■ United States
Anti-gay activist's son is gay
The son of Christian activist Randall Terry, known for his strident opposition to abortion and homosexuality, says he is gay. In an article in the May issue of Out magazine -- for which he was paid US$2,500 -- Jamiel Terry, 24, says he first realized he was gay seven years ago, when a male friend with whom he'd been intimate asked if they were gay or bisexual. "I didn't know how to respond," he writes. "I mean, we had been having sex for ages, but I'd always believed I couldn't be gay: I was the son of Randall Terry." Before the article was released, Randall Terry published his own essay, writing that his son "sold out our family's privacy and private discussions for cold cash."
■ United States
Study: Poetry's a killer
Does writing poetry pose a health threat? Is there any such thing as the `Sylvia Plath effect'? And is the phrase "live fast, die young" more applicable to sensitive young souls describing their torment in verse than to James Dean-style tearaways? According to James Kaufman, whose research has just been published in an obscure publication called Journal of Death Studies, the answer could be yes to all three questions. Kaufman studied the deaths of 1,987 writers from across the world and through the centuries. "On average, poets lived 62 years, playwrights 63 years, novelists 66 years and non-fiction writers lived 68 years," Kaufman said.
■ The Hague
Mugabe trial called for
A leading international lawyer called on Thursday for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to be brought to trial for state-sponsored torture, murder and rape amid fresh claims that the government in Zimbabwe is abusing its legal system to hold on to power. Mark Ellis, from the International Bar Association, said there was enough evidence to bring Mugabe before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. "It is time that the international community took decisive steps to assure the suffering people of Zimbabwe that Mugabe and his cohorts will be held accountable for their crimes," he said.
RSS