World Briefs

A rabbi in the Israeli city of Tiberias has called for a boycott of stores that display mannequins in bathing suits, saying they damage the souls of passers-by.

Rabbi Rafael Cohen, chief of the city's kosher division, said the stores would face the wrath of the religious community and lose their kosher certification if they failed to comply.

Rabbi Cohen said the mannequins and "obscene photographs" showing models in swimsuits or underwear "elicit sorrow among the passers-by on the road." He has threatened to publish a list of stores that continue such displays, saying "residents of Tiberias should not set foot in stores of that kind, and that will cause them irreversible damage."

"Modest" mannequins, he said, are all right. "But there are mannequins that are really revolting, mannequins in bathing suits that damage our souls."

One lingerie merchant in Tiberias said "a store like this has to have a mannequin, but the religious women are excellent clients and buy lots of underwear, so I don't know what to do. (AFP)

Smoking research centre

The landlady of a British pub has exploited a loophole in the country's smoking ban by opening a "smoking research centre" where drinkers can light up legally, reports said yesterday.

Locals at the Cutting Edge pub in Barnsley, northern England, must fill in a questionnaire on their smoking habits to satisfy legal requirements before sitting down for a drink and a cigarette in the centre.

England and Wales introduced a ban on smoking in enclosed public places in 2007, contributing to tumbling beer sales which have forced over 2,000 pubs to close in the last year.

The Cutting Edge's landlady Kerry Fent said, "It's given business a shot in the arm and it's all in the name of research, legal and above board." (AFP)

Upgrades for Stonehenge

Britain has given the go-ahead for a new £25-million visitor centre at Stonehenge and will shut a road that runs alongside the country's most famous prehistoric monument.

The circle of towering megaliths on Salisbury Plain in southwest England has been at the centre of arguments for years over how to ease congestion and to improve facilities at the World Heritage Site for the thousands of visitors it attracts.

"Stonehenge is our most important and well recognised prehistoric site and as such is absolutely at the heart of our national history and heritage," said Culture Minister Barbara Follett.

Built between 3,000 and 1,600 BC, the stone circle might have been a temple, burial ground, astronomical calendar or all three, scholars say. (Reuters)

Georgia snubs Moscow Eurovision

Georgia stages its own music festival this weekend in a snub to the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow after the country's entry was rejected for mocking Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Georgia pulled out of Eurovision after organisers said it should revise the lyrics of its entry, a disco anthem by Stephane & 3G called We Don't Wanna Put In - a barely disguised swipe at Putin, whose country defeated Georgia in a brief war last August.

Stephane & 3G will instead perform the song on the final night of Tbilisi Open Air, a three-day music festival in the Georgian capital starting tomorrow. Its theme is "Alter/Vision", or an alternative to Eurovision, which is being held in the Russian capital on Saturday.

"Our audience cares about music, while Eurovision is just a contest between countries, a mix of music, politics and sport," said Mr Guledani. "It's full of political cliches, it's just a political show." (Reuters)

Rare diamond sells for $9.5 million

A flawless vivid blue diamond weighing 7.03 carats sold on Tuesday for a record 10.5 million Swiss francs ($9.5million), the highest price paid per carat for any gemstone at auction, Sotheby's said.

The rectangular-shaped blue stone is the rarest to enter the international market this year. It was the centrepiece of its semi-annual sale in Geneva, conducted by David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's jewellery department in Europe and the Middle East.

"This is already a new world record price for a fancy vivid blue diamond and a new world record per carat for any gemstone (at auction)," Mr Bennett told reporters.

Blue are the rarest of the diamond family after reds. (Reuters)