In the United States, the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) reports that independent surf shops are suffering.

BBC: How surfing became a global lifestyle industry

"The action sports retail landscape has definitely shifted, " says SIMA president Dough Palladini.

BBC: How surfing became a global lifestyle industry

Two women were named to posts -- Sima Samar, one of five deputy premiers as minister of women's affairs, and Suhaila Seddiqi as health minister.

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In an interview with BBC reporter Sima Kotecha for the Broadcasting House show, Mr Chinnery said he approached the star directly when he heard rumours relating to his private life.

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In June, Sima Samar, the former minister for women's affairs, was summoned before a court for blasphemy, after allegedly telling a Canadian magazine that she did not believe in sharia, the Islamic law.

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Surfers view the industry as a "lifestyle... a culture and sport defined by passion, it's not a hobby, says Sima's executive director Sean Smith, and that will support the industry "even in a down economy.

BBC: How surfing became a global lifestyle industry

Nor are they likely to, though on May 25th, Mr Karzai's women's affairs minister, Sima Samar, who is responsible for drafting the guidelines for a human-rights commission, insisted there should be no amnesties for militia leaders accused of abuses, even if they support the government.

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This is, after all, a country that just inaugurated an annual Hero of Atheism award. (This year's winner was Sima Nan, a 43-year-old ex-journalist who debunks the "superhuman" feats of local shamans on his TV show.) "The sincere advocacy of freedom of religious belief is based on our understanding of the dialectical materialistic theory, " says Ye Xiaowen, director of the State Council's Religious Affairs Bureau.

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