Britain suspends exploratory drilling of Antarctic lake

LONDON, Jan 1: An ambitious British plan to search for minute forms of life in an ancient lake beneath Antarctica’s ice has been suspended because of technical problems, the scientist leading the project said on Thursday. In a move that clears the way for U.S. And Russian teams to take the lead, Professor Martin Siegert said technical problems and a lack of fuel had forced the closure on Christmas Day of the 7-million-pound ($11 million) project, which was looking for life forms and climate change clues in the lake-bed sediment. (agencies)