Malta legalises same-sex marriage

Lawmakers on the predominantly Catholic island of Malta voted to legalise same-sex marriage by 66 votes to 1 on Wednesday evening (12 July).

Prime minister Joseph Muscat called it a "historic vote". He said that "this shows that our democracy and society have reached a level of maturity and we can now say that we are all equal."

The vote fulfilled Muscat's promise to make equal marriage the first bill brought before the parliament in his new term in office, which began last mont...