An interesting variant on that hoary old tale of Muslims who cut open aubergines, tomatoes, etc, and find the word "Allah" miraculously inscribed in Arabic by the arrangement of the seeds.

Now, the Yemen Observer reports a similar miracle of a more secular kind: a 32-year-old man who has a birthmark on the left side of his abdomen in the shape of a horse – the electoral symbol used by Yemen's ruling party, the General People's Congress.

The owner of the birthmark, Mohammed Ali al-Shaibani, has sent a letter to President Salih saying: “In conjunction with the 20th anniversary of blessed Yemeni unity on the 22nd of May, I offer this God’s creation to His Excellency the President, head of the GPC, wishing him and the Yemeni people progress and prosperity.”

I trust that the president is suitably thrilled.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 30 May 2010.