World Vignettes

In its annual Hackademy Awards8217; announced Thursday, the association commended As Good As It Gets8217; because its heroine asks a friend not to smoke in the presence of her asthmatic son. Citing the scene in which Winslet8217;s character, Rose, lights a cigarette as a sign of rebellion, the lung association said Titanic8217; was 8220;The biggest disaster in the war against teen-age tobacco use.8221;

Spider woman

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians are flocking to see a caged woman covered in scorpions at an exhibition of creepy, crawly creatures. The spider-cum-scorpion woman8217; Rohayu Ramli, sits in a cage playing with hundreds of scorpions and most venomous spiders from S-America and India, with a few deadly centipedes and millipedes thrown in.

These swarm over her bodyin a shopping mall in the state capital of Seremban, where, organisers say at least 700 people a day have visited the show since it opened on March 6. Formerly a dancer, Ramli ventured into the field two years ago after discovering that she enjoyed the contact between arachnids, and her skin.