Monitor; All the News of the World: Miscellaneous

Stories from around the world

The Providence Journal

US

WHEN DOES Modern Art become old, or at least nonmodern art. There's no question that Van Gogh, who died in 1890, and Seurat, who died in 1891, are no longer "new" artists. But compare with Old Masters from, say, the Italian Renaissance, are they really so old? You could easily spend an afternoon pondering whether Van Gogh's violent landscapes, or Seurat's peculiar technique, have more in common with the artists who preceded them or followed them. To our eyes, at least, when you look at a Seurat or Van Gogh, you think of Modern Art. Which leads to another question: If the passage of time defines modernity, then what about the other works in the Museum of Modern Art? Will they have to be shipped, in due course, to an "old" museum, and replenished with newer paintings?

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The Bangalore Age

India

THE POLICE last week raided a public bath run by eunuchs in the heart of a city suburb after complaints by people in the locality that the hamam was being used for prostitution. However, no arrests were made. It turned out that eunuchs could not be arrested under the Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act, because of their peculiar sexual characteristics, a police officer explained. The public bath, which has six bathing rooms, has been run by the eunuchs for the past two and a half months.

The Daily Star

Bangladesh

SOME POLITICALLY irate truckers thick-headedly parked their vehicles haphazardly at Shanir Akhra. The highways saw a 20 km-long traffic hold- up lasting over seven hours. Thousands of stranded travellers hurtled along on a marathon walk to Dhaka . The truckers would have been sued in another country. Why not generate public interest on the subject of violating the fundamental right of passage through highways and public thoroughfares? We need a deterrent legislation to put an end to the pernicious trend.