No gender-neutral passports in Britain

LONDON • A British court has ruled out adding a third option on passports for people who define themselves as neither male nor female following a lengthy legal battle, saying the existing policy was lawful.

The Court of Appeal on Tuesday ruled in favour of the Home Office, or interior ministry, in a case brought by Christie Elan-Cane, who identifies as "non-gendered", and said current passport rules do not constitute a human rights breach.

REUTERS

Pell's appeal: Aussie court defers ruling

CANBERRA • Australia's highest court yesterday deferred ruling on an appeal to overturn the conviction of former Vatican treasurer George Pell for sexually assaulting two teenage choirboys in the 1990s.

After two days of legal arguments, the High Court of Australia said it was still considering whether to allow the appeal, the last avenue for the 78-year-old cardinal to clear his name.

REUTERS

Fossil studies aiding Myanmar's army?

NEW YORK • Fossils preserved in amber are giving palaeontologists exceptional glimpses into the age of the dinosaurs, be it through the preserved tail of a dinosaur that still bears feathers, or a frog frozen in time.

But much of the fossil-rich amber is mined in Myanmar, a country recently ordered by the UN International Court of Justice to protect its Rohingya Muslim minority against genocidal acts.

The mining and sale of the amber may also be a source of profit for the country's military.

NYTIMES