BERMUDA
Voters reject gay marriage
A strong majority of voters have opposed same-sex marriage in a non-binding referendum in the British island territory. Results showed large majorities voting against same-sex marriage and civil unions in separate questions, but the referendum was invalidated because turnout was below 50 percent, officials said on Friday. Prime Minister Michael Dunkley said his government was evaluating the results of Thursday’s vote, in which 69 percent opposed same-sex marriage and 63 percent rejected civil unions. He said the results mean those supporting same-sex marriage in Bermuda will likely go to court to challenge the ban on its recognition. “This has been and will continue to be a highly sensitive matter,” he said. “Despite our differences, we must progress forward. And my hope is that as we move forward as a country, we move ahead with greater tolerance, understanding and respect and appreciation for one another?” Dunkley’s government scheduled the non-binding referendum after it considered legalizing same-sex marriage in May last year, amid strong opposition in the Atlantic Ocean island territory.
MEXICO
Police agents gunned down
Three federal police agents were gunned down in the violence-torn southwestern state of Guerrero on Friday as they ate in a market, according to a security official. The three agents, dressed in civilian clothes, were surprised a group of armed men in the city of Chilapa, a federal police agent said. Federal police are one of the main security forces, next to the military, fighting drug gangs. Chilapa is close to Ayotzinapa college, the school of 43 Mexican students who were apparently massacred in 2014.
UNITED STATES
Transgender troop ban lifted
The Pentagon is set to lift its ban on transgender troops within the coming weeks, media reported on Friday. The move would be another major milestone for the country’s vast military, which up until five years ago still banned gay troops from openly discussing their sexuality under a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. USA Today said the transgender announcement is expected on Friday next week and the plan would require each branch of the military to phase in the new policy over a 12-month period. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook declined to confirm reports, but said a decision was due “soon.” Currently, Pentagon rules allow transgender troops to be discharged from the military. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter last year ordered all military roles — including combat positions — to be opened to women. Representative Steny Hoyer welcomed the news. “The reversal of the ban is a major step forward in the effort to secure the full rights and equality of LGBT people in our country, and it will strengthen our military by ensuring that talented, dedicated candidates are not turned away or discouraged from serving because of their gender identity,” he said in a statement. The country’s military has about 1.3 million service members.
UNITED STATES
Tanker runs aground
A nearly 183m chemical tanker ran aground on an Alaska island in the Bering Sea. The coast guard said there were no signs of pollution or injury to the 24-member crew after it hit Nunivak Island on Friday morning. The ship is carrying 53.75 million liters of various fuel products. Coast guard Petty Officer Kelly Parker said they are investigating why the Champion Ebony, sailing under a Norwegian flag, ran aground.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense
CRITICISM: ‘One has to choose the lesser of two evils,’ Pope Francis said, as he criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and Harris’ pro-choice position Pope Francis on Friday accused both former US president Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris of being “against life” as he returned to Rome from a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. The 87-year-old pontiff’s comments on the US presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. It was Francis’ longest trip in duration and distance since becoming head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 11 years ago. Despite the marathon visit, he held a long and spirited
China would train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction,” its minister for public security has said. “We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) told an annual global security forum. Wang made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organizations such as Interpol. The forum is part of ongoing