News at a glance...

Nearly everybody has experienced the frustration of a chronically troublesome computer. Most people wish they could unleash their anger in a frenzy of computer-bashing fun, but few indulge themselves in such an extravagant pleasure. George Doughty, owner of a sportsman's restaurant, apparently did not suffer from any such inhibitions.

After the machine crashed once too often, Doughty armed himself with a gun and shot his computer four times, at close range. This occurred while customers looked on in amazement. Doughty's fit of armed troubleshooting landed him in the slammer for suspicion of felony menacing, reckless endangerment and the prohibited use of weapons.

Doughty said in police reports afterward that he was wrong to have shot his computer, but, at the time, it felt right.



The color green just went out of fashion…at least for U.S. currency. The federal government recently announced plans to introduce a redesigned $20 bill that will feature, among other things, a predominant color other than green. The federal government has remained tight-lipped on what the color will be, however.

Other changes envisioned are new images of Andrew Jackson and the White House and some other adjustments that are being kept secret. The federal government has plans to unveil the new bill on March 27 and enter it into circulation in the fall. This is the newest redesign of U.S. currency since 1996.



The bitterness that exists between Iraq and Kuwait erupted at an Islamic summit trying to unite the world's one billion Muslims against war. Saddam Hussein's top aide, Izzat Ibrahim, left his text and focused on the Kuwaitis sitting across the conference chamber.

According to The Washington Post, Ibrahim said, "Shut up you minion, you (U.S.) agent, you monkey. You are addressing Iraq. You are insolent. You are a traitor to the Islamic nation."

A Kuwaiti delegate retorted by saying the comments were "the words of an infidel and a charlatan." The two sides continued to shout and yell angrily at each other. The clash was caught on live television before the Qatar state broadcaster shut the transmission down.

Kuwait has been publicly grateful to Washington for leading a coalition that liberated it from Iraqi invaders. It has been a key ally for the U.S. in the current conflict with Iraq by allowing Army and Marine forces to use its country to base troops.



With the onset of the Antarctic winter, the Russian base at Vostok in Antarctica has to be abandoned. Russia has been unable to bring enough fuel to the base, even with the use of aircraft and tractor convoys from the coast. The base will be reopened in November, when spring sets in.

Vostok, founded in 1957, has the distinction of being the most isolated research outpost on Earth. The research base is built atop a huge ice-covered lake identified as such in the 1970s. It is officially the coldest place on earth, with a record low of -128.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Its position at the southern geomagnetic pole allows researchers to easily observe changes in the field.

The U.S. has also has had problems supplying its base at McMurdo Sound on the coast. Because of abnormally heavy ice, the tanker delivering supplies to the base could not reach its usual berth. As a result a two-mile pipeline was constructed to deliver fuel to the base.



The United Nations' goal to halve the number of hungry people in the world will face difficulty, according to the World Water Assessment Program, a combination of 23 UN agencies. The intended goal of diminishing world hunger by 2015 is all but unattainable due to lack of water.

By 2020, the average water supply per person around the world is projected to be a third smaller than it is now. Due to inaction from governments and lack of awareness, the crisis is worsening.

The report says the UN's goal will not be possible until at least 2030 because previous research on food availability had failed to draw a distinction between rain-fed and irrigated crops. By 2030 another 111 million acres will be under irrigation, which translates into an increase of 14 percent of water used in this way. Already, irrigation accounts for 70 percent of global water use.

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