W O R L D

USA expresses confidence over Pak pledge on nukes
Washington, December 23
Amid reports that Pakistan allegedly handed over nuclear technology to Iran and Libya, the United States of America has expressed confidence over President Pervez Musharraf’s assurance that no such technology transfer was taking place.

US airports to fingerprint foreigners
Dallas, December 23
Major US airports and seaports are preparing to begin using fingerprints and photographs to keep track of when foreigners enter and leave the country. The programme, to be up and running on January 5 at all 115 airports that handle international flights, will let US Customs officials instantly check an immigrant or visitor’s criminal background.

Beetles in Indian exports give US the creeps
Washington, December 23
Wood-boring beetles that apparently crawled into the USA in scented pinecones from India are giving authorities the creeps, and orders have been passed to recall cone exports from stores. The Department of Agriculture issued a recall notice after the beetles, not native to the USA, were found in some pinecones.

Bangladesh activists for meeting 
with SC judges
Dhaka, December 23
A group of leading personalities in Bangladesh has sought an appointment with the judges of Supreme Court of India to convey Dhaka’s concerns over New Delhi’s proposed river inter-linking project. Those who sought audience with Chief Justice V.N. Khare and other judges included noted activists, professionals, and journalists, media reports said here today.

Deer Dewey cloned
College Station (Texas),  December 23
Scientists at Texas A&M University have produced what they believe is the first cloned deer, the school said. Tests have confirmed that a fawn named Dewey born to a surrogate mother in May was a genetic duplicate of a male white-tailed deer from southern Texas whose skin samples were used in the cloning process, the school said yesterday.

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A man dressed as Santa Claus sits atop a live crocodile at a wildlife park in the Northern Territory city of Darwin on Tuesday. The crocodile is a popular attraction at the Northern Territory wildlife park. 
— Reuters

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Afghan boys slide down the slope of a hill after this season's first snowfall in Kabul on Tuesday.	A blindfolded dog walks on a balance beam at the dog training centre of Belarussian Defence Ministry in Kolodishchi, Belarus, on Tuesday. — Reuters photos

USA expresses confidence over Pak pledge on nukes
T.V. Parasuram

Washington, December 23
Amid reports that Pakistan allegedly handed over nuclear technology to Iran and Libya, the United States of America (USA) has expressed confidence over President Pervez Musharraf’s assurance that no such technology transfer was taking place.

“President Musharraf has assured us there are not any transfers of weapons of mass destruction-related technologies or know-how in the present time,” White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters yesterday.

Asked whether Pakistan President’s assurances were credible and real, McClellan said General Musharraf “has assured us that is not happening, that they are not involved in that kind of activity.”

Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the USA was bearing on General Musharraf’s assurance to the Secretary of State Colin Powell in October 2002 that “Pakistan was not leaking any technology.”

“We will certainly welcome Pakistan’s investigation and its debriefing of individuals who may have valuable information,” Boucher said referring to the reported detention and debriefing of top Pakistani nuclear scientists.

McClellan added: “We will continue to work with Pakistan on a number of fronts, including war on terrorism and taking steps to make sure we are doing everything to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction around the world.”

McClellan also termed Pakistan’s record on nuclear proliferation involving North Korea and Iran as “talking about the past.”

“Let me talk to the present.” President Musharraf has assured no transfers are taking place, he said.

Meanwhile, when asked whether the USA made any inquiries about the alleged nuclear proliferation, Boucher said: “We all, I think, have noted that the November 10 report by the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirming that Iran’s nuclear programme received assistance from several sources. But it did not identify those sources.”

Boucher said the State Department continued to accept General Musharraf’s assurance to Powell last year. “I checked this morning, and I would say we continue to accept that assurance.” — PTI

US airports to fingerprint foreigners

Dallas, December 23
Major US airports and seaports are preparing to begin using fingerprints and photographs to keep track of when foreigners enter and leave the country. The programme, to be up and running on January 5 at all 115 airports that handle international flights, will let US Customs officials instantly check an immigrant or visitor’s criminal background.

Inkless fingerprints will be taken and checked instantly against a national database for criminal backgrounds and any terrorist lists, Strassberger said. The process will be repeated when the foreigners leave the country as an extra security measure and to ensure they complied with visa limitations. — AP

Beetles in Indian exports give US the creeps
Vasantha Arora

Washington, December 23
Wood-boring beetles that apparently crawled into the USA in scented pinecones from India are giving authorities the creeps, and orders have been passed to recall cone exports from stores.

The Department of Agriculture issued a recall notice after the beetles, not native to the USA, were found in some pinecones. There are fears that these unwanted Indian exports could destroy the native pine trees in the USA.

“These pests, which feed on pine cones and lower seed production, had never before been detected in the USA,” the department said in a news release.

The pinecones were found in different types of packaging in various stores nationwide, including Target, Wal-Mart, JoAnn Fabrics, Lowe’s, Dollar Tree, Safeway, Frank’s Nursery and K-Mart.

Federal and state inspectors found beetle-infested pinecones at stores in at least nine states. In New Jersey, infested cones were found in three stores.

