Thailand’s parliament gives first approval to same-sex marriage

Today's news: new deaths in Israel and Lebanon in the war front with Hezbollah. The Singapore ship that caused the Baltimore disaster had passed two overhauls last year. Mumbai overtakes Beijing in number of billionaires. Russian dissident Kara-Murza's wife: prisoner exchanges with Moscow political prisoners to save their lives. 

THAILAND

Thailand's lower house has passed a law legally recognizing same-sex marriage. To become law, the bill still needs to be approved by the Senate and royal enactment. This is expected to happen by the end of 2024, making Thailand the only country in Southeast Asia to recognize same-sex unions.

LEBANON-ISRAEL

Fresh clashes in the last few hours in the Middle East, including on the northern front between Israel and Lebanon. An Israeli worker was killed this morning in Kyriat Shmona after an industrial area was hit by Hezbollah rockets in response to an Israeli raid that killed 7 people yesterday in al-Habbariyeh in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, last night in new demonstrations in Tel Aviv in favor of the ceasefire, 4 relatives of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas who were blocking a busy road were also arrested.

SINGAPORE-UNITED STATES

The Singapore-flagged Dali container ship which crashed into a pillar and caused the collapse of the Baltimore bridge passed two international port inspections last year. This was announced by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore. The inspections were carried out in June and September 2023. The crew of the ship - which was headed to Colombo in Sri Lanka - was made up of 22 sailors of Indian nationality, who promptly raised the alarm.

INDIA

According to the Global Rich List 2024 published by the Hurun Research Institute, Mumbai has overtaken Beijing as Asia's billionaire capital for the first time. Mumbai added 26 billionaires during the year to rise to third place overall in the world. The number of billionaires in India has reached 271 with a combined wealth of trillion.

MONGOLIA

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are seeking to seize two New York apartments purchased by former Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold with stolen mining funds. In a high-end real estate money laundering operation, it emerged that Batbold and his family purchased the two Midtown Manhattan apartments for a total of million in 2012 and 2015.

RUSSIA

The wife of Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza, Evgenija, appealed to the authorities of all Western countries, in a meeting with journalists in Geneva, to propose prisoner exchanges to Moscow with the aim of freeing political prisoners in Russia, like her husband sentenced to 25 years in concentration camps and many others. “People's lives are at stake,” she commented.

TURKMENISTAN

The Interior Ministry of Turkmenistan has ordered meetings to be organized throughout the country with state employees, teachers and students of all schools to discuss the "fight against terrorism", and has invited all those who are carrying out his studies in Russia, following the March 22 massacre, to "avoid any involvement".

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