Pirelli Calender

PARIS, Nov 21: The 2006 Pirelli calendar is already making waves. Top brands from the fashion and film world including Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez of the US, British supermodel Kate Moss and Russian model Natalia Vodianova modelled for the 2006 Pirelli calendar in Cap d'Antibes in France in these undated handout images released by Pirelli. The 2006 calendar from the Italian tyre firm Pirelli was launched in Paris on Friday.

Motherhood made Madonna's music

WASHINGTON, Nov 27: Music may be the the sound of life for many, but for pop queen Madonna, motherhood is the way to music, creativity and even success.

People may call her Material Girl, but for her kids she is a mum full of the nectar of love. She says it is her affection for her children that helped her learn so many things in life and boosted her creativity.The mother of two - Lourdes, nine, and Rocco, five - claims being a mother has enriched her life so much that her music wouldn't be as good without it.

"My work probably wouldn't be as good (if I didn't have kids). Having children made me go down a road of serious introspection and self-examination. I think it's informed and hopefully enhanced my creativity," Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

Where girls are married by age 10

JAIPUR, Nov 26: India has the lowest average age of marriage in the world and around 15 per cent girls are married by the age of 10 despite socio-economic curbs, a report says.

The practice of child marriage had been continuing in the country despite the minimum age for marriage being raised to 21 years for boys and 18 for girls and the offences being deemed cognisable, the report presented at the national workshop of the Rural Health Mission in Jaipur said.

It said Rajasthan had the lowest median age of marriage in the country and "this tradition is ingrained in its culture, which has an adverse effect on the life and health of the girl."

Rajasthan's Health Minister Digambar Singh said child marriages in rural areas of the state could not be contained unless the literacy level among the women increased.

He asked NGOs and social organisations to propagate the ill-effects of early marriage by changing the mindset and create awareness among the rural people.

Child and Women Welfare Minister Kanak Mal Katra said the state government had already launched a campaign to educate the people in this regard and the results were encouraging.

Now, women can sniff on their libidos: Study

NEW YORK, Nov 18: A new drug that enhances sexual behavior in women, with just a snort from a nasal inhaler, could give women their very own version of the male Viagra,according to Canadian scientists.

"The bottom line is that women have been really shortchanged," The New York Daily News quoted Laura Berman, Ph.D., author of The Passion Prescription: Ten Weeks to Your Best Sex - Ever! as saying. "Hopefully, this will be another option for women with physiologically based sexual dysfunction."

"There's nothing in the arsenal now to treat female sexual dysfunction," Jim Pfaus, a researcher at Concordia University in Montreal who is working on PT-141, told the BBC. "That's one of the things that's really promising about this drug," she added.

PT-141 is a copy of the hormone that stimulates the melanocyte-receptors in the brain that play a role in sexual arousal. In lab trials, female rats exposed to PT-141 immediately began seeking out male rats for sex. Women who took part in trials told New York magazine that within minutes they felt a "tingling and a throbbing" along with "a strong desire to have sex."

Even men revealed that a snort made them feel "younger and more energetic" as well as randy. PT-141 is being developed by Palatin Technologies, a New Jersey-based drugmaker. The company expects it'll take up to three more years before the drug goes to market.

Jackson does his make-up in ladies room

DUBAI, Nov 18: Rock star Michael Jackson has stirred a small controversy in the United Arab Emirates by entering the ladies room in a shopping mall.

His publicist said Jackson, who arrived in Dubai this week as the guest of a champion rally driver, did not understand the Arabic sign on the door and left the bathroom as soon as he realised his mistake. But local newspapers reported that the 47-year-old performer was spotted applying make-up in the women's toilets in a Dubai mall.

Jackson's host, Mohammed bin Sulayem, dismissed the story as rumour. "People are always interested in gossip and in portraying a negative image of(Jackson)," bin Sulayem said on Tuesday. The reality is that he's an easy person to be with, not demanding and not difficult."

In a statement late Tuesday, Jackson's publicist, Washington-based Bain and Associates, said: "Mr Jackson mistakenly entered a ladies room in Dubai, labelled in Arabic, during an outing with friends. Upon realising his mistake, he quickly exited."

"Upon his exit, he was recognised and a crowd ensued. He had to wait in a nearby bookstore until police arrived to escort him through the crowd," the statement said. Bin Sulayem said Jackson was considering buying property in Dubai. This week's visit is his second after a stay in August.

Victoria's Secret show back on runway after hiatus

NEW YORK, Nov 11: The Victoria's Secret fashion show staged an exuberant return on Wednesday evening as the lingerie retailer brought back its sexually-charged runway extravaganza for the first time in two years.

The fashion show, a multimillion dollar televised showcase of lacy titillation, was scrapped last year amid a wave of broadcasting modesty that followed singer Janet Jackson's breast-baring Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004.

