- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
Sealed with a kiss: Chile celebrates first same-sex weddings
Two same-sex couples became the first Thursday to legally tie the knot in Chile, which joined a handful of countries in majority Catholic Latin America to allow LGBTQ couples to marry.
Under a law approved by Congress in December and signed by outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, they can also now adopt children.
"We never imagined we would experience this moment in Chile," Jaime Nazar, 39, declared proudly after marrying his partner of seven years Javier Silva, 38, in a Santiago suburb.
The pair's two young children were there for the historic event.
"Now, yes, we can say we are a family," said Silva.
"Our children have the same conditions (as those of straight couples) and will have a better future without discrimination for having two dads who love each other," he added.
Silva carried the couple's 18-month-old son in his arms, while Nazar bore their daughter of four months.
The children are the product of surrogate pregnancies abroad that used the sperm of one of the couple. Until now, they had only one legally recognized father -- the biological donor.
- 'Super proud' -
From 2015 until Thursday, same-sex couples wishing to formalize their relationship had only the option of civil union agreements, which confer most of the same rights that marriage does, but without the possibility of legal adoption.
"This is a very important step for the country. We feel super proud, privileged to be here," said Nazar, who is a dentist.
Consuelo Morales and Pabla Heuser, both 38, said they decided to get married mainly for their two-year-old daughter Josefa.
"Today Josefa ceases to be an illegitimate daughter," said Morales. Heuser, who carried the child in her womb, had been the girl's sole legal parent until now.
In total, three same-sex weddings took place in Chile Thursday -- the day the law took effect.
It came on the eve of the swearing-in of leftist Gabriel Boric as Chile's youngest-ever president.
Chile had been awaiting the passage of the marriage bill since then-president Michelle Bachelet sent it to Congress in 2017.
In a surprise move, her conservative successor Pinera announced last year he would seek the urgent passage of the bill -- supported by a majority of Chileans -- through Congress.
Pinera signed it into law just two days after lawmakers gave the green light ahead of presidential elections in which Boric and his far-right rival Jose Antonio Kast polled neck-and neck.
Kast vehemently opposed broadening access to marriage rights, unlike Boric who supported the move.
Chile is now one of 30 countries in the world that allow same-sex marriage, and seven in Latin America along with Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and some states in Mexico.
A.Motta--PC