Pensioners who exercise, maintain a healthy weight and do not smoke can significantly increase their chances of reaching the age of 90, a study has found.

Researchers examined the lives of more than 2,000 American men and found that a healthy 70-year-old man who had never smoked, had a normal weight and blood pressure and exercised four times a week had a 50:50 chance of seeing 90. This was cut to 44 per cent if he did not exercise and to just a one in four chance if he was obese and a one in five chance if he smoked.

Would you like to live to be 90? How far would you be prepared to go to maximise your chances of living longer?

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Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has defended himself following a public furore over comments he made last week suggesting that the adoption of sharia law in the UK was “unavoidable.”

Speaking at a meeting of the General Synod, the Church of England's parliament, Dr Williams said that it was not “inappropriate” for him to address the issue, though he did take responsibility for any "unclarity" and for any distress caused by a "misleading" choice of words.

Dr Rowan Williams has been urged to resign and faces claims from within the Anglican Church that confidence in him has "plummeted".

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The number of foreign workers in Britain has boomed in the last six years, and has now risen above two million for the first time.

During the same period, the number of British employees has dropped by half a million, while the number of Britons claiming incapacity benefit has soared.

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The Baftas are to pay tribute to legendary film director Sir David Lean, whose bright career marked a golden age in British cinema.

His classic films include Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai.

But is the tribute, the first in a year-long series of events to commemorate the centenary of Lean's birth, a nod to a bygone era of cinema, forever to be treasured but long lost?

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Maternity laws in the UK have gone too far and may prevent women from being hired, according to businessman Sir Alan Sugar.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Sir Alan warned that employers may start to discriminate against women because they're unable to broach the subject of motherhood in interviews.

"They (the interviewers) would like to ask the question, 'are you planning to get married and to have any children?'," the self-made millionaire said.

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Hundreds of conversations at Woodhill Prison have been recorded secretly by police over the past six years, it has emerged.

A whistleblower claimed bugging devices were allegedly hidden in specially-adapted visiting tables at the Category A prison, which houses many of Britain’s most notorious inmates including dozens of terror suspects.

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One in seven rural primary schools face closure under Government plans to cut the number of empty desks and save money.

A report published this week found that almost 2,500 primaries fall short of Government guidelines stating that no more than a quarter of school places should go unfilled.

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The adoption of some aspects of Islamic sharia law in Britain "seems unavoidable", the Archbishop of Canterbury has claimed in an interview with the BBC.

Dr Rowan Williams, symbolic head of the world's 70 million Anglicans, argued that other religions enjoyed tolerance of their own laws and called for "constructive accommodation" with Islamic practice in areas such as marital disputes. He stressed that such practice should not take precedence over an individual’s rights as a citizen.

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Coach travel is the least stressful way of reaching a holiday destination, a study has found.

The research, carried out by travel magazine TTG and Leger Holidays, found that train travel raised blood pressure more than any other mode of transport, dispelling the common assumption that it is one of the most relaxing ways of travelling long distances.

What, in your opinion, is the best way to travel to and to enjoy a stress-free holiday?

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The head of BBC Radio 4 has defended his station from criticism that it is too “middle class” by countering that this is no longer an exclusive label.

Jane Garvey, the new presenter of Woman’s Hour, put herself on a collision course with her employers this week after she claimed there was a “middle class bent” to every one of its programmes.

However, Mark Damazer, who runs the station, said that the middle classes had expanded and no longer only consisted of “posh people drinking expensive wine”.

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Parents who allow their children to drink alcohol in public may be fined £1,000 or forced to do community work under proposals for new “parenting contracts” to be announced by the Home Secretary.

The contracts would ban parents from allowing their children to visit certain areas or places at stipulated times and would hold them responsible for preventing their children from consuming alcohol.

Similar recent initiatives include fining parents whose children play truant.

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Internet campaigners have launched a "Stop Blair" campaign to block any hopes the former prime minister may harbour of becoming president of the European Union later this year.

The website, www.stopblair.eu, went live today and its creators aim to collect one million signatures opposing Tony Blair's candidature for the job.

Jérôme Guillet, a Paris-based investment banker, explained that the idea for the campaign emerged from the pro-EU online bloggers community "European Tribune". "Tony Blair embodies many things we do not like," he said. "He is universally reviled."

