The World in a Week

Haiti went to the polls on Tuesday without the widely predicted scenes of violence. Four died in gang fights, but the strong turnout has almost certainly secured victory for René Preval, an ally of ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, deposed in the 2004 US-backed coup. Haitians, who have endured years of grim poverty and fighting, are pinning all their hopes on this vote. Observers were proclaiming the election a democratic success for a nation described by the UN as in a ‘catastrophic’ state.

In Italy, the court case over the existence of Jesus was finally dismissed by a Rome judge. Atheist Luigi Cascioli, 72, had filed a criminal complaint against his ex-school chum, Fr Enrico Righi, claiming he was guilty of cheating by telling people Jesus was real.

It was also reported that the Big Horn hills of Montana have seen a surge in tourism from gay men and women inspired by the film Brokeback Mountain. The movie that saw two men fall in love with cowboy hats on, against a stunning backdrop of mountains and sheep, has apparently caused a sixfold rise in demand for gay ranch holidays.

Venezuela’s left-wing president, Hugo Chávez, launched a salvo at Tony Blair. In a rebuke to Blair, who told him to ‘abide by the rules of the international community’, Chávez called for the Malvinas - the Falklands - to be returned to Argentina, adding: ‘Mr Tony Blair, you have no moral right to tell anyone to respect international laws as you have shown no respect for them, aligning yourself with Mr Danger (George Bush) and trampling on the people of Iraq.’ That’s him told.

In the Netherlands there was a trampling on the beaches as the people of Terschelling got into a scrum after nine containers of trainers slid off a ship and washed up on the island. People spent hours beachcombing for a left and a right in the correct size.