A bid by a local government in Indonesia's East Java province to curb prostitution by asking masseuses to wear a padlock on their trousers has provoked a tirade of criticism.
State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meuthia Hatta said: "It is not
the right way to prevent promiscuity. It insults women as if they are the ones in the wrong."
A photograph in the Jakarta Post showed a masseuse with a padlock on the waistband of her trousers and said the local administration's move was aimed at curbing prostitution and maintaining Batu's image as a popular tourist destination.
The best way to curb prostitution in massage parlours was to improve security systems and install CCTV, Hatta said.
VENEZUELAA Venezuelan TV channel has been forced to take The Simpsons off air because it may be inappropriate for children – but it is being replaced by the bikini-clad stars of Baywatch.
Baywatch Hawaii has replaced the cartoon strip about the dysfunctional family headed by hapless patriarch Homer.
Station spokeswoman Elba Guillen said the decision to hand over the daily 11am slot came after the National Telecommunications Commission received complaints from viewers. "It had to be taken off," Guillen said. "They consider it to be a series that isn't appropriate for that time because it isn't appropriate for children."
The station has not received any complaints about Baywatch, said the agency's general manager, German Perez Nahim.
ITALYHarry's Bar, the famed Venice watering hole where Ernest Hemingway held court over hearty food and stiff martinis, is offering a discount to 'poor' Americans suffering from a weak dollar and sub-prime blues.
A sign outside the restaurant at the weekend reads: "Harry's Bar of Venice, in an effort to make the American victims of sub-prime loans happier, has decided to give them a special 20% discount on all items of the menu during the short term of their recovery."
When the euro was introduced as Europe's common currency in 2002, a dollar bought about ?1.10. Today it gets about ?0.64, making prices seem astronomically high for most Americans.
"Since the start of January, we noticed a drop in customers of between 5% and 10%, and now that we are in April, its looks really frightening," said Arrigo Cipriani, 76, Harry's owner.
OH, REALLYA DRY-cleaning shop owner in Papua New Guinea has found a unique way of encouraging thieves to clean up their behaviour: giving them a steam cleaning.
Police in the north-east coastal town of Lae said a 20-year-old man suffered burns and scalding to his abdomen, chest and back when the owner turned a steam cleaner on him after he was caught stealing trousers worth 14 kina (£2.50).
"The owner has done this to many people already," said, police spokesman Nema Mondiai.
MOVERS & SHAKERSRICHARD GERE
Actor Richard Gere, who until recently faced Indian obscenity charges for publicly kissing a Bollywood star, has called his troubles "a badge of courage".
Gere made headlines when he kissed Shilpa Shetty, winner of Celebrity Big Brother, several times on the cheek at an Aids awareness show in New Delhi last year.
"It's a badge of somewhat insane courage," he said, adding that others had also been charged with similar offences in the past. "It is a very complex society."
Last month, India's Supreme Court suspended the legal proceedings and granted Gere permission to again travel to and from India.
SEAN AND ROBIN WRIGHT PENN
Sean Penn and his wife, Robin Wright Penn, have withdrawn their divorce petition.
A Marin County Superior Court commissioner has dismissed the divorce proceedings between the couple, who call the community of Ross, California, their home.
Neither attended the hearing, and no comment has been released on the latest development.
The dismissal came a day after they attended an Eddie Vedder concert at the University of California at Berkeley, where the actor reportedly went on stage to dedicate a song to Wright Penn.
They filed for divorce in December.
COMING UPPope Benedict will make his first trip to the United States this week. He will attack the idea that "might is right" when he addresses the United Nations – the fourth Pope to do so – on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Holy See's UN observer, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, commented: "For a long time, peace was a question of limiting or putting an end to conflicts among states. Today… it's a matter of building peace among peoples who have a clear perception of the diversity of their respective cultures."
The full article contains 773 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
