38Amber Heard avoids

jail inAustralian dog smuggling spat

TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016

Cosplayer Maria Lopez, 23, poses for a portrait during a fair at the School of Dance in Managua. — AFP

Apriceless diamond that is part of the QueenMother’s Crown was given to Britain and notstolen, India’s government yesterday told the

Supreme Court, which is hearing a suit seeking itsreturn. The 108-carat Koh-i-Noor gem, which cameinto British hands during the colonial era, is the sub-ject of a historic ownership dispute and has beenclaimed by at least four countries including India. ButIndia’s Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar said the 19th-century Sikh king Ranjit Singh had given the stone tothe British. It is now set in the crown that was worn

by Queen Elizabeth’s mother until her death in 2002,and is on public display in the Tower of London.

“It was given voluntarily by Ranjit Singh to theBritish as compensation for help in the Sikh Wars. TheKoh-i-Noor is not a stolen object,” he told theSupreme Court. The court was hearing a suit filed bythe All India Human Rights & Social Justice Front, anon-governmental organization, seeking the dia-mond’s return. It asked the solicitor general to file anaffidavit giving the government’s stance on the issue.

The stone was presented to Queen Victoria in 1850

after the Anglo-Sikh wars in which Britain gained con-trol of the Sikh empire of the Punjab, which is nowsplit between Pakistan and India. Singh in turn hadtaken it from an Afghan king who had sought sanctu-ary in India. The diamond had been an heirloom ofthe Afghan monarchy and before then was in Persianroyal hands, but its true origins remain a mystery. Itsname translates as “Mountain of Light” and it is tradi-tionally worn by a queen-it is said to bring bad luck toany man who wears it.

In 1976 Britain refused a request to cede the dia-

mond, citing the terms of the Anglo-Sikh peace treaty.“I could not advise Her Majesty the Queen that itshould be surrendered,” said Jim Callaghan, primeminister at the time. Britain’s Prime Minister DavidCameron has also said he would oppose returning thediamond. “If you say yes to one you suddenly find theBritish Museum would be empty,” he told NDTV televi-sion in 2010. “It is going to have to stay put.”—AFP

India says Koh-i-Noor diamond belongs to Britain

The wedding rings were made of pasta, the cere-mony was held on a pirate boat, and when itcame time for the kiss, the bride and groom

slurped up either end of a noodle until their lips met.New Zealand on Saturday hosted the world’s firstPastafarian wedding, conducted by the Church of theFlying Spaghetti Monster. The group, which began inthe US as a protest against religion encroaching intopublic schools, has gained legitimacy in New Zealand,where authorities recently decided it can officiateweddings.

Saturday’s ceremony was all about having fun. Theguests came dressed as pirates and shouted plenty ofhearty “Aaarrrhs.” The groom, Toby Ricketts, vowed toalways add salt before boiling his pasta, while brideMarianna Fenn donned a colander on her head. Thechurch claims that global warming is caused bypirates vanishing from the high seas, and that there isa beer volcano in heaven.

“The Flying Spaghetti Monster created the world.We know that,” said marriage celebrant Karen Martyn,

aka the Ministeroni. “We weren’t around then and wedidn’t see it, but no other religion was around to see iteither, and our deity is as plausible as any other.” Thechurch has been battling to gain legal recognitionaround the world, with mixed success. It was formedin 2005 as a way to poke fun at efforts in Kansas publicschools to teach not only evolution, but also “intelli-gent design” - the idea that the universe must havehad a creator.

Church founder Bobby Henderson said in an emailthat he thought it was odd that most weddings stillhave such an entanglement between religion andgovernment. “It’s sad that so many people feel pres-sured to do the traditional Christian wedding evenwhen they don’t relate to much of the religion,” hesaid. “If people can find some happiness in havingPastafarian weddings, that’s great, and I hope no onegives them any flack about it.”

Ricketts, 35, a voiceover artist, and Fenn, 33, alawyer and photographer, said they’ve been a couplefor four years but decided just three weeks ago to get

married, after another Pastafarian couple’s plans to befirst to wed fell through. Ricketts said he found outabout the church because he’s been making a docu-mentary about why religions don’t pay taxes. Fennsaid she grew up on a small New Zealand island wherepeople had alternative ideas about how to lead theirlives.

“I would never have agreed to a conventional mar-riage, but the idea of this was too good to pass up,”Fenn said. “And it’s a wonderful opportunity to cele-brate my relationship with Toby, but in a way that I feltcomfortable with.” The wedding feast was an all-pastaaffair, while the wedding cake was topped with animage of his noodliness, the Flying Spaghetti Monster.Martyn said she hoped people could find happiness ineating, drinking, being with friends and being kind-hearted. “That be what we’re all about,” she said. — AP

With this rigatoni, I thee wed: The 1st Pastafarian wedding

Bride Marianna Fenn and bridegroom Toby Ricketts stand on a jetty in Akaroa harbor,New Zealand, Saturday. — AP photos

Bride Marianna Fenn, left, and bridegroom Toby Ricketts hold rings madeof pasta during their marriage ceremony on a boat.

A Pastafarian wedding party sails on a pirate themed boat in Akaroa har-bor.

A Pastafarian wedding party sails on a pirate-themed boat in Akaroa harbor.