Friday, 30 June 2017
WORLD NEWS
Germany set for snap gay marriage vote
German MPs are expected to vote to legalise same-sex marriage, days after Chancellor Angela Merkel dropped her opposition to the idea. The reform would give gay men and lesbians full marital rights, and allow them to adopt children.At present, German same-sex couples are limited to civil unions. On Monday Mrs Merkel, who previously opposed a vote on gay marriage, said she would allow MPs from her CDU party to "follow their conscience".
During her 2013 election campaign, Angela Merkel argued against gay marriage on the grounds of "children's welfare," and admitted that she had a "hard time" with the issue.But at an event hosted by the women's magazine "Brigitte" on 26 June, she shocked the German media by announcing on stage that she had noted other parties' support for it, and would allow a free vote in the future.
U.S. Treasury Department announces new sanctions to increase pressure on North Korea
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a new set of actions Thursday aimed at increasing pressure on North Korea, including cutting off a Chinese bank that is accused of laundering money and providing financing to North Korea in violation of international sanctions.
"This bank has served as a gateway to North Korean access to the U.S. and international financial systems that has facilitated millions of dollars in transactions for North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs," Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said at the daily White House briefing Thursday.
Mnuchin made clear that the United States is "in no way targeting China with these actions" and that U.S. officials "look forward to continuing to work closely with the government of China to stop the illicit financing in North Korea." In a statement, the Treasury Department accused the China-based Bank of Dandong of "facilitating millions of dollars of transactions for companies involved in North Korea's [weapons of mass destruction] and ballistic missile programs."
Paris mosque: Man held after 'trying to ram crowd with vehicle'
A man has been arrested in Paris after trying to drive his vehicle into a crowd outside a mosque, police say. The incident took place at about 18:30 local time (16:30 GMT) in the suburb of Créteil and no-one was hurt.
The man was apparently thwarted by barriers put up to protect the mosque. The suspect's motives remain unclear but Le Parisien newspaper reported that he was of Armenian origin and had said he wanted to avenge Islamist-linked attacks in Paris.
Europe has seen a number of vehicle attacks in the past year, many by those claiming allegiance to IS. France remains under a state of emergency, in place since attacks on the capital in November 2015, including at the Bataclan theatre, claimed 130 lives.
Theresa May Wins First Confidence Vote, MPs in favour of Queen's Speech
Theresa May on Thursday won her first confidence vote by a narrow margin in the House of Commons on her parliamentary agenda set out in the Queen's Speech, her first major test as the prime minister of a minority government in the UK. The MPs voted in favour of the Queen's Speech by 323 votes to 309 with a majority of 14.
May was expected to sail through with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) voting with the Conservatives as part of a "confidence and supply" arrangement after the Tories lost their overall majority in the 8 June snap general election.
Votes on the Queen's Speech establish whether a government commands the confidence of the House of Commons. If the Conservatives were to lose, it could trigger another general election and therefore the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) support was crucial to ensure the vote goes through.
Trump risks angering China with $1.4bn arms deal to Taiwan
The US state department has approved arms sales to Taiwan worth a total of $1.4bn, the first such deal with the self-governing island since Donald Trump took office. The sale announced on Thursday will anger China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory. It comes at a delicate time for relations between Washington and Beijing over efforts to rein in nuclear-armed North Korea.
The sale to Taiwan comprises seven items, including technical support for early warning radar, anti-radiation missiles, torpedoes and components for SM-2 missiles, according to a US official who requested anonymity to discuss the details before they were formally announced.
State department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Trump administrationhad notified Congress of its intent to approve seven proposed deals now valued at around $1.42bn. Nauert said the approvals did not violate the Taiwan Relations Act that governs US contacts with the island
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