Under the proposed amendment, states would effectively be unable to prohibit religiously affiliated child-welfare agencies from denying services to millions of people.
"Hopefully the flogging we're witnessing today will serve as a lesson for people not to violate sharia (Islamic law)," said Banda Aceh official Tarmizi Yahya.
The Uniting Church of Australia has adopted an alternative statement of belief about marriage to allow same-gender couples to tie the knot in the church.
The Portuguese parliament on Thursday approved a law that will allow citizens to change their gender and name from the age of 16 without a medical report showing “identity disruption.”
