PUERTO VILLAMIL, Ecuador, Dec. 5 -- Park rangers at Ecuador's Galapagos National Park said a tortoise believed to be the last of its subspecies has failed in two attempts at fathering children.

The rangers said the 90-year-old tortoise named Lonesome George -- the last known member of the Pinta Island tortoise subspecies
-- has shown little interest in mating since it was found in 1971, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Lonesome George, who has become a regional icon for conservation, did mate with two female tortoises of another subspecies in June and both of the females later laid eggs. However, scientists said all of the eggs turned out to be infertile.

Kolkata, Dec 6 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will begin his two-day visit to Kolkata from today.

Soon after his arrival at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport, Dr. Singh will head for Santiniketan in Birbhum district to attend the convocation of the Visva Bharati University.

LONDON, Dec. 5 -- A London appeals court has upheld the conviction of a lawyer who was found guilty of biting a police officer and stripping naked after she was pulled over.

Elizabeth Joseph, 56, was convicted in February of obstructing a constable and assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty after she was pulled over while driving her Hyundai outside of a railway station.

She went into a fit of rage when officers began searching her car and police quoted her as saying: "What? Do you think I'm a terrorist?" They said she then bit Constable Vincent Geaves' right hand, the appeals court was told.

Authorities said Joseph continued ranting and shed her clothing after she was taken into custody.

Srinagar, Dec 6 : The stage has been set for the fourth phase of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir scheduled to take place tomorrow.

In this phase, twelve constituencies of Baramulla and Buddgam districts along with six other constituencies in Reasi and Udhampur districts in Jammu will go to the polls.

Earlier, an Election Commission of India team had reviewed poll arrangements for the remaining four phases of elections at a meeting in Srinagar.

The fifth, sixth and seventh phase of polls in the state will be held on December 13, 17 and 24.

Two phases of the seven-phased elections have been successfully concluded with the active participation of the people.

Sydney - An Australian rescue team was despatched to Papua New Guinea on Saturday after the Port Moresby government asked for help in searching for survivors of a mudslide in which at least 10 people have died.

Managers at Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp's Kianantu gold mine said that 10 people are dead and around 40 missing after heavy rains on Thursday triggered a mudslide that engulfed a village near the mine.

The Australian contingent includes sniffer dogs and paramedics. Spokesman Gary Littlewood told national broadcaster ABC that there was a chance some of the missing would be found alive.

Virginia (US), Dec. 6 : A Virginia businessman, Earl Stafford, has reserved a million dollars worth of rooms at Washington''s JW Marriott Hotel and plans to give the rooms away to the underprivileged during Inauguration week.

Stafford, who is black, said the swearing-in of America''s first black president makes the occasion that much more special, but added that he pursued his plans without knowing who would be elected.

He plans to offer the rooms, at no charge and has had hundreds of responses so far.

"Our telephones are off the hook. Our e-mails are going crazy," Fox News quoted him, as saying.