Jockstrip: The world as we know it

Pub's ploy peters out

SOUTHAMPTON, England, June 28 (UPI) -- The owner of a British pub appears to have failed in a bid to get around the country's impending smoking ban by having the establishment declared an embassy.

Bob Beech had planned to have the Wellington Arms in Southampton declared the embassy for the uninhabited Caribbean island of Redonda. Embassies will be exempt from the smoking ban.

Beech even was bestowed a knighthood by the ruler of the tiny atoll, King Robert the Bald, who lives in Antigua and whose real name is Bob Williamson, Sky News reported Wednesday. But a British Foreign Office spokeswoman said Redonda is a territory of Antigua and Barbuda, and so is not entitled to an embassy.

Beech told Sky News not to worry. "We have a Plan B. It's cunning in its simplicity," he said without elaborating.

Southampton City Council Councilor Gavin Dick said the city will be "following with interest the Wellington Arms public house matter" but expects the pub to be smoke-free when the new law goes into effect Sunday.

Man with bullet in head may be charged

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., June 28 (UPI) -- A Florida man's headaches may be greater than the one caused by the bullet doctors found in his head -- he could face criminal charges.

While Michael Eugene Moylan, 45 of St. Lucie County was hospitalized in stable condition Wednesday pending surgery, police say he could wind up being charged with unlawful firearm possession by a convicted felon, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Moylan had walked into a West Palm Beach hospital Tuesday seeking treatment for his wound. Police questioned him and his wife, April, 39, about how the shooting took place and apparently got several versions, the newspaper said. Finally, Moylan told investigators his wife was startled when the alarm in their home went off and she shot him with the loaded .38-caliber revolver she keeps under her pillow while she sleeps.

April Moylan had previous felony conviction and so she was jailed on a firearm possession charge. Michael Moylan also has a lengthy arrest record -- mostly for drunken driving and probation violations -- and authorities were considering charging him in the shooting incident, as well.

Young black pilot sets record

MIAMI, June 28 (UPI) -- It took Barrington Irving Jr. of Miami Gardens, Fla., 95 days to accomplish what no one his age or race had ever done before -- fly solo around the world.

When Irving, 23, touched down at Opa-Locka Executive Airport Wednesday he officially became the youngest person and only black person to fly around the world by himself, The Miami Herald reported.

Irving has had his pilot's license since he was 19 and eventually pulled together $1.2 million worth of sponsorships and the plane he needed to complete his mission.

Retha Boone, director of the Miami-Dade black affairs advisory board, said the group will bestow Irving with its Pillar Award for community service in September.

"The very first time I saw him is when he was ready to take off," Boone said. "I saw such confidence and determination. At 23. At 23! When I was 23, I didn't know what I was going to do with my life."

Britain removes prostitutes in name only

LONDON, June 27 (UPI) -- The British government recently decided to drop the term 'common prostitute' from its legal lexicon, deciding to call such offenders 'persons' instead.

The word change, a last motion by the government of outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair, was paired with legislation allowing convicts who are again found to be involved with the sex trade to avoid harsh penalties, the Daily Mail said Wednesday.

The new legal stance outlined in Tuesday's Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill represented an effort by the British government to avoid over-crowding in national prisons.

The new legislation will only allow courts to impose penalties on convicted 'persons' when they are judged to be 'persistent' offenders.

In order to be deemed 'persistent' by the court, one must have been caught as a sex worker twice during a three-month period.

The Daily Mail said even the punishments for those offenders will be limited under the new laws, with 'persistent persons' only facing supervisory or counseling sessions.