• Animal rights activists are up in arms over a Halloween contest in New York which offers customers free entry if they eat a live Madagascar hissing cockroach. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has denounced the contest. "Insects do not deserve to be eaten alive for a gratuitous marketing gimmick,' PETA spokesperson Jackie Vergerio said.

• On October 13, Irish rock star Bono launched the US version of his