TV News LIES

MPs cheered in the House of Commons as it was announced that royal assent had been given to the new Bill, paving the way for the first same-sex weddings next spring.

The Queen, who is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, gave her formal approval to the Bill – one of the most radical pieces of social legislation of her reign – this afternoon.

The European Union has dealt a harsh blow to the Israeli settlement enterprise in a directive that insists all future agreements between the EU and Israel must explicitly exclude Jewish colonies in the West Bank or East Jerusalem.

The move, described by an Israeli official as an "earthquake", prompted furious criticism from the Israeli prime minister over "external diktats".

But it was hailed by Palestinians and their supporters as a significant political and economic sanction against settlements.

Judging by the headlines—“Israel names Romney backer to be ambassador to Washington,” “Israel's next U.S. envoy: Right-wing neo-con with close ties to Bush family”—Ron Dermer’s greatest sin is that he didn’t support Barack Obama’s reelection. That’s silly.

Israeli prime ministers and American presidents have been trying to unseat each other since Dermer was in graduate school. In 1996, two Democratic political consultants served as liaisons between Israel Prime Minister Shimon Peres and President Bill Clinton in their coordinated bid to defeat Benjamin Netanyahu.

A group of 17 U.S. retailers and clothing makers -- including Walmart, Target and Gap -- have agreed to a five-year safety pact aimed at improving conditions at Bangladesh apparel factories.

They're also agreeing to set up basic safety standards within three months. And it calls for inspecting all factories that supply their garments within a year.

Retailers have been under pressure to improve the oversight and safety of Bangladesh factories since an April building collapse killed 1,129 garment workers there. It was the deadliest incident in the history of the garment industry and followed a November fire in another Bangladesh garment factory fire that killed 112 workers.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians flooded into the streets on the first anniversary of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi's inauguration on Sunday to demand that he resign in the biggest challenge so far to rule by his Muslim Brotherhood.

Waving national flags and chanting "Get out!", a crowd of more than 200,000 massed on Cairo's central Tahrir Square. It was the largest demonstration since the 2011 uprising that overthrew Mursi's predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.

Kevin Rudd, Australia's former leader, has ousted Prime Minister Julia Gillard as Labor chief in a dramatic ballot, deposing the country's first female prime minister as the party fights for electoral survival.

The embattled Gillard - who announced she will quit politics in September - called the vote on Wednesday after a day of internal party manoeuvring in favour of her arch-rival and predecessor, whom she had deposed in 2010.