■ United States
Backwards to safety
This is a story that should be told in reverse, so here's the ending: Jim Peterson is readjusting to life on land and his deckhand is getting free drinks. Peterson, a 61-year-old fisherman, was 130km off the coast of Newport, Oregon, last week when the reverse gear on his 11m boat seized up on him. He managed to get the boat to shift into reverse. Far from his home port of Coos Bay, Peterson and deckhand Jeremy Welsh considered their options: Wait hours for a Coast Guard tow, wait for help from other fishermen or drive the boat all the way back in reverse. Peterson wasn't waiting. "It was odd, watching the wake roll out the front windows; like watching a movie in reverse," Peterson told the Register-Guard of Eugene after the 39-hour trip back.
■ United Kingdom
Tower Bridge to host gig
London's latest concert venue looks decidedly unpromising at first glance. It is 111 years old, lacks seats and has a tendency to break in half. But London Mayor Ken Livingstone hopes that a free gig on Tower Bridge, one of the most famous landmarks, by the Scottish rock band Texas will help bring tourists back to the city after last month's terror attacks. The concert, which will take place on the bridge's walkway on Sept. 6, is organized by Virgin Radio and tourism organization, Visit London, as part of a series of free festivals and events next month.
■ Spain
Married man ordained
Spain's conservative Roman Catholic hierarchy has ordained the country's first married priest, a former Anglican minister from Zimbabwe with two grown children. The diocese of Tenerife denied that the ordination, approved by the Vatican, was a step toward the abolition of Catholic celibacy. "It is a very unique exception that takes into account the unusual circumstance that he comes from the Anglican Church, which allows its ministers to marry." Some in Spain, however, hope this unusual ordination will open the door to reforms in an institution under increasing pressure from civil society to abandon orthodox doctrine.
■ Lebanon
Bomb injures three
Three people were injured in an explosion that rocked a main shopping street in a Christian suburb north of Beirut late on Monday, police said. The bomb went off at the entrance to the underground parking garage of a shopping center. The roof of the center collapsed, and a neighboring hotel and office block housing departments of the National Bank were badly damaged, witnesses said. Two passers-by and a photographer were injured by flying glass, police said. It was the 10th bomb blast in Beirut since the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in February.
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