News in Brief
Sony sorry
Computer giant Sony Corporation has apologised to Manchester Cathedral for using the interior of the cathedral as a backdrop to a violent video game. Resistance: Fall of man shows a gun battle with many fatalities inside the historic building. However, the company will not be withdrawing games already manufactured and sold. The apology appeared in the Manchester Evening News.
Fringe confession
Priests at a Catholic Church in Edinburgh’s Old Town will be offering to hear confession from tourists and revellers at this summer’s Edinburgh Festival as part of the parallel Fringe programme. Confession is usually only heard from Catholics but will be ‘open to people of all faiths and none’ as a special dispensation during the five days of the event.
Crude connection
Australia’s Defence Minister has disclosed that oil is a prime reason for the continuing presence of the country’s troops in Iraq, and that maintaining ‘resource security’ in the Middle East was a national priority. But John Howard, Australia’s Prime Minister, has sought to play down the comments. The US-led Iraq coalition has always avoided linking the war and oil.
Climate monitoring from space
The European Space Agency has ordered the first bespoke spacecraft to monitor global changes for possible effects of global warming. Plans exist to launch five Sentinel spacecraft to track changes in the land, oceans, weather and climate. Sentinel 1 is the first Earth observation satellite to be built for global monitoring for the environment and security project.
Nigerian deacons
Nigerian Archbishop, the Most Rev. Maxwell Anikwenwa, has ordained nine new deacons into the Anglican Communion and exhorted them to become great ambassadors of the church by testifying to the message of the ‘undiluted gospel’ to all people. Their primary assignment is to evangelise communities and suburbs that could not normally be reached by older priests.
