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Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, June 27

Xinhua, June 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday welcomed the United States Supreme Court ruling that the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to same-sex marriage.

"The secretary-general welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court that paves the way for gay and lesbian Americans to have their relationships legally recognized, no matter what part of the country they live in," deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said at a daily news briefing here. (UN-U.S.-Same sex)

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CHARLESTON, the United States -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday that for too long, the Americans had been blind to the pain on many African-Americans caused by the flag of the pro-slavery side during the Civil War.

"For too long, we were blind to the pain that the Confederate Flag stirred into many of our citizens," he said in a powerful eulogy at the funeral service of South Carolina state senator Clementa Pinckney, one of the nine African-American churchgoers killed by white gunman Dylann Roof last week. (U.S.-Obama-Racial)

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TEHRAN -- Major problems are still hindering progress in nuclear talks for a deal on Iran's nuclear program, state IRIB TV quoted Iranian negotiator Abbas Araqchi as saying on Friday.

"The talks are overall hard and progressing slowly," despite progress in some areas, said Araqchi. (Iran-Nuke Deal)

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ATHENS -- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a referendum on the proposed debt deal with international lenders for July 5, in a televised address in the early hours of Saturday.

A few hours before a critical Eurogroup meeting in Brussels aimed to reach a compromise reforms for cash deal on time to avert a default and Grexit in coming weeks, the Leftist leader made the surprise announcement. (Greece-PM-Referendum) Endi