Barack Obama made no secret of the reason for his 36-hour dash to Honolulu when only ten days remained before decision day in the presidential race. His beloved grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, was gravely ill and he was afraid she might not make it through to the campaign finish.

Tourists were turned away from the Iolani Royal Palace in Honolulu yesterday as authorities assessed the damage from its brief occupation by protesters claiming they had reinstalled the islands' king on the Hawaiian throne.

'By the way, Richard said, 'can you guys tell me which are the most northerly, southerly, westerly and easterly of the American states?'

Aloha Airlines, which has been transporting island-hoppers around the Hawaiian archipelago for more than 60 years, has completed its final passenger journey, brought low by the soaring cost of fuel and cut-throat competition.

The Democrat front-runner spent most of his childhood in the Pineapple State. As the islanders prepare to choose their candidate, David Usborne goes in search of the boy who became a potential President

A "plastic soup" of waste floating in the Pacific Ocean is growing at an alarming rate and now covers an area twice the size of the continental United States, scientists have said.

Brian Viner Interviews: Political refugee at four, Arsenal fan at eight, he has forged an incredible path from Sudan to the lofty heights of the NBA, and all by the age of just 21...

Bumbling star of 'Gilligan's Island'

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He's newly married to the jazz singer Diana Krall, celebrating his 50th birthday and about to release his best album in years. And, admits the sardonic Elvis Costello, he is finally happy. But Craig McLean soon discovers it's perhaps best not to mention Britain ('insignificant'), critics ('patronising') or ex wives ('I can't live in the past')

THE HIGHEST court in the state of Vermont has ruled that homosexual couples should enjoy the same legal rights as heterosexual couples, but stopped short of sanctioning gay marriages, saying that should be a decision for the state's legislature.

The volcanic islands of Hawaii have long conjured dreams of a Pacific paradise: sun-drenched living beneath the waving palms. And though on arrival the first palms you're likely to see are those of the outstretched, tourist-fleecing variety, move on a little and the scenery and sites are quite fantastic.

MAYBE HE was worried about getting fired from his job as a photocopier repairman. Maybe he was upset at the cats eating his prized goldfish.

A DISGRUNTLED technician walked into the offices of the Xerox company on the outskirts of Honolulu yesterday morning and shot seven people dead before fleeing in a company van, police said.