🇹🇭Watch: 'I do', say Thai couples as country legalises same-sex marriage
More than 100 couples got married at Siam Paragon, a luxury mall in central Bangkok on Thursday as the law came into effect.
LGBTQ couples now have the same rights as other couples to manage assets, inherit, adopt and take decisions about their partner's medical treatment
Districts across Thailand are trying to outdo one another with parties and gifts like cupcakes, bags and free air tickets to celebrate the legal milestone.
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🇸🇰Slovak PM accuses opposition of planning coup to topple him
Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, has claimed opposition forces are planning a "Maidan"-style coup in Slovakia, referring to the popular uprising that toppled Ukraine's pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.
Fico, who survived an assassination attempt last May, quoted from what he said was a classified report ahead of an opposition-sponsored motion of no-confidence in his government on Tuesday.
His claim coincided with a visit by Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban.
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💶EU 'could consider' UK joining pan-Europe customs scheme
The European Union's new trade chief responsible for post-Brexit negotiations has told the BBC that a "pan-European [customs] area is something we could consider" as part of "reset" discussions between the UK and EU.
Maros Sefcovic referred to the idea of the UK joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention (PEM).
These are common rules that allow parts, ingredients and materials for manufacturing supply chains to be sourced from across dozens of countries in Europe and North Africa to be used in tariff-free trade.
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🇨🇳🇷🇺Xi and Putin hold video call after Trump's inauguration
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a video call hours after Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday, pledging to bring bilateral ties to "greater heights", according to state media on both sides.
Calling Xi a "dear friend", Putin said Russia and China were building ties "on the basis of friendship, mutual trust and support" despite external pressure.
Xi called on Putin to "continue deepening strategic coordination, firming up mutual support, and safeguarding legitimate interests".
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🇺🇸US exit from WHO could see fifth of budget disappear
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization (WHO).
"Oooh, that's a big one," the newly inaugurated US president said as he approved the document after arriving back at the White House. It was one of dozens of executive actions he put his signature to on day one in office.
This marks the second time Trump has ordered the US be pulled out of the WHO.
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🇺🇸What are executive orders? The powerful tool used by US presidents
Executive orders are a key tool for any US president wanting to make their mark on government policy - and it appears that Donald Trump will waste no time on his return to the White House.
He is expected to sign more than 200 executive actions on Monday. This will include executive orders, which are legally-binding, and other presidential directives like proclamations, which are usually not.
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🇮🇪Fianna Fáil ratifies programme for government
Fianna Fáil endorsed a programme for government at a special ard fheis (party conference) in Dublin on Sunday.
Party leader Micheál Martin pledged to defy critics and prove that Ireland's next ruling coalition can fulfil the "ambitious" programme.
Martin is set to become taoiseach (Irish PM) for the second time on Wednesday.
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🇭🇷Croatian deputy PM resigns over video of him firing gun
Croatia's deputy prime minister has resigned after footage surfaced of him shooting at random from a moving car.
In the video, Josip Dabro can be seen in the passenger seat chatting, laughing and singing along to loud music, before picking up a pistol and shooting through an open window into the dark.
It is the latest incident to trouble Croatia's coalition - formed in May 2024 - with the government calling Dabro's behaviour "inappropriate and irresponsible".
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🇺🇸Donald Trump's inauguration moved indoors due to 'dangerous' cold
President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural address on 20 January will take place indoors due to dangerously cold weather being forecast next week in Washington, he has confirmed.
The address, as well as other speeches, will now take place inside the US Capitol's rotunda, rather than outside the building.
The inaugural parade will also be held indoors at Washington's Capital One Arena in downtown Washington about one mile (1.6km) away, along with all three inaugural balls.
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🇷🇺🇮🇷Russia and Iran move to strengthen military ties
Russia and Iran have agreed to closer military co-operation, in a move announced during a visit to Moscow by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The two countries signed a 20-year "strategic partnership" treaty, covering areas ranging from defence and technology to energy and trade.
Iran already supplies drones to Russia, as well as, according to Western intelligence, ballistic missiles.
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🇬🇧UK first as vertical rocket launch licence granted
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🇬🇧🇺🇦Starmer in Kyiv to pledge more Ukraine support
Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Kyiv to sign what Downing Street is calling a "landmark 100-year partnership" with Ukraine.
The pact would formalise economic and military support already pledged to the country, and offers more.
It is the prime minister's first visit to the country since taking office last summer, in a show of support for Ukraine days before Donald Trump re-enters the White House.
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🇲🇿Mozambique to get new president amid swirl of protest
A "national strike" is being threatened as Mozambique's president-elect is sworn in on Wednesday, more than three months after disputed elections.
Daniel Chapo, who is 48, took 65% of votes in a poll that opposition leaders and electoral observers said was doctored.
The outcome sparked a wave of demonstrations – some peaceful but others violent – leading to chaos, including killings and vandalism.
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🇰🇷Investigators scale barricades to arrest S Korea's impeached president
Yoon Suk Yeol has become South Korea's first sitting president to be arrested after investigators scaled barricades and cut through barbed wire to take him into custody.
Yoon, 64, is being investigated on charges of insurrection for a failed martial law order on 3 December that plunged the country into turmoil.
He has also been impeached by parliament and suspended from office - but will not be removed from his position until the Constitutional Court rules on his impeachment.
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🇬🇭Statue of ex-Ghana President Akufo-Addo destroyed
A statue of Ghana's immediate former President, Nana Akufo-Addo, put up at the end of last year has been destroyed.
The unveiling by Akufo-Addo of his own likeness in November in the country's Western Region sparked a social media backlash, as well as being mocked and described as "self-glorification".
Its launch had been in honour of the president's development initiatives.
