Cloning

The British government will likely approve the cloning of human embryos for medical research, which could allow scientists to create spare parts for the body. An official inquiry concluded that the potential benefits outweighed the ethical problems. A panel of experts led by Dr. Liam Donaldson, the nation's chief medical officer, has agreed to recommend changes to the law to allow the use of cloned embryos to create tissue to treat the sick. Government sources say the Cabinet is almost certain to end the ban on the "therapeutic cloning" of embryos for research that health officials hope will eventually cure kidney, liver or heart disease.

Water

Dr. Khayri al-Jamal, director of the Palestinian Water Authority in Gaza, has told the Palestinian newspaper al-Hayat al-Jadidah that Gaza needs 135 million cubic meters of water a year while only 50 million cubic meters is available. Water is one of the unresolved issues of the Middle East peace process and may become more volatile than oil.

Disease

The rate of HIV/AIDS infection in the South African National Defense Force may be as high as 60-70%, while in at least one military unit, 90% of the troops have contracted the virus. United Nations' regulations prohibit HIV-infected troops from serving on international peacekeeping operations.

Racism

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has been encouraging black squatters to invade approximately 1000 white farms. New laws allowing them to take over permanently are in the works. In addition, a Kenyan opposition politician is now calling for the same invasions in Kenya. Fears are being expressed that this movement will continue to spread, perhaps even into South Africa, where, even now, gangs of black thugs are killing white farmers at an average of at least one a day.

Religion

Sears, Roebuck & Co. has agreed to a settlement that allows repair technicians who have religious objections to working on Saturdays to work Sundays instead. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who had threatened to sue Sears, said the giant retail company also agreed to pay $225,000 for employer education programs, $120,000 in training scholarships for Sabbath observers and $100,000 to cover the cost of his investigation. "People should not be forced to choose between their faith and supporting their family," Spitzer said. Sears "is pleased we were able to reach a satisfactory settlement," said spokeswoman Peggy Palter. The company did not admit to any wrongdoing.

Military

America's enlisted men and women are giving new meaning to the term "comrades in arms." President Bill Clinton's drive to build an army whose diversity of race and gender makes it "look like America," has led not only to sexual harassment scandals, but also to rampant sex in the ranks. A new book on women in the armed forces, The Kinder, Gentler Military by Stephanie Gutmann, provides an unusual glimpse of a sex-obsessed military. A plethora of rules about "fraternizing"—a euphemism for sex—among recruits have not prevented armored personnel carriers, tents, and even underground bunkers from becoming love nests for passionate soldiers of the so-called New Army. Now there is pressure to assign women to submarines, where even passing in the hall causes body contact. The book is raising eyebrows—and blood pressure—in the Pentagon, where admirals are wielding it as ammunition on the latest front line of America's battle of the sexes.

Climate

All 15,000 glaciers in the Himalayas are melting at an alarming rate and could cause torrential floods in the mountain valleys of India in the next 40 years. Water shortages may occur because rivers, which have depended on the glaciers as their source, will dry up. Gangotri Glacier, the source of the Ganges, is retreating at a rate of about 100 feet a year.