Watercooler Stories

Man claims attack by priest, two nuns

RUTINO, Italy, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A Rutino, Italy, restaurateur claims he was brutally beaten by a priest and two nuns after a dispute about the lease on the property.

The alleged victim, identified as A.E., 49, said he rushed into his establishment after hearing the three clergy were trashing the restaurant and during the ensuing confrontation the priest struck him with a chair and the two nuns -- who their lawyers said have "a combined age of 160" -- kicked him in the stomach, ANSA reported Monday.

A.E. was hospitalized with injuries to his neck and abdomen, doctors said.

"I came down to try to calm things down but the priest hit me with a chair and I ended up on the floor. Then the two sisters started kicking me, insulting me with unrepeatable words," the restaurant owner said.

Lawyers for the accused denied the assault and said the restaurateur was embroiled in a dispute with the local convent of the Disciples of Saint Teresa, which owns the building. The priest reportedly was recruited to help the nuns convince A.E. to give up his lease on the property, ANSA said.

"That establishment was occupied illegally," a lawyer for the accused said.

EU lawmakers decry hotel prostitutes

STRASBOURG, France, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Some Scandinavian members of the European Union Parliament have complained that their hotels in Strasbourg, France, have been taken over by prostitutes.

The 37 Scandinavian lawmakers said in a petition to Parliament President Hans Gert Poettering that they want the hotels used by parliamentarians in Strasbourg, the seat of the EU parliament, to ban prostitution, Deutsch Welle reported Monday.

"It's not about making prostitution illegal," said Karin Riis Joergensen, a Danish member of the parliament and one of the sponsors of the petition. "We just don't want to live in hotels with prostitutes … If some of my colleagues want to party, they should do that … but not at the place where we live … We just want clean hotels."

However, some parliamentarians, including Manfred Ferber of Germany, said the prostitution problem has been blown out of proportion.

"In my 14 years in the Parliament, it's never occurred to me that this was an issue," he said. "I've never seen anything like it, especially not in the hotel where I've stayed the last 11 years."

Poettering said he will consider the issue carefully.

"I have to look into this because they submitted a letter," he said. "It's kind of unleashed a storm of sorts … The parliament's executive committee has asked a council of elders to investigate. We have to take this seriously but also avoid blowing it out of proportion."

Teen's 'Fantastic' new name 'Super' long

GLASTONBURY, England, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A British 19-year-old has officially changed his name to "Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk And The Flash Combined."

The Glastonbury, England, teenager -- originally named George Garratt -- said his new name, which is thought to be the world's longest, has so outraged his grandmother that she is no longer speaking to him, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

The teen said he used an online service to officially change his name for a $20 fee.

"I wanted to be unique," Captain Fantastic said of his name choice. "I decided upon a theme of superheroes."

Airline investigates Facebook comments

LONDON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- British Airways said check-in staff at London's Gatwick Airport are being investigated after allegedly badmouthing "smelly" passengers on Facebook.

An airline spokesman said the carrier is investigating check-in personnel believed to have posted derogatory comments about passengers and British Airways on the popular social networking site, the Daily Mail reported Monday.

A Facebook discussion board entitled "Things that irritate you more when working on check-in" was created by a user under the name "Suely" who listed several complaints about airline passengers.

Suely complained about passengers who "put a boarding pass in their mouth and then hand it back to you; were smelly (first thing in the morning on a 5 o'clock shift); are running late and breathing in your face; and asking for a complimentary upgrade."

Another poster using the name "Deepa" decried the "stupid accents" of passengers from the United States.

A British Airways spokesman said the comments were "disappointing" and "unwise." He said the airline is investigating the employees behind the comments, as well as Facebook postings that blasted operations at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 as "shambolic" and mocked British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh.