
Clinton not angry but Travolta skips party
CANNES: US President Bill Clinton is anything but angry at actor John Travolta8217;s portrayal of him as an unprincipled lecher in the film Primary Colors. Travolta, who plays presidential candidate Jack Stanton in the film, told a press conference at the Cannes film festival that he was invited to the White House after the film8217;s release.
8220;I was contacted and asked to come to a party at the White House, be president and give a speech with Clinton. I guess it was to show he had a sense of humour about the whole thing,8221; said Travolta.
8220;I came close to accepting, but I declined. I didn8217;t want to spend the time on the plane, do the grey hair and get fat again,8221; explained the actor, who imitates Clinton8217;s voice with uncanny skill.
8220;I thought it was better to leave the character on the screen and not do parties,8221; he said.
Titanic warning: Don8217;t ape Jack
CHICAGO: Passengers please refrain from climbing the ship8217;s bow railing 8212; even ifLeonardo Dicaprio did it in the Titanic.
That8217;s the warning being circulated by the passenger vessel association following several cases of people on US commercial vessels trying to mimic the scene from the movie in which the hero climbs to the bow of the ship, spreads his hands and declares 8212; 8220;I am the king of the world.8221;
8220;We had several operators who reported to us that it was occurring,8221; John Groundwater, president of the association said. 8220;Clearly the safety of our passengers is the most important thing, so we issued an alert,8221; he said.
One cruise operator plying on Lake Michigan and the Chicago river has warned its crews to watch out for copycat heroes inspired by the scene in which Jack Dawson Dicaprio8217;s character and his new-found love defy danger on the bow railing of the speeding vessel.
Marx8217;s book found by monks
BUDAPEST: Franciscan monks stumbling upon a secret war-time cache in their northern Hungarian monastary were amazed to find a copy of Karl Marx8217;s DasKapital sitting next to their carefully hidden religious treasures.
Restoration work in April uncovered the economic analysis of socialism in the hiding place, which had been walled up in 1944 to protect such valuable works as a rare Bible printed in 1462 by Johannes Fast from invading Russian troops.
The objects, which also included 16th-century codices and correspondence, 18th-century curios and archives, as well as valuable gem-studded gold and silver chalices, ancient coins and other art objects, some dating from the middle ages, remained hidden under Hungary8217;s subsequent communist era which saw all church property confiscated.
Major8217;s son to marry
LONDON: James Major, the only son of former British Prime Minister John Major, is to marry former television game show hostess Emma Noble after a three-month relationship.
The couple 8211; whose relationship has been played out in the full glare of Britain8217;s tabloid newspapers 8211; announced their engagement in the 8220;court and social8221; page ofThursday8217;s Times newspaper.
Clue to HIV
LOS ANGELES: In a finding that could help design an HIV vaccine, researchers say they have discovered the chemical signal for the 8220;master switch8221; that activates the body8217;s defences against the virus that causes AIDS. The study by the University of California, San Diego, AIDS research institute and the veterans affairs medical centre describes for the first time the specific launch of a counterattack against the deadly virus.