US: President Joe Biden has pardoned potentially thousands of former soldiers convicted of violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex.

Mr Biden’s action, which he said today was “righting an historic wrong,” pardons service members who were convicted under a 1951 law which was rewritten in 2013 to prohibit only forcible acts.

Those covered will be able to apply to recover lost pay and benefits.

NATO: Ambassadors appointed outgoing Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte as the military alliance’s next secretary-general today, starting in October.

Mr Rutte will be congratulated by US President Joe Biden and his Nato counterparts at a summit in Washington on July 9-11 focused on support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

“The alliance is and will remain the cornerstone of our collective security. Leading this organisation is a responsibility I do not take lightly,” he posted on social media.

ITALY: Police detained several activists who poured red paint down Rome’s famed Spanish Steps today to raise awareness about femicides in the country.

The protesters spilled paint down the steps, dipped their hands in the paint and left handprints on the monument as tourists looked on.

Police carried protesters, who went limp, away from the scene.

One activist shouted that 40 women had been killed in Italy since the November 11 2023 killing of 23-year-old Giulia Cecchettin that caused outrage against violence targeting women.

FRANCE: The Paris appeals court ruled today that an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, issued by France for alleged complicity in war crimes during Syria’s civil war, will remain in place.

The lawyers representing the plaintiffs and non-governmental organisations in France hailed the decision as a historic judgment.

French anti-terrorism prosecutors asked the appeals court to rule on lifting the arrest warrant for Mr Assad, saying he has absolute immunity as a serving head of state.