Empire posted an interim pre-tax profit of £200,000, compared with a loss of £1.6m a year earlier.Patientline, which provides bedside communications and entertainment systems to hospitals, rose 6p to 79.5p amid institutional demand for the stock. There was also talk in the market that the group may well break into profit ahead of expectations. Peter Hambro Mining was 20.5p better at 382.5p after the group completed a series of presentations to brokers in the City. PHM is believed to have yesterday taken analysts from Credit Suisse First Boston, HSBC Securities and Numis Securities on a trip to see its operations in East Russia.

Wider analyst coverage of the stock looks to be in the offing.Milestone jumped 4p to 85.5p as directors at the AIM-listed media group piled into the stock. Andrew Craig, the chief executive, disclosed the purchase of 12,500 shares at 70p while Julian Blackwell, Milestone’s chairman, bought 22,500 at the same price.. Morrison was given the green light today to bid for supermarket rival Safeway following a lengthy investigation by competition watchdogs. “Being a Christian is one reason, but there’s so much being said in America about it being against Jews that I wanted to go and make my own mind up.”Ron Kingsmill, pastor of the Freshwater Christian Fellowship, had organised an ecumenical rota so that leaders of the town’s churches could be at every showing.

It nestles between sprawling warehouse superstores like Homebase and PC World. You have to make an effort to get there: but as well as attracting regular cinema-goers, the film was bringing in new ones.”I haven’t been to the cinema since In Bed with Madonna,” said Jolyn Crawford, 37, a sales merchandiser. “We’re religious people,” Cheryann said with a mischievous grin.The UGC is on an industrial shopping site a couple of miles outside Harlow. They were going to see The Passion instead of Starsky & Hutch. “I just couldn’t stop crying,” she said.Cheryann and Tracy Moor, who both claimed to be 18, were dressed in short skirts and heavy make-up and would not have looked out of place in a nightclub. We all know the story, but it was done very well.”Local churches were encouraging their members to attend, and interest was so great that the cinema management invited religious ministers to be on hand in case anyone needed counselling afterwards.Sarah Thompson, 18 and a Christian, was in tears after the film, and was hardly able to speak. France has been battling anti-Semitic violence for more than two years, which has often included attacks against Jewish schools and synagogues.Exit PollWho would want to see a foreign-language film about the crucifixion in a town officially identified as one of the most godless in Britain? Loads of people, it turns out.More than a fifth of the inhabitants of Harlow in Essex described themselves as having “no religion” at the last census but many still ignored more obvious blockbusters in favour of The Passion of the Christ on Friday night.”I think it was a really good film,” said Terry Clark, 46, after the 5pm screening at the UGC multiplex on the edge of town “It was really enjoyable I don’t go to church, but I do like big epic films.