Comment on Asean Chief Says ‘Can’t Accept’ Beijing’s South China Sea Claim

Thousands of people flocked to the streets of Thailand’s capital Bangkok on Saturday to mark Pride Month, the first to be celebrated with a sense that legal marriage equality for same-sex couples in the country is near, as lawmakers inch closer toward the expected passage of a bill that would codify marriage as between two individuals rather than a man and a woman. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The parade, with the theme “Celebration of Love” covered some 1.5 km of roads in the city’s commercial district.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas called for all parties to immediately accept a proposal detailed by U. S. President Joe Biden to end the nearly 8-month-long war and bring their relatives home, but Israel’s government said conditions for a cease-fire still must be met. Biden outlined a three-phase deal Friday proposed by Israel to Hamas, saying the militant group is “no longer capable” of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel.

LONDON — The UK’s ambassador to Mexico has left his post after a video was posted on social media that purportedly shows him pointing an assault rifle near a colleague. The Financial Times reported Friday that Jon Benjamin was traveling in Sinaloa and Durango, two states in northern Mexico where drug cartels have a significant presence, when the incident occurred.

JOHANNESBURG — The African National Congress party lost its parliamentary majority in a historic election result Saturday that puts South Africa on a new political path for the first time since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule 30 years ago. With more than 99% of votes counted, the once-dominant ANC had received just over 40% in Wednesday’s election, well short of the majority it had held since the famed all-race vote of 1994 that ended apartheid and brought it to power under Nelson Mandela.

Washington — Marian Shields Robinson, the mother of Michelle Obama who moved with the first family to the White House when son-in-law Barack Obama was elected president, has died. She was 86. Mrs. Robinson’s death was announced by Michelle Obama and other family members in a statement that said “there was and will be only one Marian Robinson.