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Washington, June 23 : An artificial underground cave, the largest in Israel, has been exposed in the Jordan Valley in the course of a survey carried out by the University of Haifa’s Department of Archaeology.

Professor Adam Zertal, who headed the excavating team, reckons that this cave was originally a large quarry during the Roman and Byzantine era and was one of its kind.

Various engravings were uncovered in the cave, including cross markings, and it is assumed that this could have been an early monastery.

Rome - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to arrive in Italy Tuesday for talks with his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi.

Berlusconi "is a great friend of Israel working to promote peace and security," Netanyahu said in an interview with Italian state television that was broadcast on the eve of his departure for Rome.

The visit marks the right-wing Israeli premier's first trip to Europe since since taking office nearly three months ago.

Sydney, June 23 : New South Wales is planning to target Pakistani batsman Shahid Afridi as its foreign import for next season’s domestic Twenty20 competition.

NSW will approach Afridi to join their team with the intention of qualifying him for the lucrative Champions League Twenty20 tournament in 2010, but he could also be used in the Sheffield Shield.

Afridi, 29, guided Pakistan to their first major cricket title in 17 years, when they defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the World Twenty20 final at Lord’s on Sunday.

London, June 23 : A new study may help explain how a class of diabetes drugs increases the risk of heart failure.

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) have been controversial since a 2007 analysis of Avandia (rosiglitazone), a TZD made by GlaxoSmithKline, suggested that patients taking it are at higher risk of heart attack.

Less controversial are data linking TZDs with heart failure, a distinct condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood through the body.

London, June 23 : Chat show queen Oprah Winfrey is surely a generous boss.

The talk show host has shelled out more than 750,000 dollars to take her staff and their families on an all expenses paid cruise around the Mediterranean.

The 100-plus employees will be joined by Winfrey on the 10-day cruise, which will have stops in Italy, Turkey, Greece, Malta and Spain.

Winfrey will cover the cost of their transportation, food, drinks and activities at port stops.

Washington, June 23 : An international study involving more than half a million participants in 34 countries has revealed that about 70 per cent people harbour implicit stereotypes linking science with males more than with females.

Reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study has also shown that in countries whose citizens stereotyped most strongly, boys achieved at a higher level in eighth-grade science and maths.