The World
In a much anticipated test of religious freedom in multiethnic Malaysia, the country's top civil court rejected by a vote of 2 to 1 a woman's appeal to have her government identity card changed to show that she converted from Islam to Christianity. "She cannot simply at her own whims enter or leave her religion," said Judge Ahmad Fairuz. "She must follow the rules."
Judge Richard Malanjum, the only non-Muslim on the panel, dissented. He asserted that the ruling was "unreasonable" for telling the woman, Lina Joy, to go instead to the Islamic sharia courts, where she could face criminal prosecution for apostasy. The sharia courts handle personal and family cases involving Malay Muslims, about 60 percent of the nation's population, while civil courts serve minority populations of Chinese, Indians, and others. The Constitution is unclear which has authority when their jurisdiction is in dispute.
Europeans Loosen Their Belts a Bit
Italians are famous for their embrace of la dolce vita, the sweet life. Too sweet, it turns out, and too fatty. More than half of adults in the European Union now are obese or overweight because of bad diets and lack of exercise, according to EU Health Commissioner Karkos Kyprianou. What about the famed Mediterranean diet- based on consumption of fruits, veggies, and healthy olive oil-in countries like Italy and Greece? "Now," says Kyprianou, "the biggest problem of obesity is the southern member states [where people] have abandoned the Mediterranean diet and go for the same kind of nutrition of fast food as elsewhere."
With Aamir Latif in Lebanon, Mitchell Prothero and Associated Press
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