(a Read For Their Backs)

THE SUNDAY AGE

Monday June 21, 1993

A read for their backs The Indian Parliament is to set up a panel to examine claims that the large number of textbooks children lug daily to schools is a back- breaking chore which affects their studies. Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh said the panel will review the findings of a committee of academics who have demanded a ban on the heavy schoolbags. The state agency said the quantity of textbooks lugged by the children not only sapped their academic energy but posed a threat to the health of the young students.

Udderly despicable Rubis, a Swiss fighting cow, has been put of action by a human attacker who slashed her head. A vet said Rubis, unbeaten this season, would not be able to fight again for two weeks, hitting her chances of winning the coveted local title of ``Queen of Larzet". In Swiss cow fighting, the cows, a mountain breed called Herens, lock horns and try to charge each other out of a ring. The contests arouse strong emotions. Doping scandals are not unknown.

Taking you with it...

An old man seeking to placate ``hungry ghosts" by burning mock bank notes _ ``hell money" _ accidentally set his clothes on fire and died, Singapore police said.

Monumental crime Robbers used a crane to steal a bronze Lenin monument weighing 10 tonnes. Georgia's defence ministry said the Soviet-era monument to the Bolshevik leader had been stolen from a warehouse in the town of Zestafoni.

Chew believe that? Swedish archaeologists have found chewing gum believed to be 9000 years old, and tooth marks showed it had been chewed on by a Stone Age teenager, according to the newspaper `Expressen'. The gum, found in western Sweden, was made of resin and honey, the report said.

Mixed blessings Argentina has banned imports of Mexican holy water, saying it could cause cholera.

Prehistoric pooh You've seen the film, worn the T-shirt, now buy the droppings. A British auction house will sell 23 pieces of fossilised dinosaur droppings on 15 September. Found in Utah, the Stegosaurus pellets, now crystallised into agate, are expected to fetch $677.

Cooked by gas Nearly 500 pigs were blown up or burned to death in Granada, Spain, after an electric circuit ignited methane gas produced by their own dung, the Efe news agency reported.

A hit, by George A strapping 1.85 metre transvestite called George apppeared in Portsmouth court this week accused of hitting a store security guard with his handbag. George Colchester, 58, gave his name as Georgina to magistrates. The 90 kilogram cross-dresser wore heavy eye make-up, blusher and lipstick for his day in court. He was immaculately turned out in a cream blouse, red skirt, and white sandals. He pleaded not guilty and the case was adjourned.

dyson here Divorce lawyers will be barred from having sex with clients and billing them for time spent discussing fees, under rules announced by New York State's chief judge. Lawyers also will no longer be allowed to seize a client's home for unpaid fees.