London, Apr 29 : In the world''s largest DNA scan for autism, US scientists have uncovered a new gene variant, called CDH10, which is highly common in children suffering from the disorder.

In partnership with 30 research institutions across the US, scientists scrutinized the activity of CDH10 and found that it is most active in key regions that support language, speech and interpreting social behaviour.

The two findings suggest that CDH10 plays a critical role in shaping the developing brain and may contribute to a prenatal risk of autism.

London, April 29 : Queen of Pop Madonna has reportedly turned to top-ranking Kaballists to help her secure the Malawian girl she now calls `my child'.

The 50-year-old star's plea to adopt Mercy James was turned down by a judge in the African country last month because Madonna had not lived there for 18-24 months, as required by law.

However, the singer is keen to become Mercy's mother and is said to be holding private Kaballah prayer sessions at her home in New York, hoping that it will help her secure the four-year-old.

London, Apr 29 : Mel Gibson's alleged lover Oksana Grigorieva showed off her explosive curves in saucy new lingerie photoshoot.

The 39-year-old Russian beauty, who has a son with James Bond star Timothy Dalton, stripped down to pink undies for a sizzling photo session.

She sat on a piano surrounded by roses for the pictures to promote her music, reports the Sun.

London, April 29 : Former Atomic Kitten Kerry Katona thought she was an alien during her five-year struggle with bipolar disorder.

The singer, who was at the Oxford Union with hubby Mark Croft to deliver a talk, revealed the effects the manic depression had on her.

"I sat on the bed and said, `Mark, I'm an alien' - and I really thought I was an alien," the Sun quoted her as saying.

"I didn't brush my teeth for a week. It's part of my personality," she added.

London, Apr 29 : Filmmaker Woody Allen has won the latest round of his bitter legal battle against clothing firm American Apparel after the judge ruled that he doesn't have to prove the company''s advertisements are "sleazy".

The 73-year-old director had sued the clothing giants for 6.9 million pounds last year, and claimed they used his likeness on billboards without his consent.

He also branded them "sexually gross, in a witless and infantile way".

Dhaka - Investigators Tuesday formally charged the head of a British charity and 10 Bangladeshi agents with financing terrorism in the guise of operating a religious school in Bangladesh. A court in southern Bhola district accepted the report on last month's cache of arms recovered from a madrassa (religious school) and orphanage run by the Green Crescent charity, accusing its voluntary organisation head Faisal Mostafa and his 10 Bangladeshi associates.