The show was filmed for broadcast December 6 on CBS television, which carried the event for two years before the hiatus and drew only modest viewership.

Wednesday's event was held at the New York State Armory in Manhattan, the streets surrounding the building were packed with long lines of hopeful fans, some of whom were turned away.

The standing-room only crowd eyed celebrity supermodels including Gisele Bundchen, Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum making her first appearance after giving birth decked out in the latest over-the-top Victoria's Secret designs.

The runway was decorated as a holiday toy room, with giant pink teddy bears emblazoned with Sexy Little Bear, supersized gift boxes, candy canes and alphabet building blocks.

The models pranced down the runway in holiday-themed lingerie that an R-rated elf might wear, such as a tiny Santa skirt with feather trim, fur-trimmed stiletto boots. Other items included a feather plume bustle, an embroidered bra and a fishnet thong with Swarovski crystals.

Unlike a typical runway show where models wear stony pouts, the models walking the runway were smiling and lip-syncing to the music. They closed the show by lining up at the top of the runway, dancing and embracing one another.

The show opened with jazz musician Chris Botti playing the trumpet. Singers Seal and Ricky Martin also performed.The crowd cheered the musicians and supermodels, especially Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks, who has been focusing on her new career as a talk-show host and television producer.

The show's return comes as Victoria's Secret parent company, Limited Brands Inc, is trying to revive investor interest. Shareholders of the retailer, which also operates Bath & Body Works, Limited, and Express, have suffered a disappointing year so far.

The Columbus, Ohio-based company said earlier this week it is planning a business overhaul, which including an overhaul of its beauty products division, and introducing more high-end apparel.

Asians have least active sex lives!

SINGAPORE, Nov 8: Stressed out Asians have the least active sex lives globally with India and eight other countries from the region making up to the bottom ten in terms of love-making, condom maker Durex said on Tuesday. Japan was at bottom of the list of 41 countries and territories covered by this year's Durex survey.

Japanese had sex at an average of 45 times annually, less than half the global average of 103 and far behind that of Greece which topped the poll with 138 romps a year. Singaporeans ranked second-last with 73. Indians (75), Indonesians (77), Hong Kong residents (78), Malaysians (83), Vietnamese (87), Taiwanese (88) and China (96 times a year) were the other Asians ranked as having the lowest libido.

In second place behind Greece was Croatia with 134 times a year, followed by Serbia and Montenegro at 128 times. Britons were more fired up than the Americans, having sex 118 times a year compared with 113 for the United States, but the French were more amorous still with 120. The Swedes were the only non-Asians in the bottom ten, with 92 love-making sessions a year. The Thais had sex 97 times a year.

The stress of living in fast-paced Asia, home to some of the world's fastest growing economies, could be the reason why couples make love less, Durex said. "If you look in fact at the East Asian economies, they are the ones that are moving faster," Cesar Balota, Durex country manager for Singapore and Indonesia told reporters. More than 317,000 people took part in Durex's ninth annual survey on sexual attitudes and behaviour.

Racy sex festival reveals all!

BEIJING, Nov 8: More than 50,000 people flocked to the opening day of a racy sex festival in southern China in a sign the conservative nation is shedding its sexual taboos, state media reported on Monday.

The three-day event, which began on Saturday in the southern province of Guangzhou, featured lingerie shows and adult toy exhibitions as experts and local authorities sought to convey information about the dangers of unsafe sex. "Holding this festival shows the mainland is open and bold about sex," said Xu Tianmin, president of the China Sexology Association, a sponsor of the Third (Guangzhou) Sex Culture Festival, according to the China Daily.

Other cities are planning similar festivals. Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province in north China, is next in line to host such an event, the paper said. Experts worry that sex education in China has fallen behind over the past 25 years as economic development changed people's attitudes about sex.

In one of many recent studies, the average age of first sexual experience for most Chinese had dropped to 18 from 22 only a few years ago, the newspaper said, citing a survey by global condom manufacturer Durex. Xu said a lack of classroom education and general ignorance about safe sex was one reason that HIV/AIDS and venereal diseases were spreading in China.

The government estimates China has 840,000 HIV-positive cases, although a new survey is now being carried out. About 30 per cent have been infected through unsafe sex, and that figure has been rising steadily, prompting calls from health experts for 100-per cent condom use programs throughout China.

The United Nations has warned that China may be on the brink of an AIDS epidemic, with potentially 10 million HIV-positive people by the end of the decade.

'Eternal lovers' in sexual union for 65 mn years!

LUCKNOW, Nov 4: This was no one-night stand. Scientists in India say they have discovered two fossils fused together in sexual union for 65 million years.

The findings were published in the October edition of the Indian journal Current Science, which said it was the first time that sexual copulation had been discovered in a fossil state, according to a news agency.

