■ United States
Hillary's joke not hilarious
Former first lady and New York Senator Hillary Clinton on Wednesday apologized for joking that Mahatma Gandhi once ran a gas station in Missouri. Clinton made the joke, playing on a stereotype that many South Asians in the US manage gas stations or convenience stores, during a fundraiser over the weekend. "I have admired the work and life of Mahatma Gandhi and have spoken publicly about that many times," Clinton said in a statement. "I truly regret if a lame attempt at humor suggested otherwise."
■ United States
Beatle's estate sues doctor
The estate of former Beatle George Harrison filed a US$10 million law suit on Tuesday against one of the doctors who treated the late rock musician, claiming he violated confidentiality and misused his relationship to procure souvenirs. The suit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court claimed that Dr. Gilbert Lederman, director of radiation oncology at Staten Island University Hospital, a co-defendant in the suit, had coerced a failing Harrison to autograph his son's guitar and sign autographs for his two daughters.
■ United States
Lottery prize in dispute
A woman who says she lost the winning ticket for a US$162 million US lottery prize will pursue her claim in court, despite questions about her credibility, her lawyer said on Wednesday. Starke's client, Elicia Battle, went to court on Tuesday to try to stop Ohio lottery officials from distributing the prize they had awarded a few hours earlier to Rebecca Jemison. Battle claimed she bought the winning ticket but lost it when she dropped her purse outside the door. In another development, police in Richmond Heights, Ohio, said Battle had been arrested for misuse of a credit card there in 1998.
■ United Kingdom
Transsexuals win EU victory
British transsexuals won a victory in the EU's highest court on Wednesday, which ruled that the British government cannot deny them the right to marry. The European Court of Justice decision provides a spur to the British parliament, where a Gender Recognition Bill to permit transsexuals to marry has stalled in the House of Lords. Its immediate effect is to give a British court the authority to work around existing law and provide pension benefits for transsexuals as though they were married, even before parliament acts. An appeals court had asked for the court's advice on European Community law so it could rule on a pension case. In Britain marriage can only occur between a man and a woman. British law has prevented transsexuals from marrying within their new sex on the grounds that birth certificates cannot be amended, the EU court noted. That has barred transsexuals from receiving pension benefits, which are limited to married couples.
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