World in brief

Ferry load, violations blamed in sinking

DAKAR, Senegal -- Overloading and violations of safety standards caused Africa's deadliest ferry disaster, the Sept. 26 capsizing of Senegal's state-run MS Joola, a panel of inquiry reported Tuesday.

The government-appointed panel put the death toll at 1,153 -- higher than the previous official estimate of about 1,000. Sixty-seven people survived. The ferry was built to hold 600 people.

The panel also criticized the military for not sending its first search planes and boats until some 12 hours after the capsizing.

The chief factors in the disaster were the shifting weight of the packed-in passengers and 50 tons of unstowed freight, which made the ship vulnerable when it was hit by a gale.

Other irregularities reported by the panel were lack of crew training, failure by the captain -- who died -- to carry out standard stability calculations before leaving port, inadequate emergency rafts and faulty radio equipment.

Britain moves closer to letting gay couples adopt

LONDON -- Britain's upper chamber of Parliament voted Tuesday to lift a ban on unmarried and gay couples adopting children, reversing its earlier defeat of the legislation.

The House of Lords approval came after the House of Commons voted for the measure, meaning it now is almost certain to become law. It will make Britain the fifth European country to allow gay couples to adopt along with Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and the Netherlands.

South Africa became the first African country to let same sex couples legally adopt children with a Sept. 10 court ruling.

Under British law, single heterosexuals and homosexuals may adopt children but unmarried and gay couples may not. The government says changing the law will help thousands of children awaiting adoption.

Mother drops abduction lawsuit against king

MBABANE, Swaziland -- A woman who sued Swaziland's monarchy to prevent the king from marrying her daughter postponed her lawsuit indefinitely Tuesday, saying she doubted she had any chance of winning.

Lindiwe Dlamini had asked the court to force the royal family to release her 18-year-old daughter, Zena Zoraya Mahlangu, from a royal guest house. Mahlangu and two other women were picked by King Mswati III's aides in September after the king decided they would be his 10th, 11th and 12th wives.

The lawsuit did not name the king, who is above the law, but said several royal family members defied tradition and the law in taking Mahlangu.

Lucas Maziya, Dlamini's lawyer, said he had no doubt his client's daughter had been abducted, but the chances of her being released were slim.

Maziya said Dlamini reserved her right to reopen the lawsuit if she was not satisfied with her daughter's treatment.

Castro, director Spielberg meet during Cuba visit

HAVAVA -- Steven Spielberg discussed U.S.-Cuba cultural exchanges, history, politics, the environment and many other subjects during an eight-hour meeting with President Fidel Castro that ended early Tuesday.

Members of the American filmmaker's delegation said he and Castro held lively discussions that began at a reception at 6:15 p.m. Monday, continued through dinner and ended about 2:30 a.m. Spielberg was to attend the Cuban premiere of his most recent film, Minority Report, in Havana later Tuesday.

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