Sceptic challenges guru to kill him live on TV Pandit Surender Sharma tries to kill Sanal Edamaruku live on television: the rationalist didn’t look too worried Jeremy Page, Delhi thetimes.co.uk When a famous tantric guru boasted on television that he could kill another man using only his mystical powers, most viewers either gasped in awe or merely nodded unquestioningly. Sanal Edamaruku’s response was different. “Go on then — kill me,” he said. Mr Edamaruku had been invited to the same talk show as head of the Indian Rationalists’ Association — the country’s self-appointed sceptic-in-chief. At first the holy man, Pandit … Continue reading Guru killing sceptic on TV

Married people ‘twice as likely to be fat’ Married people are twice as likely to become obese than their single counterparts, scientists claim. By Andrew Hough telegraph.co.uk Previous 1 of 3 Images Next Single people were more likely to excercise in order to find themselves a partner, the researchers found. Photo: CORBIS Daisy and Onslow from the BBC comedy Keeping Up Appearances, were overwieght but happy. The study found that married people ‘let themselves go’. Photo: BBC The study advised that married people took up more exercise. Photo: ALAMY Greek researchers found that married couples were more likely to become fat due to … Continue reading Marriage makes you fat – proof!

Neighbour with sex Asbo arrested for noisy sessions Nightmare neighbour Caroline Cartwright who was given a sex Asbo to prevent noisy sessions has been arrested after failing to keep the lid on her lovemaking. Steve Cartwright and wife Caroline leave Newcastle Crown Court Photo: PA Mrs Cartwright avoided jail in January when a judge at Newcastle Crown Court handed her a suspended prison sentence after she was caught breaching a four-year Asbo which bans her from having loud sex sessions. But two months after her court case Caroline, of Hall Road, Washington, is said to be at it again and … Continue reading British couple arrested over noisy sex session at own home!

Lib Dems’ Vince Cable ‘ready to be chancellor’ in hung parliament after talks with Treasury By Gerri Peev Vince Cable has put himself forward to be chancellor in a hung parliament Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat’s high profile deputy leader, has broken the party’s vow of silence on coalition government by declaring he is ready to serve as chancellor. Mr Cable, who is also the Lib Dem’s Treasury spokesman, revealed he would be ready to step into the role if called upon. His statements have all the more poignancy as the latest polls point towards a hung parliament, which could … Continue reading Should Vince Cable be chancellor in a hung parliament?

Binyamin Netanyahu flies to US for talks with Barack Obama as killings raise tension in West Bank • Israeli PM defiant on East Jerusalem settler homes • UN chief stresses suffering caused by Gaza boycott Rory McCarthy in Nablus guardian.co.uk, Article history Palestinians carry the bodies of Mohammad Qadus, 15, and Osaid Qadus, 17, during their funeral in the West Bank. Photograph: Abed Omar Qusini/Reuters The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, will hold talks in Washington on Tuesday with President Barack Obama as tension escalates in the Middle East after a weekend of violence and with little sign of an … Continue reading Netanyahu flies to US to get Christian Fanatics to pressure Obama!

Why everything you’ve been told about evolution is wrong What if Darwin’s theory of natural selection is inaccurate? What if the way you live now affects the life expectancy of your descendants? Evolutionary thinking is having a revolution . . . Oliver Burkeman The Guardian, Article history Epigenetics suggests your lifestyle could affect the lifespan of your grandchildren. Photograph: Zena Hollyway/Corbis The story, still sometimes repeated in creationist circles, goes like this: it is the 1960s, at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, and a team of astronomers is using cutting-edge computers to recreate the orbits of the planets, … Continue reading Is everything you’ve been told about evolution wrong?

Aakar Patel A few years ago, I was invited to a friend’s house for dinner where one other person was present. This man, who was quite young, was a singer and after dinner performed for about an hour. He sang without music and, given that there wasn’t much of an audience, with feeling and enthusiasm. After he finished he spoke about his life and his work and how he wanted to find work in Bollywood. He was living as a paying guest, which means someone who rents a room in an apartment. He was Kailash Kher, and when he became … Continue reading The singers of Bollywood

Smokers’ Corner: Mice By Nadeem F. Paracha Sunday, 21 Mar, 2010 NFP asks if minorities will ever be treated well enough to not feel like misfits. — File photo Some days ago, while waiting in my car for a traffic signal to turn green, a young kid nonchalantly stuck a flyer under one of the car’s wipers. Usually I throw away such pieces of paper, but this time I decided to take a look at it. It was a flyer advertising a Montessori school called ‘Model Islamic Montessori.’ Once home, I decided to call the school and asked to be connected … Continue reading Pakistan and its minorities

Talks with the Taliban Dawn Editorial The Pakistani intelligence agencies acted on ‘actionable intelligence’ given by outsiders without realising that Afghan Taliban leaders such as Mullah Baradar would also be netted in the raids. – Photo by Reuters. Pakistan Pakistan will be privy to talks with Taliban: Karzai Pakistan will be privy to talks with Taliban: Karzai The former top UN official in Afghanistan has come out and publicly claimed what many have been arguing privately. He has said that the recent arrests in Pakistan of senior Afghan Taliban leaders, headlined of course by that of Mullah Baradar, was a … Continue reading Talks with the Taliban