The twilight Zone

One thoroughly nice chap
Teacher of English, Simon Tyldesley (29), at the Luisenschule in the city of Essen, in Germany's Ruhr area has been formally discharged on grounds of his northern accent.

Born in Bolton, Mr. Tyldesley has a very strong and pronounced Lancashire accent. Being a teacher of English as a foreign language Mr. Tyldesley's students therefore take on board the nuances of his lect.

Florian Dirne, a recent graduate of a German University is in the proceedings of suing the Luisenschule due to his northern accent as he believes it hampers his employability by English speaking organizations.

"Wen I go for t' jobs like, I always feel reet nervus talkin me English." Commented Mr. Dirne, "I allus get all hot 'n' self conscious, then I say summat stupid. They loook at me like I'm sum alien or summat. I've bin tryin t' get a job now for like sevun month, I've had interviews an such like for tens o' places but I allus get turned down like, y'know?"

Mr. Tyldesley refused to comment but is said to be "reet upset" by the whole thing.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - A prize-winning bikini competition contestant who claimed to represent Pakistan, sparking some outrage in the Muslim country, says she wanted to project the nation as a modern one.
Officials in Pakistan, which does not hold beauty pageants, said Thursday they were investigating how Texas-based Mariyah Moten, 22, entered a "Miss Bikini" pageant in China last month as a Pakistani contestant.

Pakistan-born Moten, who holds an American passport, won a "Best in Media" title for being the most photographed and interviewed contestant, media reports said.

"I have broken all the barriers, and in the coming years there will be other Pakistani contestants who will carry this title," Moten, described by Pakistani media as the country's first bikini queen, told the Times of India newspaper.

"My intention was to project Pakistan in a very modern way."

Moten was born and brought up in the Pakistani city of Karachi. Her family moved to the United States eight years ago and she is now based in Houston.

Pakistani authorities said they might take up the issue with China, and might also withdraw from Moten privileges offered to people of Pakistani descent such as visa-free travel to Pakistan.

Moten, who said she might consider a career in the Pakistani film industry, was undeterred by the criticism.

"The hardliners are basically people who impose their thoughts on others, and we are not affected by people like them.

"It is actually very amusing how they are always so ready to react," the daily quoted her as saying.