Sania Mirza to play tennis on Mars

NEW DELHI (T2N2) Indian tennis star Sania Mirza will play an exhibition tennis match on the planet Mars in December in what is being seen as yet another attempt to attract space tourists to the Red planet.

Mirza has agreed to play a match on a makeshift tennis court on Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in the Solar System.

"I know it will be tough -- playing tennis in a spacesuit is not easy but the experience would be great," the 21-year-old told T2N2 on Friday.

There is no word yet on the identity of Mirza's opponent in the match but ATP and WTA spokespersons said no other professional tennis player had been asked to play.

A source in the Indian government said the match might be a ploy by some Indian fundamentalists to banish Mirza from the country and lock her away on Mars.

A Muslim organisation which had issued a fatwa against the tennis player for playing in short skirts said its members were confused if the decree was valid in outer space.

"I guess if she is playing in a spacesuit, it's okay. We might even send some representative to Mars to cheer her to victory, especially if her opponent is wearing short skirts," a spokesperson said on condition of anonymity. (T2N2)

Indian stray dogs world's sexiest: Report

NEW DELHI (T2N2) Indian stray dogs are set to give desi men a complex. A study released today by an international dog-lovers club 'We Love Animals' has rated them the world's sexiest.

The lowly mongrel beat dogs from around the world, including pedigreed dogs from India, when it came to "prowess in bed," the report said.

"They may not be much to look at but female dogs around the world love them anyways," a spokesperson for the NGO said.

[Image: four-block moku hanga print of Indian stray dog by Serendipity Artist]

The study found that Indian stray dogs romped home on the sexiness quotient both in terms of endurance power and ability to satisfy their "spouses."

During the study, 1756 bitches of various breeds were given leeway to consummate relationships with a dog of their choice.

An overwhelming majority of 1301 zeroed in on the Indian mongrel, which top-scored in categories like 'body-odour, 'curvature of tail', 'shapeliness of the femural bone' and 'licking ability'.

Despite its small size, the Brazilian Chihuahua was adjudged the runner-up, garnering the affections of 91 bitches while the German Shepherd was the chosen mutt for 81.

Interestingly, the British Bulldog remained the hapless bachelor with even the bitch of the same species refusing to entertain his woofs.(T2N2)
(This post was first published on June 27, 2005)

US-India nuke deal hinges on Banarasi sarees

NEW YORK (T2N2) Despite hectic lobbying in political circles to either clinch or scrap the Indo-US deal, the outcome of the nuclear accord may well depend on - believe it or not - sarees.

India has gifted a pure Banarasi silk saree to each US Congressman, State Department sources said here.

The offer comes at a time when interest in Indian apparel is at an all-time high and the wives of US Congressmen may be tempted to persuade their spouses to see the deal through, the sources said.

Apparently, apprehensions were high in India that Bush would not be able to clinch the deal on his own steam, and the freebie sarees were needed to bring the Congress around.

The Indian saree, espoused by several Hollywood leading ladies, has in the last couple of years caused a sartorial revolution in the fashion streets of Milan and Paris. (T2N2)
(This post was first published on March 26, 2006)

CBI in New York to arrest Richard Gere

NEW DELHI (T2N2) A two-member team of India's Central Bureau of Investigation is in New York to arrest Richard Gere, a ministry source told T2N2.

Gere, who had sparked off sporadic protests in some cities when he kissed Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty at an anti-AIDS event, now faces three months in an Indian jail for violating obscenity laws.

An arrest warrant in the actor's name was issued by a Jaipur court earlier this week. The CBI officials have been asked to track down Gere and bring him back to India to face trial. Ministry officials were wary of divulging further details but said the task would not be an easy one considering Gere is on U.S. soil.(T2N2)

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Kabaddi new national game for India

NEW DELHI (T2N2) Alarmed over embarrassing defeats in hockey and cricket, parliamentarians in India have drafted a legislation to make kabaddi the national game of the country.

Although hockey is nominally the national sport, cricket is the local craze - with the nation coming to a stop every time the Indian cricket team plays. But things have changed since India's infamous loss to minnows Bangladesh in the cricket World Cup.

Kabaddi, a rural sport in which India are still undisputed champions, is now leading in the race to be the official sport of the country.

Closely following on its heels is the number puzzle Sudoku and India's performance in the World Sudoku Championships at Prague might just see this sport becoming the national game.

Parliamentarians are expected to take a decision on the issue by June.(T2N2)

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Dhoni to make West Indies permanent home

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (T2N2) Wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni made a surprising announcement today - he won't be going back to India after the cricket World Cup.

The sudden decision comes on the heels of television reports that irate fans had stoned Dhoni's house in Ranchi after India lost to Bangladesh on Saturday.

Dhoni told T2N2 he had already applied for a house permit in Trinidad.

"This is disgusting. One loss and they do this to my house. Why should I go back to India. I will stay here"

Skipper Rahul Dravid told T2N2 he had tried his best to pacify Dhoni but the Ranchi batsman stood by his decision.

Protesters in several Indian cities burned effigies of the country's cricket players and chanted slogans against the team after the shocking loss to Bangladesh. (T2N2)

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New Delhi (T2N2) Bollywood actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai has divorced a peepal tree she had recently married, after local residents discovered the tree in question had previously tied the knot with a neem tree.

Priest Shiv Sundar, who performed the ceremony, said the divorce was necessitated because bigamy is not allowed in India and Aishwarya did not want to be anybody's second wife.

"During the drought last year, people in Benares had married off the peepal tree to a nearby neem. We were not aware of this development and were forced to break off Aishwarya's relationship"

Both trees was unavailable for comment.

Ironically, Aishwarya had married the tree to overcome astrological differences prior to her scheduled nuptials with fellow actor Abhishek Bachchan.

In fact, a lawyer had filed a PIL in the Patna High Court against Aishwarya for promoting untouchability through tree marriage. (T2N2)

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