■MALAYSIA
Court upholds book ban
PHOTO: AFP
A court upheld a ban on a book about racial clashes that erupted in 2001, ruling on Friday that its publication could upset ethnic sensitivities already strained by recent attacks on places of worship. The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that the Home Ministry was correct to issue the ban three years ago on March 8, written by K. Arumugam, which recounts clashes between ethnic Malay Muslims and ethnic Indians. The strife killed six people on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in 2001. High Court Judge Mohamad Ariff Mohamad Yusof said the book ban was justified “based on public order grounds,” according to a lawyer representing Arumugam, who sued to overturn the ban. March 8 is based on eyewitness accounts and academic research. About 3,000 copies were sold within six months of its publication before it was banned in late 2006, Bon said.
■UNITED STATES
‘Physical’ sexiest song
Move aside Madonna and watch out Barry White. The winner of the sexiest song of all time is — Olivia Newton-John with Physical, according to music publication Billboard. The magazine compiled a list of the 50 most popular songs about sex in time for Valentine’s Day with each song given points according to its performance on the Billboard hot 100 chart from August 1958 until last month. While Physical certainly speaks to sex with lyrics such as “There’s nothin’ left to talk about, unless it’s horizontally,” it became known as well-known as a track for aerobics classes in line with the singer’s exercise-themed video. Following is a list of the top 10 of the top 50 sexiest songs:
1. Physical — Olivia Newton-John.
2. Tonight’s The Night — Rod Stewart.
3. I’ll Make Love To You — Boyz II Men.
4. Too Close — Next.
5. Let’s Get It On — Marvin Gaye.
6. Hot Stuff — Donna Summer.
7. Do That To Me One More Time — Captain and Tennille.
8. Like A Virgin — Madonna.
9. Kiss You All Over — Exile.
10. Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? — Rod Stewart.
■MALAWI
Man jailed for rain spell
A court in the drought-plagued country has jailed a man accused of casting a spell that blocked rain from falling on his neighbor’s field, police said on Friday. Chikumbeni Mwanatheu, 35, was sentenced to two months in prison with hard labor after he admitted a charge of witchcraft, police said. Mwanatheu had pleaded guilty to a charge of “conduct likely to cause a breach of peace” after he boasted that he had prevented rain from falling on his neighbor’s field. Magistrate Lameck Mkwapatira ruled he “needed to be given a custodial sentence to let the community enjoy peace in his absence and for his own safety.”
■FRANCE
Art school censors student
A Chinese artist has accused the art school Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA) of censorship after it removed her work, echoing a slogan of President Nicolas Sarkozy, from its facade. The exhibit — four banners hanging from ENSBA buildings in central Paris and emblazoned with the words “Work,” “Less,” “Earn” and “More” — refer to “Work More to Earn More,” the ruling UMP party’s slogan in the 2007 presidential campaign. “I find it despicable. In China, we speak a lot about censorship but my work has never been censored in such a brutal fashion in China,” artist Ko Siu-lan said. The French ministry of culture declined to comment.
■ISREAL
Protesters pose like ‘Avatar’
Palestinian protesters have added a colorful twist to demonstrations against Israel’s separation barrier, painting themselves blue and posing as characters from the hit film Avatar. The demonstrators also donned long hair and loincloths on Friday for the weekly protest against the barrier near the village of Bilin. They equated their struggle to the intergalactic one portrayed in the film.
■UNITED STATES
Wife loves stinky Valentine
Nothing says “I love you” like a nearly kilometer wide heart made out of manure. A Minnesota man created the Valentine’s Day gift for his wife of 37 years in their farm field about 19km southwest of Albert Lea. Bruce Andersland told the Alberta Lea Tribune that he started the project with his tractor and manure spreader on Wednesday and finished on Thursday. His wife, Beth, said it was the biggest and most original Valentine she has ever received. She said some people might think it’s gross, but she said it’s cute and “Why not do something fun with what you got?”
■UNITED STATES
N Korea envoy not visiting
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said on Friday there were no discussions or plans “at this point” for North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan to make a rare visit to the US. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said Kim would visit the US next month, following a trip to Pyongyang in December by US envoy Stephen Bosworth. Crowley also hinted at US disappointment over North Korea’s failure to return to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks, after UN envoy Lynn Pascoe said North Korea was “not eager” to return to the negotiations. “We have heard from the North Koreans that they recognize the importance of the six-party process. What we need from them is to pull the trigger, actually come back to that process,” Crowley said, his choice of words causing chuckles.
■UNITED KINGDOM
Woman poisons lover
A British woman was jailed for a minimum of 23 years on Thursday for murdering her former lover by lacing his curry with poison. Lakhvir Singh, 45, killed Lakhvinder “Lucky” Cheema, 39, because she was consumed by jealousy about his engagement to another woman, her trial at the Old Bailey in London was told. Cheema had been due to wed fiancee Gurjeet Choongh, 21, on Valentine’s Day last year, but three weeks before the wedding, the couple fell ill after eating vegetable curry at their home in Feltham, west London. Singh was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering Cheema and causing grievous bodily harm to Choongh.
■UNITED STATES
Bill Clinton back at work
Former president Bill Clinton was back to work on Haiti relief and doing ‘very well” on Friday, a day after a successful heart procedure to open a blocked artery to his heart that caused him chest discomfort. TV footage showed Clinton walking to his vehicle as he left the hospital in Manhattan and arriving home later in the New York suburb of Chappaqua. “I’m doing very well. I feel very blessed. I was fortunate that you know I kind of had a feeling about it,” Clinton told reporters in televised comments after returning home.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
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