Mr Larijani, another rival of Mr Ahmadinejad, called the response ugly and vindictive, the conservative Iranian news agency Mehr reported.

BBC: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 20 June

"Because the ANC is so dominant (in South Africa), it sends the message to people that if they want power, they can gain it through intrigue and if they succeed they will, of course, try to retain it through intrigue, " Mr Matshiqi says, lamenting the ugly nature of the Zuma-Mbeki battle.

BBC: Can Jacob Zuma rein in his spies?

But many Peruvians fear that Mr Costa's departure sets an ugly precedent.

ECONOMIST: Toledo loses a minister, and his steel

"I can't drink a wine if it has an ugly label, " said Mr. Ferry, who studied art before he founded Roxy Music in 1970 with Brian Eno.

WSJ: Bryan Ferry, Drinking Wine With Lettie Teague

Mr. Horvath: We call it Ugly fur.

WSJ: How Did Those 'Ugly Dolls' Come to Be? Their Creators Explain

Mr. CARPENTER: They're very ugly when they've got your fish in their mouth.

NPR: Large Sea Lion Population Threatens Fishing

Mr Silverstein also complained that the slurry wall, which was to remain exposed, was simply ugly.

BBC: The battle over Ground Zero

The drawn-out and ugly political demise of Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, meant that Mr Brown's visit got less attention in Israel than it perhaps deserved, though at least he avoided a clash with Barack Obama (unlike his visit to America earlier this year, when he overlapped with the Pope).

ECONOMIST: Gordon Brown in Israel

As for team leader Mr. Fantastic, he's currently dealing with the planet eater Galactus, who has reared his ugly head once again, and that's never good.

CNN: 2011 is bringing a death to the 'Fantastic Four' family