News and Prophecy Staff

“Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that governments throughout the country should grant legal recognition to same-sex marriage. The court’s June 19 decision was based on the finding that procreation is not an essential purpose of marriage. The court found, on that basis, that all state laws restricting marriage to male-female couples were unconstitutional” (Catholic World News, June 22, 2015).

“Pakistan’s PM Nawaz Sharif has called for emergency measures as the death toll from a heatwave in southern Sindh province reached nearly 700.

“US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Monday urged Germany to bolster its defense spending ‘to ensure that Germany’s defense investments match Germany’s leadership role’” (Deutsche Welle, June 22, 2015). “The United States is pleased to hear that Germany is willing to assume a leadership role.

“The global diabetes rate has risen by nearly half over the past two decades, according to a new study, as obesity and the health problems it spawns have taken hold across the developing world” (New York Times, June 8 2015). “The [Lancet] study... reported a 45 percent rise in the prevalence of diabetes worldwide from 1990 to 2013. Nearly all the rise was in Type 2, which is usually related to obesity...” (ibid.).

Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty clearly states “an armed attack against one or more of them [NATO members] in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all” (EU Observer, June 10, 2015). However, “More than half of Germans, Italians, and French are opposed to using military force to help a NATO ally in a conflict with Russia, according to a survey published by US think tank Pew on Wednesday (10 June).