TwistedSifter

Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.

Mexico City allows gay marriage with landmark law [Reuters]

- Mexico City became the first capital in Catholic, often macho Latin America to allow same-sex marriage on Monday when city legislators passed a law giving gay couples full marriage rights
- The legislation goes further than a 2006 city law allowing civil unions by giving gay couples access to the same family social security benefits and joint loans as straight couples
- Conservative lawmakers voted against the bill. Mexico’s Catholic archdiocese has said that legalizing gay marriage is immoral and will destroy families. Argentina became the first Latin American country to allow civil unions across the country by same-sex couples in 2002

In a Distressed Year, Hollywood Smiles [New York Times]

- Hollywood will ride premium-price tickets for 3-D movies, big-budget sequels and — counterintuitively — the recession to more than $10 billion in ticket sales by the end of 2009, a near-record that is helping to offset a steep drop in DVD revenue
- “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was the lone superhero picture among the year’s top 10. Seven of the top 10 movies were new franchise installments, including the No. 1 movie of the year, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” which Paramount Pictures pushed to $402 million in domestic sales
- Analysts estimate that box office revenue from 3-D has totaled $1.3 billion so far this year — not counting “Avatar,” from James Cameron, which opened on Friday. In 2008, 3-D sales stood at $307 million. Expect the business to push the format even harder as a result: there are currently more than 50 films slated for 3-D release in coming years

Mexico kills leading capo in drug war strike [Reuters]

- Mexican security forces have shot dead top drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva in the biggest strike yet for President Felipe Calderon’s drug war, but one which could trigger fresh bloodshed. Beltran Leyva, a cartel chief dubbed “The Boss of Bosses,” was felled in a spray of bullets on Wednesday night by elite navy troops at a luxury apartment complex in Cuernavaca, a fashionable weekend getaway city for Mexico City residents
- The Beltran Leyva cartel is one of half a dozen whose turf wars have slain more than 16,000 people since Calderon came to power in late 2006 and set the army on drug traffickers. Despite the deployment of 49,000 troops across Mexico, drug killings have soared this year to an unprecedented 7,000 and atrocities including torture and decapitations are common
- Beltran Leyva is the highest-level drug capo killed by Mexican forces since the Tijuana cartel’s Ramon Arellano Felix was shot in 2002, under President Vicente Fox. Fox scored an even bigger victory in 2003 with the arrest of Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cardenas, one of the most powerful capos. In 2007, Calderon extradited him to the United States

Cleric’s Funeral Becomes Protest of Iran Leaders [New York Times]

- As mourners carried the body of the cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, tens of thousands of his supporters surged through the streets of Qum, chanting denunciations of the leadership in Tehran that would have been unthinkable only months ago
- The funeral of Ayatollah Montazeri, who died in his sleep on Sunday at the age of 87, appears to have put Iran’s rulers in a difficult position. They had to pay public respect to a senior religious scholar who helped build Iran’s theocracy and was once the heir apparent to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution
- The government jammed phones and Internet service through much of the day, and the BBC’s Persian service, a crucial source of information for many Iranians, suspended broadcasts, saying the government had been jamming it since Ayatollah Montazeri’s death on Sunday

Ford agrees Volvo sale to Geely [BBC]

- Ford has agreed the terms of the sale of its Swedish business, Volvo Cars, to China’s Geely. Ford said “some work still remains to be completed” but the deal will be finalised early next year ahead of completion soon after Easter
- Geely was named preferred bidder in November. If completed, it will be the largest purchase by a Chinese car firm. Ford said that while the “substantive commercial terms” had been settled, financing still needed to be completed and government approval was also necessary
- No details were given of how much the deal is worth, but it is widely rumoured that Geely will pay Ford $2 billion; less than a third of the $6.45 billion Ford paid for Volvo in 1999

Kidnapped Colombian governor found with throat slit [BBC]

- The governor of the southern Colombian province of Caqueta has been found dead less than a day after he was kidnapped by suspected rebels, authorities say. Cuellar was the most high-profile politician abducted since President Uribe came to power in 2002
- Mr Cuellar was taken from his home by about 10 gunmen, who lobbed grenades at the building. One policeman was killed in the attack and two more were wounded. More than 2,000 military personnel had been deployed in the search for the kidnappers. The authorities had also offered 1bn pesos ($500,000) to anyone giving information leading to Mr Cuellar’s safe return
- In the past, high-profile figures have been kidnapped to try to force the government to make prisoner exchanges. Mr Cuellar had previously been kidnapped four times in the past 23 years, but for ransom, his wife told the Associated Press news agency

China rejects UK claims it hindered Copenhagen talks [BBC]

- China has dismissed claims made by a British minister that it “hijacked” efforts to reach an agreement at the climate summit in Copenhagen. Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband had accused China of vetoing two agreements on limiting emissions
- The summit ended without the 192 nations reaching a binding agreement. The delegates simply committed to “taking note” of a deal recognising the need to limit temperature rises to 2C
- The final accord was reached between the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, but is not legally binding. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the agreement must be made legally binding next year

- Madagascar leader Rajoelina scraps power-sharing deal [BBC]
- Pfizer Acquires a Stem-Cell Therapy [New York Times]
- Mexico drug killers dump 6 severed heads by church [Reuters]
- Why did Copenhagen fail to deliver a climate deal? [BBC]
- Colombia’s two biggest rebel groups say may unite [Reuters]
- Flagship MGM Mirage CityCenter casino-hotel ready [Reuters]
- House Passes $174 Billion Jobs Bill [New York Times]
- Michael Schumacher signs up for F1 return with Mercedes [BBC]
- Ban on sales of Microsoft Word upheld [BBC]

Associated Press

The funeral ceremony of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri in Qum, Iran, on Monday



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