PEOPLE

The former Beatle is a strict vegetarian and campaigner for animal rights, as was his wife Linda. She died in April, aged 56, from breast cancer.

Speaking to BBC radio, he described the dilemma he faced when he realised that the drugs his wife took to treat her breast cancer may have been tested on animals.

8220;I8217;m finding out now that there is quite a lot of animal experimentation 8211;some of it, I suppose, absolutely necessary when you come down to the final tests before people. I suppose a limited thing is unavoidable, but it is very difficult for me to think like that because I favour the rights of the animals. Linda and I are just passionate about these poor creatures that we often use so cruelly.8221;

Referring to the medication used to treat Linda, he said: 8220;If a drug has got to be used on humans then legally it has to befinally tested on an animal. This was difficult for Linda when she was undergoing her treatment.8221;

Sir Paul added that Linda had been kept in the dark about how the drugs she took may have been tested on animals.

Geri vs UN

The appointment of Geri Halliwell, a former member of the Spice Girls pop group, as UN Population Fund goodwill ambassador has caused some grumbling at UN headquarters. Some senior UN officials have expressed disapproval of the choice by the UN agency, and complained that the UNFPA acted independently without consulting colleagues, UN sources said.

One UN official said that Halliwell8217;s appointment rekindled a debate on the small number of UN goodwill ambassadors from developing countries. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has his own messengers for peace to promote UN issues, and has so far appointed seven celebrities.

A canine presence

Hoping to lighten up the dogged Mideast peace talks, the United States President Bill Clinton brought his chocolate Labrador Buddyalong to meet with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

8220;The President has spent five or six days out here and has walked around and thought it was beautiful and thought that Buddy should enjoy the same surroundings,8221; White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said of the rural site of the talks.

Indeed Buddy, whose walks are generally confined to the White House grounds, was probably the only one who could be said to be enjoying his time here, where there were ponds for swimming and geese for chasing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, meanwhile, were getting a stern prodding from Clinton to reach an agreement on day eight of their talks which were scheduled to wrap up Sunday. Asked what the year-old Labrador could lend to the negotiations, Lockhart would only say 8220;a certain canine perspective8221;.

Queen8217;s head

Britain8217;s Queen Elizabeth II was not amused when she saw her head go up in smoke on a postage stamp. A new stamp designed to celebrate themillennium shows a silhouette of her head apparently coming out of an industrial chimney, belching smoke.

But her objection would have come too late for a re-design of the 26-pence stamp, as the Royal Mail had already printed millions of them.

Buckingham Palace said: 8220;The Queen approved the stamp, but noted that her head appeared to be coming out of a chimney. We recognise that it is not practicable to ask the Royal Mail to pulp the stamps,8221; the Palace added.

The stamp goes on sale on January 12. The Royal Mail declined to explain why the stamps had been printed before the queen gave her approval. Adam Novak, the head of the Royal Mail and chairman of the stamp advisory committee, said the collection of stamps 8220;will provide the ideal souvenir of the millennium8221;.