Ramallah  - President Barack Obama is committed to the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state and regards this as a "national interest" of the US, his envoy said Friday in Ramallah.

"This conflict has gone on for far too long. The people of this region should no longer have to wait for the just peace," George Mitchell told reporters, as he wrapped up his first visit to the region since the formation of a new Israeli government that has refused to openly endorse a two-state solution to the conflict.

Washington, Apr 17 : Remember that iconic red swimsuit that Pamela Anderson wore while frolicking on the beach in `Baywatch'? Well, the famous piece of clothing is now all set to go under the hammer for as much as 2,900 dollars.

The Lycra one-piece donned by the blonde bombshell, who played lifeguard CJ Parker on the hit 1990s show, has now been signed "Love Pamela Lee, X O" for the auction to be held this month.

A pair of holstered pistols worn by Angelina Jolie in `Tomb Raider' will also be included in the auction of Hollywood memorabilia.

In addition, Harrison Ford''s gun from the 1982 sci-fi film `Blade Runner' will be put on sale, and is predicted to fetch a staggering 104,000 dollars.

Washington, Apr 17 : A protein called PCSK9, which regulates `bad' cholesterol in the blood, has been found to work almost exclusively outside cells, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Centre.

The finding could provide clues for the development of therapies to block the protein''s disruptive actions.

"The fact that it works mostly extracellularly provides more opportunities to develop different kinds of therapies," said Dr. Jay Horton, professor of internal medicine and molecular genetics and co-author of the study.

Washington, Apr 17 : Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman, who is known for is heroic image in his action flicks, turned a real life hero when he jumped off a London Newspaper building to raise money for a charity.

The `X Men' actor jumped off the headquarters of fellow Aussie Rupert Murdoch''s News International building to raise money for The Sun''s Help for Heroes campaign, which aids British soldiers wounded in conflict, reports Contactmusic.

The News International building is the home of newspapers The Sun, The Times and the News of the World.

Washington, Apr 17 : Troubled R `n' B star Amy Winehouse is writing a book of poems.

According to reports, the `Back To Black' hitmaker, who is unwinding on the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia, is busy penning poems about her troubled life and chaotic relationship with her estranged husband Blake Fielder-Civil.

"Amy''s been stimulated since living in St Lucia. She loves the chilled-out Caribbean atmosphere and has found it has encouraged her to write again," Contactmusic quoted a source as saying.

Washington, April 17 : Researchers at Université de Montréal have successfully produced a large quantity of laboratory stem cells from a small number of blood stem cells obtained from bone marrow.

The research team, led by Dr. Guy Sauvageau, has taken a giant step towards the development of a revolutionary treatment based on these stem cells.