BONUS has become almost a dirty word in these times with its meaning highly misunderstood, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng said on Saturday.

Speaking at the launch of this year's Singapore Kindness Month at the IMM Building, Mr Lim noted that, in the United States, as a result of the economic downturn, public anger arose over large bonuses paid to senior executives of failed American corporations.

ALLENDALE (South Carolina) - JAMES Hines was a giant - a 6-foot-7 (2-metre), 300-pound (136-kilogram) preacher and funk musician so big that after he died in 2004, a macabre rumour began circulating in this small town that the undertaker had to cut off his legs to fit him in the coffin.

This week, after years of whispers, Mr Hines' body was exhumed, and the gruesome story appeared to be all too true.

BINGHAMTON (New York) - THE man who police say killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at an immigrant community center was depressed and angry over losing his job and about his poor English skills, officials said on Saturday.

Police Chief Joseph Zikuski told NBC television's Today that people 'degraded and disrespected' the gunman over his poor English. Mayor Matthew Ryan, speaking on ABC's Good Morning America, said the man, believed to be 42-year-old Vietnamese immigrant Jiverly Voong, was angry about his language issues and his lack of employment.

SEPANG (Malaysia) - JENSON Button pushed his Brawn GP to a second successive pole position on Saturday, topping the times during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Briton swept around the 5.5 kilometre Sepang circuit in 1 min 35.181 secs ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli (1:35.273) to burn off his rivals in an eventful hour-long qualifying.