News In Brief

French researchers in Iranian jail
petition to get married
AP, Tehran
Two French researchers held for months in a Tehran prison on charges of violating Iran’s state security laws have petitioned prison authorities to allow them to get married, their lawyer said Friday.
The two – Fariba Adelkhah Adelkhah and Roland Marchal, both in their 60s – filed separate requests to Evin prison authorities, according to their lawyer, Saeid Dehghan. He also expressed concerns for Adelkhah’s deteriorating health amid a hunger strike that she has been on since December.

Warren apologizes to 6 women of colour who left Nevada office
AP, Derry
Elizabeth Warren is apologizing to six women of color who left her presidential campaign office in Nevada before the state’s caucuses because they felt marginalized and because their concerns weren’t addressed by supervisors.
“I believe these women completely and without reservation. And I apologize that they have had a bad experience on this campaign,” the Massachusetts senator told reporters after an event in Derry, New Hampshire, on Thursday night.

Swiss vote on anti-homophobia law as critics decry censorship
Reuters, Geneva
When 41-year-old Jehanne, a lesbian, was repeatedly insulted for supporting LGBT rights during a tram ride in the Swiss city of Geneva last month, she threatened to call the police. But her aggressor said his remarks were not a crime under Swiss law.
“I was shaking, I was crying too,” said Jehanne, an artist and mother of an eight-year-old boy, who asked for her last name to be withheld. “I looked around me and I was really surprised that no one looked at me or intervened at all.”