RARE INDIAN ANIMALS FOR ADOPTION

A nature park in the northern Indian hill state of Himachal Pradesh is offering animals for adoption in an effort to ensure their well-being, a news agency reported on Saturday.

The animals on offer include rare Himalayan species like the snow leopard, Tibetan wolf and the Monal pheasant, the IANS agency reported.

A yak can be adopted for $46.50 (about R296) a month, a Tibetan wolf for $42, a brown or black bear for $33 and a Monal pheasant for less than 7 dollars.

The adoption is open to individuals and corporate bodies. The adopted animals and birds would stay in the park and the money raised would be spent on their upkeep, said Himachal wildlife department official RS Chauhan.

He said the wildlife department's initiative came after some animals died in the park, located nearly 3 000m above sea level in the Himalayan foothills, about 16km north of Himachal capital Shimla.

Sponsors will be kept informed of how their money is being spent and would have free access to the park, Chauhan said. -Sapa-dpa

james bond

James Bond 007 is a fictional British agent^[1] created in 1952 by writer Ian Fleming, featured in twelve novels, two anthologies, and a film series.^[2] After Fleming's death in 1964, subsequent James Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham), John Pearson, John Gardner and Raymond Benson. In addition Charlie Higson has begun to write a series of books detailing the "Young James Bond". In July 2007, it was announced that Sebastian Faulks has been commissioned to write a Bond novel for publication in 2008. Moreover, Christopher Wood novelised two screenplays, while other writers have authored unofficial versions of the secret-agent character.

Initially famed through the best-selling novels, James Bond is best known from the EON Productions film series, twenty-one of which have been made as of 2007. The 22nd EON-produced Bond adventure is currently in production. In addition there have been two independent feature productions (a 1967 spoof and 1983's Never Say Never Again) and one Fleming-licenced American television adaptation of the first novel, aired in 1954. The EON Productions films are generally described as the "official" films originating with the purchase of the James Bond film rights by eventual producer Harry Saltzman in the late 1950s when Bond was a popular novel series; this term is used throughout this article.^[3]