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An Austrian court has ruled that gays and lesbians can “marry” each other, beginning in 2019. Same-sex couples have been able to register their partnerships with the Austrian government since 2010. But according to the court, these “legal partnerships” are basically indistinguishable from marriage, so denying same-sex “marriage” would be discriminatory. Two women who wanted to “marry” brought the case to the court with the help of a lawyer named Helmut Graupner. “[T]he distinction between marriage and registered partnership can not be maintained today without discriminating against same-sex couples,” said the court. “Because the separation into two legal institutions implies...

An increasing number of fishing boats from North Korea has been appearing off Japan – some in distress, some abandoned and some with dead bodies on board – raising fears about infiltration by spies as tension with North Korea surges.

China’s air force recently staged drills involving various aircraft through “routes and areas it has never flown before” over the Yellow and East seas near the Korean peninsula. SCMP Today: HK Edition Air force spokesman Shen Jinke made the announcement at an airport in northern China on Monday – the same day the United States and South Korea began their biggest joint air force exercise, and days after Pyongyang launched its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile to date. US deploys 24 stealth jets for massive air drill after North Korea warns it was ‘begging for nuclear war’ Without specifying the...

The European Union (EU) has warned Poland not to pass any legislation banning abortion in cases where unborn children are living with severe congenital disabilities. On November 15, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution initiating the formal process for rebuking an EU Member State found to be in “serious breach” of their obligations under the Treaty on European Union (TEU). The EP alleges that Poland may be in violation of core EU principles with respect to human rights and democratic values. While the EP’s resolution primarily addresses the independence of the judiciary, it also condemns Poland for considering pro-life...

This is what I wrote: The location of Israel’s capital is a question of fact, not opinion, and it is up to Israel. The Arabs may not like it, but Jerusalem is Israel’s capital: the Knesset is in Jerusalem, the Supreme Court is in Jerusalem, the Prime Minister’s office and official residence are in Jerusalem, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and most other government offices are in Jerusalem. Trump is right: not to acknowledge this basic reality is to perpetuate the vicious presumption that Israel, somehow, is not entitled to be treated like any other country. Moving our embassy to...

Ever since he announced his candidacy, conservative critics of Donald Trump have been put off by his willingness — at times, eagerness -- to smash norms. But us critics also should acknowledge that there are cases in which norms need to be smashed. President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is one of those cases and he deserves praise for his decision. For decades, the United States has perpetuated the fiction that there is some vagueness over the location of the capital of Israel. The U.S. Congress, in 1995, voted overwhelmingly to declare that Jerusalem is...

The 63-year-old Andrej Babis was officially tasked with naming the new Czech cabinet on Wednesday, with President Milos Zeman designating him prime minister in the Prague Castle ceremony. "Our country should be more active towards solving illegal immigration," Babis said after accepting his appointment. Babis' ANO movement won 78 deputy seats in the October vote, putting it far above any other of the eight remaining parliamentary parties in the state. Even so, ANO remains well short of a majority in 200-seat chamber. The populist Babis has so far failed to ensure support of any of the other factions. Babis is...

Tucker Carlson delivers commentary on FBI agent Peter Strzok and an "out of control" FBI on Monday's broadcast of his FOX News show. Strzok was heavily involved in two politicized cases -- the Clinton email investigation and the Russian collusion probe and oversaw interviews with Mike Flynn. "There are many examples of this, but the point is clear, the FBI is out of control and not just in the Trump investigation but much more broadly. An agency charged with enforcing the law clearly considers itself above the law, and that is a threat to you and every American, no matter...

Democrats are already revving up their outrage machine over President Trump's decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel (fact check: it is), and to set in motion a plan to accordingly move the US embassy from Tel Aviv. Trump's call is controversial and not without risk, but attempts to frame it as radically out of the mainstream or reckless are unfair and wrong. It's important to note that multiple past presidents have affirmed Jerusalem as Israel's capital or vowed to do precisely what Trump is finally doing -- from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush to Barack...

