At A Glance

Lockhart8217;s comments came after First Lady Hillary Clinton told the forthcoming Talk magazine that the President8217;s infidelities stemmed from being 8220;scarred by abuse8221; endured growing up in Arkansas.

8220;He was so young, barely four, when he was scarred by abuse. There was terrible conflict between his mother and grandmother,8221; she told the magazine in an interview first reported in London8217;s Sunday Times and later picked up by US media. The two women raised Clinton in Hope, Arkansas, after his father died in a car crash. His mother, a nurse, later remarried, to an alcoholic car salesman.

Lockhart said he had discussed the interview with the President, adding, 8220;He believes that, like many people, he had difficult times within his family, but he feels hehas been blessed with love and has a wonderful life8221;.

The spokesman said Clinton had denied he endured physical abuse, but would not address the issue of emotional trauma in detail.

Vatican anger at book claiming papal corruption

LONDON: Bookstores in Britain and across Europe may soon be selling a tale of corruption and intrigue at the heart of the papal court which the Vatican is anxious to ban, The Guardian newspaper said on Tuesday. Talks are underway to sell the English edition of the Italian book Gone with the Wind in the Vatican, which the Holy See ineffectually attempted to have banned, the newspaper reported.

The work, by a group calling themselves I Millenari the Millenarians, claims to expose corruption, free masonry, homosexuality and satanism at the papal court, the Curia, the paper said. Publishers Kaos Edizioni told the paper that negotiations were underway with all the major European countries, predicting that it would come out in Spain in the autumn.

Thepaper notes that the book would have gone unnoticed had the Vatican not tried to take one of the writers, Monsignor Luigi Marinelli, 72, to its own court, the Roman Rota. Marinelli, whose name is an anagram of the group title, admitted to taking part, said the paper.The Vatican wants to gag Marinelli 8212; who could be barred from saying mass if found guilty 8212; but denies it is trying to restrict free speech. Instead, it claims it is trying to protect individuals who may recognise themselves in the book, said The Guardian.

Britain to give pets passports to travel

LONDON: Britain will unveil the most radical changes to its stringent quarantine laws when it outlines plans to give pets passports to travel rather than be locked in kennels for six months.

A one-year pilot scheme will allow owners to take their pets abroad, even on day trips, without having to put them in quarantine for six months when they return. Until now, Britain8217;s strict anti-rabies laws meant animals coming into the countryhad to spend six months in quarantine.

If the scheme, which is due to start next April, is successful and rabies is kept out of Britain, it will be extended, the government said. Pets that fulfill certain conditions will be able to travel freely to and from the European Union, Norway and Switzerland.

Owners who want to travel with their animals will have to get their blood tested, win an official health certificate and vaccinate against rabies and other diseases alien to Britain.

The animals would also have identification microchips embedded under their skin.

8220;We8217;re starting with the pilot scheme for the first year8230;And the full scheme will be operational from April 2001,8221; Baroness Hayman from the Ministry of Agriculture told BBC Radio.

Counsellors to soothe Britain8217;s eclipse nerves

LONDON: Those who saw Britain8217;s last solar eclipse in 1927, spoke of the distress of plunging into blackness.

Those heading for this year8217;s total eclipse may be more distressed by the mammoth traffic queuesinto the key viewing region of Cornwall, south-west England. Alert to the dangers of congestion-frayed nerves, one regional council, Wiltshire, is stationing counsellors in 8220;rest havens8221; to soothe motorists8217; tempers, according to The Times newspaper on Tuesday.

8220;Motorists who find themselves in distress through heat or exhaustion or who are just plain fed up will be able to pop in for some respite as they travel through Wiltshire,8221; explained David Head, the region8217;s chief emergency planning officer.

The havens will also include showers and medical blocks as well as counsellors to help people 8220;let off steam8221;, reported the paper.