● SHANGHAI. Chinese lover to die for kiss-and-kill pill

A Chinese woman who killed her lover with a rat poison-laced kiss when she suspected him of being unfaithful has been sentenced to death, a newspaper said yesterday. Xia Xinfeng, from Maolou in the central province of Henan, passed a capsule with rat poison from her mouth to her long-time lover, Mao Ansheng, during a kiss, the ?Shanghai Daily? said. Mao swallowed the capsule and died soon afterwards. ?The couple had said that if either one of them cheated on the other, he or she would have to die,? the paper said in explaining the mouth-to-mouth assault. Xia found Mao had been ?talking? with another woman and deemed that he had broken their promise.

● BEIJING. China bans ?sexual sounds? on airwaves

China has banned ?sexually provocative sounds? on television and pulled the plug on a show reconstructing infamous crimes by women ahead of a major Communist Party meeting next month. The order, issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), is the latest in a raft of measures which have included axing reality shows featuring sex changes and plastic surgery and banning talent contests during prime-time. ?Sexually suggestive advertisements and scenes showing how women are influenced into a life of crime are detrimental to society,? it said in a statement posted on its Web site recently, referring to its decision to axe ?Red Question Mark,? a crime documentary. ?Commercials containing sexually provocative sounds or tantalizing language as well as vulgar advertisements for breast enhancement and female underwear are banned, effective immediately,? said the SARFT notice. The watchdog also ordered an end to programs with titles including the names of ?sex-related drugs, products or medical institutions.?

● MELBOURNE. Barmaid with a real sense of humor?

An Australian ?prankster? barmaid who served a patron a shot of disinfectant has appeared in court over what her lawyers said was a ?misguided? joke. Melbourne barmaid Emily Craig, 23, served a client a single 30ml shot glass of Pine-O-Cleen disinfectant in March during a 6 a.m. drinking bout at Evolution Nightclub, causing him to become violently ill, the Melbourne Magistrates court was told. ?This was a misguided joke at an ungodly hour,? Craig?s lawyer George Balot told the judge, according to recent reports in local newspapers. Police told the court that Craig ?was known for her prankster-style behavior? and once covered a bar in sticky tape. She ?upped the ante? with her pranks by serving up the powerful floor cleaner after giving the man shots of pure water. The patron developed ulcers on his skin after drinking the disinfectant shot from Craig, who has since lost her job and faces four charges of intentionally causing injury.

● NEW YORK. Jane Goodall says biofuel crops hurt rain forests

Primate scientist Jane Goodall said recently the race to grow crops for vehicle fuels is damaging rain forests in Asia, Africa and South America and adding to the emissions blamed for global warming. ?We?re cutting down forests now to grow sugarcane and palm oil for biofuels and our forests are being hacked into by so many interests that it makes them more and more important to save now,? Goodall said on the sidelines of the Clinton Global Initiative, former US President Bill Clinton?s annual philanthropic meeting.

● CAPE CANAVERAL. Dawn prode to asteroid belt

NASA launched the Dawn spacecraft yesterday on a long-delayed mission to explore an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter for clues to the birth of the solar system. If successful, Dawn will be the first robotic probe to put itself into orbit around two different bodies, thanks to an extremely efficient electric engine powered by xenon gas.