DUBLLIN – Voters in the Republic of Ireland are taking part in a referendum on legalising same-sex marriage on Friday. More than 3.2m people are being asked whether they want to amend the country’s constitution to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. Polling stations opened at 07:00 BST with voting continuing until 22:00 BST…
SEOUL – North Korea’s Defence Minister Hyon Yong-chol has been executed for showing disloyalty to leader Kim Jong-un, South Korea’s spy agency has told parliament. MPs were told Mr Hyon was killed on 30 April by anti-aircraft fire in front of an audience of hundreds, the Yonhap news agency reports. It said Mr Hyon had…
LONDON – The first days in office are challenging for any new government and this will certainly be a busy week for UK Prime Minister David Cameron – who, amongst other things, says he has already rolled up his sleeves to change the UK’s relationship with Europe. The first “fight” with Brussels already loomed large…
DAKAR – At least 200 Senegalese died in the boat disaster off the coast of Libya earlier this month, officials say. More than 750 migrants are thought to have died when the boat capsized off the coast of Libya on 18 April. A Senegalese official told the BBC that survivors of the shipwreck and Senegalese…
KATHMANDU – At least 3,617 people are now known to have died in a massive earthquake which hit Nepal on Saturday, police say. More than 6,500 people have been injured, according to the National Emergency Operation Centre. Dozens of people are also reported to have been killed in neighbouring China and India. More than 200…
PANAMA – US President Barack Obama has told Latin American leaders that the days when his country could freely interfere in regional affairs are past. He was speaking just before the seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City. Mr Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro shook hands as the opening ceremony began, their first…
WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned Iran over its alleged support for Houthi rebels in Yemen. He said the US would support any state in the Middle East that felt threatened by Iran, and would not “stand by” if Iran destabilised the region. The US is backing a Saudi-led coalition seeking…
NAIROBI – Five people are in custody following the al-Shabab attack in eastern Kenya on Thursday which left almost 150 people dead, officials say. Some of the suspects were arrested while trying to flee to neighbouring Somalia, the internal security ministry said. At least 148 people – mostly students – were killed when gunmen attacked…
RIYADH – Saudi Arabia has evacuated dozens of its own and foreign diplomats from Yemen’s southern city of Aden. The move comes after a third night of airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition failed to halt the advance of Houthi rebels towards the city. Yemen President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi fled from Aden to Saudi Arabia on…
PARIS – One of the two pilots of the Germanwings plane that crashed in the French Alps was locked out of the cockpit, according to reports. Early findings from the cockpit voice recorder suggest the pilot made desperate efforts to get back in, sources close to the investigation say. The Airbus 320 from Barcelona to…
