Kiss and dare

Kuala Lumpur, Jan. 13 (AP): A kiss is just a kiss.

But it may prove to be the kiss of death for a Malaysian snake charmer who will attempt to set a new world record by planting 50 smooches on a venomous snake in 10 minutes.

Shahimi Abdul Hamid, 33, will perform the dangerous feat on March 11 in a bid to break the current record held by an American man who kissed a poisonous snake 30 times in an unspecified time, the national news agency Bernama said yesterday.

Shahini has urged Malaysians to support him in his endeavour, saying he “wants to prove that Asians can also be champions in taming poisonous snakes”.

Test drive

Tokyo (Reuters): A Japanese driver, afraid of having to take a breath-test, fled a police drink-driving checkpoint even though he was well under the legal alcohol limit, but ended up crashing his car. The 44-year-old man drove through the checkpoint on a road in the western Japanese city of Ikeda late on Wednesday. Pursuing police officers found the car about 1 km away upside down in a dry riverbed below the road.

Star split

Los Angeles (Reuters): Former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff is divorcing wife Pamela Bach after 16 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences, his publicist said on Thursday. The actor has two daughters with Bach.