Gays in Britain registering civil partnerships

Gay couples began registering for civil partnerships at town halls across Britain on Monday as a law took effect giving them many of the same legal rights as married heterosexuals.

Although the law stops short of allowing same-sex couples to marry, many said they were still eager to claim the benefits and official recognition of their relationships — for which some have waited decades. The Times of London marked the day by publishing notices of "gay marriages" for the first time.

"We're absolutely delighted," said John Walton, 80, registering in London with his partner of 40 years, Roger Raglan. "It's enormously important to us that we should be able to state to everyone that we are partners."

The law, passed last year despite some opposition from Parliament's unelected House of Lords, permits civil ceremonies that will give same-sex couples the same social-security, tax, pension and inheritance rights as married couples.

Opposition group alleges retaliation

Egypt's leading opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, accused the government Monday of detaining more than 1,250 of its supporters during ongoing parliamentary elections in retaliation for its success at the polls.

The Paris-based press watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, meanwhile, claimed police stopped three TV crews, including one from the U.S.-financed Al-Hurra station, from filming Thursday at some polling stations. It also claimed police attacked and abused the crews.

The Brotherhood has done surprisingly well in the three-stage elections, winning 76 seats so far — five times as many as it held in the outgoing assembly and far more than any other opposition party. President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party and allied independents have won 222 of the legislature's 444 elected seats.

Chávez supporters claim total victory

Supporters of President Hugo Chávez vowed Monday to accelerate Venezuela's shift to a "new socialism" after claiming victory in elections that were expected to give pro-Chávez politicians all 167 seats in the National Assembly.

Several of Venezuela's major opposition parties boycotted Sunday's vote, which had an estimated turnout of 25 percent and is likely to further polarize Venezuelan society. "Silence united Venezuelans," said Gerardo Blyde of Justice First, one of several leading opposition parties that pulled out days before the vote, complaining the voting system could not be trusted.

Pinochet dealt another setback

A judge Monday added the cases of three missing dissidents to the indictment keeping former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet under house arrest. Six dissidents were listed in the original charges.

Judge Victor Montiglio said, however, that he turned down a prosecution request to include four more victims of Operation Colombo, in which 119 dissidents were killed in the early years of Pinochet's 1973-90 regime.

The judge ruled that the four already had been the subject of a trial in a military court that found a 1978 amnesty law protected Pinochet from prosecution in the case.

Prosecution lawyer Boris Paredes said he will appeal Montiglio's ruling.

Volcanic activity spurs evacuation

Thousands of villagers living in the shadow of a volcano spewing ash and steam on the Vanuatu island of Ambae have been evacuated amid fears of a major eruption, officials said today.

Mount Manaro, which cradles a volcanic lake in its crater, began tossing out ash and a towering plume of steam Nov. 27. Douglas Charlie, a local volcanologist, said the lakebed was in danger of being torn open by the trembling mountain, causing "a gigantic explosion" as the water hit the hot volcanic magma.

The lake also is being forced up toward the rim, sparking fears of a mud flow that could threaten the villages surrounding the mountain.

Officials ordered 5,000 people living in 15 villages nearest the mountain to move to the island's coast. Ambae itself has a total of 10,000 residents.

Compiled from The Associated Press and Reuters