Lesbian and gay couples in Switzerland rejoiced as they legally tied the knot Friday when the rich Alpine nation formally joined many other western European countries in allowing same-sex marriage, with some saying better late than never. The first same-sex marriages came about nine months after 64.1% of voters backed the “Marriage for All” law in a national referendum. It puts same-sex partners on an equal legal footing with heterosexual couples, including allowing them to adopt children together and to sponsor a spouse for citizenship. Switzerland authorized same-sex civil partnerships in 2007. Friends and family greeted Aline and Laure - who asked that their surnames not be published - with hugs, cheers, applause and a few joyous tears at a Geneva manor house where they exchanged vows to formalize their two-decade relationship. “It’s great joy, a super moment to put in the history books,” said Laure, 45, a human resources executive, adding that July 1 holds … [Read more...] about Couples tie knot as Swiss same-sex marriage takes effect
Hogan sex tape
Sex selection: The forgotten story
Soutik Biswas Published 23 July 2011 comments Comments Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Did the West stoke the scourge of sex selection in Asia? A strong socio-cultural preference for boys in conservative Asian societies is blamed for most of the sex selection. In overwhelmingly patriarchal India, dowry makes daughters expensive. China's one-child policy is thought to be a trigger as women abort girls to have a single boy. But the story of sex selection in Asia is not as simple as it looks from the outside, writes award-winning science journalist Mara Hvistendahl in her startling new book Unnatural Selection. Hvistendahl points a finger at the West for encouraging the epidemic of sex selection which has gripped Asia since the early 1970s. Amniocentesis tests and ultrasound scans have led to more than 160 million girls being aborted in Asia … [Read more...] about Sex selection: The forgotten story
Popular cafe turned ‘community hub’ faces closure due to post-quake red tape
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF Upshot Coffee moved to Heathcote's Bridle Path Rd after the 2011 earthquakes. The end of their temporary consent means they may have to move again or shut down. Megan Geels has gone to work early nearly every day for 10 years, but she may lose her livelihood due to council red tape. Geels goes to work early because she likes to sit to out the back of her coffee shop, quietly overlooking the Heathcote Valley, before the rush begins. “I don’t have to be in at 5.30am, but I have a coffee or two and sit in the dark,” she said. Upshot Coffee moved to its spot on Bridle Path Rd after the 2011 earthquakes. It attracts residents from all over Heathcote Valley, Mt Pleasant, and Lyttelton, and passing police, firefighters and tradies regularly stop in for a quick coffee break. READ MORE: Andrew Lyons, Heathcote Valley's resident 'shape-maker' Southern Stays: Heathcote Valley and the joys of a local weekend Neat Places: Where to find great … [Read more...] about Popular cafe turned ‘community hub’ faces closure due to post-quake red tape
Late Deborah James ‘burst in on husband’s work call with sex toy and sieve in hand’
Dame Deborah James burst into the garden, unaware her husband Sebastien was on a work Zoom call. He turned to look at his wife; the inspirational cancer campaigner wearing a long sequin coat and feather headdress. In one hand she held aloft a large sex toy, in the other a kitchen sieve. This is the memory that Lauren Mahon says most encapsulates the essence of her best friend, who died last week aged just 40. “I am so proud of the dame, I am in awe of her, but I am sorry, I miss the deviant,” cancer activist Lauren says on the latest episode of BBC ’s You, Me and The Big C, the podcast she co-hosted with Deborah. During her short life, campaigner Deborah raised millions for Cancer Research UK, inspired many with her optimism and courage showcased through her social media account @bowelbabe and saved lives as she encouraged people to seek medical help if there was blood in their stool. Dame Deborah James died last week, aged just 40 ( Image: Instagram/ @bowelbabe) … [Read more...] about Late Deborah James ‘burst in on husband’s work call with sex toy and sieve in hand’
It seems not even a sex scandal can force this opposition into a debate
I guess what happens in the Carlton stays in the Carlton, because when the PM delivered a statement on his world tour of acronyms (Nato, CHOGM and the G7), Labour didn’t mention Chris Pincher once, and neither did the SNP. In fact, the Chamber was half empty. Perhaps the opposition thought “MP gropes voters” is less a scandal , more a job description – or maybe they didn’t want to sully a Ukraine speech with gossip. But it’s extraordinary that in an institution of 650 members, many of them willing to deport their own mother for publicity, not one of them raised old Pinchy. Then again, I can’t think of a single MP who has, in the House, called for Ukraine and Russia to negotiate – and with Keir Starmer suddenly backing Brexit, debate feels dead. So, unleash the clods of war! “I take a real interest in the size of our army,” said the venerable Barry Sheerman, who complained that, like Toblerones, it’s getting smaller every year. He reminded the House that his father fought in … [Read more...] about It seems not even a sex scandal can force this opposition into a debate