“While it’s uncertain how these beetles will impact our native pines, we don’t want to take any chances,” said Agriculture Secretary Charles M. Kuperus.

“We are asking the public to help protect New Jersey’s forested areas by complying with this important recall.”

The department also advised consumers to either return the product to the store, from where it was purchased, to be destroyed or asked them to freeze it or double bag it, tie it securely and dispose of it in the trash.

Frozen products should remain in the freezer for a minimum of two days to ensure the pests were killed, the Department of Agriculture said.

Adult wood-boring beetles and larvae of the chlorophorus strobilicola (cerambycidae) are a serious threat to pine forests and conifers. They reduce seed production and their attack on weakened pine trees could destroy forests. — IANS

Bangladesh activists for meeting with SC judges

Dhaka, December 23
A group of leading personalities in Bangladesh has sought an appointment with the judges of Supreme Court of India to convey Dhaka’s concerns over New Delhi’s proposed river inter-linking project.

Those who sought audience with Chief Justice V.N. Khare and other judges included noted activists, professionals, and journalists, media reports said here today.

A letter has already been sent to the Supreme Court judges to this effect.

The appointment with judges has been sought as the court had “endorsed” the river inter-linking project in an order on October 31, 2002, reports said.

The group had earlier sent a letter in September this year requesting the Chief Justice of India to review the order regarding the matter. — PTI

Deer Dewey cloned

College Station (Texas), December 23
Scientists at Texas A&M University have produced what they believe is the first cloned deer, the school said. Tests have confirmed that a fawn named Dewey born to a surrogate mother in May was a genetic duplicate of a male white-tailed deer from southern Texas whose skin samples were used in the cloning process, the school said yesterday.

Photos posted on the Texas A&M Internet site showed the little grey deer standing in a patch of grass. “Dewey is developing normally for a fawn his age and appears healthy,” said Dr Mark Westhusin, who was lead investigator on the project.

Even though white-tailed deer are abundant in the wild, Dr Westhusin said in a statement the creation of Dewey could prove helpful in preserving endangered species such as the Key West deer of Florida.

Texas A&M, located in College Station, Texas, 144 km north-west of Houston, said it was the first academic institution to have cloned five different species. Its scientists have also cloned cattle, goats, pigs and a cat, the school said. — Reuters

Hurley to act in Bollywood movie
Prasun Sonwalkar

London, December 23
Liz Hurley has turned to Bollywood in a bid to revive her fast-fading film career, reports in the British press say. The beauty, known in India for her Indian boyfriend Arun Nayar, 37, last week travelled to Mumbai to sign her first Bollywood movie, the reports say.

In the yet-untitled film, 38-year-old Liz will reportedly star alongside Om Puri. A report in Mirror said Liz was hoping Om’s success would rub off on her. Liz and Om will start filming the movie — a thriller made by ambitious production company iDreams — in Scotland in the New Year.

Liz is not the first beauty iDreams have enlisted. The company have already signed up model Sophie Dahl for another movie. Sophie, the blonde ex-love of Mick Jagger, was teamed up with “Bombay Dreams” writer Meera Syal for “King of Bollywood”. — IANS

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DUTCH RUMMAGE BINS FOR DIAMONDS
AMSTERDAM: Thousands of Dutch residents were rummaging through their rubbish in a diamond rush after a jeweller’s anniversary dispatch was largely ignored as junk mail, a newspaper reported. Johan de Boer of the eastern Dutch town of Apeldoorn sent 4,000 clients a mailing to mark the 10th anniversary of his store. As many as 200 of the envelopes contained a small diamond, while the others held zirconia stones — a cheap diamond-lookalike used in costume jewellery. — Reuters

S. KOREA TO CULL 1M CHICKENS
SEOUL: South Korean authorities have marked nearly one million chickens and ducks for slaughter to help contain a highly-contagious bird flu spreading throughout the country, officials said on Tuesday. “A total of 9,72,000 chickens and ducks have been marked for slaughter. We have so far culled 583,000 so far,” said Lee Sung-do, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. They are also culling poultry eggs in affected areas as a precaution. — AP

2 KILLED AS QUAKE ROCKS CALIFORNIA
PASO ROBLES (CALIFORNIA): An earthquake rocked California’s central coast and shook the state from Los Angeles to San Francisco, collapsing old downtown buildings in this small town and killing at least two persons in the rubble. The quake on Monday — its magnitude measured at 6.5 — pitched the roof of Paso Robles’ 1892 clock tower building into the street, crushing a row of parked cars in this San Luis Obispo county town, about 20 miles east of the epicentre. More than 40 other buildings were damaged. — AP

HOPE LANGE  DIES AT 70
LOS ANGELES: Actress Hope Lange, who won two consecutive Emmys for her role in the popular 1960s TV series ‘’The Ghost and Mrs Muir” and was nominated for an Oscar for the 1957 film ‘’Peyton Place”, has died at age 70, her son said on Monday. Lange, whose career in film, theater and television spanned more than five decades and included films with Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley, died on Friday night. — Reuters