People: Sarajevo rolls out the heavy metal

Through the mists of Mount Igman, overlooking Sarajevo, the heavy metal emerged. It wasn't a Bosnian Serb tank or a rocket launcher - it was Bruce Dickinson.

The former lead singer with Iron Maiden and four backing musicians arrived in Sarajevo on Wednesday, after journeying ``through some pretty dodgy territory'', to provide ``something positive for young people in an environment with a lot of negativity''.

Two local metal bands, Sikter and Almanac, opened the show.

With a UN force providing security, the risk was reduced to a minimum, concert organisers. said. ``It would take a very hard-hearted person, or a Michael Jackson fan, to fire a rocket at this concert," Dickinson said.

The German Labour Minister, Norbert Blum, made a big splash during his visit to Greece. After meeting his Greek counterpart, Yannis Skoularikis, on Saturday, he went on a cruise, then dined at a taverna. After drinking several glasses of ouzo, Blum acce p ted a challenge: that he jump into the harbour for DM80.

The newspaper Bild said Blum removed his trousers and shirt before jumping into the water and swimming a few strokes, to the applause of onlookers.

Causing an uproar in the Knesset, Shimon Peres has called into question the morals of David, king of the Jews 3,000 years ago. "I can't say that all King David's deeds and gestures pleased me, nor do they seem to be very Jewish," the Israeli Foreign Minister said for no apparent reason during a speech in parliament.

David, the Bible tells us, was so infatuated with Bathsheba that he sent her husband off to war so he could seduce her in peace. Outraged religious groups in the Knesset tabled a censure motion against the government, but Peres refused to take back his words.

"In the name of King David, I present my apologies to Bathsheba," he said.

The actress Kris Aquino, daughter of former President Corazon Aquino, has dropped a bombshell in the Philippines: she is three months pregnant by her married lover. A private matter, one might think. Not in the deeply Roman Catholic country, where debat e on the Gatt agreement is being overshadowed by coverage of Ms Aquino and the actor Phillip Salvador.

"There were those who said that allowing Kris to join the movie world would sooner or later expose her to the virus of loose morals ... these people were right," said a columnist, Emil Jurado, reflecting the mainstream view. Another columnist, Teodoro B e nigno, a former member of the Aquino cabinet, wished Kris courage. "That is the way love is sometimes," he wrote. "It defies common sense."

Mother Cory is not pleased. She and Kris are not speaking.