World Briefs

Italy's railways are phasing out sumptuous restaurant cars on trains to replace them with snack bars to save money, bringing to an end the era of sitting down to a full meal with service aboard an Italian train.

Ferrovie dello Stato says the restaurant cars were losing several million euros a year and sees no reason to continue the service.

It will replace them with snack booths on all new trains and those being revamped. Other countries have similarly moved away from restaurant cars in recent years, it said.

Italian media, recounting film scenes set on elegant restaurant cars with waiters and silverware - such as that featuring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in Hitchcock's North by Northwest - lamented the end of an era.

"Now that life and food have become much quicker (the trains, unfortunately not), lunch on the train instead seems like an unnecessary luxury," wrote La Stampa daily.

"But in their long existence (the cars) were a symbol of elegance, charm, civility; pampering millions of travellers and leaving a mark on... cinematographic and literary culture."

Hungary's liberals rule out new coalition

Hungary's small liberal party, which quit the Socialist-led coalition in April, on Saturday ruled out forming a new coalition with the Socialists.

Gabor Fodor, president of the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats, also said after meeting the leader of the main opposition party Fidesz that the liberals would help Fidesz force an early election only as a last resort.

The Free Democrats (SZDSZ), who have 20 MPs in Hungary's 386-seat parliament, had indicated they would support the Socialists from outside a formal coalition and called on the government to return to its plans to cut state spending and taxes.

Fodor, who is due to meet Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany next week, said: "I wish to lead SZDSZ ...as a responsible opposition party which holds the government accountable for its programme."

Fodor said the issue of early polls could only be raised if the government fails to present a programme which is acceptable to SZDSZ.

Four killed in train ambush in Thai southern province

Gunmen ambushed a passenger train in Thailand's deep south yesterday, killing four people in the latest attack in a four-year-old separatist insurgency.

Another five people were wounded when the suspected Muslim militants, armed with automatic rifles, fired on the train travelling from Sungai Kolok on the Malaysian border to the southern province of Yala, police said.

Three passengers and a railway employee were killed.

Naomi Campbell says racist slur sparked air rage British Airways rejected claims of racism yesterday after supermodel Naomi Campbell, who pleaded guilty to assault in a foul-mouthed 'air rage' incident, said she was likened to a black 'Golliwog doll during the flight.

BA said it did not accept the accusation made by Campbell, who was convicted of assault on Friday and sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid community work, that someone on the flight called her a 'Golliwog supermodel'.

"British Airways does not accept any allegations of racism," the airline said in a statement. "We are proud of our diversity.

"We have strict policies concerning dignity at work and have long-standing training programmes on diversity and inclusion."

Campbell, 38, told Sky News in an interview that her flash of air rage, in which she assaulted two police officers, swore repeatedly and screamed abuse at the captain of the Los Angeles-bound BA flight, was partly prompted by racist comments.

Catholics hope St Paul year opens church in Turkey

Christians gathered in southwest Turkey yesterday to celebrate the birth two millennia ago of St Paul, and Catholics hope the event will boost religious freedom in the secular but mostly Muslim state.

St Paul, the great evangeliser of the early Christian Church, was born in Tarsus in modern day Turkey and Pope Benedict has proclaimed 12 months of events to honour him.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from Europe and North America are expected to attend the year's celebrations.

Government officials were due to attend yesterday's inaugural ceremonies, although the official start of the year of Saint Paul is June 29.

Catholics hope the Turkish government will return the St Paul church in Tarsus, which was confiscated by the state in 1943, to Christian worshippers.

Although pilgrims and local Catholics can worship for free in the building after their applications are approved by local authorities, the place is used daily as a museum.