London, December 30 (ANI): Japanese authorities have warned tourists against "harassing" the country's famous kimono-clad geisha - meaning "person of the arts" - in the streets of the ancient city of Kyoto.

The move follows complaints from a large number of geisha that tourists keen to click their pictures often pursue them down the street, and tug them on the sleeves of heir kimonos

Local residents and businesses are said to have joined forces to prevent the geisha from harassment, launching patrols of the streets of the Gion entertainment district of the city so that tourists cannot pester them.

The local Government has also published warnings on its websites in English language, urging visitors not to pursue the geisha down the street with their cameras.

"Some tourists seem to have the impression that Gion is a theme park, and geisha and maiko (apprentice geisha) are walking the streets as part of a performance," the Telegraph quoted an official at Higashiyama Ward Office, which conducted research into the harassment of geisha by tourists last year, as saying.

Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, attracted more than 49 million visiting tourists last year. The city is brimming with ancient temples, shrines and zen gardens.

It is also famously home to the nation's largest surviving community of geisha.

With their elaborate kimono, white painted faces, red lips and exquisite manners, geisha are traditionally trained from a young age in a range of Japanese arts like classical dance and music, in order to entertain upmarket guests at exclusive teahouses.

Complaining about the persistent attention of foreign tourists, one 18-year-old maiko told local media: "(People) approach me without saying a word and suddenly stand beside me to have photographs taken, so I get taken by surprise."

There existed over 80,000 geisha across Japan in the 1920s, but it has become an increasingly dying art form in modern day Japan. Presently, there exist as few as 1,000 geisha. (ANI)

Quetta, Dec. 30 (ANI): A non-governmental organisation, working for women's rights, has claimed that violence against women has intensified drastically in Balochistan in 2008.

Aurat, a Pakistan based NGO, said that 115 out of 600 cases registered for violence against women in Balochistan were of 'honour killing'. The Baloch society still justifies the killing of women in the name of honour and tradition, the Daily Times reported.

The NGO blamed widespread illiteracy, entrenched tribal traditions, distorted interpretation of Islam and economic dependence of women on men to be the main causes for the violence against Baloch women.

Out of total 600 reported cases in 2008, 255 were related to domestic violence. In tribal areas, majority of cases against women remain unreported due to dominance of men in society, who consider that reporting violence against women would bring disrepute to their tribes.

The most disturbing case this year came from Naseerabad district in Balochistan, where five women were allegedly buried alive by tribal elders in the name of honour, the report said.

The Pakistan Government not only failed to investigate the incident, but Federal Minister, Mir Israrullah Zehri and Deputy Speaker, Jan Muhammad Jamli, shockingly, defended the incident on the Senate floor by calling it "a part of Baloch traditions".

Dostain Khan Jamaldini, a researcher in women's issues, said that a major hurdle in preventing the violence against women was the lack of a serious approach towards addressing it at the community level.

The NGOs and media reporting on the issue face political and communal confrontation. Often, they are accused of spreading western propaganda against Islam while reporting cases of violence against women.

"We need to set our house in order before becoming defensive. The poor state of women's rights is a bitter reality in our society and we cannot ignore this serious matter for long under different subterfuges," Jamaldini said. (ANI)

London, Dec 9 (ANI): Despite having escaped being jailed, Brit man Vince Acors, involved in the Dubai beach-sex scandal, was seen drunk and romping about with two girls at the same bar where the whole scandal had started.

The Romeo IT boss, who had been charged with indecent behaviour along with publishing executive Michelle Palmer, 36, was seen kissing a busty brunette and lifting a scantily clad blonde in his arms just five months after the incident.

An onlooker, who witnessed the latest antics by Acors, 34, of Bromley, South East London, said the Brit was showing that he did not care.

"It was like sticking two fingers up at the people of Dubai," the Sun quoted the onlooker as saying.

"He had a whale of a time but it seems brazen in the extreme," the onlooker stated.

Acors, who is appealing against deportation, was seen posing with two party hats as he drank beer and bubbly.

He refused to comment about the incident.

Speaking on his behalf, his Andrew Crossley said: "He was at a friend's birthday party." (ANI)

London, Dec 9 (ANI): US President George W Bush has said his belief that God created the world is not incompatible with scientific proof of evolution.

The Bible is "probably not" literally true and that a belief that God created the world is compatible with the theory of evolution.

In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" on Monday, the President also said he probably is not a literalist when reading the Bible although an individual can learn a great deal from it, including the New Testament teaching that God sent his only son.

"I think you can have both. You're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president," he said.

But "evolution is an interesting subject. I happen to believe that evolution doesn't fully explain the mystery of life," said Bush, an outspoken Christian who often invokes God in his speeches.

"I think that God created the Earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution," The Telegraph quoted him, as saying.

Asked whether the Bible was literally true, Bush replied: "Probably not. No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it. The important lesson is 'God sent a son,'" he said. (ANI)