Jockstrip: The world as we know it

Church leaders fume over smoking signs

LONDON, May 14 (UPI) -- Church officials are objecting to a demand by the British government that "no smoking" signs be posted outside churches and cathedrals.

A spokesman for the Association of English Cathedrals, the Very Rev. Colin Slee -- who also serves as Dean of Southwark -- said the rules are completely unnecessary, The Telegraph reported Monday.

"One is bound to ask, when did you last hear of somebody smoking in church?" Slee asked the newspaper.

Slee said stewards are well trained to handle members of the public who fail to conform to the church's indoor standards, including "the modern custom of men wearing hats indoors, people wanting to bring their pets in or even wanting to eat their ice cream cones."

A spokesman for the Department of Health said the government hopes to work out a solution with religious leaders. A July 1 deadline was set for the signs to be posted.

Chicago mulls transit toilets

CHICAGO, May 14 (UPI) -- The Chicago Transit Authority has long resisted calls for public restrooms but the organization's new president said he plans to review the policy.

Ron Huberman, who became CTA president May 1, said a review of the restroom policy -- the city has only one facility with public restrooms -- will be forthcoming after the state clarifies possible new funding for the transit agency, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.

The city has long resisted calls for public restrooms. Facilities are installed at all CTA rail stations but the agency said the toilets are made available only to those customers who have medical conditions that require immediate restroom access.

"For at least the last 30 years, the restrooms have been for use by CTA employees only," transit agency spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney told the Tribune. "The CTA does not have the resources to update, maintain and monitor the facilities."

Firefighters rescue zoo elephant

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 14 (UPI) -- Officials at the Anchorage Zoo called the local fire department for help when a 7,500-pound elephant wouldn't stand up.

Young Suenram, an Anchorage Fire Department battalion chief said the African elephant, Maggie, had been lying down for about 12 hours, and zoo officials said elephants can die as a result of their own weight if they stay down for too long, the Anchorage Daily News reported Monday.

Seventeen firefighters worked for several hours to help the animal to her feet.

It was alarming to see "how badly she was looking," Suenram said. "We worked at trying to get her up as soon as possible. We are just so ecstatic that she's up now."

"Usually what happens is when she lays down and the keeper comes in, she gets right up," Eileen Floyd, a zoo spokeswoman told the Daily News. "It's highly unusual if she stays down. So that's where all the worry and concern happens. If they stay down really long, they have a tough time breathing. So that was the fear -- that if she didn't get up, eventually, she could die."

Female gondolier claims sexism

VENICE, Italy, May 14 (UPI) -- A female gondolier who recently won the right to paddle her boat in Venice, Italy, said she's still the target of sexist attacks.

Alexandra Hai, a German citizen who has been in Italy for 11 years, said her boat, which she is allowed to paddle privately for the Locanda Art Deco hotel, has been vandalized repeatedly and she has received numerous personal threats, The New York Times reported Monday.

Hai contends that the final three of her four failed tests to become a full-fledged gondolier were rigged by city officials and the 425 practicing gondoliers in the city. She told the Times the tests were marred by faulty equipment and she was forced to perform on treacherous waterways.

Roberto Luppi, president of the gondoliers' association, said Hai's problem is not one of sex but of skill. He said she was given ample opportunity to pass the tests but failed anyway.

"We gave her two chances to pass the test every time," he said in the newspaper article. "We can no longer accept that she hides behind the fact that she is a woman and a foreigner."