RadioRob

Published by Reuters KABUL (Reuters) -Afghanistan’s Taliban government ordered women on Saturday to cover their faces in public, a return to a signature policy of their past hardline rule and an escalation of restrictions that are causing anger at home and abroad. A decree from the group’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, said that if a woman did not cover her face outside home, her father or closest male relative would be visited and face potential prison or firing from state jobs. “We call on the world to co-operate with the Islamic Emirate and people of Afghanistan … Don’t bother us. Don’t bring more pressure, because history is witness, Afghans won’t be affected by pressure,” Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the minister for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, told a news conference. The ideal face covering was the all-encompassing blue burqa, the group said, referring to the garment that was obligatory for women in public during the Taliban’s previous 1996-2001 rule. Most women in Afghanistan wear a headscarf for religious reasons but many in urban areas such as Kabul do not cover their faces. GROWING RESTRICTIONS The Taliban has faced intense criticism from Western governments, but also by some religious scholars and Islamic nations, for limiting women’s rights including keeping girls’ high schools closed. The United Nations’ mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement on Saturday that it would immediately seek meetings with the Taliban over the issue, adding it would consult with others in the international community on the implications of the ruling. “UNAMA is deeply concerned with today’s announcement by the Taliban de facto authorities … this decision contradicts numerous assurances regarding respect for and protection of all Afghans’ human rights,” the statement said. The United States and others have already cut development aid and sanctioned the banking system since the group took over in August, pushing Afghanistan towards economic ruin. The Taliban says it has changed since its last rule, but in recent months has added regulations limiting women’s movement without a male chaperone and banning men and women from visiting parks together. “It is interfering with women’s private lives,” Kabul-based women’s rights advocate Mahbouba Seraj said of Saturday’s decree. “Today we have lots of other problems, like suicide attacks, poverty … People are dying every day, our girls can’t go to school, women can’t work … But they just think and speak and make laws about hijab (women’s Islamic dress).” (Reporting by Kabul Newsroom; Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Pakistan;Writing by Charlotte GreenfieldEditing by Michael Perry, Andrew Cawthorne and Matthew Lewis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Tom Hiddleston hopes Loki coming out as bisexual was “meaningful to people who spotted it”. The 41-year-old actor plays the first bisexual lead character in the Marvel Universe – but Tom admits there’s “further to go”. Asked about starring in the Disney+ series ‘Loki’, Tom replied: “I was just really honoured to be asked. We all wanted to retain the integrity of the character – I wanted to make sure we didn’t lose the bits that people loved, while doing something new.” Tom – who previously played Loki in several Marvel movies, including ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ – acknowledges that Loki coming out as bisexual was still only a “small step”. But he maintains that it’s an “important” moment for the franchise. He told the Guardian newspaper: “I also hope Loki coming out as bisexual was meaningful to people who spotted it. It was a small step, and there’s further to go. But it was definitely important to all of us.” Loki’s sexuality is addressed in the third episode of the series. Sylvie, a female character, asks Loki: “How about you? You’re a prince. Must’ve been would-be princesses or perhaps another prince?” And Loki replies: “A bit of both. I suspect the same as you.” Marvel writer Kate Herron has also addressed the issue on Twitter. She previously wrote on the micro-blogging platform: “From the moment I joined @LokiOfficial it was very important to me, and my goal, to acknowledge Loki was bisexual. (sic)” However, the writer accepted that, at this stage, it’s just a “small step”. She said: “It is a part of who he is and who I am too. I know this is a small step but I’m happy, and heart is so full, to say that this is now Canon in #mcu #Loki (sic)” View the full article

