Britain's Duchess of Cornwall has been blamed for "cursing" a luxury cruise liner. Cunard's Ł300 million MS Queen Victoria - which was officially launched by Camilla in Southampton three weeks ago when she failed to successfully smash the champagne bottle on its side - has been struck by a potentially fatal stomach bug.

On its second voyage a virus outbreak struck passengers on the Queen Victoria. Blame it on bad luck, which is exactly what crew members of the $602 million 90,000 ton vessel, the Queen Victoria, are doing after 78 of their 3,000 passengers were infected by a highly contagious stomach known as norovirus. According to the crew members, during its naming ceremony, the champagne bottle swung by the Duchess of Cornwall against the hull of the Queen Victoria failed to break, which is considered a sign of bad luck in the seafaring world.

Beginning January 2, the city of Reeves, Louisiana will no longer carry the mark of the beast. After 40 years of carrying a stigma for having the number 666 as its area code, Reeves starts 2008 with a new code; 749. Mayor Scott Walker made changing the city's area code a personal crusade after he got tired of receiving admonitions from friends and strangers to drop the number linked to the Devil. He made representations with the local phone company CenturyTel and the state Public Service Commission to amend the city's area code.

Germany's brewing industry suffered its eighth decline in the last nine years. Beer consumption plummeted to a record low of 29. 7 gallons (112. 5 liters) per person for 2007. In the 1980s, Germans guzzled down 41. 2 gallons (156 liters) of beer. However, Brewery Association managing director Peter Hahn attributed the decline in beer consumption to changing demographics and a poor summer.

Infant Jesus, along with his parents Mary and Joseph will get fitted with satellite tracking this Christmas in order to prevent thieves from stealing them. The nativity scene housed a life size statue of the infant Jesus. The original statue was stolen three weeks ago prompting the satellite tracking measure. A Jewish lawyer had donated the new statue. Jeffrey Harris told the Miami Herald, "I felt bad. How could someone steal a baby Jesus? Even though I am Jewish, I like the Christmas spirit. " Dina Cellini, who oversees the display, told the AP, "I don't anticipate this will ever happen again, but we may need to rely on technology to save our savior. "