NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
Royal wedding: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19 — the same day as one of the biggest English sports events of the year, the FA Cup final. The date was confirmed Friday by the prince’s Kensington Palace office. While most British royal weddings are on weekdays, this one is a Saturday, and the same day as the soccer showdown at London’s Wembley Stadium. The timing could be an issue for Harry’s older brother, Prince William, who is expected to be the best man at the wedding. William is president of the Football Association. He attended this year’s match and presented a trophy to the winner, Arsenal — but will likely be otherwise engaged in 2018. The prince and Markle announced their engagement last month.
Train crash: French authorities said one more student died Friday after a regional train sliced open a school bus in southern France, raising the overall death toll to five children. According to authorities in the Pyrenees-Orientales region, 18 other children and the bus driver were injured in the crash at a crossing close to the Spanish border. At least nine of the victims, including the bus driver, have serious injuries. Four children aged 12 or 13 died Thursday after the accident. Investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash.
Gays sentenced: An Indonesian court has sentenced 10 men arrested in a raid at a gay club and sauna to between two and three years in prison, an activist and a relative of one of the men said. They were among more than 140 men detained after the raid in May on what police said was a sex party at the spa in Jakarta. Most were released because homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, but 10 men were charged under anti-pornography laws. LGBT Indonesians have endured a wave of hostility in the past two years that has been stoked by inflammatory public statements from conservative officials and religious groups. Police have raided gay clubs and private parties, charging those arrested under Indonesia’s broad antipornography laws.
Germany politics: Leaders of Germany’s center-left Social Democrats agreed Friday to enter exploratory talks on joining or supporting a new government under Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel’s conservative Union bloc and the Social Democrats have governed Germany together for the past four years in a “grand coalition” of the country’s biggest parties. The Social Democrats initially said they would go into opposition after a disastrous election result in September. The party reluctantly reconsidered after Merkel’s talks with two smaller parties collapsed last month.
Poland elections: Lawmakers have approved much-criticized new rules for local elections that opponents say will undermine the independence of the electoral bodies and fairness in voting. Dominated by the ruling Law and Justice party, senators voted Friday to approve the party’s changes to the electoral law and to the State Electoral Commission, ahead of local elections next year. It was the latest in a string of major changes that the ruling party is introducing in various areas, including the media and the justice system, which European Union leaders say go against the bloc’s fundamental values. Massive street protest have been held against the changes. A recent overhaul of the judicial system that still needs approval from the Senate and the president has led EU leaders to consider steps toward stripping Poland of its EU voting rights. A decision will likely be made Wednesday.