☕️ UK to ban conversion practices

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Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, in a post to Facebook. Taylor's comments came after the Federal Court on Friday ruled in favour of transgender woman Roxanne Tickle in her discrimination case against the founder of a women-only app. The founder of the 'Giggle for Girls' app had appealed a 2024 court decision that found excluding a transgender woman from the platform was discriminatory. The Full Federal Court upheld that ruling on Friday. You can read more about the case here.

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King Charles III has announced the UK Government will try to ban conversion practices.

Each year, the reigning UK monarch opens Parliament with a speech previewing the Government’s agenda.

This year, the King confirmed a “draft bill to ban abusive conversion practices” will be brought forward.

It will seek to ban activities aimed at changing or suppressing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The current Government already announced a draft bill to ban the practice in 2024, but it did not progress.

The King’s Speech is a ceremonial address delivered to members of Parliament, marking the formal start of a new parliamentary year.

The Government writes the speech for the King to read, outlining the legislation it plans to introduce and pass over the coming year.

The previous King’s Speech was delivered in 2024, shortly after the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won Government.

The bill is aimed at criminalising conversion practices (sometimes known as conversion ‘therapy’), defined as activities intended to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

It seeks to ban individuals or organisations from offering, conducting, or receiving payment for the practices.

Under the draft bill, those convicted of the offence could face penalties of up to £5,000 ($AU9,300).

Local LGBTQIA+ advocacy groups noted this is the fourth time a King’s Speech has promised legislation to ban conversion practices, and the second time under the current Government.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

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The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an abortion medication can continue to be distributed by mail nationwide.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court in Louisiana ruled in favour of the state after it sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over access to mifepristone.

The Supreme Court has now temporarily blocked that ruling, allowing the drug to continue being distributed by mail across the U.S., regardless of individual state abortion laws.

Here’s what you need to know.

In 2023, medication abortion accounted for 63% of terminations in the U.S.

Mifepristone is a steroid that blocks progesterone, a hormone needed to sustain a pregnancy. It is used alongside the drug misoprostol to terminate pregnancies within the first 10 weeks.

In 2021, the FDA lifted a requirement for mifepristone to be accessed in person.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, abortion has been illegal in Louisiana at all stages of pregnancy, except in limited medical emergencies.

In October 2025, Louisiana sued the FDA over rules allowing abortion pill mifepristone to be distributed by mail, arguing the policy conflicts with the state’s abortion ban and federal law.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court covering Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas ruled in the state’s favour, temporarily reinstating a requirement for the drug to be dispensed in person.

Two pharmaceutical companies, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, then filed an emergency request to the U.S. Supreme Court.

GenBioPro argued the ruling would cause significant financial loss, saying mifepristone “accounts for the majority” of its revenue.

Danco said the restrictions would “disrupt patients’ access to the standard regimen for medication abortion in ways that FDA determined are appropriate... no matter where they live.”

This week, the Supreme Court temporarily paused the appeals court ruling, meaning mifepristone can continue to be distributed by mail while the legal challenge continues.

In a statement on X, an FDA spokesperson said the organisation is “committed to protecting the health and safety of women.”

“The Supreme Court’s order, issued today, maintains the status quo... The FDA will press forward to complete its science-based safety review of mifepristone,” the spokesperson said.

The American Civil Liberties Union called the decision “a critical victory”, adding it would “keep fighting back” against what it described as “baseless attacks on medication abortion”.

Two Supreme Court justices opposed the decision to reverse the ban.

Justice Clarence Thomas said it is a “criminal offence” to “ship mifepristone for use in abortions.”

“They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes,” he said of the pharmaceutical companies.

In his dissent, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said: “Danco and GenBioPro are obviously aware of what is going on yet nevertheless supply the drug and reap profits from its felonious use in Louisiana.”

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

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During an address to students of NC State’s Wilson College, biotech entrepreneur Anil Kochhar reflected on his late father, who studied textile manufacturing there.

“He could not have imagined the life it would create, or that one day his son would stand here speaking to a graduating class at the very institution that welcomed him,” he said.

In honour of his father, Kochhar then revealed he and his wife would provide “a graduation gift to cover all the final year educational loans incurred by the Wilson College graduates during the 2026 academic year.” He said he hoped the gesture would give the students “greater freedom” to pursue their goals. 

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

Beyoncé’s Single Ladies, Taylor Swift’s 1989, and even Weezer’s grunge-era Blue Album have officially entered the U.S. National Recording Registry.

Each year, the Library of Congress selects recordings considered culturally, historically, or artistically significant – and this year’s class also includes the original Chicago cast album and a radio broadcast of Muhammad Ali’s iconic 1971 fight against Joe Frazier.

More than 3,000 recordings were nominated by the public before 25 were chosen.

The registry now holds 700 titles spanning decades of music, pop culture, and history.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.