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Blair finally accepts Gold Medal from Bush (Go To Top)

     London: British Prime Minister Tony Blair has finally agreed to accept the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honour U.S.President George Bush can hand a foreign leader, 18 months after he was first offered it for backing Washington's "terrorist-related" attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to The Mirror, Blair had refused to collect the medal before general elections in Britain to avoid being portrayed once again as President Bush's poodle. But with his Labour Party tipped to win the elections in May, Downing Street aides have discussed with US officials the possibility of Blair visiting Washington a month later. A source confirmed the talks about a June trip, but No 10 insiders insist no decision has been made. Should he get the medal, Blair will be the first Briton to be awarded the medal since former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.

'Shroud of Turin' older than previously believed: Study (Go To Top)

     Washington: A study conducted by researchers has revealed that the cloth that formed the Shroud of Turin may be up to 3000 years old. According to abconline, chemical analysis of the cloth earlier believed to have wrapped Jesus' body after crucifixion, has revealed that the cloth is much older than what radiocarbon tests suggest. This new discovery published in the January issue of Thermochimica Acta is significant as it completely contradicts the results of the 1988 carbon-14 dating study, which had stated that the cloth was a medieval fake dating from 1260 to 1390 and not the burial cloth wrapped around the body of Christ. "As unlikely as it seems, the sample used to test the age of the shroud in 1988 was taken from a rewoven area of the shroud. Indeed, the patch was very carefully made. The yarn has the same twist as the main part of the cloth, and it was stained to match the colour," the journal quoted Raymond Rogers, a retired chemist from Los Alamos National Laboratories and former member of the STURP (Shroud of Turin Research Project) team of US scientists that examined the Shroud in 1978 as saying.

     However, microchemistry tests conducted using small quantities of materials, often less than a milligram or a millilitre, revealed the presence of vanillin in the radiocarbon sample and the Holland cloth used as reinforcement for the damaged cloth, but not in the rest of the shroud. "A determination of the kinetics of vanillin loss suggests that the shroud is between 1300 and 3000 years old," added Rogers. Tom D'Muhala, the president of the American Shroud of Turin Association for Research, further added that the new tests provide "conclusive evidence", that the linen shroud is much older than previously thought. "They indicate that the linen shroud is actually very old, much older than the published 1988 radiocarbon date," added D'Muhala.

Brad Pitt to play outlaw Jesse James (Go To Top)

     London: Hollywood star Brad Pitt will star as the 19th century outlaw Jesse James in his next movie based on a novel called 'The Assassination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford.' According to Femalefirst, the film is financed by Pitt's production company, 'Plan B Entertainment', which he co-owns with estranged wife Jennifer Aniston. The publicists for the former couple have announced that the two are planning to remain business partners in the company, which has a number of projects lined up.

Nicole Kidman stops her stalkers in their tracks (Go To Top)

     Sydney: Nicole Kidman is bugged by shutterbugs, for she is seeking apprehended violence orders against two freelance photographers following alleged incidents involving paparazzi in Sydney. According to News.com orders were issued against photographers Jamie Fawcett and Ben McDonald in Waverley Local Court by Magistrate Lee Gilmore. He ordered the photographers not to approach Kidman at her home or go within 20m of her home at Darling Point. The AVOs will remain in force until at least February 11, when the case returns to court. However, the duo deny any wrongdoing. Photographers have been staking out the star's house since she arrived in Sydney on Sunday to begin filming her new movie, Eucalyptus.

Liz Hurley eats just one square meal a day (Go To Top)

     London: Hollywood beauty Liz Hurley has revealed that in order to maintain her enviable figure after the birth of her son Damian, she has followed a strict dietary regime, which includes going to bed hungry. According to the Dailymail the actress further said that a disciplined diet of only one full meal a day had been the key. "I'm on a good old-fashioned low calorie diet. I'm going to bed hungry," she was quoted as saying. "Eating very little breakfast, not too much more lunch," she said. Then only tiny little snacks in the day," she added. However, nutritionists have voiced concern over the star's long- term health. "She is on a starvation regime, which is extremely unhealthy. I've worked with and advised a number of top models, but she's basically running on empty, which will affect every function of her body," Roz Kadir, who has worked with the England rugby team, said. "Anyone eating that restricted a diet will be severely malnourished," he added.

