U.S. & WORLD NEWS DIGEST | Gays have church civil ceremonies

Gays have church civil ceremonies

LONDON

Gay couples are to be allowed civil partnership ceremonies in churches, Britain’s government said Thursday — erasing some of the last remaining distinctions between gay partnerships and traditional marriages.

Although marriage and civil partnership are already similar under British law, civil partnership ceremonies are currently not allowed to have religious references, are banned from churches, and must take place in a public building overseen by a government registrar.

The change, being introduced under equality laws, will give same-sex couples the chance to tie the knot in religious buildings — although the government stressed that churches can opt out if they wish to.

Trustee: I never met with Madoff

NEW YORK

The trustee seeking to recover money for victims of Bernard Madoff’s vast Ponzi scheme disputes a report in which the disgraced financier claims the two met.

David J. Sheehan, chief counsel for court-appointed trustee Irving H. Picard, said in a statement Wednesday that Picard never met with Madoff. Sheehan says “there has been no direct communication between them.”

Madoff spoke to The New York Times for a report published in Wednesday’s newspaper. It was based on Madoff’s first interviews since his 2008 arrest.

Madoff told the Times he gave Picard’s team information that would be helpful in recovering assets. He says he met with the team for four days last summer, though the report doesn’t specify whether that included Picard.

Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence in North Carolina.

Riot police attack Bahrain protesters

MANAMA, Bahrain

Riot police are using tear and clubs to try to regain control of a main square in Bahrain’s capital occupied by anti-government protesters.

Hundreds of security forces carrying truncheons and firing rubber bullets moved into Pearl Square before dawn on Thursday. There was no immediate word on casualties.

US: Gunmen knew agents were officers

MEXICO CITY

Gunmen who shot up an SUV carrying two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, killing one, knew they were attacking law enforcement officers judging from comments they made before opening fire, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The law enforcement official, who agreed to discuss the case only on condition of anonymity, refused to reveal the specific comments, but said the blue Suburban had diplomatic plates that also may have indicated who was on board.

But details emerging Wednesday indicated that though the gunmen may have known they were shooting law enforcement officers, they had not sought out the two agents.

Serbia urges new trafficking probe

UNITED NATIONS

Serbia is calling for the U.N. Security Council to authorize an international criminal investigation into allegations that Kosovo rebels including Prime Minister Hashim Thaci trafficked in human organs before, during and after Kosovo’s 1999 war for secession.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told the council on Wednesday that a preliminary investigation being carried out by the European Union mission in Kosovo will be “crucial.” But he said it won’t be sufficient because the allegations appear to go beyond Kosovo to countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Jeremic called for the Security Council to establish an independent investigative body that will be accountable to it.

Associated Press