World vignettes — These beauties lift weights too

Kathy Mosely, girlfriend of UK hostage Paul Wells (left) and Julie Mangan, wife of Keith Mangan (centre) talk with Pakistan Prime Minister ...

Kathy Mosely, girlfriend of UK hostage Paul Wells (left) and Julie Mangan, wife of Keith Mangan (centre) talk with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad on Wednesday to seek help to trace their kin.

These beauties lift weights too

THAILAND: It wasn’t over when the fat lady sang. That was just the talent portion of a beauty contest held yesterday in which the contestants came in two sizes: big and bigger. In blistering holiday heat, thousands of people came to a private zoo 30 km west of Bangkok to watch the heavyweight contest among about 30 women for the title of “jumbo queen.” The contestants showed off their singing and dancing talents, and lifted heavy weights.

Valaya Tonsak, 32, of Bangkok walked off with the $1,000 top prize. A mere 70 kg, she bested opponents weighing as much as 160 kg. The competition was preceded by a jumping crocodile show and a historical costume epic in which elephants were the stars. After the beauty contest, humans and animals alike went off to a generous banquet meal.

Gay law

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HOBART: Australia’s only state that banned homosexuality has repealed the law, bowing to a campaign by gay activists that had reached the United Nations.

The parliament of Tasmania state yesterday passed a bill to strike down a generation-old ban on homosexuality and anal sex, which carried a maximum penalty of 21 years in prison.

The upper house of parliament approved the bill with a voice vote yesterday. The lower house had passed it earlier. While no one had been prosecuted under the law for years, gays said it was a symbol of repression and inconsistent with federal sexual privacy laws passed in 1994 following an appeal by gay activists to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

A destructive and unnecessary criminal stigma has been removed, that burden has been lifted from our shoulders,” said Tasmanian gay and lesbian rights group spokesman Rodney Croome.

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Smallest pyramidp CAIRO: Mycerinus, the smallest of the three great pyramids at Giza, has been closed for six months of restoration work. The pyramid, which was closed yesterday, is visited by an average of 5,000 tourists a day who clamber down to the burial chamber. The water vapour in their breath has caused salt to leach through walls and ceilings, creating cracks. Zahi Hawass, chief archaeologist at Giza, said a special ventilation system will be installed during the closure.

The great pyramids were built at Giza, on the western edge of Cairo, for three Pharaohs who ruled Egypt some 4,500 years ago.

Cheops, the largest of the pyramids with a height of 137 meters underwent renovations in 1990. The pyramid of Chephren, Cheops’ son, was reopened to the public last August after ten months of restoration work.