London

The explosion on royal warship HMS London, which claimed 300 lives, might not have resulted due to an unstable mix of chemicals as earlier thought, according to an engineer and naval historian.

Richard Enser says that build-up of methane from rotting faeces in the bilges of the ship might have been the real cause of the fire.

He came to this conclusion following a 20-year study of another 17th-century warship called the Lennox, which was launched a decade after the London exploded.

A sick video of three suicide bombings has been posted on YouTube by al-Qaeda.

Terror experts say the film is a twisted “tribute” to the assassins — and a warning of attacks to come in Britain and elsewhere.

The posting on the world’s most popular website was timed to coincide with Glasgow Airport bomber Bilal Abdulla beginning his jail stretch, The Sun reported.

The Iraqi doctor got life last week for the Glasgow attack and a failed bid to blow up clubbers in London.

Elisabeth Fritzl whose father imprisoned her in a cellar for 24 years and repeatedly raped her, has ended a bitter feud with her mother so the family can be reunited for their first Christmas together.

The 43-year-old had fallen out with her mother Rosemarie over control of the six kids she had after being raped by her father Josef.

However, Rosemarie, 69, has now been invited to spend three days with them — and will even cook Christmas dinner.

Glamour girl Jodie Marsh was said to be “getting worse with age” as she celebrated her 30th birthday bash in thigh-high PVC boots and “very little else.”

The English model, who has appeared on her own reality TV show, ‘Totally Jodie Marsh’, had thrown a fancy dress party with a Rock ''n'' Roll theme.

The bash saw her lesbian lover Nina dressed as ex Guns ''N'' Roses guitarist Slash, reports the Sun.

Jodie had previously been spotted using her boobs to seek attention at a night out in London club.

Madonna’s ‘4 Minutes’ has been voted the most-watched video on MySpace this year.

The Queen of Pop beat British rockers ‘The Verve’, whose video of ‘Love Is Noise’ followed behind in popularity on the social networking site.

Meanwhile, Blur frontman Damon Albarn too had a reason to raise a toast, with his animated band Gorillaz becoming the most popular on the Internet, reports the Daily Express.

The English rockers won the most listened to act title leaving behind fellow artists such as Oasis, Coldplay, and Amy Winehouse to trail.

Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s plans of spending a peaceful Christmas together as a family for the sake of their children have reportedly been jeopardised after the British director “banned the singer from staying at his house.”

The warring couple, who had been granted a preliminary divorce in November and are presently locked in a bitter custody battle of their kids, were allegedly set to reunite at the director’s 10million-pound Ashcombe House in Wiltshire, England, to have a family celebration.

Coca-Cola does not work as a contraceptive, a scientist has cautioned.

Deborah Anderson, a Harvard Medical School researcher, said the soda’s acidity does not kill sperm, the Australian Associated Press reported.

The research shatters the belief that the popular drink works as an after-sex Spermicide, reports News.com.au.

Sperm travels very quickly and would reach the cervix before the douche had a chance to work, Anderson said.

Australian novelist Kathy Lette has offered some advice to alleged adulterous celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s wife Tana.

The 40-year-old author has asked Tana to take out a “philandering husband” cookbook.

"Wouldn''t it funny if she put out a cookbook at Christmas, a philandering husband cook book," News.com.au quoted Lette as saying.

"She could be boiling him alive in extra virgin olive.

"Or (explaining) how to put your philandering husband''s testicles through a garlic press. Wouldn''t that be fantastic," she added.

‘Santa Baby’ by Madonna and ‘Wonderful Christmas Time’ by Sir Paul McCartney have made the list of ‘The 10 worst Christmas Songs Ever’.

Santa Baby became a huge hit when it was first recorded by Eartha Kitt in 1953, but Madge’s version soon became one the least favourite festive songs.

Macca may be a living legend, but ‘Wonderful Christmas Time’ was not one of his best pieces of work, reports the Daily Star.

Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ and ‘Mistletoe And Wine’ by Ciff Richard were also included in the list.

Carla Bruni has admitted that she and French President Nicolas Sarkozy decided to marry just two days in advance.

Speaking in an hour-long interview for French TV, the First Lady of France also revealed that she even practiced her curtsy for Britain''s Queen Elizabeth with British rock singer Marianne Faithfull.

In the program, tiled "Carla Bruni in complete freedom", the former model was reunited with friends from the fashion world and music industry, including French fashion designers Christian Lacroix and Jean Paul Gaultier.