this is bbc news — i'm krupa padhy — with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the us supreme court overturns the landmark roe versus wade ruling — ending the constitutional right to an abortion — that dates back nearly 50 yea rs. the historicjudgement will transform abortion rights in america — with individual states now able to ban or restrict the procedure. critics say the ruling is a major set—back to a woman's �*right to choose�*. president biden has strongly condemned the decision. the court literally taking america back 150 years. that is a sad day for the country but it does not mean the fight is over.

but senior republicans — including former vice president mike pence and mitch mcconnell — welcome the ruling — saying it's a victory for the unborn. fifty years of a legally—enshrined right to abortion in the united states has been brought to an end — after the country's supreme court decided to overturn its landmark ruling made in 1973. it means tens of millions of women across the us do not have their right to an abortion guaranteed by the constitution — and individual us states are now legally entitled to ban the procedure. up to half of america's 50 states are expected to do so — and 13 have already passed so—called trigger laws — which automatically outlaw abortion with the court's ruling.

our north america editor sarah smith is at the supreme court for us now. this is a huge, historic moment for america. as they hear the news from the court, there isjubilation from anti—abortionists. life won today! "life won today," they chant, celebrating a victory after almost 50 years. i have seen the devastation that abortion has wrought on our country, on the communal level and then a personal level, and this is so vindicating to know that we can now take tangible steps to lessen the violence of abortion in our country. ten years ago, did you ever| imagine this would happen? i imagined it a lot, but i still... people told me it was impossible, that we would never see this kind of victory, and now i know that victory is not only possible, it happened. so we are going to work

out of this momentum, we are going to keep going, we're going to keep fighting, and we're going to build a better world. fury from those campaigning to keep the guaranteed right to abortion, promising to fight back. it's not the will of the people, and this country's supposed to run off of the will of the people. i'm 21, and i'm terrified! we have a lot of work to do to make that happen, but we will never give up. it's 50 years since there was last a significant decision on abortion rights in america. it might be another 50. it might be 50 more, sure. but we're not going to stop. it doesn't matter. it doesn't matter what they say. again, abortions will continue, theyjust won't be legal, and women will die from botched abortions — it's obvious this ruling is not going to end the arguments over abortion in america. in fact, it will inflame them. in this deeply polarised society, abortion is already one of the most divisive issues. even the president is powerless to change the ruling. with this decision, the conservative majority of the supreme court shows how

extreme it is, how far removed they are from the majority of this country. they have made the united states and outlier among developed nations in the world. but this decision must not be the final word. abortion rights have been fought over four decades. in a landmark ruling, the supreme court legalised abortions. in 1973, the supreme court ruled in a test case of roe versus wade that women must have access to abortion across america, a decision totally reversed today. it is my profound honour to be the first president in history to attend the march for life.

as president, donald trump deliberately appointed three pro—life justices to the court, making the ruling possible. he said that god made the decision. in fact, it was six of the ninejudges. by a vote of 6—3, the court affirmed that the power to protect unborn life is returned to the people and their elected representatives. the people have won a victory. # jesus loves the little children. . . # activists view today's victory as merely a first step. they will now take their campaigns to every state which allows terminations, trying to get abortion banned in the whole of the united states. and sarah told us more about what might happen next. well, already several states have enacted immediate bans on abortion, and more will follow in the days and weeks to come. you heard president biden saying he thinks this is a sad day for america. even though he and the democrats control the white house and both houses of congress, there is

nothing they can do about the supreme court ruling. and the democrats don't have enough votes in the senate to be able to pass a new law that would guarantee abortion rights. so, for now, president biden says what he can do is try to make sure that women who want abortions but live in states that have banned the procedure are able to travel to other places where the termination can still be performed, places like new york state, which now says it is a safe haven for women seeking the procedure. this really radical decision that has come from this very conservative supreme court is not necessarily going to stop here. we heard one of thejustices today making it clear that he thinks that the court should now revisit some other progressive rulings, the ones that guarantee things like access to abortion, or legalise same six marriage, it is possible they could look at these and the in—built conservative majority could overturn them. there could be significant and sweeping change coming to america.

