New York, July 22
Former US Vice-President Al Gore faces two more allegations of sexual misconduct, a month after a Portland massage therapist publicised her claims that Gore groped her in 2006, the National Enquirer has said.

Gore is already in hot water over an investigation being done by the police in Portland, which involves accusations by a massage therapist, Molly Hagerty, who claims that 62-year-old Gore came onto her in 2006.

The first of the two new reported incidents allegedly took place at a Beverly Hills luxury hotel when Gore was in Hollywood to attend the Oscars in 2007.

The second allegedly occurred a year later at a hotel in Tokyo.

“The therapist claimed when they were alone, Gore shrugged off a towel and stood naked in front of her,” a Beverly Hills source told ‘The Enquirer’.

The persistent sexual allegations against Gore have already tarnished the image of the Nobel Laureate, who is viewed in the USA as a faithful family man and the most powerful voices on climate change in the world.

In June, however, Gore and his wife, Tipper, announced that they were splitting after 40 years of marriage because they had grown apart. The family, at the time, denied that the break-up had anything to do with an affair.

Soon after news of the split, the Oregon police announced that it had investigated Gore over the charges made by Hagerty, in 2006 and then in 2009, when she revealed details about ex-Vice-President’s alleged behaviour.

Hagerty claimed when she came to Gore’s hotel room in Portland, he allegedly told her “Call me Al” and later made unwanted sexual advances on her.

“I squirmed to try and get out of his grasp, telling him to stop, don’t, several times, and I finally told him and said: You’re being a crazed sex poodle,” she told investigators, the American media reported in the past few weeks.

The investigation into the 2006 episode is going on and Gore has denied the allegations made against him by the masseuse.

“Further investigation into this matter will only benefit Mr Gore,” Kalee Kreidr, a family spokesperson, said. The National Enquirer broke the Tiger Woods’ sex scandal last year. — PTI

Washington, July 22
Pressing for resumption of Indo-Pak ties, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told Pakistanis that normalisation of relations with India would benefit them “even more”, as, she said, even Pakistani businessmen desired expansion of trade that would offer them access to huge Indian markets.

At a round-table with Pakistani journalists in Islamabad on Sunday, Clinton batted for Indo-Pak friendship, and applauded the leadership of the two countries for reviving peace talks despite opposition at home.

Favouring a resumption of ties, she said: “I happen to think, on balance, it’s even more in Pakistan’s interests, because opening markets - every businessman I speak with in Pakistan kind of whispers to me, Please, can’t we get the markets open, because I want to go compete inside India’.”

Clinton, however, ruled out US mediation on the Kashmir issue, saying it was not a possibility as for that to happen both sides need to agree and that was not the case now.

The USA, she said, stood ready to encourage dialogue between India and Pakistan that was absolutely in both countries’ interests.

She said she appreciated the leadership of the two countries for going ahead with the talks despite opposition. “I really give the leadership in both countries high marks because it is not popular. They are attacked in the press, they’re attacked by organisations,” she said.

But to a question on the prospects of former President and her husband Bill Clinton assuming the role of Special US Envoy for Pakistan and India to resolve Kashmir issue, she said: “Well, in order to have anyone play that role, both sides have to agree. And that has not been the case as of now.”

Washington, July 22
Praising a village in Bihar for its track record on female foeticide and dowry deaths, a top US official has said countries should implement and enforce laws establishing a minimum age for marriage.

“The residents of one village, Dharhara in the Bihar state of India, plant mango trees when a girl is born dedicated to paying for the expenses associated her marriage,” Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues told US lawmakers in a discussion with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing on child marriage last week.

“This simple practice takes away the financial burden associated with a daughter and has produced outstanding results," she said.

“In a state that has some of the highest rates of dowry death, there has not been a single incident of female foeticide or dowry death in the village," Verveer said.

Noting that countries should implement and enforce laws establishing a minimum age for marriage, requiring the registration of marriages and prosecute the violators, she said the development community must also address the conditions in which child marriage flourishes. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Mandela’s kin attacked
CAPE TOWN: A daughter and some grandchildren of former South African President Nelson Mandela were attacked by gunmen in Johannesburg as they returned home from a birthday party for the 92-year-old statesman, the police confirmed on Thursday. — DPA

42 die in Pakistan floods
ISLAMABAD: At least 42 persons were killed as a result of torrential rains and flooding in parts of Pakistan. Twelve people were killed in Lahore and other parts of northern Punjab. Separately, a flood swept 50 persons away in Balochistan's Barkhan region. — TNS

3 held for killing Indian
WASHINGTON: The US police has arrested three persons on charges of killing an Indian student at Bridgeport in Connecticut early this month. Arun Kumar Narote (26) was shot dead at a grocery store at Bridgeport on July 14 despite offering no resistance and fully cooperating with his assailants' demands. — PTI

Statue of Liberty evacuated
New York: Visitors were evacuated from the Statue of Liberty here yesterday after a fire scare. Officials said an elevator motor inside the statue's pedestal overheated and started smoking at 1.30 pm local time, Xinhua reported. There were no reports of injuries or damage to the statue. — IANS