Ceremonies were held Tuesday morning at the courthouse and at the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group that broadcast the ceremonies of three couples live on the internet.

Washington last week began allowing same-sex couples to apply for marriage licenses, and around 100 couple took advantage of the new law.

The city council approved the move in December and attempts by opponents to block it were turned down in court.

Five of 50 US states allow same-sex marriage: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. The highly contentious social issue has pitted gay rights advocates and conservative religious groups for years. Efforts to legalize the practice in California failed when it was placed on a 2008 ballot.

Boeing, General Electric, AT&T and United Technologies also saw their shares rise during the trading day. Boeing’s gains came after rivals EADS and Northrop Grumman late Monday pulled out of a bid for a lucrative Air Force contract to build aerial refuellers.

Financials American International Group (AIG), Citigroup and mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac all posted strong rallies. There was no clear reason for the sudden gains.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 11.86 points, or 0.11 percent, to 10,564.38. The broader Standard and Poor’s 500 Index gained 1.95 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,140.45. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 8.47 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,340.68.

The mild rally came one year after the S&P 500 hit a 12-year low at the height of the recession. The index has since climbed 69 percent.

The US currency edged up against the euro to 73.53 euro cents from 73.44 euro cents Monday. But the dollar fell against the Japanese currency to 89.99 yen from 90.25 yen.

Argentina, an oil-producing country where fuel is subject to government price controls, has not imported gasoline in 30 years.

“Everyone is putting less fuel on the market, except YPF,” Corporate Communications Director Sergio Resumil said Tuesday, blaming his firm’s domestic competitors for the shortage.

He said YPF, the Argentine subsidiary of Spain’s Repsol, is turning to imports as an “exceptional” measure and that the 50 million litres represents a little more than a month’s supply.

Resumil said the other firms in the Argentine fuel sector – Brazil’s Petrobras, Esso and Royal Dutch Shell – reduced both oil production and refining here by 200,000 cubic metres in January and February.

Moreover, he said, YPF has secured 56 percent of the market by undercutting its competitors on price, and he sought to reassure consumers that the company can meet Argentina’s needs.

“There is gas and there is fuel, people just have to have a little patience,” Resumil said.

Under the Political Parties Registration Law, published in state-run newspapers Wednesday, all prisoners are barred from joining political parties that register to contest a general election.

This condition effectively excludes Suu Kyi and 2,100 other political prisoners from running in the upcoming polls, which would be the first in Myanmar in 20 years, unless they are freed soon.

The law also excludes members of religious orders, members of insurgent groups “as defined by the state” and foreigners from joining political parties.

Suu Kyi is currently serving an 18-month house detention sentence, which is set to expire in October, unless it is extended by Myanmar’s ruling military junta.

At present, Suu Kyi still heads the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party despite her imprisonment, but under the new law, the NLD would need to drop her from its membership rolls to be allowed to contest the polls.

The law – signed by Myanmar’s junta chief, Senior General Than Shwe – also gives the NLD 60 days to register with the newly established Election Commission if it wishes to contest the election, whose date was yet to be set.

“Parties can continue their work in accordance with the law when they have received permission for the commission,” the law read. “They will be automatically invalidated if they do not reapply.”

The Election Commission is to consist of five members appointed by the State Peace and Development Council, as the ruling junta styles itself.

The new law confirmed fears that the junta intends to maintain an iron grip over the outcome of this year’s planned election.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Western governments have warned that the outcome of the election would only be deemed credible if Suu Kyi and other political prisoners are released beforehand and if amendments are made to the constitution to guarantee the future government’s independence from the military.

“Now the ball is in the court of the United Nations, United States and the international community, who have been repeatedly calling for the regime to make a inclusive, free and fair election,” said Aung Din, executive director of the pressure group US Campaign for Burma.

“I hope they will transform their words into a collective and effective action,” the Washington-based activist said.

