■ ItalyPizza law submitted
In an attempt to save the true Neapolitan pizza from extinction, the Italian parliament is to debate a bill that defines it for posterity. The draft law stipulates the types of flour, yeast, salt and tomatoes that must be used. And it specifies that the dough has to be kneaded by hand. The cheese on the classic Pizza Margherita must be mozzarella "from the southern Apennines" and to qualify as a Pizza Margherita Extra, the mozzarella needs to be made from buffalo milk. The bill declares that the genuine Neapolitan pizza is round and no more than 35cm across. The rim must not rise by more than 2cm. It was not immediately clear how the authorities intended to police these regulations.
■ United Kingdom
Oral sex promoted
A British government study has come out in favor of oral sex lessons in an attempt to cut soaring teen pregnancy rates. Britain has far and away the highest teen pregnancy rate in Europe, with 39,286 recorded in 2002. The Essex university plan hopes to prevent events of this kind. Its advocates say the program promotes the message that other forms of physical intimacy are safer than full intercourse.
■ United States
Gay TV causes uproar
Viacom has unveiled long awaited plans to launch the first cable channel aimed at gay and lesbian viewers. The channel, called Logo, is scheduled to go on air in February next year seizing on the increasing profile of gay characters on TV. Mike Haley, of the Christian group Focus on the Family, said he was concerned the channel would encourage young people to think they were gay. He told the New York Times: "You have a kid who is looking to fit in, and you have a network that looks very inviting. This kid is going to get a false representation of what homosexuality has to offer."
■ United States
Anti-low-pants bill fails
The fashion police won't be coming to Louisiana. Lawmakers in the southern US state refused to make it a crime to wear low-slung pants in public that expose "undergarments or ... any portion of the pubic hair, cleft of the buttocks or genitals." The bill's sponsor, Democratic Representative Derrick Shepherd, brushed aside catcalls and laughs on the House floor to argue that the pants were an example of young men copying prisoners' attire. "I dare say to you we should have higher and loftier goals for people to emulate," Shepherd said. "Why is it that when this state wants to address what is decent, then we laugh and we mock and we make jokes?"
■ Canada
Smokers left out in the cold
Giving smokers the cold shoulder will take on a new meaning in the Canadian Arctic on Tuesday, when the government begins enforcing laws that compel people to puff outside, even in subzero temperatures. The anti-smoking legislation came into effect May 1 in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the vast northern regions of Canada stretching from Alaska to Baffin Island. Fines range from US$55 for smoking too close to a doorway to US$3,650 for a business allowing smoking on the premises. Lighting up in a public place could cost the offender US$365. So far the ban appears to be working.
■ South KoreaRoh aide sentenced
A court sentenced a former aide to President Roh Moo-hyun to two years in prison and fined him 1.6 billion won (US$1.4 million) yesterday for collecting illegal funds from businesses. Choi Do-sool, a Roh aide for 20 years, was convicted of collecting some 2.2 billion won (US$1.9 million) in illegal funds, nearly half of it from SK, the nation's third-largest conglomerate. The Seoul District Court also ordered the confiscation of 300 million won (US$256,400) worth of certificates of deposit from Choi.
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