Bravest of the Light Brigade: Unarmed and injured, hero soldier charged into battle - and survived

Hero: Captain Smith in 1917, more than 60 years after the Battle of BalaclavaCharging with the Light Brigade into the valley of death, Lieutenant Percy Shawe Smith was risking more than most.Because unlike his comrades, he was not carrying a weapon.Lt Smith, who had an injured hand, awoke that morning to find the metal arm support he needed to let him hold a sword was missing.But, undeterred, he surged into battle unarmed – and survived while scores were slaughtered.His extraordinary tale of heroism during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War has only come to wider attention now his medals have been donated to a museum by his great-grandson.On...

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A U-boat attack, sunken treasure about to be salvaged and one of the most awesome survival stories of the war

Heroic: Second Officer Richard Ayres, the only survivor of the SS GairsoppaAfter 13 terrible days at sea, adrift in a rudderless lifeboat, buffeted by the waves and watching his companions die one by one, Richard Ayres had so nearly made it to safety.But then, just yards from dry land, his boat capsized in the crashing surf, and without the strength to swim any further, he could not go on.Suddenly, children’s voices drifted down to him on the wind.They were calling to him with increasingly desperate encouragement: ‘Stick it, mister! Stick it, mister!’Barely conscious, Ayres made one last, superhuman effort to drag himself through the treacherous...

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Plane with 19 people aboard missing in Nepal

Nepal's air rescue office says a plane carrying tourists to view Mount Everest is missing and has been out of contact with the control tower for more than an hour. The Beechcraft plane belonging to Buddha Air was carrying 16 foreign tourists and three crew members. It lost contact on Sunday on approach to the Kathmandu airport. An official at the rescue center did not have any more details.The plane had taken the tourists to view Mount Everest and other high peaks and was returning to Kathman...

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How to keep a healthy heart

How to keep a healthy heart (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)Celine Dion may have to change the title of her famous love song - My Heart Will Go On, for according to medical experts with each passing day, our hearts are ageing faster than other parts of our bodies and are finding it difficult to go on. Your heart age can be different from your actual age.  A sedentary lifestyle, stress, long work hours, a growing appetite for junk food, excessivesmoking and drinking are some of the factors that can make your heart older a lot faster than you actually age. Age: Just a number?  You may know the shape of your heart, but...

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Ra.One challenges Shah Rukh Khan, the star

A still from Ra. One More PicsOn a summer day in 2006, Shah Rukh Khanand director Anubhav Sinha are driving aroundLos Angeles.  Among other things, they are discussing a sweet and simple father-son story, but with a twist. Suddenly, SRK breaks into a smile. "That's it! I can see it! The film is done, ready for release!" Sinha looks at him incredulously. SRK continues, a mad glint in his eyes, "Not only has it been released, picture superhit hai!" Five years on, that story is one of the most ambitious, expensive and perhaps technologically complex Hindi films ever. And the success of producer-actor SRK's Ra.One is a...

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Facebook wants to evolve, extend reach

Facebook is trying to evolve from an Internet hangout.SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook is trying to evolve from an Internet hangout where people swing by to share tidbits, links and photos to a homestead decorated with the memories, dreams and diversions of its 800 million users. In what may be the boldest step yet in the company's seven-year history, Facebook is redesigning its users' profile pages to create what CEO Mark Zuckerberg says is a "new way to express who you are." It is betting that despite early grumblings, its vast audience will become even more attached to a website that keeps pushing the envelope. To that effect,...

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Approached for two Bollywood films: Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton International celebrity Paris Hilton claims to have received two Bollywood offers and says she is open to working in the Hindi film industry, provided she gets suitable scripts.  "I have been approached to do two Bollywood films. But I am not keen on them. However, if a good script comes up, I am willing to do it. Bollywood films are beautiful, I love the clothes in them," said the blonde beauty who arrived here early Saturday morning. Hilton will get a taste of Bollywood at a party organised by Indian socialite Queenie Dhody. Expected guests at the Saturday night party include Bollywood celebrities Sonakshi...

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