London, November 7: Gaffe-prone Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has given rise to a fresh controversy by praising U. S. President-elect Barack Obama’s suntan.

The entrepreneur, while on a Moscow visit, said last night that Obama was “young, handsome and tanned”.

His comment drew a lot of criticism.

“What’s the problem? It was a compliment. If these people don’t have a sense of humour why don’t they just...” British tabloid The Sun quoted him as responding to his criticisms.

Washington, November 7 : Tel Aviv University researchers have built a “beauty machine” that can turn a picture of an ordinary face into that of a cover model, just with the press of a button.

Though the output of the system is presently limited to digitised images, the researcher believe that the software may prove useful for guiding plastic surgeons and aid magazine cover editors.

They even foresee its use in digital cameras.

Seoul - US president-elect Barack Obama vowed to closely cooperate with South Korea on achieving the nuclear disarmament of communist North Korea, the presidential office in Seoul said Friday.

Obama promised South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in a telephone conversation to further strengthen the alliance between their two countries. The incoming US president referred to the Seoul-Washington relationship as a "cornerstone of peace and stability in Asia," Lee's office said.

The two leaders also agreed to closely cooperate in dealing with the global financial crisis.

The U.S. marshals sent by the Food and Drug Administration seized some supplies of contaminated blood thinner containing material from China, from an Ohio company’s supplies. Eleven lots of heparin from Celsus Laboratories Inc. of Cincinnati were seized from the company that distributes heparin to drug and medical-device manufacturers both in the United States and internationally.

Mike Chappell, the FDA's acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs said, "This action will help prevent this contaminated heparin from finding its way into the marketplace."

Washington, Nov 7 : Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer will not be charged with any crime over his role in a prostitution scandal, federal prosecutors say.

Spitzer was forced to resign from the office just after two years, following the allegations that he was a regular client of a prostitution ring known as the Emperor''s Club V. I. P.

According to the New York Times, U. S. attorney in Manhattan, Michael J. Garcia announced that Spitzer will not face any federal charges, reports People.