The NLD, which won the country’s last general election in 1990 by a landslide but has been denied power for the past 20 years, has demanded in the past that the junta release Suu Kyi and other political prisoners before it contests the polls.

The NLD has also called for amendments to the current constitution as a condition for contesting the upcoming election.

Myanmar’s 2008 constitution effectively cements the military’s control over any elected government by means of the National Parliament, primarily an appointed body with the power of veto over all legislation.

The junta has insisted that the constitution is a pre-requisite to handing power to any civilian government.

“He’s the best person for the job. He’s going to be hilarious. He’s clearly a very talented comedian; look at his ‘Saturday Night Live’ skits. He’s fantastic. He’s going to be so great,” contactmusic.com quoted Cameron as saying.

Justin and Cameron dated for four years before splitting in 2007.

Other stars in the movie include Molly Shannon, Jason Segal, Eric Stonestree and John Michael Higgins. Shooting of the film began Saturday and it is being directed by Jake Kasdan.

“Bad Teacher” will release sometime in 2012.

The French actress and singer, who has previously fronted lipstick and perfume campaigns for the fashion house, is a close friend of Chanel’s chief designer and couturier Karl Lagerfeld. She began working with the brand in 1991 when she was placed inside a giant birdcage covered in feathers to advertise for a perfume and is now going to endorse their handbags, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

In 2009, Chanel confirmed Paradis would front their campaign for Rouge Coco de Chanel because of her “modern elegance, boldness of character and power of emotion”.

In December, she made an appearance in Shanghai, China for the presentation of Chanel’s Metiers d’Art collection.

The 44-year-old beauty spent much of her childhood acting and modelling and says being famous gives a kick, reports fashion.ie.

“It’s a high like you can’t imagine. It’s like a drug,” she said.

Lohan, 23, has sued online brokerage E-Trade for $100 million alleging that a company ad in which a baby named Lindsay is referred to as a “milkaholic” violated her rights, according to the New York Post Tuesday.

The ad debuted during the Super Bowl in February and featured a baby boy apologising to his girlfriend for standing her up because he was too busy trading shares. “And that milkaholic Lindsay wasn’t over?” the baby girl asks before another baby girl pops into the screen saying, “Milk-a-whaaat?” It was the latest in a series of ads featuring the babies in a bid to show the ease of the online trading system.

In the lawsuit filed Monday, Lohan’s lawyer said the ad was a clear reference to her client, who has a dismal record of substance abuse.

“Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit,” Lohan’s lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, said in a statement. “They’re using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn’t they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody’s talking about it and saying it’s Lindsay Lohan.”

A statement from the ad agency that produced the commercial denied that it was referring to Lohan, and said they “just used a popular baby name that happened to be the name of someone on the account team”.

The fellowship, named ARThinkSouthAsia, in its first edition has selected 17 fellows from across the region, the Goethe-Institut said.

The fellowship is designed to help develop skills, knowledge, networks and experience of potential leaders in the cultural sector which includes museums, the visual and performing arts and digital media.

“We believe that by supporting exceptional individuals to make a step-change in their skills and career potential, we can bring substantial benefit to the cultural field as a whole,” said Stefan Dreyer, regional director (south Asia) of the institute.

The fellowship will be blend of both theory and professional training and will consist of five to six modules which includes latest thinking in cultural management in areas such as strategic planning, project management, strategic finance and fundraising, marketing, communication, and internet technologies amongst others.

These modules will be led by a mix of Indian and international professional trainers and academicians and will be supplemented by expert guest lectures.

She was performing in the play “Private Lives” when she kicked on the table without realising she was doing it.

“Actually, she got bruised on her shins because she kicked a table without knowing she was doing it, so you couldn’t blame Matthew for that,” said Richard Eyre, the director.

Cattrall says she rather enjoyed being thrown around by Macfadyen, reports telegraph.co.uk.

“It is like a ballet. I always feel safe that Matthew is going to catch me at the appropriate points and I never feel like I am in danger. Honestly, it’s exhilarating,” she added.