IGIHE

Category: Lifestyle

  • Dutch Queen Beatrix Handing Throne to Son

    {{Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands will abdicate her throne to make way for her son Prince Willem-Alexander.}}

    She will formally end her reign on April 30 — the 33rd anniversary of her coronation.

    “This doesn’t mean that I’m taking leave from you,” she said on Monday in a televised speech announcing the decision.

    “I still will be able to meet many of you. I am deeply thankful for the faith that you’ve had in me … in all these years that I’ve been able to be queen,” she said.

    The queen turns 75 on Thursday. She had three children with her husband, Prince Claus, who died in 2002.

    The oldest Willem-Alexander will succeed her to the throne.
    Under the Dutch Constitution the king or queen is head of state but politically neutral.

    She said Monday: “I have always considered it as an extraordinary privilege to be able to put a big part of my life at the service of our country and in accordance with my task to add substance to my kingship.

    “Prince Claus was a big support for many years. Until today, this beautiful task has given me a lot of satisfaction. It is inspiring to feel close to people, to sympathize in grievances and share times of joy and national pride.”

    She added: “It is with great confidence, that on April 30 this year I will pass my kingship to my son, the Prince of Orange. He and Princess Maxima are fully prepared for their future task. They will serve our country with devotion, faithfully serve the constitution, and with all their talents give substance to their kingship.”

    {Agencies}

  • Britney Spears Breaksup with Fiance

    {{Britney Spears and her fiancé, Jason Trawick, will not be getting married and, instead, will be going “their separate ways.”}}

    “Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement. I’ll always adore him and we will remain great friends,” Spears said in a statement.

    The singer got engaged to her former agent in December 2011.

    “As this chapter ends for us a new one begins,” Trawick said in the statement. “I love and cherish her and her boys and we will be close forever.”

    The couple started dating in 2009.

    Trawick told “Access Hollywood” in December 2011 that he got down on one knee to pop the question and Spears’ sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, witnessed the proposal.

    But Spears’ representative, Jeff Raymond, said they’ve now decided to be just friends.

    “Britney Spears and Jason Trawick have mutually agreed to end their one-year engagement,” Raymond said. “As two mature adults, they came to the difficult decision to go their separate ways while continuing to remain friends.”

    The news of the break-up came after Spears announced earlier today that she would not be returning as a judge on the TV show, “The X Factor.”

    “I’ve made the very difficult decision not to return for another season,” Spears said in a prepared statement.

    The reason: She wants to start making new music.

    Agencies

  • Focus on Nigeria’s Secret Gay Club

    {{About 50 people, mostly men, crowd around the front porch of a social club in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, cheering on a shy-looking young man, who proceeds to sing a ballad.}}

    Backstage, another man puts on his wig and takes a quick glance at his pocket mirror, before adjusting his tight-fitting red dress.

    Five other men also dressed in drag outfits appear, checking on each other’s make-up as they wait for their turn to perform for the crowd.

    “A friend invited me here a few months ago,” one chatty spectator says excitedly. “I love this place because it makes me feel at home”.

    This gathering of members of the gay and lesbian community in Lagos is held regularly, albeit discreetly, but it could soon be illegal.

    The vast majority of gay Nigerians may not be interested in this kind of event but they still have to hide their sexuality in this conservative society.

    Whilst already illegal, homosexuality is widely frowned upon across Nigeria and has been the subject of several bills in the National Assembly.

    The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill specifically outlaws same-sex unions.

    It also bans gatherings of homosexuals or any other support for gay clubs, organisations, unions or amorous expressions, whether in secret or in public.

    The bill has been passed by Nigeria’s Senate – the highest chamber – and is now being reviewed by the lower chamber, the House of Representatives.

    If approved, it will be sent to the president to sign it into law, after which same-sex couples could face up to 14 years in prison.

    But Nigerian homosexuals complain that the stigma they face is already enough punishment for their way of life.

    Kunle (not his real name), a gay man living in Lagos, is outraged by the proposed law: “How does a government think that sending someone to prison would change his or her sexual orientation?

    “How logical is that?”

    One of Nigeria’s few openly gay human rights activists, Rashidi Williams, notes that the bill seeks to ban something which is already illegal and which no-one is publicly advocating.

    “All we are asking for is to repeal the repressive laws in this country,” he says.

