Civil-union bill in Hawaii

Civil-union bill in Hawaii

HONOLULU — Hawaii, the state that adopted the nation’s first “defense of marriage” constitutional amendment a decade ago, has now become the latest battleground in the fight for same-sex civil unions.

It would become the fifth state to legalize the alternative to gay marriage if the Democrat-dominated Legislature and Republican governor approve a civil-union law. The measure was passed by the state House this month, but it now faces the Senate, where a divided committee is to vote Tuesday.

Republican Gov. Linda Lingle has declined to comment on the issue, and it’s unclear whether she would veto the bill.

Gay-rights organizations argue that civil unions would promote basic equality in the nation’s most ethnically diverse state, but opponents fear the erosion of an island culture that values conventional family ties.

Dramatic prison escape

ATHENS, Greece — For the second time in their lives, two robbers escaped from a high-security prison Sunday by scaling a rope ladder to a hovering helicopter amid a gunbattle with guards.

The men remained missing late Sunday. They had been scheduled to appear before a magistrate today about their first escape — from the same prison — three years ago.

The shaken government quickly dismissed three Justice Ministry officials, and the prime minister scheduled an emergency meeting of part of his Cabinet today to discuss the country’s prisons.

Vassilis Paleokostas, 42, and Alket Rizaj, 34, were picked up by a helicopter that flew over the courtyard of Athens’ Korydallos prison Sunday afternoon. They climbed a rope ladder thrown to them by a woman passenger, the Justice Ministry said.

Guards on the ground opened fire, and the woman fired back with an automatic rifle, authorities said. No injuries were reported.

Gaza-Egypt border opened

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hundreds of travelers left blockaded Gaza for Egypt on Sunday, in one of the sporadic openings that enable students, patients and others with Egyptian visas to cross the border.

About 1,000 university students and holders of foreign residency permits were eligible to cross, and by midafternoon Sunday, about 600 people had made the trip, border officials said.

Also Sunday, the bodies of four people were found in a smuggling tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border, a day after another body was discovered in the area. Medics said all five suffocated.

The 20-month closure of Gaza by Israel and Egypt has boosted smuggling of arms and consumer goods through hundreds of border tunnels. Israel destroyed dozens of tunnels during its three-week offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers last month, but smuggling continues.

Iran: Plant test run set

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran announced Sunday that it would turn on its Russian-built 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in the Persian Gulf city of Bushehr for a test run Wednesday, state-owned media reported.

But Russia, which has provided the plant’s crucial nuclear fuel rods while withholding key expertise to get it running, has not confirmed the test run. Iranian officials, who said the plant would be run Wednesday without enriched uranium that would allow it to produce electricity, have in the past made claims about Bushehr that were not fulfilled.

Coming on the heels of Iran’s satellite launch earlier this month and reports of its accumulation of a crucial supply of enriched uranium, signs of apparent progress at Bushehr are an enormous source of pride for Iranians and a major worry for the West.

Airline restores free drinks

ATLANTA — In the ultra-competitive airline industry, it’s tough being out there alone as the only large network carrier to charge some passengers for soda, juice and coffee, especially in the middle of a deep economic recession that is sharply reducing demand for air travel.

US Airways is acknowledging as much, planning to announce today that free beverage service will resume next Sunday on board its planes.

The change, detailed in a memo to employees of the Tempe, Ariz.-based carrier sent Sunday evening by Chief Executive Doug Parker, reverses part of the a la carte business model the airline has trumpeted over the last year.

The airline began charging $2 for soda, juice, coffee and bottled water in coach cabins on domestic flights Aug. 1, 2008. First-class passengers and all passengers traveling on trans-Atlantic flights still received free drinks.

Combined dispatches