there are 13 us states which have laws in place to impose an immediate ban on abortion — now that roe versus wade has been overturned by the supreme court. one of them is arkansas. sophie long reports from an abortion clinic in the state capital, little rock. just a warning — her report contains some distressing detail. it was exactly the ruling they'd been dreading. when the decision was delivered, it extinguished their final flickers of hope. outside, they had to turn women away. abortion is murder. it's just been upheld. inside, they had to deal with the realisation that the care they provided here is now a criminal offence... i don't think there's a waiting period there, but it is about

a five—and—a—half— hour drive. ..and tell people they can no longer help. i'd say it's like having to turn women away, like... it sucks. jennifer thompson first came here as a patient. she says her abortion saved her life, and the care she received here inspired her to train so she could do the same for others. and now i have to tell them, i'm sorry, but there's nothing i can do for you. i'm sorry that your boyfriend beats you every day and that he rapes you all the time. there's nothing i can do. you're going to have to find somewhere else to go. i mean, i can give them information to help them try, but it's heartbreaking, man. like, you know, this place saved my life, literally, and to not be able to provide anybody else with that when i know what this place is capable of, it's heartbreaking, man. for more than ten years, dr willie parker has travelled here from another state because the restrictive laws and the threat of violence orfinancial ruin has long been too great for local doctors to carry out abortions here themselves.

i feel angry in the way that anybody who is deeply vested in human rights should feel angry and outraged and indignant, any time they are witnessing injustice. we will come to recognise the full cost of criminalising abortion when we start to see the bump in the rise in maternal mortality and morbidity, suffering and death related to conditions that are unique to pregnancy. for the anti—abortion protesters outside, this is a good day. it will be a day of celebration for me, though we will not fully celebrate until abortion is eradicated fully from our land, until little rock family planning services, for example, is closed down, and does not reopen, then we can celebrate for sure. they will continue their fight, but the supreme court's ruling will fundamentally change the course of the lives of all the women who pass the protesters every day to provide the care they did here. sophie long, bbc news, little rock, arkansas.

the decision by the supreme court has led to international reaction — from governments around the world. the british prime minister borisjohnson called the ruling a big step backwards, saying he'd always believed in a woman's right to choose. in france, president macron condemned the ruling, tweeting "i express my solidarity with women whose freedoms are today challenged by the supreme court of the united states of america." but there was a different sentiment from the vatican. the headquarters of the roman catholic church praised the supreme court's decision on abortion, saying in a statement it challenged the whole world to reflect on life issues. the whole world to reflect with me is our reporter shelley phelps. what more have we heard from international leaders? element this is a huge and significant day in america. global leaders are watching the scenes on their tv screens as well and have been responding on twitter

under news interviews. we have had from the canadian prime minister who has been posting on twitter about this. he said the ruling is horrific and that his heart goes out to the millions of american women who will be affected. he said that no government politician or man should be telling a woman what she can do to her body and we have also heard from the spanish prime minister adverse sanchez. he said women must be able to decide freely about their own lives and concerns notjust their own lives and concerns not just about, their own lives and concerns notjust about, concerns their own lives and concerns not just about, concerns first and foremost for what this will mean for women in america but also what the global consequences of this ruling will be said the prime minister of belgium, he is saying that he is very concerned about the implications of this decision but also the signal that it sends around the world. and the first minister of scotland to make the sturgeon has also been reacting. she described this as one of the darkest days for women's rights in her lifetime.

