Not The BBC News: 6 January 2014

A book by an Italian woman entitled “Get Married and Be Submissive” has proved a major hit in Italy and Spain, but has also drawn criticism from feminist groups. Spain’s health minister called it “inappropriate and disrespectful to women” and called for it to be withdrawn. However, the author says “I don’t know what colouring the word ‘submissive’ has in English, but I took it from the Letter to the Ephesians … I meant it in the sense of being a supporting column, because we as women are stronger.” Her advice includes: "Women forget that they can't have it all: working like a man and being at home like a woman,” and "If you're not an experienced cook or the perfect housewife, what's the problem if he says so? Tell him he's right, that it's true, that you will learn. Seeing your sweetness and your humility, your effort to become what he wants, he will also change himself." Asked why the book was so popular, a psychologist said it was because of the breakdown of society; “if people are hankering after old-fashioned marriage, it’s because it worked so well.”

Also in Italy, the Supreme Court has ordered a retrial for a 60 year old paedophile because his five year sentence “did not fully take into account the amorous relationship” between him and his 11 year old ‘girlfriend.’ There have been heated reactions on social media, both because of the girl’s age and also because the paedophile was rich and the child poor (her family have been compensated €40,000).

The Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) is due to come into force in the USA this month. There have been widespread objections from Christian organisations to the section of the Act which requires employers to pay if employees require contraception or abortions. A group of nuns in Colorado have successfully appealed to the Supreme Court for an injunction against this part of the Act taking effect. The Government’s reply is that this is merely an administrative matter  -- the Act allows organisations to complete a form that exempts them from paying for contraception or abortions and delegates that responsibility to a third party administrator, and in the nuns’ case the designated administrator is also (probably) exempt from paying for these procedures. But since completing the form requires the nuns to accept the principle that they will delegate responsibility for abhorrent decisions to another organisation, the argument rumbles on.

Also in the USA, a couple in Washington state have been awarded $50 million for the “wrongful birth” of their son. Knowing they had a family history of an “unbalanced chromosomal condition”, they had tests during pregnancy, and were told that their child was free from the condition. But when Oliver was born, he had the condition. The couple sued the testing laboratory and clinic in the grounds that, if they had known, they would have aborted their child; liability was established because the tests were carried out without key information that neither clinic nor laboratory requested. The money will be used to provide the special facilities and care that Oliver needs.

In sport, England did indeed come second in cricket’s Ashes series against Australia – they were whitewashed 5-0. Some Premier League teams were also humiliated in the third round of the FA Cup, notably West Ham who were beaten 5-0 by a team in the division below them; Aston Villa, who lost at home to a team two divisions below them; and Manchester United, who lost at home to Swansea City for the first time ever.

And finally, a man from Suffolk who was told to pay a ₤25 fine for failing to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency that his motorcycle was off the road tried instead to invoke an ancient law by challenging any clerk of the DVLA to single combat, using “samurai swords, Gurkha knives or heavy hammers.” He insisted that the option was still valid under European human rights legislation. However, magistrates refused his request and fined him ₤200.