Published by AFP Nicole Rye, 45, owner of a Trump-themed store which follows the former president to his campaign rallies, stands for a photo in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on May 6, 2022 Greensburg (United States) (AFP) – For the Donald Trump supporters attending a Pennsylvania rally, reports that the Supreme Court may soon end the federally protected right to abortion have been galvanizing. As one man summed up the feeling, “Life is precious.” The political shockwaves of a high court opinion — a draft of which leaked Monday in an exceedingly rare event — are expected to reverberate through US politics for months, especially with midterm elections set for November. Trump himself barely touched on the subject in a rally held under torrential rains in the city of Greensburg. But as he flirts more and more openly with the possibility of seeking a new term as president in 2024, the subject seemed to be on the lips of all his supporters. “I am a Christian, and so Biblically, the way our world is going just does not line up,” 45-year-old Nicole Rye told AFP. A Florida native, she and her husband have crisscrossed America for years attending as many Trump rallies as possible. They run a concession stand selling “Trump 2024” paraphernalia and offering a range of stickers insulting President Joe Biden in various colorful terms. “God gives children as blessings. They are; it’s Biblically written,” Rye said. She said she feels profoundly grateful to Trump for using his appointments to push the Supreme Court — which rules on some of the nation’s most sensitive issues — to the political right. With many Democrats defending abortion rights just as passionately as many Republicans reject it, the expected ruling is bound to deepen the nation’s already dramatic divisions. The emotion evoked by the issue could be seen on Rye’s face. “I have a past,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “There’s us women who have been through it. “But you can’t. Life is life. And I firmly believe that.” ‘The next Einstein’ Leroy Kinnan, a 47-year-old who lives in the area, had accompanied his daughter to her first Trump rally. “How do we know by aborting a baby that we didn’t terminate the next Einstein or a doctor who cures cancer?” he asked. He said abortion is sometimes used as “a form of birth control,” adding that he firmly opposes it except in cases of rape or incest. If the Supreme Court overturns the landmark 1973 ruling that established a federal right to abortion — as the leaked draft made clear it plans to do — each US state will be free to ban or allow abortion within its borders. More than 20 conservative-leaning states have already taken moves toward outlawing the practice. The court’s final ruling is expected in June or July. Trump, perhaps wary about proclaiming a premature victory, barely mentioned the court’s impending ruling, saying merely, “They’re making a very big decision now.” But the crowd of several thousands clearly knew what he meant. The billionaire politician was in Pennsylvania to support several Republican candidates in the legislative elections in November. Jason Killmeyer, a Republican who is running for the House of Representatives, was much more direct as he strode through the muddy fairgrounds where the rally was held, seeking support from Trump backers. “Eight hundred thousand dead babies a year is too many,” he said, referring to a widely circulated estimate of the number of abortions in the country. His language reflected the anti-abortion argument that fetuses, even in their earliest phase of development, are people. Killmeyer promised the voters he met that he would not shy away from taking on those Democrats who favor a woman’s right to choose. “Let’s jump into these cultural battles and no longer let the left wing set the tone and the pace of cultural engagement,” he said, promising that if elected he would work to outlaw abortion even in states that might want to allow it. John Roan, who is 52, agreed. He and his wife have adopted six children, now aged eight to 27. “We believe that life is precious,” said Roan, who wore a khaki baseball cap. Along with Trump, he added, he is willing to fight for his belief. View the full article

Published by DPA The logo of the human rights organization Amnesty International is pictured in Berlin. Sebastian Kahnert/dpa Human rights group Amnesty International released a report on Friday accusing Russia of over 60 cases of war crimes around the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Labelling the move by Amnesty as “historic,” secretary general Agnès Callamard made a presentation in Kiev documenting the allegations. Amnesty believes more than 40 civilians were killed by airstrikes in Borodyanka and there were 22 cases of unlawful killings in and around Bucha. Callamard stressed that in her view, the attacks on civilians were deliberate decisions and therefore unacceptable. Russia invaded Ukraine nearly two and a half months ago. Areas north and north-west of Kiev were under Russian occupation for just under a month before Moscow switched its focus to the east of the country. According to Ukrainian figures, more than 1,200 civilians have been killed in the Kiev area, about a third of them in Bucha alone. