Some 3,000 would-be secret agents have responded to an official drive to boost the size of Britain's domestic intelligence service, the Times reported yesterday. The government announced last month it would increase its home security service, MI5, by 50 percent, hiring 1,000 new staff to counter the threat of terrorism. The Times quoted government sources as saying that "a wave of patriotism" had inspired 3,000 people to respond to the recruitment campaign in the week after it was launched. "They seem genuinely to want to do something to help this country, instead of going for a job with a much higher salary," one official said.
■ United States
Court deals church a blow
In a precedent-setting decision, the California Supreme Court ruled that a Roman Catholic charity must offer birth-control coverage to its employees even though it considers contraception a sin. The 6-1 decision on Monday marked the first such ruling by a state's highest court. Experts said the ruling could affect thousands of workers at Catholic hospitals and other church-backed institutions in California and prompt other states to fashion similar laws. California is one of 20 states to require that all company-provided health plans must include contraception coverage if the plans have prescription drug benefits.
■ United States
Airline settles bias claim
The government announced a settlement with American Airlines over complaints that the carrier discriminated against passengers it thought were of Arab, Middle Eastern or Southeast Asian descent after Sept. 11, 2001. The airline agreed to spend about US$1.5 million over three years on civil rights training for employees who deal with the public. American did not admit that it broke federal anti-discrimination laws. The government said its investigations revealed that the airline had unlawfully removed passengers because of their perceived ethnic or religious background after the Sept. 11 attacks carried out by Arab hijackers.
■ United States
Obesity slims tax load
Obese Americans who take drastic, expensive action to lose weight under a doctor's orders will at least be able to lighten their tax load. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows taxpayers who are forced to spend thousands of dollars because of obesity to deduct expenses for stomach-stapling surgery, approved weight-loss drugs and nutritional counseling. "The IRS ruling took a lot of people by surprise," said Morgan Downey, executive director of the American Obesity Association. "This takes a different approach from the normal kind of urging everyone to diet and exercise as a lifestyle recommendation because it recognizes obesity as a major medical problem."
■ Brazil
Protest over bingo ban
Thirty-thousand people took part in a march in Sao Paulo on Monday to protest a decision by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to close down bingo halls and ban slot machines. The march was led by the Fuerza Sindical leader Paulo Pereira da Silva, who said the ban would bump 100,000 people out of work in Sao Paulo alone and possibly more than three times that number in all of Brazil. Lula ordered the closing down of bingo halls after corruption allegations surfaced last month concerning a former adviser to the government.
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