Gay marriages will begin in a matter of days in France;  Israel may be settling on “the devil we know” regarding Syria;  And North Korea launches three missiles in a way that makes you wonder if they’re serious.  Let the News begin!

French President Francois Hollande signed marriage equality into law.  The Constitutional Council ruled that the legislation allowing gay marriage was up to snuff.  The first same-sex wedding can be held on 28 May.  France is now the ninth nation in Europe, and 14th globally, to legalize gay marriage.

Thousands rallied in the Italian Capital Rome against the government’s austerity programs, as polls suggest public trust in the new government is dropping.  Prime Minister Enrico Letta promised to focus on creating jobs, but instead seems to have made property tax reform his priority. Unemployment is at a record high of 11.5 percent, but skyrockets to 38 percent for workers younger than 25 years old.

Israel would prefer Basahr al-Assad in charge of Syria to Islamist extremists:  So says an anonymous Israeli intelligence official quoted in The Times of London.  Al Qaeda and other miltants have infiltrated the rebels waging civil war against Assad.  The Israeli officer says, “Better the devil we know than the demons we can only imagine if Syria falls into chaos and the extremists from across the Arab world.”

Afghanistan’s Parliament halted discussions on strengthening a law to prevent domestic violence against women.  This, after Islamists complained the plan goes against Sharia law.  The rules banning violence against women, child marriages, and forced marriages was instituted by presidential decree in 2009 without Parliament’s approval, meaning a future president can overturn it.

The youngest Arab ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest is also the first Saudi Female to make the climb.  25-year old university graduate Raha Moharrak was part of a group that included the first Qatari man and first Palestinian man to attempt to reach the summit.  She faces restricted rights when she returns home, as Saudi Arabia’s conservative Sunni Muslim monarchy hasn’t made any significant improvements on that front. 

And now, new developments from related stories in Northeast Asia:

North Korea fired three missiles into the sea off of its east coast, two in the morning and one in the afternoon.  The KN-02 missiles that were tested have a range of only about 75 miles and appear to be no danger to any of North Korea’s neighbors.  Analysts are paying close attention to the trajectory of the tests; The missiles were fired in a northeasterly direction, taking them away from South Korean and Japanese territory.

The missile launches follow a diplomatic mission from Tokyo to Pyongyang. Isao Iijima has returned to Japan and briefed the government about the visit.  It is widely believed that Iijima talked about the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea in the 1970s and ‘80s.  The government hasn’t yet commented on details of the visit.

Some now say that the visit didn’t go according to Tokyo’s expectations:  “I think the Japanese government wasn’t planning on making Mr. Iijima’s visit open - it was supposed to be behind-the-scenes - but the North went ahead and publicized it,” said Lee Young Hwa, professor at Kansai University in Osaka.  “Now the Japanese government will be pressured to reveal what went on during the trip,” he added.