The lower house of the Spanish Parliament approved the Socialist government’s gay marriage bill Thursday, a major step toward making traditionally Roman Catholic Spain the third European country to legalize same-sex marriages.
The bill, which also will pave the way for gay couples to adopt children, will now go to the Senate–where the Socialists have ample support–for final approval in the coming weeks.
PLANT BLAST KILLS 51: A blast ripped through an explosives manufacturing plant at a copper mine in Zambia on Wednesday, killing at least 51 people, authorities said Thursday. The cause of the blast was under investigation.
5,600-YEAR-OLD TOMB UNEARTHED: Archeologists digging in a 5,600-year-old funeral site in southern Egypt unearthed seven corpses believed to date to the era, as well as an intact figure of a cow’s head carved from flint. The era of the corpses predates the era when the pharaohs ruled.
VIETNAM WAR VETERANS KILLED: Thirty Vietnamese war veterans and a driver were killed in a bus crash Thursday while en route to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, police said. The victims were all from one neighborhood in Hanoi.
SAUDI FORCES, MILITANTS CLASH: Islamic militants clashed with Saudi security forces in Islam’s holiest city of Mecca, killing two militants and two police officers Thursday as the kingdom held a final round of municipal elections.
TORNADO KILLS 8, INJURES 80: A tornado tore apart houses in Yancheng in eastern China, killing seven people and injuring more than 80 others, a news report said Thursday.
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Compiled from news services and edited by Curt Wagner (cwwagner@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez (vrodriguez@tribune.com)
