they had made excellent progress in enacting norms to protect children following decades of pedophile priest scandals, the first time the Holy See has ever endorsed the church's efforts to fight priestly sex abuse.
The Vatican on Saturday vigorously rejected claims it sabotaged efforts by Irish bishops to report priests who sexually abused children to police and accused the Irish prime minister of making an "unfounded" attack against the Holy See.
The Vatican made the rare move of recalling its ambassador to Ireland on Monday following accusations that the Holy See sabotaged efforts by Catholic bishops to report clerical sex abuse cases to police.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen announced Sunday he won't resign despite intense criticism of his management of the country's European-record deficit and its international bailout.
Ireland's constitutional ban on abortion violates pregnant women's right to receive proper medical care in life-threatening cases, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday, harshly criticizing Ireland's long inaction on the issue.
