The reason? Sundays are supposed to be the day you go to mass and spend time with your family — and not go malling and shopping with your friends! Croatia is 90% Roman Catholic and the church has campaigned for years for Sundays to be devoted to family or Mass. Unfortunately, as with the rest of the commercialized world, Croatians have begun spending weekends in shopping malls that have flourished across the country in the past few years and remain open seven days a week.

But now, the Croatian parliament has passed a law forcing shops to close on Sundays in a concession to the Roman Catholic church. The law was adopted last Tuesday and goes into effect January 1. It allows Sunday shopping over the summer and Christmas holidays. The law also allows stores in gas, bus and train stations to open on Sundays year-round, along with those in hospitals. Bakeries, newsstands and flower shops are also exempt from the ban.

What is the world coming too?? Children these days are having no fun at all! =( According to reports, teachers at John F. Kennedy Primary School in Washington banned the sack race and three-legged race in their Edwardian-themed sports day. These banning occured after discussions with Beamish Open Air Museum and is because the children might fall over and hurt themselves. Parents and campaigners described the move as “completely over the top”.

Simon Woolley, head of education at Beamish in Co Durham, said: “We looked at a three-legged race and a sack race but what we want to do is minimise the risk to the children. We thought we would be better to do hopping and running instead because there was less chance of them falling over.” Running, hopping and throwing table-tennis balls into buckets will still be allowed for the 375 children dressed up in period costume for the said event.

What? Party with no alcohol?? How lame is that?! But the police fear that if alcohol is not banned, it would be harder to control the partygoers. Apparently, 10,000 people will attend the party after an open invitation to it was posted on Facebook. The event so-called “Party at the Beach 2008 - Torbay” invites people to join the party in the English seaside town of Torbay. More than 4000 people have already said they are attending the event, which says its aim is “to get as many party goers and ravers as we possibly can in one location on July 4″.

The posted invite read: “‘In order for this to work we need everyone to tell all your friends, book the night off, wait for the exact location to be revealed, then head on down with as much alcohol/music as you can afford, and if your hard core a tent might come in handy.” South Devon police commander Superintendent Chris Singer told the UK’s Daily Mail : ‘The event is likely to cause disruption and difficulty for our community. The supply and consumption of alcohol would add to those difficulties. It may therefore be necessary for me to apply to magistrates to instigate the provisions of Section 160 of the Licensing Act 2003.’”

Yeah, the cannabis party continues! But according to the Dutch government, those smoking marijuana with the banned tobacco will also be prosecuted. Last year, Great Britain adopted the smoking ban with great results. According to studies, 250-400000 smokers have quit since the tobacco ban was implemented. Other European nations then followed suit, the latest of which was the Netherlands. Thank god they didn’t ban marijuana as well! Hehe! For sure, the unique Dutch cannabis cafes will die if MJ is banned.

The use of electric shock pet collars in Wales is to be banned by the assembly government using new powers. The announcement makes Wales the first part of the UK to ban the collars which give animals a jolt when they misbehave. Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones said she would bring forward legislation to make their use a criminal offence. The assembly government says it is introducing the ban because of concerns about unnecessary suffering to pets.

The assembly government’s consultation on the issue ended on 1 February. Ms Jones said: “This has not been an easy subject to examine. There is genuinely a large degree of concern about how these devices are improperly used, in contrast to responses from people who have used them and found they have worked in stopping an animal from misbehaving. After giving due consideration to the arguments, I propose to introduce a ban on the use of electric shock collars in Wales.”

Woe to the male Britons when that time comes! Hehe! According to reports, lap-dancing clubs in Britain may soon be facing tougher laws following Britain government’s bid to clean up the country’s high streets. An increasingly large number of such clubs have sprung up in the UK following the relaxation of licensing laws in 2003 - with many showing full strip shows. They are not classified as “sex encounter” venues - making it easier to open despite locals’ objections.

But residents may now get a say after Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe on June 18 vowed to close the loophole to clean up town centres. He has written to council chiefs to seek their views on how the laws can be toughened up. Sutcliffe fears the clubs could spread unless action is taken. Campaigners claim some lap-dancing bars show nude and semi-nude performances, often in private booths. Classifying lap-dancing clubs as “sex encounter” venues would put them on the same legal footing as strip clubs, peep shows and sex shops - making them tightly regulated.

The Sun quoted Kat Banyard, of the Fawcett Society women’s rights group, as saying: “Lap-dance clubs are part of the sex industry. Areas surrounding them can become no-go areas for women. But licensing rules mean local authorities cannot treat a lap-dance club any differently from a coffee shop. We urge the Government to untie the hands of authorities by licensing lap-dance clubs as sex encounter establishments. This would enable communities to have a greater say.”

This gun collection should be banned! It’s cool though. So if you’re a gun aficionado, go watch this video of baaad guns! =)

The Mosquito device which emits a high-pitched sound to disperse groups of youths was banned by Kent’s local authority today to protect their rights. About 3,500 Mosquitos have been used in shopping centres, parks and shops in England since being introduced in January 2006. Its sound causes discomfort to young ears but is above the normal hearing range of people over 25. The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), which represents 33,000 local shops, has said the device can counter anti-social behaviour.

Councillors in Kent decided against installing them on the county council’s buildings after talking to their youth members. They felt there was a contradiction in their duty to represent young people and respect their views. They now plan to lobby the government for a nationwide ban. Mike Hill, the community services member on the council, said: “These devices are abhorrent and give the wrong message to our young people. The noise may result in youngsters moving away from an area when they are causing no harm.”

Yes, personal digital assistants, and NOT cell phones. By now, we are all used to turning off our cell phones when we enter a hospital or to turn them to silent mode when we arrive at a movie theatre. But banning the all-important PDA?? Businessmen would surely balk at that! According to reports, the Alton Towers Resort theme park in the UK is now enforcing a rule that effectively bans the use of any PDA or PDA-like device.

The reason for the ban is that they are trying to “encourage parents to disconnect from the office and reconnect fully with their families.” I mean, what’s the point of going to theme parks with your kids when you’ll just work on your PDA right? According to Alton Towers, PDA police will roam their resort (shown at left) and if they catch parents using a PDA, the device will be taken away from them for the day. OH YEAH! Payback time parents! Hehe! Alton hopes to introduce the rule FULL TIME when it’s found to be effective.

Yup, that’s Maxi Mounds above! Huge b00bs huh?? It’s size 36MMM my dears and each of her breasts weighs 20 pounds! And guess what?? They are still growing!! Thanks to the controversial “polypropylene string” treatment that created them which is now banned in Britain and United States.

So how does the string works? It apparently irritates the breast, causing the release of body fluids that inflate the area still further. The procedure – which was only really popular among adult entertainers and sex workers – has since been banned due to concerns about its safety. Maxi Mounds shares,

“I’ve seen some pretty funny things happen. Men walking into things and getting slapped by their girlfriends because they were staring too hard.”