Israel is warning Syria to knock it off; Gay Marriage is approved by the UK’s Lower House; and North Korea attempts to mend strained relations with its only friend.

Israel is warning Syria after the two countries traded artillery fire over the Golan Heights. “If he disturbs the Golan Heights, he will have to bear the consequences,” Israeli Lieutenant General Benny Gantz said of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  Israel denies claims that the Syrians destroyed one of its vehicles.

There are new concerns about Algeria’s stability.  76-year old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is reportedly seriously ill, but the government is being less than forthcoming about the details. He was last seen in public on 17 April when he attended the funeral of a former president, and is believed to have suffered a “mini-stroke” shortly afterwards.  Opposition leaders are demanding details and calling for a transfer of power.  Algeria is an oil and gas rich North African nation located near the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. 

Next door in Tunisia, a man has died of the novel coronoavirus (NCoV), believed to be the first death in Africa from that emerging disease.  So far, most patients have been from the Arabian Peninsula or had recently traveled there.  About 20 deaths and 41 cases have been reported worldwide since 2012 according to the World Health Organization.

The UK House of Commons passed the Gay Marriage bill 366 for, 161 against.  Prime Minister David Cameron wants this bill to become law, in part to show that his version of the Conservative Party can be progressive on some issues.  But that has put him at odds with some of his own Tories who tried and failed to torpedo the bill with poison pill amendments on Monday.  Gay Marriage is now in the hands of the House of Lords.

Trouble in Stockholm’s suburbs:  Hundreds of rioters threw rocks and bricks, and set cars aflame for a second night after police shot and killed a 69-year old man reportedly armed with a knife.  Cops refuse to release the ethnicity of the victim, and the rioting is happening in largely immigrant areas surrounding the Swedish capital.  Immigrants Rights groups say police have been heard using racist epithets against the people in the suburb, aggravating the strife.

At least 21 miners are dead in Indonesia in a tunnel collapse at an underground mine training facility.  The collapse occurred last week, rescuers are just now able to reach the bodies in the rubble.  Seven more people are unaccounted for. 

North Korea says Kim Jong-Un has sent a “Special Envoy” to China, the North’s only political and economic ally.   Ties between the two countries have been strained, especially since the North’s nuclear weapons tests earlier this year.  Beijing has signaled its displeasure with Pyongyang with a series of moves including taking part in US-led economic sanctions.  North Korea this week released a Chinese fishing boat and 16 crewmen it had been holding for violating its waters, in advance of the visit.