UTI explained: Washing your body like THIS can reduce cystitis risk
GETTY UTI risk: Cystitis is a common problems the majority of women will experience at least once Sign up for FREE health tips to live a long and happy life SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Cystitis is a common, painful problem which affects 75 per cent of women at some point in their lives. However, symptoms and severity can vary from person to person, and it can also appear in children and men. “It is essentially inflammation of the bladder,” said Dr Renee Hoenderkamp, a GP, in the latest video ‘Cystitis and Interstitial Cystitis’ on her YouTube channel, Dr Renee. “More often than not it is caused by a bacterial infection - usually E. coli which comes from our own bowels.” Doctor explains the symptoms and causes of cystitis … [Read more...] about UTI explained: Washing your body like THIS can reduce cystitis risk
Parents furious as convicted paedophile allowed on primary school grounds
Convicted paedophile Rhys Beaumont was allowed access to Griffin Primary School in east Hull (Image: Katie Pugh) Sign up for our news briefing, including a daily special Russia-Ukraine edition SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Families with children at Griffin Primary School in East Hull have protested to the school over the presence of convicted paedophile Rhys Beaumont. Beaumont, who is on the sex offender's register for life, was imprisoned for three years for having sex with a 14-year-old girl in a drugs den. Related articles 1,400 holiday cottage owners set to quit Wales over new rules Woman spends day in police cells over bin bags she put out 8 years a He had admitted two offences of sexual activity with a … [Read more...] about Parents furious as convicted paedophile allowed on primary school grounds
Clearly, we’ve expected too much of Boris Johnson on the Chris Pincher scandal
Where do they think it’s going to end, all this? What do they, by which I mean all of the other members of the government, think is going to be the outcome for them? Johnson is finished, they must know that. And yet, on they all go, day after day, week after week, publicly humiliating themselves in defence of a man who they must surely know would never, ever do the same for them, and from whom no good, now, is ever going to come? Dominic Raab does not come across as a man who, in his private moments, has an especially deep reservoir of Zen-like calm to call upon. What is he saying to himself, to his friends? What are the voices in his head shouting at him when he gets to the end of yet another agonising humiliation on the TV channels and radio stations, doing his level best to style out the absurd lies of a man who, he must surely know by now, is not telling him the truth? Even by Raab’s incomparably low standards, Tuesday morning’s efforts were off-the-scale … [Read more...] about Clearly, we’ve expected too much of Boris Johnson on the Chris Pincher scandal
Puzzled, bored, overly negative: I read the room at Keir Starmer’s ‘Make Brexit Work’ speech
What is it with three-word slogans about Europe ? Boris Johnson tried “Get Brexit Done”. Now Sir Keir Starmer has come up with “Make Brexit Work”. He first tried out the slogan at the CBI last November. It failed to catch fire then. Now, he has relaunched it at the Irish Embassy for the 24 th anniversary of thinktank the Centre for European Reform. The CER is the best of the new European policy thinktanks set up towards the end of the last century as Britain appeared fully to engage with Europe following the lost years of John Major’s early Tory hostility to the EU after the Maastricht Treaty. But in European capitals, no-one in politics, diplomacy or journalism has any interest in what anyone in London thinks or says on Europe. Britain is back where it was in the 1950s and 1960s, as Conservative and Labour politicians ignored developments that allowed Europe to put a century of war in the file marked “History – Do Not Reopen” and showed how market dynamics … [Read more...] about Puzzled, bored, overly negative: I read the room at Keir Starmer’s ‘Make Brexit Work’ speech
Fury as man throws out pregnant wife’s “inedible” meal, orders takeout
A father-to-be is receiving flack online after confessing that he got caught secretly ordering takeout behind the back of his pregnant wife, who had just cooked him dinner. Respondents to his popular post cited the importance of communication in a relationship. Sharing to popular Reddit forum "Today I F***ed Up," the anonymous dad shared his own personal "f**k up" which resulted in an intense marriage row. According to the husband, his wife's cooking is usually "amazing" and "heaps better" than his, but thanks to pregnancy, her taste in food has changed. "Ever since she got pregnant, she's been spoiling everything with too much salt. The food is almost inedible," he wrote. "She went to lie down since she was feeling nappy. I threw away the food since I knew she could not tell and ordered takeout food. I will head outside and eat there. She doesn't have to know. It will be a little secret between me and the delivery guy. No big deal," continued the husband. "Little did I know … [Read more...] about Fury as man throws out pregnant wife’s “inedible” meal, orders takeout