and she said she is concerned about how this could embolden the anti—abortion and anti—women forces in other countries and we have notjust been hearing from global leaders. we have also been hearing from the heart of the world health organization who says he was disappointed by this decision and said he would have expected america, you know, to be protecting women's rights. you mention the key word there, signal. lots of countries may well not have formally commented as yet but they will be watching and seeing what this might mean for their country. seeing what this might mean for their country-— their country. particularly in latin america. _ their country. particularly in latin america. the - their country. particularly in latin america. the media . their country. particularly in - latin america. the media there will be reacting with shock and critical commentary because some people are commenting that this ruling is going on a different direction there was a lot of efforts to ease anti—abortion legislation in traditionally catholic areas. one mexican senator vowing there would be no step back in there would be no step back in the work she was doing to decriminalise abortion in

mexico and it was causing a lot of outrage. among latin america pro—choice campaigners. compare that with el salvador where anti—abortion politicians who control the parliament that, they have welcomed this ruling today and they insist that this proves that their position, that they are in step and meanwhile in india we have been delayed making from gender activists who say this is a huge step back for women's rights and they are worried about the impact this is going to have on women's reproductive rights and the cascading effect that this could have around the world and tonight there are protest planned in 50 cities across america. but i am sure there will no doubt be protest rallies, on both sides of this debate elsewhere around the world as well.— world as well. thank you so much. world as well. thank you so much- you _ world as well. thank you so much. you mention - world as well. thank you so much. you mention voters l world as well. thank you so - much. you mention voters than there are protests taking place

outside the us senate. both for and against that ruling from the supreme court so heated seems the. people have been gathering for a number of hours since that ruling came into play. stay with us here on bbc news. still to come. for opponents of abortion this is a victory years in the making. we will get the views from taxes for many are celebrating. china marked its first day of ruling hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony in the chinese president said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the words first clone has been word's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly who was cloned in a laboratory

using cells from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft has docked at the start of a new area of cooperation in space. challenger powered past the lighthouse that almost 50 knots shout to be a record that had stood for 3h years and there was the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. the us supreme court has ended the constitutional right to have an abortion. it means the landmark roe v wade ruling, dating back nearly 50 years, has been overturned. the historicjudgement is set to transform abortion rights in america, with individual states now able to ban or restrict the procedure.

the supreme court ruling has been condemned by leading democrats. the former president, barack obama, called it an attack on essential freedoms. vice president kamala harris has also expressed her concern. this is a health care crisis. because understand, millions of women in america will go to bed tonight without access to the health care and reproductive care that they had this morning. without access to the same health care or reproductive health care that their mothers and grandmothers had for 50 years. this is the first time in the history of our nation that a constitutional right has been taken from the

people of america. in texas, the state's republican leadership has long sought to ban abortions. earlier i spoke to bryan hughes, republican member of the texas state senate. it is obviously a big day in america. doctor king talked about america rising up and living out the true meaning of its creed that all men are created equal. all people created equal. all people created equal. all people created equal. today we took a big step in that direction. the little unborn baby growing inside her mother's whim. that innocent debate baby is the most deserving of protection a person can ever be under date equal protection has been extended to that little baby and while we save the baby's labour also, and while we save the baby's labouralso, in and while we save the baby's labour also, in taxes, and while we save the baby's labouralso, in taxes, going and while we save the baby's labour also, in taxes, going to love, support and respect the mothers when we passed the heartbeat for last year we increased funding to $100

million just to help those mums who are facing difficult pregnancies, difficult choices. we can save the life of the baby while we love and respect and support the mother. that is what we're going to do in taxes so this is a big day. it is what we're going to do in taxes so this is a big day.— so this is a big day. it is a big day — so this is a big day. it is a big day i _ so this is a big day. it is a big day i do _ so this is a big day. it is a big day i do want - so this is a big day. it is a big day i do want to - so this is a big day. it is a big day i do want to talk i so this is a big day. it is a - big day i do want to talk about the implications for your state but there is research shows that two thirds of americans believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. do you believe that this ruling, that your positioning on this is in line with the sentiments of the majority of americans? as you know, this ruling means that each state, the people of each state will make their own decisions. the ruling today does not end abortion. the ruling today let the people make these decisions just like our constitutional system designed. we are states that are laboratories of democracy, different states try different approaches and that is where we

