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Times of India

NAVEL-PIERCED, hip-hugging pants, tattoos to the accompaniment of no, not Marlboro, Rothmans or 555, but a bidi! Yes, bidis are the latest fad in the US. When cigars shot up in people's preferences, we knew the reason - the Clinton- Monica sex-capade revelations. No reason has been attributed to the interest in the made-in-India bidi-phenomenon, but US newspapers, magazines, and TV have started looking for explanations for this lifestyle statement. It's the urban youth that's taken to bidis. We are not talking about that avatar of the bidi we in India are familiar with, but the flavoured variety - strawberry, vanilla, grape, lime, wild cherry - all imported from India. And much like the Kamasutra condoms, you are free to take your pick!

Vaart Land

Norway

RESIDENTS IN Nordic countries can purchase nerve cells from 22-week- old foetuses through the Internet from the company Cytotech. "The cells come from miscarriages or from abortions which are carried out on medical grounds in hospitals. We don't buy foetus cells from abortion clinics," said director Patrick Munch-Fals of Cytotech. So far two laboratories have accepted foetus cells, but no Norwegian organisations have taken up the offer from Cytotech.