NORTH AMERICA

CANADA LEGALIZES GAY MARRIAGE, PASSES LANDMARK LEGISLATION

TORONTO – Canada’s House of Commons voted yesterday to legalize gay marriage, passing landmark legislation that would grant all same-sex couples in Canada the same legal rights as those in traditional unions between a man and a woman. The bill passed as expected, despite opposition from Conservatives and religious leaders. The legislation is expected to become law by the end of July. The Netherlands and Belgium are the only other two nations that allow gay marriage.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

NEWSPAPER: BRITISH ROYALS WANTED BLOOD TEST FOR PRINCE HARRY

The British royal family questioned whether Prince Charles was the father of Prince Harry and demanded a blood test to prove it, according to a report in the British tabloid the Sun.

The newspaper is serializing the book “Diana: The Last Word,” by Simone Simmons, that reports that Princess Diana was forced to consent to the paternity tests after Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, thought their son Charles might not be the father. Diana had acknowledged publicly in 1995 that she had an affair with an army major, James Hewitt. Tests administered to Prince Harry and his older brother, Prince William, established that both had been fathered by Prince Charles, the report said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

CENTRAL ASIA

U.S. CHINOOK HELICOPTER CRASHES; TALIBAN CLAIMS RESPONSIBILIT Y

KABUL, Afghanistan – An American CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, which an official said may have been carrying 15 to 20 people, crashed yesterday while ferrying reinforcements for counterterrorism operations in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed responsibility. The fate of those on board the helicopter, which crashed near Asadabad in Kunar province, was not immediately known, the American military said. A statement said the cause of the crash was unclear, as was the number of people on board.

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

IRAN WILL INVESTIGATE SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST RAFSANJANI

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s supreme leader ordered the judiciary yesterday to investigate the smear campaign against the losing candidate in last week’s presidential elections, but he steered blame toward America, not followers of the hard-line winner. The defeated candidate, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, has complained that he was the victim of “organized intervention” by Iran’s ruling hard-line hierarchy, which backed ultraconservative candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – the surprise winner of Friday’s runoff vote.

– Associated Press

SOUTH ASIA

PAKISTAN HIGH COURT REOPENS CASE OF COUNCIL-ORDERED GANG RAPE

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan’s Supreme Court agreed yesterday to reopen an inquiry into the high-profile case of Mukthar Mai, an unlettered laborer’s daughter from southern Punjab province who allegedly was gang-raped on the orders of a tribal council in 2002. The court decision overturned a judgment by the Lahore High Court, issued in March, that threw out the convictions of five of the men accused of involvement in the rape and commuted the death sentence of a sixth.

– The Washington Post