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America took a huge leap towards selecting its next president on ‘Super Tuesday', the most important contest so far in a closely-fought primary campaign which has already cost candidates as much as $600 million (£305 million).

Republicans and Democrats across 24 states will voted on who they want to represent their party in the election this November.

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A police officer’s decision to record a conversation between a British MP and a constituent held on terrorism charges has provoked a new round of heated debate on privacy.

Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, has launched a formal inquiry into claims that Sadiq Khan, a Labour MP, was bugged during private meetings with the suspect. Under the so called Wilson Doctrine, named after the late Labour prime minister, the police and security services are barred from bugging MPs.

How serious a blow to our system and its values was this incident? In this day and age should anyone, even MPs, be exempt from security measures such as phone tapping? Do those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear?

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Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, has urged GPs to extend their working hours to cover evenings and weekends, angering the British Medical Association.

The Government claims that GPs’ failure to open outside of the normal working week is the public's biggest single gripe with the NHS . But the BMA disputes this and warns that the extension will have a negative impact on other services.

Ben Bradshaw, the health minister, commented: "I don't think it is unreasonable that people should be able to expect to see their GP in the evenings or on Saturday morning."

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More than half of the wealthiest people in Britain are planning to leave or transfer their money abroad following the Government’s crackdown on 'non domiciled' residents, a study has found.

Under the current rules, residents born abroad can claim non domicile status, which allows them to pay tax only on money earned in Britain or brought into this country. From April, 'non doms' will be charged £30,000 after they have lived in Britain for seven years and the regulation of offshore trusts will be tightened.

The study, by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, found that 2,741 'non doms' are planning to leave Britain or withdraw their investment when the new rules come into force.

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The West is not just fighting a "new Cold War" against Russia, it is losing the conflict "while having barely noticed that it has started," argues Edward Lucas in his new book.

"Mr Putin and his Kremlin allies have seized power in Russia, cast a dark shadow over the eastern half of the continent and established formidable bridegheads in the main Western countries," he maintains in "The New Cold War".

Do you agree? Does the Kremlin, under Mr Putin or his putative successor, Dmitry Medvedev, menace "both Russia and the West," as the book's title suggests?

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Dame Beryl Bainbridge, one of Britain's best known contemporary writers, has reopened hostilities in the battle of the sexes by declaring that "men are more capable then women".

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs today, the 75-year-old author recalls how a male publisher used to keep her on a tight leash.

“I think that’s what men are supposed to be like," she says. "That’s what they are supposed to do. I still think men are more capable than women. I have never ever thought to myself that I was better than a man, ever.”

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The welfare system is "a mess that no one can manage", according to a Government advisor.

David Freud, a former investment banker who conducted a review into the benefits system for Tony Blair, told the Telegraph's Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson that the private sector should be put in charge of the long term unemployed. He added that he believes that fewer than a third of those on incapacity benefit are really too ill to work.

Mr Freud said: "The system we have at the moment sends 2.64 million people into a form of economic house arrest and encourages them to stay at home and watch daytime TV. We are doing nothing for these people."

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Microsoft has made a £22bn ($44.6bn) bid to buy Yahoo! in a dramatic attempt to challenge Google, the world leader for internet search and online advertising.

Microsoft clearly hopes that by combining its software dominance with Yahoo!'s search reach the two companies will be able to rival Google. But, if the sale goes through, will the two giants of the internet wield too much power?

Google has access to vast amounts of data on its users, raising privacy concerns, and its dealings with communist China have angered some campaigners. Meanwhile, Microsoft has faced courtroom battles on both sides of the Atlantic over accusations of anti-competitive behaviour.

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The Prince of Wales has attacked plans to erect more skyscrapers in London, saying they would "vandalise" the skyline and overshadow the capital's historic landmarks.

A number of unusual-shaped glass and steel towers with nicknames like "shard of glass", "helter skelter" and "cheese grater" are planned, following on the success of the St Mary Axe tower, popularly known as the "gherkin".

The Prince said: "For some unaccountable reason we seem to be determined to vandalise these few remaining sites which retain the kind of human scale and timeless character that so attract people to them and which increase in value as time goes by."

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