World Briefs

As trick-or-treaters dig out their witch costumes or cut scowling faces into pumpkins, young Catholic parishioners throughout Italy are preparing for Holyween.

Instead of dressing up as black cats or zombies, young faithful from some 30 Italian cities will spend October 31 hanging pictures of saints from their windows and balconies to celebrate the eve of All Saint’s Day.

“We’re not against Halloween as such, it’s just that we celebrate All Saint’s Day and want to share it with other young people. We’ll be hanging images of saints from the front of churches and gathering in the streets,”,” said Sara Bidinost, 23, a student from the Sentinels of the Morning group behind the initiative. Francesco Parise, a leader for the Veneto region of the National Papa Boys Association, a Catholic youth group that is also taking part, said: “I’m very anti-Halloween with its skeletons and pumpkins.” (AFP)

Deer on target

British drivers have been urged to ease off the gas in an effort to cut down on tens of thousands of collisions with deer recorded each year.

Around 74,000 deer are hit on Britain’s roads every year, according to figures from breakdown service Autonational Rescue.

Such accidents can cause up to 700 human casualties, including several fatalities, and annually cost more than £21 million (€23.5 million) in damage.

“There are probably around 200 accidents a day involving deer,” said Autonational marketing manager Ronan Hart.

The warning came amid reports that a giant red stag, thought to be Britain’s biggest wild animal, was killed for its antlers. The stag stood 2.75 metres to the tips of its antlers. (AFP)

Advertising boost

Global convenience store chain 7-Eleven has been getting some free advertising for its signature drink the Slurpee from none other than US President Barack Obama.

Mr Obama has used the Slurpee – a thick, frozen, flavoured beverage that is wildly popular with Americans –in speeches on the campaign trail ahead of next week’s midterm elections to illustrate just how obstructionist and ornery Republicans can be.

At a rally at Bowie State University in Maryland this month, Mr Obama said that while his Democratic Party was sweating and pushing to get the US economy out of a ditch, “the Republicans... are just standing there fanning themselves – sipping on a Slurpee.”

According to some political watchers, Mr Obama has mentioned Slurpees in 20 campaign speeches over the last two months. (AFP)

Wedding guests die in roof collapse

A collapsing roof killed 65 people during a wedding celebration in northern Afghanistan.

Forty other people were injured in yesterday’s tragedy in Baghlan province. A police spokesman said the house was overloaded and only made of mud bricks.

Most of the dead were women on the top floor who were celebrating separately from the men. Twelve children were also among the dead.

Houses in rural Afghanistan are typically made out of mud brick and wooden beams. (AP)

A mango for Kylie

Sugary pop star Kylie Minogue could be about to get a little sweeter – an Australian politician wants to name a new variety of mango in her honour.

Scientists have developed three new mangos in the Northern Territory and the region’s primary industry minister Kon Vatskalis wants one named for the former Neighbours star who has won worldwide fame as a singer.

“I think Kylie should be so lucky to have this mango variety named after her. She is the princess of pop and just like royalty it would be fitting to have a Territory icon named after her,” Mr Vatskalis said yesterday.

Mr Vatskalis said he would send Ms Minogue a batch of the mangos so she could be one of the first people to sample the new varieties of the tropical fruit. (AFP)

Feared as witches, couple lynched

Townspeople in Bolivia lynched a couple for allegedly practicing witchcraft even though it is not a crime in the South American country, local media has reported.

Locals in Tomina, Chuquisaca, in the southeast, beat to death and strangled the couple, age 46 and 48, after filing charges against them for suspected witchcraft.

The mob fatally attacked the couple after learning that there would be no charges because witchcraft is not a crime in Bolivia, the newspaper Correo del Sur reported. (AFP)

‘Keep my degree, refund my tuition’

A desperate US student who is up to his eyeballs in debt, about to become a father and has little hope of finding a job when he graduates next year, has offered to quit law school in exchange for a full tuition refund.

“With fatherhood impending, I go to bed every night terrified of the thought of trying to provide for my child AND paying off my JD,” or Juris Doctor degree, the unnamed student said in an open letter to the dean of Boston College Law School, where annual tuition is more than $40,000.

“I’d like to propose a solution to this problem: I am willing to leave law school, without a degree, at the end of this semester. In return, I would like a full refund of the tuition I’ve paid over the last two and a half years,” he wrote. (AFP)