BREAKING NEWS

Cheers, applause as New Zealand legalizes same-sex marriage

By REUTERS

APRIL 18, 2013 02:13

WELLINGTON - New Zealand's parliament voted in favor of allowing same-sex marriage on Wednesday, prompting cheers, applause and the singing of a traditional Maori celebratory song from the public gallery.

Seventy-seven of 121 members of parliament voted in favor of amending the current 1955 Marriage Act to allow same-sex couples to marry, making New Zealand the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so.

"Two-thirds of parliament have endorsed marriage equality," Louisa Wall, the openly gay opposition Labour Party MP who promoted the bill, told reporters after the vote. "It shows that we are building on our human rights as a country."

The bill was widely expected to pass, given similar support for the change in a preliminary vote held last month. It will likely come into effect in August.

IDF attacks Hamas targets in central Gaza

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

05/09/2024 02:01 AM

Unmanned aerial vehicle activity sighted southeast of Yemen's Aden

By REUTERS

05/09/2024 01:06 AM

Hamas sticks to its approval of truce proposal- Hamas senior official

By REUTERS

05/09/2024 12:28 AM

UK police arrest three men in counter-terrorism investigation

By REUTERS

05/08/2024 11:29 PM