HERE ARE THE TOP STORIES
ISIS militants attacked a natural gas plant north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Sunday, killing at least 14 people. And four more bombings killed another 15 people in the fifth straight day of ISIS-claimed attacks in and around the city, the Associated Press writes.
A suicide bomber killed at least 25 people in Yemen on Sunday, many of them police officers, the AP reports. The Yemeni branch of ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on social media.
Wrecked gas tanks seen after a car bomb attack at the government-owned LPG manufacturing plant north of Baghdad on Sunday.
Haydar Hadi / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
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WE’RE KEEPING AN EYE ON
A push for marriage equality is beginning in Japan, but it’s being led by local lawmakers and major corporations, not couples themselves. Polls show a majority supports marriage equality but gay and lesbian people have mostly chosen not to publicly demand their rights, BuzzFeed News’ J. Lester Feder reports from Tokyo.
“The expectation among LGBT people is very, very low,” said Masakazu Yanagisawa of the workplace equality group Work With Pride. “That’s partly why people don’t spend the time and money for this movement — it’s kind of like we give up.”
Japanese leaders feel under pressure to bolster the country's LGBT rights record after winning the right to host the 2020 Olympic games.
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QUICK THINGS TO KNOW
A suspected Islamic militant has been arrested for his alleged involvement in killing LGBT activists Xulhaz Mannan and Tonoy Mahbub in Bangladesh in April. (BuzzFeed News)
2016 U.S. presidential election: Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump said he has “no preference” for whether the UK should remain in the European Union or vote to leave in the country’s referendum on June 23. (BuzzFeed News)
An “explosive device” that caused the evacuation and cancellation of British soccer team Manchester United’s final Premier League game of the season turned out to be a fake bomb from a training exercise that was accidentally left behind in the team’s stadium. (BuzzFeed News)
Ukraine won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night. (BuzzFeed) And here are the evening’s 27 most WTF moments. (BuzzFeed)
Ukraine’s contestant, Jamala, won with emotional ballad “1944,” the lyrics of which referred to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s rule, the war in Crimea, and ethnic cleansing in Ukraine.
Michael Campanella / Getty Images
President Barack Obama will discuss his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court with BuzzFeed News Legal Editor Chris Geidner in a live interview from the White House on Monday.
The interview starts at 2:50 p.m. ET and you can watch it on Facebook Live and on BuzzFeed Video’s YouTube page.
This letter was edited and brought to you by Natasha Japanwala and Claire Moses. You can always reach us here.