    {Growing anxiety}

    The bill has been condemned abroad – most recently by Australian lawmakers – making its proponents see this piece of legislation as a way of protecting Nigerian society from foreign influences.

    “Ours is to weigh the aggregate of opinion – what the majority of Nigerians want,” says Abike Dabiri, a member of the House of Representatives.

    “If majority of Nigerians want same-sex marriage, then why not?”

    She adds: “You have a right to your sexual preference but by trying to turn it into marriage do you realise you could be infringing on the human rights of the other person who finds it repulsive?”

    This view is echoed on the streets of this country, where religious influences, particularly from Christianity and Islam, are heavy.

    “How do you even become gay, not to mention wanting to get married to another man?” asks Okechukwu Ikenna, a 33-year-old software engineer, visibly irritated by the topic.

    Friends and family members of gay people could get implicated if they do not report cases of same-sex unions because they could be seen as being in support of them.

    Critics of the bill also worry that health workers who provide HIV counselling and treatment to homosexuals could be committing an offence as well.

    However, some of these doctors say they hardly ever know the sexual orientation of those they attend to because it is not a requirement for treatment and counselling, and even if the patients were to reveal that they were homosexuals, it would not affect the quality of healthcare offered.

    Some lawmakers have condemned violence against homosexuals but this has done little to prevent the growing anxiety among those the bill would target as its likely adoption, in whatever form, approaches.

    Mr Williams says some gay Nigerians may seek asylum in countries where homosexual people are accepted, while others will have to go underground.

    At the gay club, despite the jovial atmosphere, there is heightened caution, and no-one is allowed to take any photos.

    The thought of being identified as being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender in a country where the public still turns to mob justice haunts some here.

    And that is a huge concern for Richard (not his real name): “If you don’t become discreet and try to hide yourself, even the man on the street will want to also act on the bill because it has been passed.

    “If you’re walking on the street and he stones you, he knows the law would stand for him because the law is against you.”

    BBC

  • 62.7% South Koreans Think Marriage is not a Must

    {{The ratio of people in South Korea who think they should get married has been declining over the past decade, a survey showed Thursday, pointing to a growing trend here to delay or give up on marriage.}}

    According to the survey by Statistics Korea, the number of people who said that marriage is a must in their life stood at 62.7%.

    It is the lowest since the statistics agency started to unveil related polls in 1998 when the ratio was 73.5%.

    The ratio has been on the decline over the past decade. In similar polls conducted in 2002 and 2006, the figures were 69.1% and 67.1%.

    They stood at 68% and 64.7% in 2008 and 2010, respectively, the agency said.

    The fall is in line with the growing social trend here in which people tend to delay or give up getting married.

    Fewer marriages and the resulting fewer baby births are a major social issue that experts worry could undercut the country’s overall growth potential.

    The survey is part of polls the agency conducted on five fronts, including family, education, health and the environment.

    About 37,000 people aged over 13 participated in the survey from mid-May to early June this year.

    Of the unmarried men surveyed, 60.4% said that they are in favor of getting married, while 43.4% of female responders said so, indicating a wide gender gap in the perception of marriage, according to the agency.

    Meanwhile, the survey also showed that 1.8% objected to getting married, which was lower than the 3.3% reported in the 2010 survey. Of the total, 33.6% said that either way would be OK.

  • Miss USA Olivia Crowned Miss Universe

    {{An American university student is the new Miss Universe, defeating dozens of contestants from six continents to bring the crown back to the U.S. after a drought of more than a decade.

    Twenty-year-old Olivia Culpo won the title Wednesday night at the Planet Hollywood casino on the Las Vegas Strip, replacing outgoing champion Leila Lopes of Angola.

    The Boston University sophomore’s coronation ends a long losing spell for the U.S. in the competition. }}

  • Museveni Warns Against Homosexuality

    {{Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has lashedout against leaders and the public to refrain from promoting homosexuality.}}

    Museveni was speaking at a function to enthrone Rt. Rev. Stanley Ntagali as the eighth Archbishop of the province of the Church of Uganda.

    “If there are some homosexuals, we shall not kill or persecute them but there should be no promotion of homosexuality. We cannot accept promotion of homosexuality as if it is a good thing,” Museveni said.

    He congratulated Christians and the Church upon rejecting messages about homosexuality, described priests from the USA and Europe as partners in the fight against the vice.

