Briefs, February 6, 2013
The Vatican's top official on family policy has opened slightly to the possibility of rights for gay civil unions, although he also stressed that marriage should remain between a man and a woman. "Marriage is a clear legal dimension.
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican's top official on family policy has opened slightly to the possibility of rights for gay civil unions, although he also stressed that marriage should remain between a man and a woman. "Marriage is a clear legal dimension. There are then multiple other types of non-family cohabitation for which solutions should be found in terms of individual law and in my view also in terms of property law," Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, head of the Pontifical Council for the Family, said. His comments were widely seen as a reference to gay couples. "I think this is a terrain that politicians should begin to approach," said the archbishop, adding that legal rights for non-traditional families would "prevent injustice against the weakest". AFP
WASHINGTON - Boeing has asked the US Federal Aviation Administration for approval to resume test flights with the 787 Dreamliner while the plane remains grounded during an investigation of battery faults. The FAA was still considering that request, said an agency official. The plane-maker would operate any such flights with existing test aircraft, Marc Birtel, a company spokesman, said. Flying test planes would let Boeing study the Dreamliner's lithium-ion power packs while the 50 787s in service stay parked. Regulators and Boeing are still trying to determine what caused a battery fire on one jet and a cockpit warning that spurred an emergency landing by another, which in turn triggered grounding orders worldwide on January 16. Bloomberg