London - A Christmas poster of the nativity in which ordinary bus travellers slip into the roles of shepherds and wise men was launched by the Anglican Church at bus shelters in Britain Wednesday.

The campaign by the Churches Advertising Network (CAN), backed by the leadership of the Anglican Church, is aimed at reminding people of the Christmas story.

The poster is a reproduction of an oil painting of the nativity, showing the holy family with halos inside an urban bus shelter.

London - A company for ecological design in Britain has produced an edible Christmas card made from potato starch paper and featuring a picture of Brussels sprouts, it was reported Wednesday.

The design was part of an effort to reduce the environmental impact of the festive season, said Steve Lodge, managing director of green graphic design agency Oxygen Creative.

London - The pilot of a British passenger plane balked at landing at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport because there was too much fog, the airline said Wednesday.

Budget airline Flybe said the pilot was not qualified to land in fog and - minutes from touching down in Paris - returned to Cardiff, in Wales, from where Tuesday's flight had taken off.

London - The timely announcement that British troops will leave Iraq six years after the US-led invasion and the toppling of Saddam Hussein brought little Christmas cheers to Britons Wednesday.

While Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be hoping that closing the chapter of Iraq might add to the publicity surge he is currently enjoying, the war-fatigued British public and the military are apprehensive about an increased military involvement in another conflict: Afghanistan.

London - Former Blackburn Rovers manager Graeme Souness insisted on Wednesday that he has no interest in returning to Ewood Park to replace Paul Ince, who was dismissed on Tuesday.

"I don't know anything and have had no contact at all from Blackburn Rovers," Souness told the Lancashire Telegraph.

"It doesn't surprise me to see my name in there but I'm not your man, I can definitely say that."

Souness left Blackburn for Newcastle United in 2004.

Blackburn chairman John Williams said he hopes to have a new man in place before Saturday's Premier League game at home to Stoke City.

London - Portsmouth confirmed on Wednesday that they have accepted a bid from Real Madrid for midfielder Lassana Diarra.

The 23 year old, who has not played for almost a month because of an ankle injury, joined the club from Arsenal in January for around 5 million pounds (7.6 million dollars).

It is believed the Spanish giants could be offering as much as 24 million pounds for Diarra.

"We have always said we would only allow our players to leave if we received an exceptional bid," a spokesman told the club website.