  • First same-sex weddings in Washington

    Retired U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Nancy Monahan, right, wears her dress uniform as she leans to kiss her soon-to-be bride Deb Needham while they wait at Seattle City Hall to become among the first gay couples to legally wed in Washington state, Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012, in Seattle.

    The couple is from Renton, Wash. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a voter-approved law legalizing gay marriage Dec. 5 and weddings for gay and lesbian couples .

  • Social Networking Takes up Toilet Time

    {{Blame social media the next time it feels like forever for your turn to use the toilet.}}

    According to a study released Monday, 32 percent of people in the United States aged 18 to 24 say they use social networking in the bathroom.

    The same report from marketing research firms Nielsen and NM Incite also found that 51 percent of US adults between 25 and 34 use social networking in the office — more than any other age group.

    While personal computers remain the primary tools for logging onto sites like Facebook and Twitter, the report — posted at blog.nielsen.com — noted a significant increase in the use of cellphones and tablets as well.

    Forty-six percent of respondents said they used a mobile phone to connect online, up from 37 percent last year, while 16 percent used a tablet like Apple’s iPad, up from just three percent in 2011.

    Facebook remained by far the most popular social networking site among Americans — but there was a stunning 1,047 percent year-on-year increase in the number of unique PC visitors to the online scrapbook Pinterest.

  • Brazil Picks Winner for 2012 Miss Bumbum

    {{Carine Felizardo, a curvy model from the northern state of Para was late Friday crowned Miss Bumbum, a title rewarding Brazil’s sexiest female derriere.}}

    A jury of six women and five men picked the 25-year-old Felizardo among 15 finalists in the second annual edition of the contest, held in a Sao Paulo hotel.

    Andressa Urach, another 25-year-old model from the southern state of Santa Catarina finished second while 21-year-old Camila Vernaglia from Sao Paulo state was third.

    Felizardo collected a 5,000-reais ($2,500) check, while Urach received 3,000 reais and Vernaglia 2,000 reais.

    “I am overwhelmed, very, very happy,” the winner said, choking back tears. “I would like to thank those who voted for me, those who believed in me, my family, my friends.”

    Felizardo, who is single, said she was honored to receive the unusual title.

    “I am very proud of my bumbum (as Brazilians call the backside), proud to represent the Brazilian woman,” she added, stressing that she owed her victory to years of hard gym training.

    The 15 finalists competed in Friday’s grand finale before a predominantly male crowd of journalists from around the world after surviving an online eliminatory round that drew representatives of the country’s 26 states and the federal district Brasilia.

    The jury, which included Rosana Ferreira — last year’s Miss Bumbum –, delivered its verdict after the contestants sashayed down the catwalk first in evening dresses and later in string bikinis that revealed the best part of their anatomy.

    “This is ridiculous,” Leila Chequi, a Brazilian female reporter working for the Japanese television network Fuji, told AFP.

    “I am here just for work. But if they (the contestants) don’t mind showing their bums to the whole world, why not?” she added.

    The popular contest is however lifting spirits in this huge metropolis wracked by a murder spree that has claimed more than 300 lives in the past month.

    The young ladies worked hard to prepare for the final, including taking surfing and jungle training courses to tighten their buns.

    Inevitably, the pageant sparked some jealous online comments.

    Said Juliana Danyelle Stuart: “They are cute, but I think that I have a better booty than some of the contestants. Next year I will take part.”

    The symbolic significance of the bumbum in Brazilian culture cannot be underestimated, as shown by the wild popularity of bum dancing among the young.

    “I think that the tropical climate, the carnival and all this racial mixing gives the Brazilian woman a unique biotype on the planet,” pageant organizer Cacau Oliver, a well-known female beauty spotter, told AFP in October.

    “The Brazilian woman’s derriere is a part of the body that the whole world admires and the contest just reaffirms this,” he added.

  • Britain’s Kate & Prince William Expecting Baby

    {{Prince William’s wife Catherine is expecting a baby and is in hospital suffering severe morning sickness, St James’s Palace announced on Monday.}}

    The royal family are “delighted” by the news of the baby, who would be the third in line to the British throne currently occupied by Queen Elizabeth II.

    “Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby,” St James’s Palace said in a statement.

    “The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news.”

    William, the son of heir to the throne Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, married the former Kate Middleton in April 2011 and there has been intense speculation about when the couple, who are both 30, would have a baby.

    The statement added: “The Duchess was admitted this afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe morning sickness).

    “As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter.”