City news in 250 words

IT'S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM for retailers after all. The Manchester-based Co-operative Group is enjoying a very happy new year after a surge in festive food store sales. Revenues for the three weeks to last Saturday, excluding fuel, rose six per cent, with growth strongest in beers, wines and spirits, soft drinks, seasonal goods and fresh food.

TAXI REQUESTS AND LIFTS HOME were among the time-wasting calls made to Greater Manchester 999 operators on New Year's Eve. The police received 2,427 emergency calls between midnight and 6am, of which about 25% were recorded as genuine emergencies. Despite this, police have said people used the emergency number more responsibly than in 2007.

'THERE'S PROBABLY NO GOD. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life' is the slogan being used in an atheist advertising campaign on buses across the country. The campaign is being backed by the British Humanist Association and prominent atheist, Professor Richard Dawkins. A Church of England representative said: “We would defend the right of any group representing a religious or philosophical position to be able to promote that view through appropriate channels. However, Christian belief is not about worrying or not enjoying life.”

SHAMELESS, the Manchester TV series, is to be re-made in America. Writer Paul Abbott has said the project is in an early stage but that ER and The West Wing writer and producer John Wells is developing a new version of the comedy drama with cable network HBO. So far there have been problems trying to adapt the show for an American audience without losing the essence of the UK underclass culture.