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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Muslim-majority Malaysia on Tuesday banned a planned concert by Erykah Badu after a photograph appeared showing the Grammy-winning singer with the Arabic word for Allah written on her body.

The American R&B singer was scheduled to perform Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, but some Muslim groups said Badu was an unsuitable role model for young Malaysians after seeing a publicity photo of her with what appeared to be temporary tattoos of the word Allah on her bare shoulders.

A government committee that includes police and Islamic policy officials decided to forbid Badu's show because the body art was "an insult to Islam and a very serious offence," Information Minister Rais Yatim said in a statement.

The photo of Badu had "triggered public criticism that could jeopardize national security and cause a negative impact to the government's image," the statement added.

The 41-year-old, Dallas-born singer had already arrived in Malaysia. She can stay as a tourist but will not be allowed to perform, an Information Ministry official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements.

Razman Razali, managing director of the show's Malaysian organizer, Pineapple Concerts, said his company hopes the ban will be reversed.

Badu is "worried and dismayed," Razman told The Associated Press. She was slated to perform in an auditorium that can hold about 3,000 spectators.

It was the first concert by a Western performer to be banned in Malaysia in recent years. Several other stars, including Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne, were told to dress modestly while performing.

The photograph of Badu, which also appears on her official fan website, attracted attention after Malaysia's most widely read English-language daily, The Star, published it Monday.

On Tuesday, the newspaper apologized to Muslims for what it called an "oversight," saying it deeply regretted any offence sparked by the photo, which was "inadvertently published." The Home Ministry summoned The Star's editors to explain the photograph, which caused some Muslim activists to demand the newspaper's suspension.

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Malaysia bans Erykah Badu concert over photo of singer with body art of Arabic word for Allah

Investigators said a man was drunk when he left a McCandless bar Sunday night, hit several police cruisers and slammed into a tree.

Benjamin Bibler, 32, of the North Side, was pronounced dead at the scene in the parking lot of Rave Motion Pictures, formerly Showcase Cinemas North, at 9700 McKnight Road.

Staff at J. Clark's bar across the street called police about 7 p.m. because Mr. Bibler was intoxicated and they wanted him to leave. Mr. Bibler seemed compliant when officers arrived but suddenly bolted out the front door and jumped into his car.

He put the vehicle into reverse, striking a police supervisor's SUV before heading across McKnight Road toward the parking lot of the movie theater, said Sgt. Scott Scherer of the Allegheny County police homicide unit, which is investigating the crash.

Mr. Bibler hit another officer's car head-on before he lost control, hopped a curb and then struck the tree, the sergeant said.

First published on February 28, 2012 at 12:09 am

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Driver dies after brief chase in McCandless

27-02-2012 01:38 Jimmy Kimmel Live - This Week in Unnecessary Censorship - Oscar Sunday Edition Jimmy Kimmel Live's YouTube channel features clips and recaps of every episode from the late night TV show on ABC. Subscribe for clips from the monologue, the interviews, and musical performances every day of the week. Watch your favorites parts again, or catch-up on any episodes you may have missed Channel: http://www.youtube.com Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com

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This Week in Unnecessary Censorship - Oscar Sunday Edition - Video

27-02-2012 19:55 Reporter Katie O'Brien looked into the effects a personal Facebook page can have during the job hunt.

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Rich Middlemas, TJ Martin and Dan Lindsay accepting the Oscars. (GARY HERSHORN - REUTERS)

“Undefeated” was a surprise Academy Award winner tonight for best documentary. Such a surprise, in fact, that one of the elated co-directors accidently said the f-word during his acceptance speech, making him the second Oscar victory in history to drop that bomb during the live telecast.

As soon as the ”Undefeated” winners got backstage in the press room, the first question they faced pertained to that obscenity utterance.

“First and foremost I’d like to apologize for that,” said TJ Martin, the man responsible for the accidental curse word. (The specific phrase used: “[bleeping] amazing.”)

“That was not the classiest thing in the world,” he added. “However, it did come from the heart.”

Afterward the other director, Daniel Lindsay, noted that they really wanted to dedicate their award to the people of West Memphis, where the high school football documentary was set. Their speech was cut for time before they were able to do that.

Of course, another member of the press had a follow-up, asking whether Martin intended to one-up Melissa Leo, the woman responsible for what was (until now) the singular Oscar f-bomb performance.

“There was no one-upping,” Martin said. “When I say it came from the heart, it was completely spontaneous and accidental.”

And with that, the men responsible for winning an Oscar for a moving documentary about sports, economic struggle and race became those dudes who said a bad word at the Academy Awards.

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Oscars 2012: ‘Undefeated’ winners apologize for dropping f-bomb