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Pitt's desperation for fatherhood ended marriage

     London: Hollywood's once golden couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston broke up, after the 'Troy' star reportedly gave an ultimatum to the 'friends' actress to have a child this year. According to The Sun, close friends of the separated couple have revealed that the 41-year-old Brad was desperate to be a dad and told Aniston, 35, that he could not wait any longer. The petite 'long Came Polly' star, however, was not ready to put her successful film career on hold, which reportedly led to the end of her four-year marriage with Brad. Brad's longing for kids was also heightened by his 'Mr. And Mrs. Smith' co-star Angelina Jolie, who took her 3-year-old adopted son Maddox to the film sets every day, and the handsome actor's spare time was spent playing with the little boy.

Is 'phone sex' with Jolie responsible for Pitt's split (Go To Top)

     London: Steamy sex chats on telephone between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie was reportedly the last straw that ended the four-year marriage of 'The Mexican' actor and the 'Friends' beauty. Aniston heard the intimate 'phone sex' between the 'Tomb Raider' star and her hubby when she picked up a phone extension at her Hollywood home. "Jennifer went ballistic. Brad realised it was over," The News Of The World quoted a source close of the couple as saying. The happy marriage of tinseltown's hottest couple hit the rocks when Brad and Angelina, while playing a married couple in upcoming film 'Mr. And Mrs.Smith' started having an affair, and were often seen chatting each other on the phone in hushed tones. "It has never been easy being married to the man who is held up as the sexiest, most desirable man in the world," added the couple's friends.

Shakespeare may have suffered from syphilis (Go To Top)

     Washington: Shakespeare, the proclaimed bard, might have suffered from syphilis, as some passages in his plays and sonnets indicate that he may have suffered from one or more venereal infections, reveals an article published in the online issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases. The researchers found that Shakespeare often alluded to sexually transmitted disease (STD) symptoms and treatments in several of his plays and poems, including Troilus and Cressida, As You Like It, and Sonnets.Mentions of the "pox," the "malady of France," the "infinite malady," and the "hoar leprosy" in his writings seem to indicate that the Bard knew,perhaps from personal experience, how torturous venereal disease could be. "Shakespeare's knowledge of syphilis is clinically precise," John Ross, from Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston and author of the study, said. A line in Sonnet 154, "Love's fire heats water," apparently refers to an STD causing burning urination. Although syphilis is relatively uncommon now, it was rampant five centuries ago, transmitted from country to country by sailors, soldiers and merchants.

     Symptoms of syphilis can include genital lesions, rashes on the torso, palms, and soles of the feet, neurological problems, and destroyed facial tissue. In Shakespeare's time, one of the treatments for syphilis, inhalation of mercury vapor, was worse than the disease. Dr. Ross suggests that Shakespeare's tremulous signature on his will, his social withdrawal in later years, and even his baldness might all be due to a mild degree of mercury vapor poisoning. However, it doesn't seem likely that Shakespeare's death at 52 years of age was due to an STD. In fact, the alternative Elizabethan practice of using very hot baths to treat syphilitic people "would have been at least somewhat effective and perhaps highly effective," says to Dr. Ross as high, fever-causing temperatures can kill the organisms that cause syphilis. Shakespeare was also an actor, and he appeared in plays until at least 1603, said Dr. Ross. "It's unlikely that he would have been performing if he had been suffering from the ravages of tertiary syphilis," he said. Nor did the Bard exhibit the mental problems toward the end of his life that would indicate severe mercury poisoning, judging from the quality of his writing, so any mercury treatment he received was probably limited. Were Shakespeare's remains to be examined today, evidence of infection might be obtained by examining the shinbones for the damage typical of an advanced case of syphilis or by testing for elevated levels of mercury that could indicate STD treatment. Until then, "it's something that can't be proven or disproven," Dr. Ross said.

Strong hearted women live longer than men (Go To Top)

     London: Women's strong hearts make them living longer than men, a new study has revealed. A team from Liverpool John Moores University has found that men's hearts lose up to a quarter of their pumping power from 18 years old to 70.However, there was little change was found in women's hearts between 20 to 70 years of age. The researchers said that the difference may explain why women live on average up to five years longer than men.Lead researcher Professor David Goldspink found the difference in heart strength as the most interesting. "This dramatic gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men," he was quoted by the BBC, as saying. But he said related-research showed that men had the potential to improve their health. "If men work at it, they can preserve the power and performance of their ageing hearts," he added. Professor Goldspink added people needed more information about what benefits they can gain in response to different levels of physical activity.

Elvis Presley tops music charts 27 years after his death (Go To Top)

     London: Legendary singer Elvis Presley has again captured the top spot of the UK singles chart with his 19th British number one, 27 years after his death. The King of Rock'n'Roll knocked Steve Brookstein off the number one spot with the re-release of Jailhouse Rock, which topped the US and UK charts for the first time in 1958. Presley's record label SonyBMG are re-releasing each of his 18 number ones to mark the birthday celebrations in what they describe as "the most ambitious singles release campaign in the history of the UK record industry", reports the BBC.

Aga Khan's divorce to cost him a billion dollars (Go To Top)

     London: Billionaire race horse owner and playboy Aga Khan's wife, Germany-born former pop singer, Begum Inaara Aga Khan, has sued him for divorce. According to The Daily Mail, she wants half of Aga Khan's fortune, estimated to be at least 1 billion pounds. She was married to him for six years and has warned him that she will make sure that the British taxman examines his financial affairs minutely to make sure she gets her rightful share. "Detailed enquiries into the Aga Khan's tax affairs would be very inconvenient for a man of such considerable wealth. It's not that his wife is being greedy, but she wants what she's due. And as he has so much, that will amount to a lot of money," an insider was quoted as saying. Aga Khan has successfully applied to have the divorce heard in a French court, where he believes his wife will receive a less lucrative settlement. He has 43 prayer and business centres run by the Ismailis all over Britain, from which he receives tribute money. He owns three private executive jets, several yachts, a newspaper, an airline, hotels, factories and a fabulous collection of jewellery and antiques.