News In Brief

HAIR-RAISING ADVENTURE

As far as two North Carolina women were concerned, it was probably their worst hair day ever. Peggie Ann McEachern and Angela Cole were recently attempting to cross the border bridge between Reynosa, Mexico, and Hidalgo, Texas, when their unusually coifed wigs aroused suspicion. The two were pulled aside by US Customs agents, who observed the pull-on tresses riding unusually high on the wearer's heads. Underneath, allegedly: three packages of cocaine. The women were arrested on federal narcotics charges - and their wigs presumably are being groomed as evidence.

DIAL YOUR TRAVEL AGENT NOW

Got an extra $20 million? Then a luxury-filled vacation aboard the Russian space station Mir could be in your future. A group of investors has signed a deal to rent the aging orbiter and turn it into an out-of-this-world resort. To get there, "citizen explorers" would travel aboard Soyuz rockets. But don't plan on bringing along everyone you know: Once overhauled, Mir will hold only about five people at a time.

Foreign business people rate comfort level in China low

While the Asian market is widely perceived as offering huge growth potential for Western businesses, not all countries there put foreigners at ease, a new survey has found. Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy asked foreign traders to rate Asian countries - using a scale of zero to 10 - according to how xenophobic they appeared to be. The winner: Singapore. By contrast, China, the largest, finished last. The countries and their scores:

Singapore 2.33

Hong Kong 2.81

Vietnam 4.00

Japan 4.50

Taiwan 5.33

Thailand 5.90

Malaysia 6.00

Philippines 6.00

India 6.80

Indonesia 8.00

South Korea 8.50

China 8.75

- Deutsche Press-Agentur

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society