Sunday, Nov 24th
Last update08:57:41 AM GMT
International Glance
Germany's parliament has voted by a wide margin to legalise same-sex marriage after Chancellor Angela Merkel changed her mind and said members of her ruling conservative bloc should follow their personal conscience rather than the party line.
The parliament voted by 393 to 226 on Friday in favour of same-sex marriage.
The reform gives full marital rights for same-sex couples and allows them to adopt children.
TVNL Comment: Great news. Better late than never...
Russia said it is ending logistical military coordination with the United States and threatened to shoot down any aircraft west of the Euphrates River after the U.S. Navy shot down a Syrian regime jet.
The "deconfliction" communication agreement between Washington, D.C., and Moscow was previously established to avoid problematic encounters while aircraft operated above Syrian territory.
The U.S.-led international coalition fighting the Islamic State on Sunday said it shot down a Syrian regime fighter jet because it was attacking the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces militia near Tabqah. The SDF is leading the ground offensive in Syria to capture the Islamic State's stronghold of Raqqa.
The United Arab Emirates' ambassador to the United States wants President Trump to use the U.S. airbase in Qatar as a political tool to press the country's government on supporting extremism.
“The air base is a very nice insurance policy against any additional pressure,” Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba said Tuesday. “Maybe someone in Congress should have a hearing and just say, you know, ’Should we consider moving it?’”
The Chinese government worked to weaken CIA spying operations by killing or imprisoning more than a dozen informants over two years, The New York Times reported Saturday.
American officials told the newspaper that the intelligence breach lasted from 2010 through the end of 2012, essentially undoing the spy network that had been built over many years.
Iran's reformist President Hassan Rouhani has decisively won the country's presidential election, according to official results, fending off a challenge by principlist rival, Ebrahim Raisi.
With all of votes in Friday's poll counted, Rouhani was re-elected with 57 percent, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmanifazli said on Saturday.
"Of some 41.2 million total votes cast, Rouhani got 23.5 ... and won the election," Rahmanifazli said in remarks carried live by state TV.
A global ransomware attack is holding more than 60,000 computers hostage.
Banks, telephone companies and hospitals have all been ensnared in the worldwide hack, with the malware locking down computers while demanding a hefty sum for freedom.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled against an American oil drilling company that claimed Venezuela unlawfully seized 11 drilling rigs in 2010. Siding with Venezuela, the justices ruled 8-0, with Justice Neil Gorsuch not participating.
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