On Monday, local media shared images showing the statue in a ruined state, with its severed head lying on the ground. It is not clear who had targeted the sculpture or what the motive was.
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🇬🇧Sun owner to pay Prince Harry 'substantial' damages
The publisher of the Sun newspaper has agreed to pay "substantial damages" and apologised to the Duke of Sussex to settle a long-running legal battle over claims of unlawful intrusion into his life.
Prince Harry alleged journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN) used unlawful techniques to pry on his private life - and executives then allegedly covered it up.
NGN apologised for "serious intrusion" by the Sun between 1996 and 2011, and admitted "incidents of unlawful activity" were carried out by private investigators working for the newspaper, in a statement read out in court.
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🇨🇦Canada changes tone in bid to stave off Trump tariffs
Facing a looming tariff war with the US, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has threatened the stick - now, he's hoping a carrot will work.
In a change of tone from his previous warnings about economic hardships, the Canadian leader is promising to help Donald Trump achieve America's "golden age," which was alluded to in the US president's inauguration speech.
"Canada is a safe, secure and reliable partner in an uncertain world," Trudeau said this week. The alternative, he said, "would be more resources from Russia, China or Venezuela".
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🇺🇸Trump considers 10% tariff on China from February
US President Donald Trump has said he is considering imposing a 10% tariff on imports of Chinese-made goods as soon as 1 February.
Trump said discussions with his administration were "based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada".
He called China an "abuser". China responded saying trade wars have "no winners".
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🇰🇪Kenya eases travel requirements for nearly all African visitors
Last year, Kenya introduced a "visa-free" policy that required most visitors to apply online for authorisation before leaving their country.
But the introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which replaced the visa requirement for all visitors, was criticised as a "visa under another name".
On Tuesday, a cabinet statement said the ETA would be dropped for "all African countries except Somalia and Libya - due to security concerns".
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🇬🇧Failure to prevent Southport 'leaps off the page'- PM
The prime minister has acknowledged the multiple failures which preceded an attack in which three young girls were murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.
"I will not let any institution of the state deflect from their failure. Failure which, in this case, frankly leaps of the page", said Sir Keir Starmer.
He also said the case is a sign Britain now faces "a new threat" by "young men, loners, misfits".
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🇺🇸Melania Trump launches her own cryptocurrency
Incoming first lady Melania Trump has launched a cryptocurrency on the eve of her husband's inauguration as US president.
The announcement comes after President-elect Donald Trump launched the $Trump cryptocurrency. Both coins have risen but have seen volatile trade.
"The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $Melania now," she posted on the social platform X on Sunday.
The website for the "Official Melania Meme" says it is a crypto asset created and tracked on the Solana blockchain.
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🇮🇷Two Iranian supreme court judges shot dead
Two senior Iranian judges have been shot dead in an apparent assassination in the country's supreme court.
Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh were killed after a gunman entered the court, in the capital Tehran, on Saturday morning.
The attacker killed himself while fleeing the scene, according to the judiciary's news website, Mizan. A bodyguard was also injured in the attack.
The motive for the attack is unclear, but both judges are said to have played a role in the crackdown on opponents of the Islamic government since the 1980s.
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🇰🇷South Korean impeached president's detention extended
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🇨🇦Chrystia Freeland to run for leader of Canada's Liberal Party
Former Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland intends to run to lead the country's governing Liberal Party.
In a statement posted on Friday to X, formerly known as Twitter, Freeland expressed her intention to run and said she would hold a formal campaign launch in the coming days.
"I'm running to fight for Canada," she wrote.
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🇺🇸US Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban law
The US Supreme Court has upheld a law that bans TikTok in the US unless its China-based parent company ByteDance sells the platform by this Sunday.
TikTok had challenged the law, arguing it would violate free speech protections for the more than 170 million users it says it has in the US.
But that argument was rejected unanimously by the nation's highest court, meaning TikTok must now find an approved buyer for the US version of the app or face removal from app stores and web hosting services.
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🇺🇸Biden gives warnings on climate and oligarchy in farewell speech
Outgoing US President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office one last time on Wednesday night ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration.
In his farewell, Biden talked up his record of upholding democracy during his tenure and warned against an oligarchy and the threat of climate change, the tech industrial complex and artificial intelligence.
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🇮🇱🇵🇸Gaza ceasefire deal reached by Israel and Hamas
Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following 15 months of war, mediators Qatar and the US say.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on Sunday so long as it was approved by the Israeli cabinet.
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🇺🇸US to remove Cuba from state sponsors of terror list
President Joe Biden is to remove the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of a prisoner release deal, the White House said on Tuesday.
Shortly afterwards, Cuba announced it would release 553 prisoners detained for "diverse crimes". It is hoped these will include participants in anti-government protests four years ago.
President-elect Donald Trump reinstated the country's terror designation in the final days of his first presidency in 2021, banning US economic aid and arms exports to the country.
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🇬🇱Greenland ready to work with US on defence, says PM
Greenland wants to work more closely with the US on defence and exploring its mining resources, its prime minister said on Monday.
Mute Egede said his government was looking for ways to work with President-elect Donald Trump, who has in recent weeks shown renewed interest in taking control of the territory – without ruling out using military or economic force to do so.
Also on Monday, Denmark's foreign minister said it was ready to work with Greenland to "continue talks" with Trump "to ensure legitimate American interests" in the Arctic.
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🇱🇧ICJ president Nawaf Salam named Lebanon's new prime minister
Nawaf Salam, the president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, has been named as Lebanon's new prime minister.
Two thirds of the 128 members of parliament nominated the 71-year-old judge for the post - reserved for a Sunni Muslim under a sectarian power sharing system - during consultations with newly elected President Joseph Aoun. Caretaker PM Najib Mikati got nine votes.
The presidency said Salam would return to Lebanon on Tuesday.
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