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Adele insists she has “never been happier” as she celebrates her 34th birthday. The ‘Easy on Me’ hitmaker turned 34 on Thursday (05.05.22) and reflected on the positive changes in her life as she thanked fans for their well-wishes on her special day. Sharing two bare-faced photos of herself in a Carolina Herrera minidress on Instagram taken by photographer Raven B. Varona, she wrote: “What a difference a year makes! If time keeps healing and smoothing out all the creases in my life like it does as the years fly by, then I can’t wait to be 60! I’ve never been happier! So many lessons, so many blessings to be grateful for. This is 34, and I love it here! Thank you for the birthday love as always x (sic)” Adele – who has nine-year-old son Angelo with ex-husband Simon Konecki and is in a relationship with Rich Paul – later donned matching striped pyjamas to celebrate with friends including Raven, stylist Jamie Mizrahi, travel writer Jedidiah Jenkins and Crown + Conquer founder April McDaniel. Jedidiah shared a post on Instagram Story featuring a smiling Adele and the rest of the group sleeping. He wrote: ” ‘We’re all gonna watch Sleeping with the Enemy. I think I’m entering my Julia Roberts era?’ – Birthday girl. “‘Oooh I’ve never seen it. Perfect, we’re in.’ ” – us.(sic)” The ‘Chasing Pavements’ singer recently teased she’s planning to have another child. Discussing her delayed Las Vegas residency, she said: “Imagine if I have to cancel because I am having a baby! “We are now working our a**** off, but I don’t want to announce a new set of dates until I know everything will definitely be ready. “The sooner I can announce the better, but I just can’t in case we are not ready in time. It is absolutely 100% happening this year. “It has to happen this year because I’ve got plans for next year.” The ‘Hello’ hitmaker is keen to add to her brood but admitted motherhood has been exhausting. She said: “It takes me a while to recharge, and I would like to have more children – I only just feel like I’ve caught up with my sleep from nine years ago when I had my son.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Madonna has asked Pope Francis to meet her. The 63-year-old singer – who was criticised for blasphemy by the Vatican following the release of her controversial 1989 video ‘Like a Prayer, which featured burning crosses, a black Jesus and statues crying blood – has reached out to the head of the Catholic church because she wants to discuss “important matters” with him and insisted her treatment by the religious organisation hasn’t been “fair”. She tweeted: “Hello @Pontifex Francis —I’m a good Catholic. I Swear! I mean I don’t Swear,” Madonna tweeted at the Pope. “It’s been a few decades since my last confession. Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters? “I’ve been ex communicated 3 times. It doesn’t seem fair.” The Pope has yet to respond to Madonna. In 2006, Madonna was also accused of blasphemy following a controversial performance in Rome, when she was “crucified” on stage. At the time, the late Cardinal Ersilio Tonini spoke with the approval of then-Pope Benedict XVI, saying the ‘Vogue’ hitmaker had gone “too far”. He said: “To crucify herself during the concert in the city of Popes and martyrs is an act of open hostility. It is nothing short of a scandal and an attempt to generate publicity,” the cardinal said at the time. “The time will come when this woman will realise that Christ died on the cross for her as well, that he spilt his blood for her. I feel pity for her.” The mother-of-six previously reached out to the Pope in 2019 because he was keen to talk to him about women’s rights. She said: “Let’s talk about Jesus’ point of view about women. Let’s talk about it. “What do you really think he thought of women? And don’t you think Jesus would agree that a woman has the right to choose what to do with her body? “One day he might invite me. I think this one might… I think he would be open to having that conversation with me.” The ‘Ray of Light’ singer previously admitted that her religious upbringing has left her carrying a feeling of guilt throughout the rest of her life. The American star – who has been married to Sean Penn and later, Guy Ritchie – shared: “Once you’re a Catholic, you’re always a Catholic – in terms of your feelings of guilt and remorse and whether you’ve sinned or not. “Sometimes I’m wracked with guilt when I needn’t be, and that, to me, is left over from my Catholic upbringing. “In Catholicism, you are born a sinner and you are a sinner all of your life. No matter how you try to get away from it, the sin is within you all the time.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON Reuters) -U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene should be allowed to run for reelection, a judge ruled on Friday, rejecting arguments by a group of Georgia voters that her comments about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol made her unfit for federal office. The ruling by Charles Beaudrot Jr., an administrative law judge in Atlanta, is only a recommendation. Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, will make the final determination whether Greene, also a Republican, is qualified to run for reelection. Greene, a prominent supporter of Republican former President Donald Trump who represents a Georgia district in the U.S. House of Representatives, is seeking reelection this year. The Republican primary is scheduled on May 24 and the general election on Nov. 8. Greene, in comments to the media, has played down and justified the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol assault by Trump supporters in their failed bid to block congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. A Greene spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the judge’s ruling. In a novel legal challenge, a group of Georgia voters accused Greene of violating a U.S. Constitution provision called the “Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause” by supporting an incendiary rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol. The constitutional clause, added after the U.S. Civil War of the 1860s, prohibits politicians from running for Congress if they have engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort” to the nation’s enemies. In his ruling, Beaudrot wrote: “the Court concludes that the evidence in this matter is insufficient to establish that Rep. Greene, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress … to support the Constitution of the United States … engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or (gave) aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” Trump at the preceding rally told his supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell,” repeating his false claims that the election was stolen through widespread voter fraud. The Trump supporters attacked police, ransacked parts of the Capitol and sent lawmakers into hiding for their own safety. “I was asking people to come for a peaceful march, which everyone is entitled to do,” Greene told the judge at an April hearing on the effort to block her from the ballot. “I was not asking them to actively engage in violence.” (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Scott Malone, Leslie Adler and Chizu Nomiyama) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Doyinsola Oladipo and Arriana McLymore (Reuters) – Yelp Inc, Amazon.com, and Citigroup are among a small but growing number of companies rolling out policies to cover costs for American employees who need to travel out of state for an abortion. Yelp Inc was one of the first to offer support for its employees who might need to travel out of state for access to abortion, a decision the company says was made to ensure its workers have equal access to healthcare. A crowd-sourced platform for reviews of businesses including restaurants and hotels, Yelp started this month offering the healthcare travel benefit to U.S. employees. “I think it really comes down to equal access to care. In order to safeguard employees and make sure that they can get the healthcare that they need, no matter what state they live in, we need a benefit like this,” Miriam Warren, Yelp’s Chief Diversity Officer told Reuters. Yelp and Citigroup, Levi Strauss & Co and Amazon.com Inc have all pledged to pay for employees’ travel to obtain abortions while Oklahoma, Texas and other Republican-led states clamp down on access. Some major employers, such as Walmart Inc, Target Corp and Walt Disney Co, have declined to weigh in since the leak to Politico this week of a Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn its 1973 decision legalizing abortion nationwide. Some could be fearful of a growing trend among politicians in Republican-led states to punish companies for their stances on social issues. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a rising star in the Republican party, signed a bill in April stripping Disney of self-governing authority at its Orlando-area parks in retaliation for its opposition to a new state law that limits the teaching of LGBTQ issues in schools. Dozens of U.S. House Republicans in April demanded that the chamber drop Citigroup Inc as its provider of credit cards for lawmakers, after the financial institution offered to pay travel costs for employees seeking abortions. The issue has gained urgency now that 31 states have introduced abortion bans this year, according to policy analysis by research group Guttmacher Institute. By offering support for employees who may need to travel out of state for abortions, Yelp and other companies hope to gain an edge attracting and retaining talent as well as appearing socially responsible to investors. “For companies who care about issues of diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging, they can’t sit by and be silent on this issue because it really does impact every aspect of a woman’s life,” said Yelp’s Warren. But speaking out on social issues can carry the risk of losing customers and employees who disagree with a company’s stance. “Companies must carefully navigate such issues, as to avoid offending internal stakeholders as well as the external community,” said Izzy Kushner, president of human resources consultancy HR Impact. (Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo and Arriana McLymore; Additional reporting by Aleksandra Michalska and Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by PopCrush An anonymous man attacked K-pop star Holland in a serious hate crime this week. On Thursday (May 5), the Korean performer shared photos of his scarred face along with details about the assault, which took place on Wednesday (May 4). According to Holland, real name Go Tae-seob, he was walking in the Itaewon area of Seoul alongside his manager and a friend when a strange man approached him and launched a physical attack. *Content warning below // hate crime, assault, graphic imagery* “[He] hit me on the face twice, calling me ‘a dirty gay.’ Now I have a scar on my face and I’m going to the hospi… Read More View the full article

Published by The Street By Veronika Bondarenko “Efforts to further restrict or criminalise that access would have far-reaching consequences for the American workforce,” the company said in a statement. With a leaked draft opinion now showing that the Supreme Court is ready to strike down Roe v. Wade, businesses are feeling pressure to speak out against a decision that could allow individual states to strip residents of abortion access. While the decision was in draft form from several months ago, Chief Justice John Roberts’s confirmation that the draft ruling authored by Justice Samuel Alitowas genuine has set off a … Read More View the full article

Published by AFP The Trevor Project, a non-profit that works to prevent suicide among young people in the LGTBQ community, polled nearly 34,000 people aged 13 to 24 Washington (AFP) – Nearly half of LGBTQ youth aged 13 to 24 in America seriously considered committing suicide last year, according to a survey released Wednesday. The poll of nearly 34,000 people was conducted by The Trevor Project, a non-profit that works to prevent suicide among young people in the LGTBQ community. This annual survey “demonstrates that rates of suicidal thoughts have trended upward among LGBTQ young people over the last three years,” said Amit Paley, the organization’s executive director. The study found that 45 percent of respondents said they seriously considered suicide last year, and that 14 percent tried to take their life. Among those aged 13 to 17, the share of those who said they seriously considered suicide rose to 50 percent. Suicide attempts among young Americans rose throughout the population — especially among teenagers — during the pandemic’s two years of remote school and social isolation. But a 2019 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already found “a significant difference” between levels of suicidal thoughts among young people, based on their sexual identity. To wit: 14.5 percent of heterosexuals reported having seriously considered suicide but the figure shot up to 46.8 percent among those who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, the CDC said. Events in recent years have only reinforced these trends, said The Trevor Project. It said the proportion of young LGBTQ people in America who seriously considered suicide last year is up two percentage points from 2020 and five points from 2019. “The Covid-19 pandemic and record wave of anti-transgender legislation continue to negatively impact LGBTQ youth’s mental health,” the organization said. Seventy-three percent of people in the community reported feeling anxiety last year and 58 percent experienced symptoms of depression, the poll said. View the full article

Published by InsideHook By Mark Hay Over the last decade, sex clubs and parties have shifted from the stuff of underground lore to an almost ho-hum fixture of modern American life. Not just tabloids, but mainstream lifestyle and culture magazines regularly publish in-depth profiles of prominent clubs and events — like those hosted by Snctm, the notorious high-end society that’s offered the rich (and supposedly famous) venues to enjoy kinky performances and public sex since 2013. What’s more, they print guides on how to find sex clubs, how to act while attending parties and even how people can stay safe if and when th… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jennifer Rigby (Reuters) -Almost three times as many people have died as a result of COVID-19 as the official data show, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report, the most comprehensive look at the true global toll of the pandemic so far. There were 14.9 million excess deaths associated with COVID-19 by the end of 2021, the U.N. body said on Thursday. The official count of deaths directly attributable to COVID-19 and reported to WHO in that period, from January 2020 to the end of December 2021, is slightly more than 5.4 million. The WHO’s excess mortality figures reflect people who died of COVID-19 as well as those who died as an indirect result of the outbreak, including people who could not access healthcare for other conditions when systems were overwhelmed during huge waves of infection. It also accounts for deaths averted during the