BeautifulPeople.com axes holiday weight gain members

Dating and social network site BeautifulPeople.com has axed some 5,000 members following complaints that they had gained weight.

The members were singled out after posting pictures of themselves that reportedly showed they had put on pounds over the holiday period.

The site allows entry to new members only if existing members vote them as sufficiently attractive to warrant it.

The US, the UK, and Canada topped the list of excluded members.

The site has always been unrepentant about its selection process, calling itself "the largest network of attractive people in the world".

The move was reportedly prompted by members themselves, who police the membership of the site to maintain a high - if highly subjective - standard of attractiveness.

"As a business, we mourn the loss of any member, but the fact remains that our members demand the high standard of beauty be upheld," said site founder Robert Hintze.

"Letting fatties roam the site is a direct threat to our business model and the very concept for which BeautifulPeople.com was founded."

Pakistan 'militants' kill official and family members

Militants in Pakistan have blown up the house of a local official, killing him and five members of his family.

Sarbraz Saddiqi, a government official in Kurram district, his wife and four children were killed in the attack, a police official said.

Sunday morning's attack came as the family were asleep.

No-one has admitted planting the bomb. But the police spokesman said it could be linked to a Pakistan army offensive against the Taliban in the area.

The army has captured territory in South Waziristan, a hotbed of Islamic militancy, but many insurgents are believed to have fled to nearby regions, including Kurram.

Small children killed

The attack occurred in Mosu Zai village, about 200km (125 miles) from the north-western city of Peshawar.

"Unknown miscreants planted dynamite around the house and exploded it between 0200 (2100 GMT) and 0300 and the house was destroyed," Abab Ali, a local official told AFP news agency.

"Those killed were aged five to 11," he said.

"We don't know whether the Taliban, terrorists or Shias were responsible," Mr Ali said.

But police officer Naeemullah Khan said the attack appeared to be linked to the army's efforts against the Taliban militants in the area.