Muslims not invited to Guinness birthday bash

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malay Muslims were barred from a Black Eyed Peas concert held in celebration of Guinness’ 250th birthday. The concert was hosted by Diageo, parent company of Guinness. On the website for the event, the company asks “Are you a non-Muslim aged 18 years and above?” If no, access is denied.

This comes after an Islamic court sentenced a Muslim woman to be caned after she was caught drinking a beer in a hotel lobby, Reuters reports. Recently an Islamic political party has advocated the boycott of beer sales in Malaysia. Muslims account for 55 per cent of the Malaysian population and are prohibited from consuming alcohol.

China launches organ donation registry to serve 1.3 billion people

BEIJING, China: The health ministry announced it plans to launch a national organ donor registry in an attempt to end the dependence on organs donated by executed prisoners. China holds the highest standing for capital punishment executions in the world. Last year, 1,700 Chinese inmates were put to death. Al-Jazeera reports 65 per cent of the country’s transplanted organs are harvested from prisoners awaiting execution. The government intends to establish the donor system in 10 provinces. Only 130 individuals have offered to donate their organs since 2003.

Planet on crash course with its star

KEELE, United Kingdom: A planet 10 times larger than Jupiter is on a collision course with its star, 325 million light years from Earth. Planet WASP-18 was identified by University of Keele astrophysicist Coel Hellier who gave the planet about a million years before its destruction, CBC News reported. Hellier said the size of the WASP-18 and its proximity to its star is causing enormous plasma tides off the star. The gravitational pull of the tides are warping the planet’s orbit and contributing to its demise.

Bananas hit with disease

DAR ES SALAM, Tanzania: Crops of bananas across Southern Africa are being destroyed by two strains of disease. Scientists from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research are urging African farmers to start using pesticides or burn crops to halt the spread. The diseases, which result in growth stunt and bacterial wilt that makes the fruit inedible, are being spread by insects, BBC reports. According to researchers, only a few varieties of bananas have resistance to the diseases. Banana crops are a staple crop in the majority of South African countries and form the basis of many Africans’ diets.

Published in Volume 64, Number 1 of The Uniter (September 3, 2009)