India's Supreme Court reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex on Wednesday that could see homosexuals jailed for up to ten years in a major setback for rights campaigners in the world's biggest democracy. A two-judge bench struck down a Delhi High Court ruling in 2009 that section 377 of the Indian penal code prohibiting "carnal acts against the order of nature" infringed the fundamental rights of Indians. But a two-judge Supreme Court bench headed by G.S. Singhvi, who will retire on Thursday, found that the High Court had overstepped and that the law against gay sex was constitutionally valid. The 2009 High Court decision was strongly opposed by religious groups, particularly leaders of India's Muslim and Christian communities, who appealed to the Supreme Court.

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) — Watched around the clock, bathed twice a day and otherwise pampered, five white elephants are munching on choice greenery in Myanmar's vast, remote and surreal capital. Above them soars a shimmering, gold-plated pagoda.