Politics this week

America’s Supreme Court issued two decisions that advance gay marriage in the United States. It ruled that the federal Defence of Marriage Act, signed in 1996, was unconstitutional in denying the same benefits to gay couples as heterosexual ones in the 13 states where same-sex marriage is legal. And it declined to uphold a challenge to gay marriage in California. Jerry Brown, California’s governor, immediately ordered counties there to issue marriage licences to gay couples. See article

The Supreme Court also struck down a part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that had required several states and counties to get federal pre-approval for any changes to their election laws. And it sent a case on affirmative action back to the lower courts to look again at whether race-based college admissions at the University of Texas are constitutional. See article

Barack Obama outlined a plan to reduce America’s greenhouse gases, including new requirements to reduce carbon emissions at power plants and more funding for renewable energy. Because any climate-change bill is likely to fail in Congress, the president issued his plan through executive fiat. He also said that he would approve the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf coast, but only if it does not “significantly exacerbate” carbon pollution. See article

The latest version of the farm bill was rejected in Congress over a row about cuts to a programme that gives food aid to America’s poor. In Europe, meanwhile, a deal was reached that cuts subsidies to big farms by up to 30%. See article

Edward Markey won an election for the Senate seat in Massachusetts left vacant by John Kerry’s appointment as secretary of state, comfortably beating Gabriel Gomez, his Republican opponent.

Texas executed its 500th death-row prisoner since 1982, the year it carried out its first execution after reinstating the death penalty.

The latest from the streets

Brazil’s government promised a package of reforms and public spending in a bid to defuse the country’s biggest protests in more than 20 years. Demonstrations about public services, corruption and World Cup waste continued, but were smaller than recent ones. See article

America formally charged Edward Snowden with espionage for leaking classified material about the intelligence agencies’ surveillance programme. Mr Snowden, meanwhile, fled Hong Kong and surfaced in the transit lounge at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Ecuador, which has also offered shelter to Julian Assange of WikiLeaks, says he has applied for asylum there. See article

Sweet revenge

Kevin Rudd ousted Julia Gillard as the leader of Australia’s Labor Party and thus as the country’s prime minister, exacting revenge on his former deputy, who had deposed him as prime minister in 2010. Ms Gillard’s supporters claim she had been vilified by Australia’s macho press. She is leaving politics. A general election is due later this year. See article

Taliban militants attacked security forces near the presidential palace in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, as well as the CIA’s headquarters in the city. In spite of this, the American and Afghan presidents reaffirmed their support for holding talks with the Taliban.

Chinese state media reported that gangs armed with knives attacked a police station and a local government building in China’s restive north-western region of Xinjiang. At least 27 people were killed. The reason for the violence was not immediately clear but clashes frequently occur between ethnic Uighurs and security forces in the region.

The death toll from flooding and landslides in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand passed 1,000, with thousands of people still missing. See article

The president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, apologised to Malaysia and Singapore for haze caused by fires used to clear land in Sumatra. The smog has caused record pollution in Singapore. See article

Dangerous days

Tension rose across Egypt, with fears of violence at demonstrations against the government of President Muhammad Morsi planned for June 30th, the first anniversary of his inauguration. The minister of defence hinted that the army might have to intervene if the chaos worsened. See article

Fighting broke out in the Lebanese port-city of Sidon between supporters of an extreme Sunni preacher and of Hizbullah, the Shia party-cum-militia, leaving at least 35 people dead. See article

The emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, handed power to his 33-year-old son, Tamim, after nearly two decades at the helm. The new man promptly sacked his cousin, Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who had been foreign minister since 1992 and simultaneously prime minister since 2007. See article

The death toll in Syria, more than two years after the start of an uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime, has passed 100,000, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group.

Four men were hanged in Nigeria for crimes that included murder, the first such punishment in the country since 2006. Around a thousand Nigerians are on death row.

No future in politics

Milos Zeman, the president of the Czech Republic, appointed Jiri Rusnok to head an interim government. Mr Rusnok, a former finance minister, lacks support. His cabinet is likely to be struck down in a vote of confidence in parliament. See article

Only four weeks into the job, the new government in Bulgaria faced the same difficulties as the old one, with large protests held daily in Sofia and other cities. The protesters are calling for more transparency, less corruption and an end to the rule of the local oligarchs. See article

Albania’s opposition Socialist Party defeated the ruling Democratic Party in a general election. Its leader, Edi Rama, becomes prime minister. See article

Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to seven years in prison and banned from public office for having sex with an under-age prostitute and for abuse of power. The former Italian prime minister and Karima El Mahroug, or “Ruby the Heart Stealer”, had both denied having had sex. Mr Berlusconi will appeal against the conviction. As this is a lengthy process in Italy he is unlikely to go to jail. See article