Computer love:

A local council employee in Japan has been punished after it was discovered he had accessed porn websites at work more than 780,000 times in nine months. His superiors were alerted to the problem only when his computer became infected with a virus.

The 57-year-old man, who has not been named, works for the city of Kinokawa in southern Japan.

He held on to his job, but has been demoted and his wages have been cut by about 20,000 yen ($190; £80) a month.

Love in Iran:

The penalties [in Iran] for prostitution are severe—ranging from whipping to execution. But there’s a loophole in Islamic law called sigheh, or temporary marriage. According to Shiite interpretation, a man and a woman may enter an impermanent partnership with a preset expiration date. There’s no legally required minimum duration (a day, a week, anything goes) and no need for official witnesses—unless the woman is a virgin, in which case she needs the consent of her legal guardian. An Iranian who’s wary of arrest can simply escort a prostitute to a registry, obtain a temporary contract from a Muslim cleric, and then legally satisfy his sexual needs.

No love in Bahrain:

A raunchy Lebanese singer [Haifa Wehbe] is causing controversy in Bahrain, where she is due to perform for the first time.

All but one of the members of the Gulf kingdom’s Islamist-dominated parliament have approved a motion urging the government to ban Haifa Wehbe’s show.

They objected on the grounds that the pop superstar’s performance would be sexually provocative, violating Islamic conventions and Bahrain’s traditions.

This is Haifa Wehbe: