Washington: A society in which there is widespread belief in hell is likely to be richer and less corrupt than one in which fear of the devil does not loom large, according to economists in America.
Researchers working for the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis studied 35 countries and found an apparent correlation between belief in hell, wealth and corruption. "In countries where large percentages of the population believe in hell, there seems to be less corruption and a higher standard of living," the St Louis Fed said in its July quarterly review.
For instance, 71 per cent of the US popula- tion believe in hell and the country boasts the world's highest per capita income, according to the 2003 United Nations Human Develop- ment Report and 1990-1993 World Values Survey. Ireland, not far behind the US in terms of income, likewise has a healthy fear of a nether world with 53 per cent of the population acknowledging hell's existence.
"I'm not surprised," said the Rev Eileen Lindner, deputy general secretary of the US National Council of Churches, when told of the results. "The expectation that there is a cultural belief in hell or perpetual and eternal punishment for wrongdoing will act as a disincentive to wrongdoing," she said.
But Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists Inc, was having none of it. He called the study the latest gimmick from the religious establishment to drum up government support. "I cannot imagine what the belief in mythological beings or things that don't exist can do for business. What about the pornographic industry? That is probably very good for growth," he suggested.
The St Louis Fed's essay Fear of Hell Might Fire Up The Economy can be found at: www.st louisfed.org/publications/re/2004/c/ default.html
Berlin: A German woman became so furious after a row with her husband that she stormed out of the house armed with a hammer and smashed up his car - before realising she had vandalised the wrong vehicle, according to police. The 43-year-old from Essen, western Germany, told them she shattered the windscreen, broke the headlights and wrenched off the wing mirrors, causing €1,000 in damage, because she was filled with rage after a telephone quarrel.
After going back indoors she realised she had battered the wrong car. Only noticing the colour, she had attacked her neighbour's blue Opel Corsa and not the blue Ford Fiesta belonging to her spouse.
Edinburgh: A Scottish kilt manufacturer, Kilt2, aims to sweep the male fashion market globally with a selection of restyled garments. This Press Association shot above shows three male models disporting three new patterns - "bloodline" (centre), "Linescape" (left) and "Laid Hands".
Tokyo: Japanese police are mystified over the country's latest counterfeiting trend - fake bills that cost more to make than their face value.
Experts estimate that it cost 1,000 yen (€7.5) to make each of the more than 400 bogus 1,000 yen notes that have turned up in vending machines in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, suggesting profit was not the motive, the Asahi newspaper's English- language edition reported.
"Police suspect a techno-maniac is involved," said the paper.