pandemic, for example because of the lower risk of traffic accidents during lockdowns. But the numbers are also far higher than the official tally because of deaths that were missed in countries without adequate reporting. Even pre-pandemic, around 6 in 10 deaths around the world were not registered, WHO said. The WHO report said that almost half of the deaths that until now had not been counted were in India. The report suggests that 4.7 million people died there as a result of the pandemic, mainly during a huge surge in May and June 2021. The Indian government, however, puts its death toll for the January 2020-December 2021 period far lower: about 480,000. WHO said it had not yet fully examined new data provided this week by India, which has pushed back against the WHO estimates and issued its own mortality figures for all causes of death in 2020 on Tuesday. WHO said it may add a disclaimer to the report highlighting the ongoing conversation with India. The WHO panel, made up of international experts who have been working on the data for months, used a combination of national and local information, as well as statistical models, to estimate totals where the data is incomplete – a methodology that India has criticised. However, other independent assessments have also put the death toll in India far higher than the official government tally, including a report published in Science which suggested three million people may have died of COVID in the country. Other models have also reached similar conclusions about the global death toll being far higher than the recorded statistics. For comparison, around 50 million people are thought to have died in the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, and 36 million have died of HIV since the epidemic began in the 1980s. Samira Asma, WHO assistant director general for data, analytics and delivery for impact, who co-led the calculation process, said data was the “lifeblood of public health” needed to assess and learn from what happened during the pandemic, and called for more support for countries to improve reporting. “Too much is unknown,” she told reporters in a press briefing. (Reporting by Jennifer Rigby, Editing by William Maclean) View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by DPA The will-he-won’t-he relationship of schoolboys Charlie Spring (Joe Locke, right) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) is at the core of Netflix’s graphic novel adaptation “Heartstopper”. Netflix/dpa “Heartstopper” isn’t the first coming-of-age series about school kids grappling with the challenges of puberty while longing to find their first love. Other productions like “Sex Education” have already done a good job in introducing more diversity on TV, but “Heartstopper” doesn’t focus on your average heterosexual couples. Instead, the plot revolves around Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor), two students at a British all-boy school, and the question of when they will finally get together. Charlie, a timid, nerdy teenager who is openly gay, immediately falls in love with Nick – the head of the school’s rugby team – when he first says hi to him. Nick, for his part, also seems to like Charlie, but as a friend – or maybe more? While “Heartstopper” still uses this good old and very predictable story pattern – shy kid falls in love with school superstar – it has turned the familiar story into a LGBTQ tale in which everyone has a voice, not just the rich white hetero kids. The series is based on the graphic novel by Alice Oseman of the same name, and Oseman has also co-written the script for “Heartstoppers”. It’s also worth mentioning that Nick’s mother is played by the great Olivia Colman, adding another project to her long list of acclaimed performances, including lead roles in “The Father”, “The Favourite” and “The Lost Daughter”. The first season of “Heartstopper“, which includes eight episodes, is available for streaming on Netflix. View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Kim Cattrall is finally revealing why she never planned to return to her famous “Sex and the City” role. The actress who immortalized the role of sexually freewheeling publicist Samantha Jones on the iconic HBO series infamously walked away from the franchise after six seasons and two blockbuster movies. Late last year, the Michael Patrick King-produced series was rebooted into a 10-episode “And Just Like That” series for the HBO Max streaming service, which kept the character alive and ignited more interest in why Cattrall — who has mostly remained mum on her reasoning — didn’t take part. Now… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden said on Thursday he has chosen Karine Jean-Pierre to be White House press secretary, succeeding Jen Psaki and becoming the first Black and openly gay person to serve as the public face of a U.S. administration. Psaki, who leaves the job on May 13, had said early in the Biden administration, which started in January of 2021, that she planned to stay about a year. Jean-Pierre