World

Latin America’s first same-sex marriage, set to be held in Argentina on Tuesday, appeared derailed after a judge filed an injunction to stop the union until the issue can be reviewed further. Judge Marta Gomez Alsina’s ruling blocks an earlier holding by another judge that found city laws banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional, the court said ... Read more

From CNN.com Rape has turned into a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the number of attacks on women having grown threefold over the past few years, human rights activists said Friday. Anneke van Woudenberg, senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, told Christiane Amanpour that 200,000 women and girls have been ... Read more

UN report says pandemic may result in anarchy unless western world pays for antiviral drugs and vaccines The swine flu pandemic could kill millions and cause anarchy in the world’s poorest nations unless £900m can be raised from rich countries to pay for vaccines and antiviral medicines, says a UN report leaked to the Observer. ... Read more

Scientists worry that two species of nonnative pythons now near the Everglades could breed, yielding more aggressive offspring. Atlanta – In an case of real life imitating Hollywood, the US scientific community is increasingly concerned that two nonnative python breeds currently slithering free in south Florida could morph into a giant man-eating swamp coil. The ... Read more

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Michael Jackson’s family and about 200 of their closest friends gathered on a hill Thursday evening for their final farewell to the pop singer, who died 10 weeks ago. Jackson’s burial may lay to rest some of the mystery and controversy that erupted with his sudden death on June 25. ... Read more

Phillip Garrido told court he was ‘overcome’ with sexual desires before being convicted of rape and serving 10 years in 1977 The man accused of imprisoning Jaycee Lee Dugard for 18 years in his backyard in California previously confessed to fantasies about rape and to a sexual interest in young girls, according to previous trial ... Read more

Vogue cover girl who was abused on the internet wins court case forcing Google to hand over details of the woman who posted the insults Former Vogue cover girl Liskula Cohen has won a landmark legal battle to reveal the identity of an anonymous blogger who called her a “skank” on the internet. In what ... Read more

A new biography of Imran Khan has claimed the former international cricketer and Benazir Bhutto, the assassinated former Prime Minister of Pakistan, were romantically involved while they were both students at Oxford University. The respected author, Christopher Sandford, has claimed that Bhutto became infatuated with Khan and the pair enjoyed a “close” and possibly “sexual” ... Read more

Agencies Beirut: Love him or loathe him, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has earned himself celebrity status – at least on Facebook, where a good 20 forums are dedicated to the Lebanese leader. Many are favourable to Nasrallah but others are extremely hostile to the controversial figure, whose organisation is claimed by Israel to have a ... Read more

PESHAWAR: A commander of Abdullah Mehsud Group, Haji Turkistan Beetani has said that Baitullah Mehsud along with his forty associates was killed in the missile attack, while Hakimullah Mehsud and Mufti Waliur Rahman died in ‘shoora’ meeting feud leading to cross firing. Talking to Geo News, Abdullah Mehsud Group commander, Haji Turkistan Beetani said that ... Read more

LOS ANGELES, California – An 11-year-old girl who lost her father made the world cry with her on Tuesday. “Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine,” said Paris Katherine Jackson, the second of Michael Jackson’s three children, as a massive memorial service for her father neared its ... Read more

A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has ruled that homosexual intercourse between consenting adults is not a criminal act. The ruling overturns a 148-year-old colonial law which describes a same-sex relationship as an “unnatural offence”. Homosexual acts were punishable by a 10-year prison sentence.

Entertainer Michael Jackson died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday having suffered cardiac arrest, said his brother Jermaine Jackson. Paramedics took Jackson, 50, from his west Los Angeles home Thursday afternoon to UCLA Medical Center, where a team of physicians attempted to resuscitate him for more than an hour, said his brother Jermaine ... Read more

Italy’s prime minister has told a gossip magazine he never paid for sex amid scandalous claims about women at his parties. Silvio Berlusconi has been dogged by suspicions stemming from his purported fondness for young models and starlets. The 72-year-old billionaire gave his first direct response to the claims in an interview with Chi magazine. ... Read more

NEW YORK (CNN)–For more than a half-century Jerry and Marilyn Damman wondered what happened to their 2-year-old boy, who mysteriously vanished into thin air outside a Long Island bakery. Now, 54 years later, a Michigan man claims he is the missing child whose name was Steven Damman. Within the last six months, the unidentified man ... Read more

The trial of Deng Yujiao, who stabbed an official demanding sex, highlighted the power of the Internet to rally popular support. Beijing – A karaoke bar waitress who won nationwide sympathy and support after killing a local official who demanded sex was freed Tuesday by a Chinese court. The surprise decision provided fresh evidence of ... Read more

US President Barack Obama has said he is “deeply concerned” by North Korea’s reported sentencing of two US journalists to 12 years’ hard labour. The US was working through all channels to secure their release, a spokesman for Mr Obama said. The journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, were found guilty of “hostile acts” and ... Read more

Women sent to labour camp after being found guilty of illegally entering country and committing ‘grave crime’ A North Korean court today sentenced two American journalists to 12 years’ hard labour after finding them guilty of committing “hostile acts”, in a move certain to raise tensions with the US. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were ... Read more

New law would require officials to move street kids into schools or other programs – or face a $420-per-child fine. Mexico City – Children selling gum or washing windshields in the streets of Mexico are as ubiquitous as traffic lights. But a new proposal here would forbid the presence of street children in cities and ... Read more

COLOMBO – The leader of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers, Velupillai Prabhakaran, was shot dead Monday while trying to flee advancing troops, defence officials told AFP. Prabhakaran was in a small convoy of a van and ambulance along with several close aides which tried to drive out of the battle zone, but was attacked and killed, ... Read more