A French kiss can give you 40,000 parasites (Go To Top)

     London: A French kiss may seem the adequate gesture to express love between couples but according to scientists more than 40,000 parasites and 250 types of bacteria are exchanged during a French kiss. According to Ananova, the study says couples also exchange 0.7 grams of protein, 0.45 grams of fat and 0.19 grams of other organic substances. The results come from a study carried out to publicise the advantages of good oral hygene in Sweden. Swedish pharmacies taking part in the campaign are also looking for a couple to break the world record in kissing on Valentine's Day.

The Beckhams too phased out to split (Go To Top)

     London: Celebrity astrologer Jackie Stallone has revealed that the Beckhams once consulted her about the future of their marriage. She confessed that she read the charts of the couple and told them their relationship will last forever, because they're too "dizzy" to find love elsewhere. "Victoria and David once visited me in LA to have their charts read. "They're eccentric fools. I haven't worked out yet which one is dizziest. He's a player and she's not woken up yet," she was quoted by IOL.com as saying. "They'll stay married, I told them that. She doesn't know whether it's night or day. Until she gets that straight, they'll stay together," she added.

Jolie's date is a mystery man (Go To Top)

     London: The media might have pitted Angelina Jolie against Brad Pitt but that is not who her new lover is. According to Femalefirst, she has revealed that she is dating a mystery man and added that the rumours about an affair with Brad Pitt have helped keep him a secret. She added that the media have no idea who her new lover is. "We focus on who's sleeping with who but miss who you are really with," she was quoted as saying.

Clive Owen is bookies new favourite for James Bond (Go To Top)

     London: Hollywood hunk Clive Owen has become the latest favourite for the role of British double agent James Bond, after the actor bagged an Oscar nomination for the best supporting actor. Punters staked hundreds of pounds on the King Arthur star after he was nominated for the love-tangle drama Closer. "Owen's nomination sparked a betting frenzy from James Bond fans," bookie William Hill's spokesperson was quoted by The Sun, as saying. "They feel his heightened global recognition will have done his chances of being the next Bond a world of good," he added.

By 2010 stars will shed their clothes (Go To Top)

     London: According to a survey conducted in Britain actresses now are wearing more revealing dresses than ever, during the premiere of their movies. According to Ananova, researchers for the Odeon survey says if trends continue, stars with be showing off three-quarters of their bodies by 2010. Researchers claim celebs show, on average, more than half their naked body when treading the red carpet. They have scanned through the years to see how much nudity has been on show over the decades. According to them in 2000, Kelly Brook shocked onlookers at the premiere of Snatch by wearing a Julien Macdonald two piece, consisting of little more than knickers and a backless, sideless dress. Since the 1950s, the most prudish decade was, interestingly, the 70s when stars like Carrie Fisher and Goldie Hawn showed just 7 percent of their bare skin. At Odeon Leicester Square, where many premieres are held, general manager Chris Hilton said: "Twenty-first century premiere dress is almost unrecognisable from the traditional glamour of the 1950s.

Women's sex appeal lies under their armpits (Go To Top)

     London: A chemical that young women use as a sex attractant pheromone seems to work for post-menopausal women too, according to researchers. Joan Friebely of Harvard University, US, and Susan Rako, a private physician in Newton, Massachusetts, US, have studied 44 post-menopausal women. They added Athena Pheromone, originally isolated from a woman's armpit sweat, to their perfume. Overall, 68 percent of pheromone users reported increases in at least one of four "intimate socio-sexual behaviours" such as formal dates and sex, as against 41 percent on the placebo. But the pheromone's discoverer, biologist Winnifred Cutler, is keeping its identity secret until patents have been granted to Cutler's Athena Institute for Women's Wellness Research in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, US. "It's still a mystery substance being applied to individuals at unknown concentrations," George Preti of the Monell Chemical Senses Centre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was quoted by the Newscientist, as saying.

Brit women are European lingerie buying champs (Go To Top)

    London: British women have left the trendy French behind in taking care of their underwear. According to a study by the French Institute of Fashion, British women have abandoned their reputation for buying long-lasting cheap underwear. Across Britain, women now spend 72 pound sterling a year each on lingerie, leaving behind their French, German, Italians and Spanish counterparts. Men with an average lingerie spending of only 13 pound sterling, are nowhere on the scene. Experts believe that girls and women often spend more on underwear than the rest of their clothes because it makes them feel good. Although the French spend more on bras and panties, they are left behind because British women tend to spend more on nightwear. Observers say this trend started with sexy, imported French knickers and Janet Reger underwear for well-to-do Arabs and guilty husbands searching for an unusual and possibly late gift.