1. Nigeria passes bill banning gay marriage
Nigeria’s House of Representatives voted yesterday to pass a bill banning same-sex marriage and restricting any groups openly supporting gay rights. The bill also includes a measure that calls for 10-year prison sentences for public displays of homosexual affection. Under the proposed law, same-sex couples who marry could each face up to 14 years in prison while witnesses or anyone helping same-sex couples marry could be sentenced to 10 years. Anyone taking part in a group advocating for gay rights or anyone caught in a public display of affection could also face 10 years in prison if convicted. Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan is expected to sign the bill into law. [Guardian]
2. New tenants in Osborne Village
The former site of Papa George’s restaurant at Osborne and River in Winnipeg has a new tenant with the owners of The Grove, a gastropub on Stafford that’s been open nearly three years. The Osborne Village site is one of the city’s most high-profile retail locations and has been vacant since last October when the restaurant closed after 35 years. The Grove’s owners said their new establishment will follow their original restaurant’s model of food made from scratch and ample selections of craft beers. The property owner spent months in negotiations with a national company to take over the space but ultimately chose the new tenants based on their reputation. The location will undergo interior and exterior renovations throughout the summer and expects to serve its first customers on October 1. [Winnipeg Free Press]
3. Hundreds storm a Canadian gold mine office in Kyrgyzstan, dozens injured
Hundreds of protesters attempted to storm a Canadian gold mine office in Barskoon, Kyrgyzstan on Friday, clashing with riot police and causing enough havoc for the country to declare a national state of emergency. The mine is the largest foreign-owned gold mine in the former Soviet Union and is operated by Toronto-based Centerra Gold. Approximately 2,000 protesters had engulfed the Kumtor mine office, adding to a protest that began earlier this week to demand the mine be nationalized and provide more social benefits throughout the country. Centerra has said the protests are illegal but the company is working with the government and local authorities to resolve the situation. [Globe and Mail]
4. Definitive proof Martian landscape was carved by water
NASA’s Curiosity rover has gathered rounded pebbles in the planet’s Gale Crater in what scientists say are proof that many landscapes on Mars were cut by flowing water. The pebble’s smooth appearance is congruent with gravels found in rivers on Earth. For decades scientists hypothesized that the Martian surface was carved from flowing water and the pebbles are definitive proof. [BBC]
5. Man jumps off Mount Everest for a can of Red Bull
The video of a 48-year-old Russian man’s Red Bull-sponsored jump off a cliff on the north face of Mount Everest was released this week. Valery Rozov, a Russian daredevil, made the jump on May 5 wearing a special wingsuit and glided for a full minute, reaching speeds over 200 kilometres/hour. The jump coincided with the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest. [USA Today]
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Palmer does the social media for Spectator Tribune and tweets himself, too! @palmerfritschy