1. Ireland votes ‘yes’ on gay marriage

    Ireland became the first nation to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, sweeping aside the opposition* of the Roman Catholic Church in a resounding* victory on Saturday for the gay rights movement and placing the country at the vanguard of social change.

    With the final ballots* counted, the vote was 62-38 in favor of legalizing* same-sex marriage. Turnout* was large — more than 60 percent of the 3.2 million people eligible* cast ballots. Government officials, advocates and even those who had argued against the measure said that the outcome was a solid endorsement* of the constitutional amendment*.

    2. Illegal firearms in Ghana

    Authorities said 10 Chinese citizens suspected of illegal gold mining in Ghana were facing firearms charges in court.

    Justice Francis Obiri on Monday granted the defendants* US$12,000 bail* each and adjourned* the firearms case until a hearing* later this month in Accra, capital of the western African nation. Each of the defendants is accused of illegal firearms possession* and they pleaded* not guilty to the charges through an interpreter*.

    Authorities were tipped off* to reports that the Chinese were illegally mining in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Police say a search of their premises* prompted the seizure of at least nine firearms along with ammunition*.

    3. Ten arrested over attempt to join IS

    Canada arrested 10 young people as they allegedly* tried to leave the country to join the Islamic State (IS) group, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said last week.

    The federal* police arrested the group at Montreal’s international airport and their passports have been withdrawn*. Charges* have not been filed, police said.

    4. Duda wins Polish vote

    Poland’s main opposition party celebrated its first national election win in a decade on Monday, after its candidate* for the presidency unexpectedly defeated incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski.

    Andrzej Duda won Sunday’s vote by 52 percent to 48 percent, an exit poll* showed. His Law and Justice party is close to the Catholic church, socially conservative* and considered less business-friendly and less pro-European* Union than the governing Civic Platform.

    5. Global banks fined $5.7b

    U.S. and British regulators fined six major global banks US$5.7 billion last week for rigging* the foreign exchange* market and Libor* interest rates.

    The far-flung settlement included guilty pleas* from Barclays Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Citicorp and the Royal Bank of Scotland for conspiring* to manipulate* the massive currency* market, as well as a guilty plea from Switzerland’s UBS, for violating a prior settlement of Libor charges.

    6. Killer heat claims 500 lives in India

    The searing* heat wave across India has killed over 500 people so far with as many as 432 deaths being reported from the twin states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana alone.

    There was no respite* in sight with the India meteorological* department warning on Sunday that severe heat wave conditions are expected to continue in the two worst-hit southern states. The highest temperature was recorded at Khammam at 48 degrees Celsius and the temperature at Machilipatnam and Tuni was at 47 degrees Celsius.

    (SD-Agencies)