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Taxi revolution in Tehran

It's a scenario that would be unthinkable in nearby Saudi Arabia, where women are banned from driving.

But in Tehran women are allowed not only to drive cars but also to works as taxi drivers.

There are 700 of them in this Muslim city and they are popular with the women in Tehran who feel safer driven by a woman taxi rather than a man taxi driver because "Men drivers are young and impatient, and they're not disciplined. Women are simply better drivers."

And Roqaya Khalili is one of around 40,000 registered customers who prefer to move around in cabs with women in the driving seat. "I feel safer in a woman's taxi, from all points of view," she says.

That's a view with which Sahar Foghani, battling daily with Tehran's traffic jams and antisocial driving habits, clearly agrees. "I've been driving for nearly two years now, and have never had a bump, or a violation ticket," she says.

Sahar has two teenage children, and says she took to the roads to help her husband make ends meet in harsh economic times. "It's tough on the kids, as they're often stuck at home on their own, but they've been really helpful," she says.

Like 70 per cent of the drivers working for Women's Taxis, Sahar owns her own car, buying it off the company in instalments. "I can pay off the car over 60 months, so this is an investment as well as providing some extra income," Sahar says.

Baseball 'Invented' in Britain

According to a PTI report there is nothing American about baseball's origins, the national game that has become America's pride.

Apparently it was played in Britain according to British historians who claim to have found evidence that baseball was being played in Britain long before it became popular in the US.

They have based their findings on a diary entry which describes the game being played by a teenager in Guildford in Surrey in 1755.

The entry, discovered in the diary of lawyer William Bray, documents a game on Easter Monday 1755. "Went to Stroke Church this morning. After dinner, went to Miss Jeale's to play at base ball with her ..." it reads. The entry has been verified to be authentic.

Yoga and chanting mantras

Malaysian nationals could perform yoga as long as they do not chant Mantras, said Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

His remarks followed a ruling given by Malaysia's Fatwa National Council which said that chanting mantras is against the teachings of Islam and that people could deviate from Islamic faith if they performed yoga which has its roots in Hinduism.

The Council's verdict shocked Muslims who performed yoga, with many protesting through letters in the newspaper that the ancient form of exercise had helped them keep fit and had in no way made them deviate from their faith. The Prime Minister went on to observe that Muslims who performed yoga exercises and did not chant any mantra could carry on with their activity as it was good for their health. He added that non-Muslims in this multi-ethnic country should not feel hurt or slighted by the announcement of the yoga fatwa as it was only applicable to Muslims.

Malaysia has a majority Muslim population with 60 per cent following the faith, while ethnic Chinese mostly Christians and Buddhists formed 25 per cent and ethnic Indians, a majority of them Hindus comprise 8 per cent of the country's 26 million population.

- Roving Eye