has served as deputy press secretary since the beginning of Biden’s term. She worked on his 2020 presidential campaign, in President Barack Obama’s White House, and was chief public affairs officer for MoveOn.org, a progressive advocacy group. Biden has pledged to name top officials, cabinet members and judges who reflect the diversity of America, where white people make up less than 60% of the population but have traditionally held most top government jobs. “Karine not only brings the experience, talent and integrity needed for this difficult job, but she will continue to lead the way in communicating about the work of the Biden-Harris Administration on behalf of the American people,” he said in a statement. The press secretary is the highest profile public-facing staff job in the White House. “This is a historic moment, and it’s not lost on me,” Jean-Pierre said in a brief appearance in the White House press room. “It is an honor and a privilege to be behind this podium.” Dee Dee Meyers became the first woman to have the job in the 1990s under former President Bill Clinton. Psaki was named by Biden after tumultuous relations with the media under Republican former President Donald Trump. “Jen Psaki has set the standard for returning decency, respect and decorum to the White House Briefing Room,” Biden said, thanking her for “raising the bar, communicating directly and truthfully to the American people, and keeping her sense of humor while doing so.” Psaki is known for a confident, no-nonsense, rapid-fire delivery from the White House podium. Jean-Pierre, who was chief of staff for Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2020, has tended to stick closely to talking points during her press appearances as Psaki’s deputy. Psaki said Biden offered Jean-Pierre the job during an Oval Office meeting on Thursday afternoon. “She comes to this job with decades of experience, even though she looks very young,” Psaki said, adding her appointment will give a “voice to so many and allow and show what is truly possible when you work hard and dream big.” (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose; additional reporting by Steve Holland and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Alistair Bell and Stephen Coates) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Ahmed Aboulenein WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A provider of prescription pills that are used to terminate pregnancy at home has seen a spike in interest from U.S. women this week, following news that the Supreme Court would likely reverse a landmark 1973 decision ensuring abortion rights nationwide, nonprofit Aid Access said on Wednesday. The court confirmed that a draft opinion signaling a reversal of the Roe v. Wade ruling, published late on Monday by the news site Politico, was authentic. The court said it did not represent the justices’ final decision, due by the end of June. An increasing number of U.S. states have introduced restrictions that greatly limit access to abortions, and many are expected to ban the procedure outright should the court’s final decision allow individual states to determine whether it is legal. Abortion pills, which can be sent by mail to a patient’s home rather than requiring a visit to a clinic, are viewed as a way to circumvent such bans. Aid Access is a telehealth service with headquarters in Austria that provides access to medication abortion in the United States. Christie Pitney, CEO of Forward Midwifery, a Washington D.C. telehealth practice that works with Aid Access, said that the number of women requesting prescriptions for abortion pills, or information about their use, through the group’s website has tripled since the draft opinion was leaked. In total, the Aid Access website had 38,530 visitors on Tuesday, an almost 2,900% increase from Monday’s 1,290 visitors, Pitney said. The new surge this week represents “insanely higher numbers,” she said. In 20 U.S. states that allow abortion pills to be distributed via telehealth, Aid Access works with U.S. prescribers like Pitney to meet virtually with a patient and send a prescription for the medication to local pharmacies. The group is seeking to add providers to four more states. The remaining 26 states have restrictions on abortion, and 19 of them outright ban or restrict the use of telehealth to get abortion pills. To get around such restrictions, Aid Access works with doctors in Europe who prescribe the pills for patients via a mail-order pharmacy in India. Those practices are not legal, but U.S. state authorities have acknowledged that they have no effective way of policing orders from foreign doctors and pharmacies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the group a warning letter in March 2019 and ordered it to cease mailing pills from abroad. In a medication abortion, a patient takes a drug called mifepristone, which blocks the pregnancy-sustaining hormone progesterone, followed by a second drug called misoprostol, which induces uterine contractions, to end a pregnancy