A round-up of other world news in brief
Deadline set to form Nepalese government
KATHMANDU – Nepal’s president has given political parties until Saturday to form a government after Maoist prime minister Prachanda resigned in a crisis that has threatened the Himalayan nation’s fragile new democracy.The president’s deadline came as the main parties met yesterday to try to form a coalition government after former guerrilla leader Prachanda quit because his decision to sack Nepal’s army chief was blocked by Nepalese president Ram Baran Yadav. – (Reuters)
Iran court to hear reporter’s appeal
TEHRAN – Iran’s judiciary has confirmed an appeals court will hear the case of a US journalist convicted of spying next week.
Roxana Saberi, whose father says she has been on a hunger strike for two weeks, was convicted last month of passing intelligence to the US and sentenced to eight years in prison after a one-day trial behind closed doors. – (AP)
Czech house set to vote for Lisbon
PRAGUE – The Czech upper house is likely to approve the Lisbon Treaty in a tense vote planned for today, according to Czech deputy prime minister Alexandr Vondra.
The treaty would give the EU a strengthened foreign representative and long-term president, while removing national vetoes on some decisions and increasing the voting power of larger states. – (Reuters)
Court rules gay marriages invalid
ATHENS – A Greek court ruled the country’s first homosexual weddings, celebrated last year despite official warnings, were invalid, the couples’ lawyer said yesterday.
Last year, a gay and a lesbian couple defied the threat of criminal charges and the wrath of the Greek Orthodox church to tie the knot on a tiny Aegean island.
The couples had said they took advantage of a loophole in Greek civil law, which does not specify gender in matrimony. – (Reuters)
US actor Dom DeLuise dies at 75
LOS ANGELES – Dom DeLuise, the portly and popular comic actor who starred in films such as Blazing Saddles, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 75.
The US actor, who also co-starred alongside Burt Reynolds in The Cannonball Run, died in his sleep on Monday. – (Reuters)
Triple-barrelled surname banned
MUNICH – A married couple were legally banned from having a triple-barrelled surname by Germany’s highest court yesterday.
It ruled that a Ms Thalheim and a Mr Kunz-Hallstein cannot become Mr and Mrs Thalheim-Kunz-Hallstein because a 1993 law says people can have a maximum of two last names. – (AP)
Women could join Swiss Guard
VATICAN CITY – After more than five centuries protecting popes, the Swiss Guard may consider opening the ranks of the world’s smallest army to women, its commander said yesterday.
“I can imagine them for one role or another. Certainly we can think about this,” Daniel Anrig, who took over the post late last year, said. – (Reuters)