World Briefs

The customary function of a Royal Navy submarine is to protect the UK’s waters, but a Navy family has taken the unusual step of holding a christening on board.

HMS Triumph, docked at Devonport, Plymouth, played host to friends and family celebrating the baptism of six-month-old Evie, daughter of one of the crew.

The vessel’s sonar petty officer, Petty Officer Keith Pearson-Roselle, and his wife Britta said it made the day “unforgettable”. Not only did the ceremony take place below decks, but the vessel’s bell was used to hold the holy water used in the baptism, as took place hundreds of years ago.

The ceremony was staged in the submarine’s control room and conducted by the Royal Naval chaplain the Rev. Mike Brotherton. Evie’s name will even be engraved on the inside of the bell, along with the date of the christening. (PA)

Wrongly buried?

A family discovered a casket of ashes buried in their loved one’s grave.

The family went to the grave in Henley Road Cemetery, Reading, Berkshire last week intending to plant bulbs, but when they began to disturb the soil, the casket was discovered buried two inches below the surface.

An investigation revealed there are no records of the casket, which is box-shaped and made from gold-coloured plastic, being officially buried there. It contained what appeared to be cremated ashes. (PA)

Skin deep

Worshippers at a church in the US have had its logo tattooed on their bodies to celebrate its growing congregation.

City Church of Anaheim, which holds its services in a punk-rock nightclub, is celebra-ting its first year in operation and the goal of reaching a 200-mem-ber flock.

Pastor Kyle Steven Bonenberger told worshippers God “tattooed your name on his heart” and it was time for an everlasting commit-ment to Him and the church - and about a dozen people have so far been “inked” with the church logo. (PA)

Ian Paisley was blessed by Pope

The news that Ian Paisley is to join a protest against the Pope in Edinburgh prompted reminiscing yesterday by the leader of Catholics in England and Wales.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols said he had been in Liverpool in 1982 when the Rev. Paisley, now Lord Bannside, had mounted a protest in the city against the visit of John Paul II.

“As the Pope progressed along the street, he was there a little agitatedly, waving the Bible. I remember John Paul II turning to him and... with a smile blessed him.” (PA)

Bomb alert at Eiffel Tower

Police yesterday evening evacuated some 2,000 people from the Eiffel Tower and the park surrounding the Paris landmark following a bomb alert.

“The company managing the Eiffel Tower received an anonymous telephone call around 8.20 p.m.,” a Paris police official said.

“Special units, one with sniffer dogs, went to the site to search the Eiffel Tower floor by floor,” the official said, adding, “Around 2,000 people were evacuated.”

The 324-metre high tower has three floors open to visitors and is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world. The tower, which also has two restaurants, normally closes at 11 p.m.

A police officer earlier said about 25,000 people were in the area at the time of the alert. The evacuation began shortly before 9 p.m.

The people evacuated, mostly tourists, were asked to stay on the nearby Seine river banks and the Champ de Mars park to the east, and the tower area was cordoned off. (AFP)

Lady Gaga’s meat dress

Animal rights activists stuck a fork in Lady Gaga’s meat dress yesterday but supporters rallied around the bizarre singer, saying her outfit was absolutely sizzling.

The professional provocateur upstaged the MTV music video awards late Sunday not just by walking away with eight prizes, but taking that walk in enormous shoes and a nifty dress made entirely of raw steak.

The only reference Lady Gaga made to what she was wearing was a mysterious comment while collecting her Video of the Year gong about handing her “meat purse” to 1980s icon Cher.

The purse, it turned out, really was a big chunk of meat – cheap cuts and trimmings, not sirloin, according to butchers. And so was her hat. (AFP)