Uruguay Abortion Bill — The Uruguayan Senate approved a bill that allows first-trimester abortions for any reason, reports the New York Times. The bill, which is expected to become law by early next month, legalizes abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape and permits later-term abortions when a woman’s health is at risk. “Uruguay’s bill has furthered the debate about abortion legislation in Latin America, a bastion of Roman Catholicism and a region where evangelical faiths are growing rapidly,” wrote the Times.
Egyptian Doctors — Doctors in Egypt are on strike, demanding an increase in the national health care budget, a pay raise, and improved security in hospitals that have been marked with growing violence, according to the Los Angeles Times. Decades of mismanagement have battered public services in Egypt, where more than 80% of the Health Ministry’s hospital-run clinics have been affected by the walkout. “The state of Egypt’s public health care,” said the Times, “mirrors a nation burdened by economic turmoil, striking workers, widespread poverty, overwhelmed institutions and the sense that little has improved since President Hosni Mubarak was deposed in February 2011.”
E.U.-U.S. Free Trade — Officials from the European Union and the U.S. say the two sides will start talks on a free trade deal early next year, notes Reuters. U.S. trade officials told Reuters that negotiations on a bilateral free trade and investment agreement will go ahead in 2013 but no announcement will be made until after the U.S. presidential election. Two-way trade in goods and services amounts to $700 billion annually and, according to estimates by the European Commission, a free trade treaty could raise economic output by $158 billion a year for the E.U. alone.
Colombia Peace Negotiations – Peace talks have begun in Oslo between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) reports Aljazeera. Thursday will the see the first direct negotiations between the two sides in over a decade. Numerous attempts have been made to negotiate peace with the rebel organization since its formation in 1964. Along with Cuba, Norway is playing the role of facilitator in a peace process that hopes to end nearly 50 years of conflict.
Uranium Down Under – Australia and India have agreed to begin talks on civil nuclear energy cooperation between the two nations, writes the Christian Science Monitor. The agreement would eventually allow Australia to export uranium to India, a country in need of increased energy supplies. Australia holds 40% of the world’s known uranium but has had a long-term ban on exporting to countries that have not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. India has refused to sign the treaty arguing that it discriminates against countries that carried out tests after the treaty came into force in 1970.
Chinese Economy Slowing – Economic data from the world’s second-largest economy shows that China has expanded at its slowest pace since 2009 during the third quarter of this year, notes the New York Times. The economy expanded by 7.4 percent in the third quarter, a figure which was below the 7.6 percent growth reported for the second quarter. Though data from the month of September shows that the country’s deceleration may be coming to an end. The Chinese economy has played an important role in global growth in recent years, while European and American economies battle the global financial crisis.