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 Rome,
Italy
The hospitalisation of Pope John Paul II has prompted Vatican
officials to bring forward plans for effecting a seamless succession,
plans which include the controversial television competition,
'Pope Idol'. Originally conceived by a Vatican sub-committee
dedicated to addressing declining church numbers amongst the
young, the project has been given increased impetus by the enormous
success of the Calendario Romano 2005, a calendar featuring handsome
young Italian priests. 'Pope Idol' has a potentially massive
audience throughout Latin America and Southern Europe and a number
of television stations have expressed an interest in making substantial
donations to the church's work for exclusive rights to the show.
Despite opposition from elder figures with the Roman Catholic
Church and the Vatican itself the modernisers appear to be on
the verge of getting their way. Father Francisco Vialli, who
led the sub-committee from which the idea came told Italy's Corriere
della Sera newspaper that the competition '...will allow the
people to express of the world the opportunity to influence the
divine choice of the next Pope, this will be man and God working
together in harmony and is absolutely the direction that the
church should be taking.' If the show goes ahead Cardinal Godfried
Danneels, the outspoken Belgian catholic who recently suggested
condoms should be allowed in circumstances to prevent the spread
of AIDs, is expected to be offered the Simon Cowell role in the
show, and will be the man wannabe Popes must impress
across the show's five key disciplines of 'Mass Celebration',
'Sacrament Administration', 'Remission of Sins' and 'Preaching'
The show will come live from the Vatican every Sunday and run
for six months but start dates are dependent on the health of
the current Pope who was not available for comment when the story
went to press. |
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Oxford,
UK
A leading forum for Medical Practitioners has called for a ban
on drinking in pubs as the most effective measure to address
the health crisis affecting the nation. Dr Ian Smedley, Chairman
of the Council for General Practitioners told reporters, 'After
years of campaigning it appears that the government are finally
coming around to the idea of smoke free pubs, but we feel that
even this measure when it is implemented, will not be sufficient
to address the burgeoning problems in healthcare, particularly
amongst 18-30 year olds. We all know that binge drinking is a
serious problem, and a ban on drinking in pubs would be the simplest
way of eliminating it categorically. the psychology of binge
drinking demands a crowd and a lively atmosphere, and this is
something that sufferers would struggle to recreate in their
home environment.' Dr Smedley also contended that a ban on drinking
in pubs would reduce absenteeism, late-night violence and a substantial
number of unwanted pregnancies.
Leicester,
UK
Retailers hailed the impact of government
advertising promoting healthier eating as new research suggested
the average Briton
now consumes at least five fruit or veg flavoured snacks per
day. Research by Mori for crisp giant Walkers pointed to success
ranging from Sunny D and Tango claiming a higher portion of soft-drink
spend from cola beverages to the significant increase in sales
of strawberry pop-tarts. Walkers executives were also said to
be delighted by the performance of Cheese & Onion and Beef &
Onion crisps in the final quarter of 2004 and by the surveys
willingness to chalk down two portions for every pack consumed.
However Doctor's groups expressed concern that five-a-day message
was being diluted by the manufacturers and called on the government
to be more explicit in it's campaigns. Dr Lianne Taylor of the
BMA was unequivocal in her condemnation of the survey, 'The public
may now be thinking about what they eat but they're not thinking
correctly. A Solero and a Cadbury's Fruit & Nut bar don't get
you two fifths of the way to your daily total.' she told a conference
at the Walker's Stadium, Leicester.
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Wolverhampton,
UK
Police are searching for a group of men
and women suspected in the beating to death of local man
Craig Feathers inside
a town centre pub last weekend. CCTV footage from the pub
shows that Feathers was drinking alone on
Thursday evening and took
numerous calls on a mobile phone during that time. After
the fifth of these calls a man walked over to Feathers and
a heated exchange took place. Two calls later a second man punched Feathers
to the ground and several others joined in kicking and punching the 26
year old electrician, blood can clearly be seen soaking his white track
suit as the beating continues on the footage. Police have
not yet been able to identify any of those who took part
but, despite the lack of sound on the CCTV footage they have
been able to ascertain that Feathers possessed the popular
'Crazy Frog' ringtone and Det Insp. Clive Duff of Bilston
st Police Station has speculated that the constant repetition
of this tone may have been what sparked the incident.
London, UK
Residents of Edmonton in North London have greeted with
delight the opening of a new Ikea superstore billed by the
local council as the answer to the borough's traffic problems.
Edmonton resident, Sheila Bogle told the local Edmonton Examiner, 'traffic
has been an increasing problem for us for the past few years
with a growth in speeding and joy riding by rival gangs of
boy racers, the new Ikea will soon put a stop to that and
I expect average speeds through the borough to be down to
under the London average within days.' Council leader Henry
Burnt hailed the public-private solution to the borough's
traffic chaos saying, 'Ikea were wary about siting a second
store on the North Circular but we were able to convince them that not
only would it make sound business sense but it would also
be roundly welcomed by local residents for dramatically reducing incidents
of speeding and car accidents.' Mr Burnt was unwilling to
address questions about increases in road rage incidents
being closely linked to the vicinity and peak trading hours of Ikea stores.
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