President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, beginning the process of relocating the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, has prompted warnings of Arab violence. The concern is that the move may undermine the chances of advancing peace efforts. King Abdullah of Jordan warned of the "dangerous repercussions" of such a move and Mahmoud Abbas warned of the consequences that such step may have on the peace process, as well as the overall stability of the region. These arguments were echoed by several countries including Turkey, Egypt, and Syria. France decalred that such an issue should...

Sometimes it is hard to do the right thing, but that doesn’t make it any less right. Such is the case with President Donald Trump's announcement that the United States will be moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. For far too many decades, both the United States and the rest of the world have played a silly game by pretending that Jerusalem is somehow not the legitimate capital of the state of Israel. Now that Donald Trump is in the White House he has done what Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama were unwilling to do:...

...if terrorists are motivated to act in the wake of a US decision to move the embassy, Jordan will hold a significant share of the blame.

Speaking from the Diplomatic Reception room at the White House Wednesday, President Trump officially declared the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel. “I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," Trump said. "This is a long overdue step to advance the peace process...acknowledging this fact is acknowledging reality." In his remarks, Trump said the recognition of Jerusalem as the capitol is essential to peace talks moving forward, a message to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. "Jerusalem is not just the heart of three great religions, but it is now...

‘Time to Officially Recognize Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel:’ Trump Recognition in the Interest of U.S. and Mideast Peace, Trump Says Trump Directs State Department to Begin Process of Moving U.S. Embassy U.S. Would Support ‘Two-State Solution’ to Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Trump Says Trump Says U.S. Not Taking Position on Final Status Issues Trump Says U.S. Will Work for an Agreement that Satisfies Israelis, Palestinians President Trump Asks Regional Leaders to Join U.S. in Mideast Peace Push

Full title............................Theresa May 'will challenge' Trump over his controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israeli capital in a showdown call after their diplomatic spat over Britain First tweet.................................'It is that the status of Jerusalem should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately form a shared capital between the Israeli and Palestinian states.

A Woodland mother fears her husband may be moved to Arizona and deported to Cambodia as early as this week, after an October immigration sweep that pulled 100 people off streets across the country. Forty-three-year-old Saerang Ye was on his way home from work as a mechanical engineer when he was picked up by ICE about a block from his home. He's been jailed at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Facility ever since -- he and his family having little idea about what's going on with his case. Brought to the states when he was just 6, Ye lost any protection...

The health crisis in socialist Venezuela is now reaching apocalyptic proportions as hospitals and pharmacies have just a fraction of the medicine and resources required to give people adequate medical treatment. This according to an extensive report from the independent newspaper El Nacional, entitled “Venezuela’s Health Holocaust,” which tells the stories of Venezuelans suffering at the hands of the country’s collapsed hospital system.

Doctors treating the U.S. embassy victims of suspected attacks in Cuba have discovered brain abnormalities as they search for clues to explain hearing, vision, balance and memory damage...It’s the most specific finding to date about physical damage, showing that whatever it was that harmed the Americans, it led to perceptible changes in their brains. The finding is also one of several factors fueling growing skepticism that some kind of sonic weapon was involved. Medical testing has revealed the embassy workers developed changes to the white matter tracts that let different parts of the brain communicate, several U.S. officials said, describing...

(JTA) — The Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, D.C., canceled its Christmas reception due to President Trump’s expected announcement that he will be recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

U.S. diplomatic missions in Israel and Jordan are barring employees and families from personal visits to Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank and cautioning citizens to take care, citing “widespread calls for demonstrations” starting Wednesday in response to President Trump’s planned policy announcement on Jerusalem. […] Hamas is calling for a “day of rage” on Friday in response, with implicit calls for violence. In a statement the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization stressed “the need to go to all possible points of contact with the occupation [Israel] after Friday prayers.” It said young people should “respond to the American decision...