Panel ‘no’ to settlement freeze move
An Israeli ministerial committee on Sunday rejected a move that would have hampered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from extending a settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank, officials said.
The move, in the form of a bill which would have given Parliament a veto over any extension of the freeze after it ends in September, came a day before Mr Netanyahu heads to Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama.
“A majority voted against the bill,” an official present at the meeting said without giving details. Israeli media said eight of the 13 ministers present voted against the draft legislation. The attempt provoked a flurry of activity by Mr Netanyahu.
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Spain may get first gay church
Madrid, July 4: Spain, which has become a world leader in gay rights in recent years, is to get its first gay Christian church to celebrate marriages betw-een same-sex couples, a news report said on Sunday.
The US-based Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) is to open a congregation in Madrid in October, the daily El Mundo said. On its website, MCC said it was founded California in 1968 as “the world’s first church group with a primary, positive ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender persons.” El Mundo said a lesbian couple, both Spaniards living in Canada, have come to Madrid to register an MCC congregation with the justice ministry which they expect to open in October.
—AFP
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