will be now. taxes will move towards protecting more innocent human life. states like california will have a lot more abortions and people can vote with their feet. they can decide what policies they prefer. they can advocate for those policies that this is federalism where each state makes its own decisions. whether people make their own decisions. this is a good move. what does that mean practically for your state. what does that mean practically foryourstate. i what does that mean practically for your state. i know you are central in bringing about a ban on abortion after six weeks there in taxes. practically speaking, we have been hearing a great deal about trigger laws which will virtually ban abortion in various states in the united states. what does it mean for taxes? we the united states. what does it mean for taxes?— mean for taxes? we did pass a triu aer mean for taxes? we did pass a trigger law _ mean for taxes? we did pass a trigger law last _ mean for taxes? we did pass a trigger law last year _ mean for taxes? we did pass a trigger law last year that - mean for taxes? we did pass a trigger law last year that now | trigger law last year that now will take effect on so that means that we will, of course, allow abortions for the mothers who want them when the mother's life is at risk or there is a serious adverse to the mother's

l. of course, the mother should be allowed to make that decision. forabortions be allowed to make that decision. for abortions in healthy babies and healthy mums, there is little unborn babies will now be protected in taxes so our trigger law will take effect here in a few weeks but already, already today, it was 1973 invoke the weight, texas�* case where the supreme court blocked enforcement of the texas abortion laws to stop abortion except for the life of the health of the mother. we passed a law last year and the heartbeat law, reaffirming that those pre—the weight statutes are still alive and ones where the weight goes away those laws come back into effect so immediately in texas, immediately in texas, immediately in texas, immediately in taxes, of course, to save the life of the mother of the mother�*s health, abortions are allowed if the mother chooses. beyond that, there is little unborn baby is growing inside the mother swims, they�*re going to be protected in texas starting today. i protected in texas starting toda . ., ., protected in texas starting toda. ., ., , ., today. i want to unpick some of what just had — today. i want to unpick some of whatjust had to _ today. i want to unpick some of whatjust had to say _

today. i want to unpick some of whatjust had to say therefore l whatjust had to say therefore to peter about the well—being of little unborn babies. can talk about mothers. because we�*re already seeing a rise the number of women in taxes crossing the border into mexico because we are seeing a large number of latin american countries liberalising when it comes to their abortion laws, many believe america is going backwards on that front. they are risking their lives, in many cases, to travel to other countries to have these abortions. having unsafe abortions. having unsafe abortions. does that not put their lives at risk? where do you stand on that? that this may result in more mothers who believe that abortion is the only choice for them. the right choice for them. that this could lead to their lives being put at risk. irate could lead to their lives being put at risk-— put at risk. we want to give those mothers _ put at risk. we want to give those mothers more - put at risk. we want to give | those mothers more options put at risk. we want to give - those mothers more options are more opportunities. and you talk to women who have been to an abortion most of them will say, they have sadistic polling and interviews, most of them

will say, it may circumstances were different, i would have made a different choice. that is why, that is why we set up this programme to provide more help, tangible help. baby formula, carseats, baby close, diapers, job training, parenting classes. help with adoption. we are offering tangible help to those mothers so that they will have more options. there are two lives at issue here. there is a life of the mother and the life of the little unborn baby. we want to love them both and protect them both and that we are going to do. ., ., , both and that we are going to do. . ., , �* ., , that was brian hughes. our north america correspondent anthony zurcher offered some context on this historic ruling. in the blink of an eye, almost, in more than 20 states, trigger laws and pre—existing bans on abortion that predate roe v

