Tid Bits

Kentucky, June 06: An American pastor has invited his parishioners to bring their guns to church to celebrate the US Independence Day (July 4), in a show of support for the right to bear arms.

Gun-g Ho: Ken Pagano, the man behind the idea.
A former US Marine, Pastor Ken Pagano of New Bethel Church of Kentucky has asked handgun owners to attend this service, on June 27, openly wearing their sidearm.

But the move will be symbolic. The firearms must be unloaded.

Augusta, June 05: A deliberately set fire destroyed a topless coffee shop early Wednesday, just hours after the owner talked with local officials about making the business more like a strip club, investigators said.

The fire at the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop was reported just before 1 a.m. by an ambulance that happened to be driving past.

Kuala Lumpur, May 28: Calling one’s wife ugly may soon be considered an offence under a Malaysian law that seeks to protect a woman both physically and emotionally.

One of the clauses proposed to be amended in the Domestic Violence Act 1994 pertains to emotional violence against women who are currently only protected against physical abuse, the Star newspaper said Thursday.

Women’s Development Department director-general Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur said emotional violence was a form of abuse that scars women deeply and lowers their self-esteem, dignity and self-confidence.

Brasilia, May 28: In a vast country like Brazil, the inte is emerging as the most effective tool to spread the message of Islam, says a leading Muslim scholar in the South American nation.

“The inte is one of the most successful contemporary da`wah tools,” Al-Sadiq Al-Othmani, head of the Islamic Affairs Department at the Center of Islamic Da’wah in Latin America, told.

“That’s why I encourage scholars to spread the word to broader masses through the web, especially in such a vast country.”

London, May 27: How about visiting a restaurant for dinner, and being greeted by monkey waiters!

Kayabuki restaurant in remote countryside of Japan is flocked with guests from all over Japan who come to see its “monkey” staff.

The most popular monkey is six-year-old Fuku-chan who greets guests and brings them hot towels at the end of their meal.

“He has these airs and graces that make him look just like a French waiter at a posh restaurant,” the Sun quoted a diner as saying.

West Bengal, May 26: Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals asked two nurses to submit their resignations for speaking in their “native tongue” inside the hospital premises.

The nurses, Jincy Joseph and Lijy Menon (names changed to protect identity) were posted in ICU of the Cardio Thoracic Vascular Surgery (CTVS) department. The two said they will take their case to the National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday, challenging the hospital’s decision.

Mt.Everest, May 24: On top of the world: That’s how Ranjana Patil felt as her 21-year-old daughter Krishna Patil stood there on Thursday. Krishna, a resident of Aundh in Pune, became the second woman from Maharashtra to climb the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest.

Her merchant navy father Madhav was out of the country when the phone rang at 7.30 am on Thursday. Stephen Sherpa, leader of Krishna’s mountaineering team, was at the other end.

Mumbai, May 19: In the lull between polling and counting, punters rushed to place bets worth Rs 20,000 crore on what was better – ‘pizza’ or ‘roti’.

There was also ‘papad’ on offer, but it had few takers. Pizza, roti and papad were among the code words bookies used while taking bets so as to avoid the police net.

Pizza, code word for Congress, was the hot favourite among punters, while roti (BJP) saw lesser volumes, a bookie said here. BJP’s PM hopeful L K Advani was code-named papad.

The betting volume topped Rs 20,000 crore, up from Rs 11,000 crore in the 2004 polls.

Phnom Penh, May 11: Cambodian police arrested a 37-year-old high school teacher after he allegedly sent a homemade hand grenade as an anonymous wedding present to a former student, local media reported Monday.

Police said Moung Chhavry admitted to sending the grenade to the bride, who he claimed to have had a relationship with when he was her grade 10 teacher, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

But the 21-year-old bride told police she had rejected his advances and was shocked to see her former teacher after he was arrested.

Moung faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.