NEW YORK, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - Massachusetts on Thursday opened the door for gay couples from across the country to marry in the northeastern state.

Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill with immediate effect allowing homosexual non-residents to tie the knot there, circumventing bans in their own states.

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - Former US negotiator Richard Holbrooke denied in an interview aired Thursday that he once cut a deal with ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic that would have allowed him to avoid facing war crimes charges in exchange for keeping a low profile.

NEW YORK, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - Philip Morris International said Thursday it has struck a friendly matchup with Canadian tobacco company Rothmans Inc. in a two billion Canadian dollar (1.9 billion) takeover deal.

PMI, the global cigarette maker and distributor of leading brand Marlboro, already owns a 40 percent stake in Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (RBH).

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - Republican John McCain, under fire for a mocking offensive on Barack Obama's star power, lashed out Thursday at his Democratic White House rival for playing the 'race card.'

LOS ANGELES, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - California said Thursday it planned to sue the US government for failing to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from ships, aircraft, construction and agricultural equipment.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - Electronic Data Systems shareholders on Thursday approved a tie-up with Hewlett-Packard, voting almost unanimously to go through with the 13.9 billion dollar takeover.

In May, HP inked a deal to buy the Texas-based technology company for 25 dollars per share but it needed approval by shareholders as well as US and foreign regulators.

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush has given his national intelligence director greater powers to manage rival US spy agencies as part of an overhaul driven by past intelligence failures, White House documents released Thursday show.

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Thursday he expects 'moderate' growth in the US economy this year and some stability returning to the housing market in a matter of months.

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - A plane carrying nine people crashed Thursday in the northern US state of Minnesota, killing at least seven people aviation officials said.

'There are seven fatalities, though the local law enforcement will confirm that number. It's possible that it was up to nine,' said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory.

COLOMBO, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Thursday said 'minor incidents' should not overshadow what he called Islamabad's positive contribution to combating terrorism.