News In Brief

HERE, KITTY KITTY

A stray cat caused quite a stir in a New Delhi suburb last weekend. A really big stray cat, that is. Neelam Thukral panicked when she found a full-grown leopard lolling on the porch of her Faridabad home. She darted inside and alerted her husband - and the police. But, by the time they and some Delhi zoo officials ventured into the yard, the feline had disappeared. After a quick search, they found the leopard, lazing about in a bathtub from which he was safely extracted.

LONG-TERM WARDROBE

When most of us think of King Tutankhamen, his elaborate gilt death mask is what comes to mind. But the Egyptian King's 3,300-year-old tomb held other goods for the afterworld: Take clothes, for example: gold-ornamented tunics and - count them - 145 diaperlike loincloths. Many are decayed, so creators of a Swedish exhibit had artisans recreate clothing, using ancient techniques. The biggest sartorial challenge? Remaking red dye made of sheep dung and spoiled olive oil - for which a synthetic approach was chosen.

In the eyes of fellow CEOs, General Electric boss is tops

Microsoft's Bill Gates may get the lion's share of media attention, but General Electric CEO Jack Welch is the world's most respected business leader, according to a Financial Times survey. Welch and Gates have run 1-2, respectively, in the newspaper's 1998 and 1999 polling. The latest survey compiled responses from 754 CEOs in 75 countries. The top executives, in the order of their 1999 ranking by their colleagues:

1. Jack Welch General Electric

2. Bill Gates Microsoft

3. Lou Gerstner IBM

4. Jrgen Schrempp DaimlerChrysler

5. Michael Dell Dell

6. Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway

7. Hiroshi Okuda Toyota

8. Nobuyuki Idei Sony

9. John Browne BP Amoco

10. Percy Barnevik Investor

- PR Newswire

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society