UN chief meets atomic-bomb victims in Nagasaki

Judge says NY fire department entry test unfair to blacks, stops hiring of 300 firefighters

Judge blocks FDNY hiring, says test is invalid

Federal court in Ohio dismisses Joe the Plumber’s lawsuit against former state employees

Blagojevich jurors end sixth day without verdict in former Ill. governor’s corruption trial

Federal judge overturns California gay marriage ban (Lead, changing dateline)

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge overturned California’s ban on same sex marriage, saying that the voter-approved restriction violated the highest law of the land, the US constitution.

California allows same sex marriage

WASHINGTON - Same sex couples in California have a right to be married, said a ruling issued Wednesday in a federal court in San Francisco that overturned a ban on gay marriage in the state.

Congress may not give opinion on caste-based census

NEW DELHI - The Congress is considering the option of not giving its opinion on a caste-based census to a group of ministers (GoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, a senior party leader said Wednesday.

Canadian judge rejects US request to extradite Canadian on terrorism charges

Judge denies US extradition request

TORONTO — A Canadian indicted in the U.S. on charges he supplied al-Qaida with weapons was freed Wednesday after more than four years in jail after a judge refused to extradite him to the United States.

Judges clear the way for model Naomi Campbell to testify at Charles Taylor’s war crimes trial

Naomi Campbell to speak at Taylor war crimes trial

Order DNA tests if unavoidable, courts told

NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court has said that courts should exercise extreme caution in ordering a DNA test to determine the paternity of a child as this could end up damaging his or her reputation.

Maharashtra to showcase rural scheme in UN

MUMBAI - The Maharashtra home ministry’s four-year-old policy of alternative rural disputes resolution scheme to reduce judicial burden will be showcased before the United Nations in New York, a top official said here Wednesday.

Court monitors camps for welfare of Games’ workers

NEW DELHI - The Delhi High court Wednesday asked the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) along with a panel of lawyers to hold camps for educating and registering workers employed at the Commonwealth Games construction sites.

UN body seeks Israeli cooperation in flotilla probe

GENEVA/TEL AVIV - The president of the UN Human Rights Council Wednesday called for Israel to collaborate with the team he has appointed to investigate the deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May.

HC tribunal upholds ban on SIMI

NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court tribunal Wednesday upheld the central government’s decision to extend the ban imposed on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

Sobhraj fiancée, lawyer apologise to Nepal Supreme Court

KATHMANDU - Five days after yesteryear’s wanted criminal Charles Sobhraj had his appeal against a life term for murder rejected by Nepal’s Supreme Court, it was the turn of his fiancee, Nihita Biswas, and her mother Shakuntala Thapa to appear in the same court, offering apologies for their outbursts on the day of the judgment.

Children’s basic rights violated at CWG sites

NEW DELHI - Yet another black mark against the Commonwealth Games organisers. Children of over 400,000 construction workers at the Games sites are deprived of basic rights like sanitation, schooling and healthcare, said a report released here Wednesday.

Post-WikiLeaks, US to amend law to curb media

WASHINGTON - Alarmed with the expose of Afghanistan war secrets by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, US lawmakers are working on a legislation to amend a law which shields journalists from revealing confidential sources.

After winning 32-year legal battle, a royal loses again

LUCKNOW - After winning a 32-year-long court battle following which huge properties were restored to the erstwhile royal of Mahmoodabad by the apex court in 2005, an amendment in the enemy property law - related to those who migrated to Pakistan during partition - has brought him back to square one.

Basic rights of children violated at CWG sites: report

NEW DELHI - Construction workers’ children at the Commonwealth Games sites are deprived of sanitation, schooling and healthcare, said a report released here Wednesday.

Another Islamist leader to face ‘war crimes’ trial

DHAKA - A fifth Islamist leader in Bangladesh is set to face “war crimes” trial on charges of targetting unarmed civilians during the 1971 freedom movement.

Lawyers set to give opening statements at Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy trial

Opening statements set in Anna Nicole Smith trial

High court dismisses PIL on Commonwealth Games

NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the court’s direction to form a panel to look into Commonwealth Games-related projects and reconstitution of the Organising Committee.