The first evidence of extra-terrestrial life may have been detected by scientists working at NASA, the United States space agency. A meteorite the size of a potato that originated on Mars has revealed chemical evidence suggesting that simple forms of life must have existed on the planet. President Bill Clinton hailed the discovery and said the US would pour its scientific prowess into efforts to confirm the breakthrough. Women officers with the Police Tactical Unit have been issued with new handcuffs designed to control suspects resisting arrest. PTU Tango Company was issued with the British-made 'Speedcuffs' which have a rigid handle - instead of a chain - joining the two wrist shackles. The handle is said to give the arresting officer more control over a suspect. Art experts were outraged when a painting - Le Dejeuner sur L'Herbe (Lunch on the Grass) - by French artist Edouard Manet was classified as indecent. The painting was to be part of a slide show and lecture at the Museum of Art so it had to be sent to the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority. The authority said that some of the slides depicted nudity and advised that the show was unsuitable for children. Acting Governor Anson Chan Fang On-sang accused Lo Tak-shing, one of the candidates for the post of Special Administrative Region chief executive, of undermining confidence by saying Hong Kong had been 'damaged' under Chris Patten. She said claims that the local economy had suffered would send negative signals to the people of Hong Kong and the international business community. The first chief executive of the SAR will be named in November, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Director Lu Ping said. The executive, who will be the head of the post-1997 government, will be selected by the 400-member Selection Committee. Shipping tycoon Tung Chee-hwa, Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang and Preparatory Committee member Lo Tak-shing have been tipped as top candidates for the post. Nominations for the Selection Committee started yesterday. Hong Kong will face a shortage of water after 2000 if Shenzhen fails to develop a new source in eastern Guangdong, a mainland official has warned. However, both the Government and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office denied any urgent need for a new water supply plan. Olympic bomb blast suspect Richard Jewell could not have made the call to police warning of a bomb in the Olympic Park, his lawyer said. He said Mr Jewell pointed out the knapsack a minute before the call had been made to police from a public phone three blocks away. The timing of the two calls and the distance from the bomb site to the public phone was proof that Mr Jewell did not make the call, the lawyer said. But investigators say Mr Jewell still has not been ruled out of the inquiry.