But voyeurs will need a microscope to view the eternal lovers. The fossils are tiny swarm cells, a stage in the development of the fungus myxomycetes, also known as slime molds. The cells reproduce by "fusing," Ranjeet Kar of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow reportedly said. Once the cells fuse, long, threadlike appendages known as flagella, are lost, he said.

Finding the fossils in a fused position and with their flagella shed, is evidence that the two cells were having sex, Kar said. "The sexual organs being delicate and the time of conjugation short lived, it is indeed rare to get this stage in the fossil state," the study said. The cells were discovered in a nine-meter (30-foot) deep dry well in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

Jolie's latest tattoo says 'Know Your Rights'!

LONDON, Oct 28: "Know Your Rights" are the latest words etched across the back of stunning Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie. The Tomb Raider star, who has 11 tattoos in total, including a large Asian tiger on her back and a black cross on her left hip, showed off the new tattoo at the New York bash for the Worldwide Orphans Foundation.

According to femalefirst, she is an avid supporter of the charity and is set to become a representative of the foundation. Earlier this year, it was reported Angelina wanted to have the names of her two adopted children - son Maddox and daughter Zahara - tattooed on her back. She was also allegedly planning a bunny, which represents her boyfriend Brad Pitt's Chinese birth year, on her butt.

I hate guns, yells new Bond daniel Craig

LONDON, Oct 27: Daniel Craig may have bagged the coveted role of James Bond but the actor is no gadget flaunting gun weilding fellow in real life, in fact he has revealed that he hates guns.

"I hate handguns. Handguns are used to shoot people and as long as they are around, people will shoot each other,"Craig was quoted by OK magazine, as saying.

"That's a simple fact. I've seen a bullet wound and it was a mess. It was on a shoot and it scared me. Bullets have a nasty habit of finding their target and that's what's scary about them," he added.

And Craig is not the only Bond who hates guns, Roger Moore, who played the superspy from 1973 to 1985, said after quitting the role that he hated 'that awful pose' of Bond with his gun which has become an iconic movie image, reports the Sun.

The actor later became an ambassador for children's charity UNICEF and declared: "Today I am completely opposed to small arms and what they can do to children. "I played every role tongue-in-cheek because I don't really believe in that sort of hero. I don't like guns."

Craig was unveiled earlier this month as the successor to Pierce Brosnan, also doesn't share Bond's love of Martinis 'shaken not stirred'.
The 37-year-old also admitted "I love a Martini straight up," He will play a tougher, grittier 007 in Casino Royale, which is based on Ian Fleming's first Bond book. The movie is due for release in November next year.

Gulshan Grover to play villain in new Bond film

LONDON, Oct 27: Bollywood's famous villain Gulshan Grover has been cast as the baddie opposite Daniel Craig in the next James Bond movie, Casino Royale.

Grover, 50, a veteran who has essayed several memorable roles in Hindi films, will play the role of Le Chiffre in the film based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond book by the same name. Grover said "to be in Casino Royale would be a real honour to me and my country."

Shooting for the Bond film is due to begin in Prague in February 2006. Grover said although he had commitments around that time, he would drop everything else, if required, to act in the film.

He told the Evening Standard: "In India the character of the villain is so integral to our storytelling. I have always enjoyed playing memorable 'bad men' and which villains are more memorable than Bond villains such as Blofeld from You Only Live Twice and Scaramanga from The Man With The Golden Gun?

Grover added: "I have played so many negative characters in my time that people in India are often too scared to talk to me." Grover will be the first Indian to act in a Bond film since tennis star Vijay Amritraj and Kabir Bedi played important roles in Octopussy (1983). He has featured in several films outside India including Beeper (2002), a thriller starring Harvey Keitel.

Grover met Prince Charles at Clarence House on Tuesday night and later said: "It was great to meet the prince. He is a man I have much admiration for."

Semi-naked Pamela can be on your phone card!

SHANGHAI (China), Oct 12: A year after raising the censors' hackles with bus stop ads, Pamela Anderson's nearly naked image is returning to China on phone cards telling people not to buy fur. The Canadian-born actress appears topless with her back to the is returning camera and an arm partly hiding her right breast behind the slogan ""Give fur the cold shoulder."

Behind her, an image of falling snow appears above Chinese characters reading "Cold shoulders are nothing compared to the pain they feel," and "Please don't wear fur."

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it and government-owned China Telecom have printed 70,000 of the cards, a toned-down version of Anderson's bus and train stop ads that were altered three times to reduce the amount of skin on show before being approved for public display.

PETA says China has become the leading fur producing nation, but no laws cover how rabbits, foxes and other animals are raised and killed. A recent undercover investigation found animals raised in squalid conditions and killed in brutal ways, including having their pelts removed while still breathing, it says. "The people of China deserve to know about the immense suffering of animals killed for their fur," Anderson as quoted as saying in a PETA statement.