wade going to start going into effect and in certain states they are already going into fate in places like missouri, moments after became illegal. in taxes, that trigger law goes into effect on 30 days but had another abortion ban on the books that had been struck down by the court which is now going to go into effect so what you are seeing now is instantly, millions of americans, millions of women are no longer going to be able to get legal abortions in their states and if they want abortion, will have to look at travelling across state lines to get them. the abortion cases, roe v wade and planned parenthood decided in 1992 upholding the abortion protections, they rested on this idea of due process in the 14th amendment to the us constitution, that there were certain things that americans, citizens, were guaranteed of their life, liberty and property etc. now, other

supreme court precedents rested on that similar of due process rights. the right to contraception, striking down anti—laws, the concern among democrats and some legal scholars is that undercutting the principles behind both the weight and planned parenthood reduces the strength of those decisions and if you look at one of the concurring opinions in this case byjustice clarence thomas, he said that those cases deciding those issues should be looked at in a new light based on this decision by the supreme court. so there is concern even if one justice and others in the majority say that this is just the first step and other rights are going to be injeopardy. just before we go let�*s take you back to the supreme court in washington. this is where people have been protesting both for and against that ruling for the last few hours.

since that announcement, that roe v wade has been overturned at this and is the constitutional right to abortion in the united states. the decision is a major victory for right—wing and religious campaigners who have campaigned against pregnancy termination since they were legalised back in 1973. the conservative dominated court ruled by six votes to three that the decision to legalise abortions was legally wrong at the us constitution, as the us constitution, as the us constitution does not specifically mention abortion rights and after nominations by donald trump the supreme court has a strong conservative majority. however, opinion survey suggest that most american support women keeping the right to abortion. there is plenty more on that developing story over on bbc news online where we have a live page. and of course you can catch the story on our news app as well and you can catch me on twitter. and you can catch me on twitter.

you can reach me on twitter — i�*m @krupapadhybbc plenty of fine weather around this weekend but showers in the forecast, two. however, some of us may mist them all together and end up with a dry weekend. but i will add that around coastal areas it could be windy at times and a little on the cool side. this changeable weather as part of an area of low pressure which will basically pack itself over ireland. it has already arrived in the showers are becoming more frequent across western areas. they will be through the course of the next 24—hour is. we have had some showers in the last few hours. they will continue early saturday morning across parts of western scotland but generally speaking it is a dry into the night for many of us with clear spells

have attempted ranging from around 10—15 so not particularly cold first thing in the morning. let�*s have a look at the forecast for saturday, then. here is our area of low pressure of a cloud and shower swelling around. this is a cold atlantic breeze around these coastal areas of cornwall, devon, around the course of wales, the ibc and in scotland it will be chilly. temperatures around 15 or 16 in some spots. basically, the further east you are, the sunnier and warmer it will be under towards the west, always the chance of catching some showers and even some heavy ones, notjust of the afternoon but into evening and they will have a tendency to drift northwards. circling the survey of low pressure. at the saturday and this sunday and even some persistent rain for a time expected in northern ireland and around some of these western parts of the uk further east could dry and better. in fact, further east could dry and better. infact, in further east could dry and better. in fact, in east anglia and the south—east and probably along the south coast of england and which should be mostly sunny day on sunday.

here, temperatures up to 23 degrees and one of two spots but we are talking about the mid or high teens a little bit further towards the west. in this low pressure still with us early next week but what happens is it actually moves away and another one takes its place bringing spells of rain to western parts of the uk once again so overall we are in a speu again so overall we are in a spell of spare a fairly unsettled weather. here is the outlook for some other major cities and you can see the further north and west you are the more change abilities with the more change abilities with the showers. the best of the weather always be further south and south—east. have a good weekend.

this is bbc news with the headlines. millions of women in the united states have lost the constitutional right to have an abortion. after the supreme court overturned a 50—year—old ruling that legalised the procedure nationwide. the conservative dominated court voted five — four. president biden said he was stunned by the ruling, saying it was cruel and driven by extremism that set america back to the 19th century. he pledged to help women to cross state lines around abortion and urged voters to put personal freedoms on the ballot. his predecessor

donald trump, who