In Brief

TEST FIRING – Pakistan successfully test-fired an intermediate range, nuclear-capable Hatf 5 (Ghauri) ballistic missile on Thursday, the military said.

Arch-rival India had been informed of the test beforehand, and was expected to conduct a missile test itself shortly, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. * ANOTHER CASE – Supermodel Naomi Campbell could be nearing a plea deal on a charge of assaulting her housekeeper with a cell phone, a New York state prosecutor told a court hearing on Wednesday.”We are still in the process of working out a possible disposition,” Assistant District Attorney Shanda Strain told Judge Evelyn Laporte of the Manhattan Criminal Court.* REPRIEVE – President Pervez Musharraf has commuted the death sentence for a British man who has been in jail in Pakistan for the past 18 years for a murder he says he didn’t commit, a senior official said on Thursday.The British government and rights groups had pleaded with Pakistan to grant clemency for Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, from Leeds in northern England.* PLANS – The Fox television network says it plans to air an O J Simpson interview this month in which he describes, hypothetically, how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend 12 years ago if he had committed the crime.The taped interview was conducted by Judith Regan, whose publishing label, ReganBooks, plans to release a book written by Simpson, titled “If I Did It,” that also contains his hypothetical account of the double slaying, the network said in a statement on Tuesday.* WEATHER – Hurricane Sergio, a rare mid-November cyclone, wavered on Wednesday but still threatened towns on Mexico’s already battered Pacific coast.Sergio had winds of 169 kph, down slightly from earlier in the day and still a Category 2 hurricane, capable of tearing off roof shingles and uprooting trees.Nampa-Reuters* ANOTHER CASE – Supermodel Naomi Campbell could be nearing a plea deal on a charge of assaulting her housekeeper with a cell phone, a New York state prosecutor told a court hearing on Wednesday.”We are still in the process of working out a possible disposition,” Assistant District Attorney Shanda Strain told Judge Evelyn Laporte of the Manhattan Criminal Court.* REPRIEVE – President Pervez Musharraf has commuted the death sentence for a British man who has been in jail in Pakistan for the past 18 years for a murder he says he didn’t commit, a senior official said on Thursday.The British government and rights groups had pleaded with Pakistan to grant clemency for Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, from Leeds in northern England.* PLANS – The Fox television network says it plans to air an O J Simpson interview this month in which he describes, hypothetically, how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend 12 years ago if he had committed the crime.The taped interview was conducted by Judith Regan, whose publishing label, ReganBooks, plans to release a book written by Simpson, titled “If I Did It,” that also contains his hypothetical account of the double slaying, the network said in a statement on Tuesday.* WEATHER – Hurricane Sergio, a rare mid-November cyclone, wavered on Wednesday but still threatened towns on Mexico’s already battered Pacific coast.Sergio had winds of 169 kph, down slightly from earlier in the day and still a Category 2 hurricane, capable of tearing off roof shingles and uprooting trees.Nampa-Reuters