Romance and rejection triggered

Valentine's Day stirred passions in at least one Asian country but was given the cold shoulder in another.

In Japan, women elbowing each other in the stampede to buy chocolate for the men in their lives brought stores to a standstill at the weekend. But in Pakistan, President Mamnoon Hussain urged the nation to refrain from celebrating Valentine's Day.

In Japan, men do nothing to mark the Feb 14 festival, while the women do battle in heaving aisles, loading up on confectionery for their menfolk.