■ Malaysia
`Playboy' hopes dashed
An Indonesian maid posed in her underwear for pictures her female employer promised would appear in the Indonesian version of Playboy, but complained after receiving no payment, a Malaysian social group said on Wednesday. Playboy magazine caused a stir at its launch in Indonesia last week, despite having less skin on display than US issues of 50 years ago. In exchange for a promise of 1,000 ringgit (US$272) and the use of her connections with the magazine to get the pictures printed, the woman took pictures of her 25-year-old maid in seductive postures, the Star newspaper said.
■ Malaysia
Weird reptiles discovered
Residents in rural Malaysia have found a two-tailed lizard and a toad with a 40cm tail, news reports said yesterday. Farmer Ahmad Mustafa caught the unusual green lizard with a split tail near his house last month in the Penang State, the New Straits Times said in a report accompanied by a photograph of the reptile. The lizard "has found a special place in Ahmad's heart," the Times said. Also yesterday, the Star said that Chiew Ah Chan was cleaning her house on Wednesday when she saw the toad trying to hop out of a drain with a tail measured at 40cm. The family intends to release it in a few days after curiosity in the neighborhood has subsided.
■ United Kingdom
Chinese corpse expo opens
An exhibition of corpses from China opened in London on Wednesday to teach people more about their bodies, organizers said, but concerns were raised about the identity of the dead. Clutching a basketball, holding a baton or just sitting down -- these are some of the poses struck by 22 genuine human bodies, naked and with their organs and bones exposed, that form part of the display. "Bodies ... The Exhibition," at Earls Court in west London, offers a rare glimpse of the insides of real human bodies, organizers said.
■ United Kingdom
Britons top chocoholics
Britons are Europe's top chocoholics, according to a survey by Datamonitor published on Wednesday which shows average consumption of 10kg a year, nearly five times the amount eaten by the more weight-conscious Italians. The UK spent £4.3 billion (US$7.5 billion) to chomp its way through 605,000 tonnes of chocolate last year and Britons ended up consuming a quarter of the continent's entire chocolate supply, it said. The survey showed that the average spending on chocolate was £72 a head in Britain last year, compared with £40 in France, £31 in Germany and £18 in Italy.
■ United Kingdom
`Lotto Rapist' victim loses
The elderly victim of a convicted rapist lost a legal bid on Wednesday to make the attacker pay compensation after he won millions on the national lottery while in prison. But her legal representatives said they would appeal to the House of Lords -- the country's highest court. Iorworth Hoare, dubbed the "Lotto rapist" by the media, spent 16 years in jail and while on weekend leave from prison in 2004 prior to his release he bought a lottery ticket which netted him £7 million (US$12.29 million). His 77-year-old victim had argued Hoare should be made to pay for his "violent and disgusting sexual assault" that left her mentally scarred.
RSS