World Briefs

A group of gondoliers could be making a splash in the charts after music bosses took a punt by signing them to a major deal.

The Italian trio swapped the canals of Venice for the banks of the River Thames to sign up with music giant Universal Music today.

Luca Foffano, Michele Bozzato and Michael Malvich – who will record under the name The Gondoliers – normally perform to customers in their home city but are now set to release an album of romantic songs.

And the deal will help to finance restoration work in Venice, whose architectural splendour has long been under threat as it sinks into the surrounding lagoon. Some proceeds will go towards the Venice In Peril fund.

Ungodly row

Scores of police were called to an unlikely setting to deal with a mass brawl – a church.

Authorities say a dispute over leadership at a church in western North Carolina, the United States, turned from angry words to fist fights.

About 30 police officers from five agencies were called to break up the fighting at Greater New Zion Baptist Church in Fletcher, with the anger apparently linked to the recent ejection of the Rev. LeVonia Ray as pastor of the church.

Sham wedding sting

A Pakistani “groom” and a Slovakian “bride” who took part in a sham wedding to try and circumvent immigration rules needed an interpreter to help them exchange their vows, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) said yesterday.

The UKBA said five people were jailed by a judge at Sheffield Crown Court after they were arrested as part of Operation Relinquish – a crackdown on people suspected of orchestrating and taking part in sham marriages.

They were detained after a wedding at Sheffield Town Hall on July 26 last year between a 33-year-old Pakistani man and his 35-year-old Slovakian “bride”. Undercover officers looked on as the couple struggled through the ceremony without a common language.

Scanner screened

A new body scanner being tested at an airport in the US aims to spare the blushes of passengers.

Critics have complained that full-body scans are intrusive and, although faces are not shown and the images are viewed in a private room, they feel they still reveal too much about what is under the passengers’ clothes, which is considered private.

But the Transportation Security Administration says the software being tested at McCarran Inter­national Airport in Las Vegas lets passengers see what its security screeners see, and it uses a more generic image.

Twenties relived

A city in the US is hoping to cash in on a hit television show by going retro and embracing the Roaring Twenties once again.

From flapper costumes to swing dance contests and whisky-soaked cocktails, Atlantic City is going retro, looking to its past to help its future – with the help of nationwide interest in Boardwalk Empire, a show about the city in the Prohibition-era.

Casinos are dressing workers in period costumes, serving drinks from the speakeasy era, teaching jazz and swing tunes to entertainers and sponsoring dance contests like the Lindy, the Charleston and the Shimmy.

Bieber foxes FBI

FBI director Robert Mueller has revealed just one of the many things about today’s society that troubles him – Justin Bieber’s hair.

The New York Post reports that Mr Mueller was speaking about the challenges the FBI faces due to new technology when he revealed that YouTube now loads 35 hours of new video a minute. “Most of them... feature someone by the name of Justin Bieber. At my age, I have to wonder: Who the heck is this kid, and why can’t he get a haircut?”

Flu sex link

When it comes to swine flu, boys will infect boys – while girls mainly pass the virus to other girls, a study has shown.

British and US scientists made the discovery after looking at the way social networks help to spread swine flu among school children.

The research showed that children were three times more likely to transmit the infection to others of their own gender.

Cheryl’s top dog

Why aye, pet... Cheryl Cole has landed a dubious honour – as the star after whom most people would like to name their dog.

The Fight For This Love singer was the top choice for female dogs, ahead of singers such as Victoria Beckham and Madonna.

Top male choice was Ozzy. (PA)