rather than having a surgical procedure. The pills can be used up to 10 weeks in a pregnancy, according to the FDA. Aid Access has not encountered any problems getting supply of the pills, which are made by privately-held drugmakers GenBioPro and Danco Laboratories for the U.S. market. “I have talked to a number of clinicians who are stocking up (on the pills) to make sure that they have access to it,” Pitney said. GenBioPro and Danco Laboratories did not respond to requests for comment. Medication abortion recently became the most common method of terminating a pregnancy in the United States, accounting for 54% of all abortions in 2020, preliminary findings by the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy research group, show. There were 862,300 abortions in 2017, according to the group’s latest available data. Medication abortion accounted for 39% of them that year. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Diane Craft) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Robbie Williams is considering wearing one of his wife’s bras on stage – as he has “wobbly” man boobs. The 48-year-old singer admitted it’s getting harder for him to look “sexy” on stage because of his jiggly chest, as he modelled one of Ayda Field’s new bras from her line. During an Instagram Live, he said: “There is a lot more oestrogen around these parts than there used to be but with this I feel like I am held in place. “I do really like it. They can wobble about when I jump up and down and I’m trying to be sexy but how sexy can you be when your breasts are going up and down… for a man. “I might have to wear it on stage. It is really holding my back in place too. Lads, don’t be ashamed to wear a support bra for all your daily needs.” Robbie’s man boobs woes come after the former Take That star revealed he could wear a wig on tour to battle his hair loss. The ‘Rock DJ’ hitmaker had a hair transplant and follicle growth injections, but they didn’t help him with his thinning thatch, and so he is considering other options. Speaking on Australian radio recently, he said: “There are these great wigs that you can get now. “You have to shave all your hair off and then you have it placed on with glue and it sticks on for a couple of weeks. “I might actually do it just for touring.” The ‘Angels’ hitmaker had a hair transplant in 2013, before a second one was ruled out two years ago. In March, he revealed: “My hair is sort of mullet-y now. When I’m on stage and I’m giving it the big-gun, I’m looking at them like I still think I’m 27. “And then I turn behind me and see a 40 foot version of me with three necks and there’s a light shining on the top of my head that makes it look like a baby’s a***. I start to get slightly neurotic.” Robbie’s proposed hair transplant in 2020 was scrapped because his hair is too thin for it to work. He previously said: “I am losing my hair. When a light shines on top of it, it becomes like a baby’s bum. “I went to go and have a thatch, but the guys goes, ‘Bad news, your hair is so thin we cannot harvest it from there. It will do nothing.'” Robbie was left gutted after forking out for “two vials” to help his hair grow back, but “nothing happened”. He added: “So I had these injections. They were an absolute fortune, two vials of this stuff. It cost the same price as my grandma’s house. “And they put these vials in and said in five months, your hair will grow back much thicker. Nothing has happened. “We are now seven months in and nothing has happened. You cannot tell.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Bill Gates wants to “wait and see” how Elon Musk handles Twitter. The Microsoft co-founder – who doesn’t see eye to eye with the Tesla chief – has reflected on the news he has had a bid to buy the social media platform accepted by the board. Asked what he thinks of the deal, he told the BBC: “You know, Elon, I guess it’s possible Twitter could be worse. But it also could be better… So I have a wait and see attitude.” Last week, Musk accused Gates of “shorting” Telsa stock – which is a way of making money through betting that a firm with lose value – and argued it undermines Gates’ environmental charity work. However, asked whether or not he had bet against Tesla, the 66-year-old businessman fired back: “That has nothing to do with climate change. I have ways of diversifying. “The popularity of electric cars will lead to more competition for selling those cars. “So there’s a difference between electric cars being adopted, and companies becoming infinitely valuable.” Earlier this week, multi-billionaire Musk – who has bought Twitter for a whopping $44 billion (£33.3 billion) – insisted he wants to make the platform a better place. Regarding his goals of making the site a platform for free speech, he said: “[It] would be to make Twitter as inclusive as possible, and to have as broad a swath of the country and the rest of the world on Twitter, and that they find it interesting and entertaining and funny, and that it makes their life better.” View the full article