TV reality show participants pray together
Participants in ITV's I'm a Celebrity have been seen praying together. On 19 November, viewers saw quiz supremo Anne Hegerty offer to spend time in silent prayer for actress Emily Atack, who had been voted by the public to take part in a challenge which would see her locked in a box with more than fifty snakes. Hegerty said, ‘Shall I spend twenty minutes silently saying a rosary that everything will go OK?’ Atack replied, ‘I would love that’, and then gave the sign of the cross before sitting down to pray. Singer Fluer East also joined in. Speaking to the camera, she said: ‘I was praying, please keep Emily safe. I think she needed that - a bit of calm.’ Atack successfully completed her ordeal, winning nine meals for her fellow campmates.
Call for ban on alcohol advertising in winter
Dr Peter McCann, an alcohol and drug rehabilitation expert, has called for a ban on alcohol advertising in winter and stricter laws on alcohol pricing. He says that new research has established a definite link between the climate and rates of binge drinking and liver disease, and added, ‘This weather-related alcohol consumption is directly linked to our chances of developing the most dangerous form of liver disease - cirrhosis - which can ultimately end in liver failure and death.' On the same day, health experts at a WHO summit in Edinburgh heard how minimum pricing introduced in Russia in 2010 has significantly reduced alcohol-related harm. It is still too early to gauge the impact of similar measures rolled out in Scotland recently.
Spain: no to Brexit because of Gibraltar?
Prime minister Pedro Sánchez says that Spain will reject the draft Brexit deal unless the status of Gibraltar is clarified. Spain claims the peninsula, ceded to the UK by a 1713 treaty, and wants to ensure that future EU talks with the UK do not cover it. Throughout the Brexit negotiations, Spain - along with Ireland and Cyprus - has conducted separate talks with the UK about specific border issues. On 19 November foreign minister Josep Borrell said that talks on Gibraltar had to be ‘separate negotiations’, and Mr Sánchez followed up by emphasising that any future negotiations should only be bilateral, without involvement by the EU.
War of words between Italy and EU
Italy has refused to back down over its expansionary 2019 budget, which EU chiefs claim breaches previous spending agreements. The indebted nation at first unveiled plans for a deficit budget of 2.4% of GDP, three times the previous administration's target. The European Commission rejected the draft and demanded it be revised to a more realistic level. But the Italian government has so far refused to budge, saying the spending plans are in the best interest of the Italian people. Prime minister Salvini has even threatened to veto the next proposed eurozone budget, in retaliation. However, that budget will be available only to those countries which abide by EU rules about budget deficits and debt; so Italy could be left out in the cold if the dispute is not resolved.
