At a glance

Rumours of royal dream spark mass haircutsPHNOM PENH:Thousands of Cambodian girls have been getting their hair cut amid rumours that King...

Rumours of royal dream spark mass haircuts

PHNOM PENH:Thousands of Cambodian girls have been getting their hair cut amid rumours that King Norodom Sihanouk dreamed the devil was on the hunt for long-haired virgins, residents and reports said on Monday. 8220;My life is more important than my hair,8221; one short-haired woman was quoted as saying in the Khmer-language Koh Santhepheap, which said barber shops have been doing a roaring trade on the back of the bizarre rumour.

Several residents in Phnom Penh said they feared ghosts were on the hunt for the souls of 20,000 virgins under 20. However palace officials vigorously denied the king has had such a dream. 8220;His majesty the king has dreamed nothing of this kind,8221; said secretary of state for information Khieu Kanharith. Police have also come up with a down-to-earth explanation. 8220;It is the barber shops: they have been doing bad business so they started it,8221; argued police official Lok Lorn.

Panchen Lama in Tibet

BEIJING: Ending years ofgovernment-imposed seclusion, the nine-year-old Panchen Lama has returned to Tibet which could considerably undermine the influence of exiled Dalai Lama over the Himalayan region. Erdeni Losang Qamba Lhuzhub Qoigyijabu, the 11th Panchen Lama, returned to the Zhaxi Lhunbo Lamasery in Xigaze city in the Tibet autonomous region, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday night.

The return of the Chinese government-appointed 11th Panchen Lama to Tibet would intensify the ongoing battle of wits between the India-based and exiled Tibetan religious leader, Dalai Lama and Beijing over who would exert maximum influence over Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet, observers said. The 11th Panchen Lama, the second highest religious figure in Tibet after the Dalai Lama, returned to Zhaxi Lhunbo Lamasery after finishing religious activities in Lhasa, Tibet8217;s capital.

Fresh trouble in Koreas

TOKYO: North Korea accused South Korea on Sunday of sending warships into a disputed zone in the Yellow Sea followingclashes there last week and said Seoul was 8220;on the brink of war8221;. The navy command of the North Korean People8217;s Army said in a statement that South Korea had infiltrated warships 8220;again8221; deep into the North8217;s territorial waters off the West coast of the Korean Peninsula. 8220;This grave provocation, leading the situation to the brink of war, is an unpardonable challenge to the Korean People8217;s Army soldiers who are restraining themselves with high patience. The enemies must clearly know that there is a limit to our patience,8221; said the statement.