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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I was in a very difficult position.” Thamsanqa Jantjie, the man accused of faking sign-language interpretation at Nelson Mandela’s memorial, who said Thursday that he has schizophrenia and hallucinated that angels were entering the stadium during the event Article, this page

Gay-marriage law struck in Australia

SYDNEY - Australia’s highest court struck down a law Thursday that had begun allowing the country’s first gay marriages, essentially nullifying the marriages of more than two dozen same-sex newlyweds less than a week after their weddings.

The federal government had challenged the validity of the Australian Capital Territory’s law that had allowed homosexual marriages in the nation’s capital and its surrounding area starting last Saturday.

The High Court unanimously ruled that the territory’s law could not operate concurrently with the federal Marriage Act, which was amended in 2004 to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Rodney Croome, national director of the advocacy group Australian Marriage Equality, said his group knows of about 30 same-sex couples who had married since Saturday, though the actual number may be slightly higher.

Wedding party hit by U.S. drone fire

Missiles fired by a U.S.

drone slammed into a convoy of vehicles traveling to a wedding party in central Yemen on Thursday, killing at least 13 people, Yemeni security officials said.

The officials said the attack took place in the city of Radda, the capital of Bayda province. There were conflicting reports about whether there were militants traveling with the wedding convoy.

A military official said initial information indicated that the drone mistook the wedding party for an al-Qaida convoy. He said tribesmen known to the villagers were among the dead.

Another security official, however, said al-Qaida militants were suspected to have been traveling with the wedding convoy.

The CIA declined to comment on the reported drone strike. While the U.S.

acknowledges its drone program in Yemen, it does not usually talk about individual strikes.

Ukrainian says EU deal will be signed

BRUSSELS - Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said Thursday that his financially troubled country will soon sign a trade and cooperation deal with the European Union after the bloc promised more aid to the former Soviet republic.

Serhiy Arbuzov’s comment was being closely watched by anti-government protesters in Ukraine who are demanding such a deal. It marked a turnaround by President Viktor Yanukovych, who had refused to close such a deal with the European Union two weeks ago.

EU Commissioner Stefan Fuele said such an agreement would lead to “bigger and bigger” EU financial aid to Ukraine.

Earlier Thursday, the bloc’s foreign-policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said Yanukovych had told her he “intends to sign” the trade and cooperation agreement he had rejected.

For weeks, activists have been amassed in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, to protest Yanukovych’s decision regarding the EU deal. They are deeply concerned that he could instead sign an agreement to join the Russia-led union when he and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet next week.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 12/13/2013

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