Michelle O., also known as the First Lady of the United States, walked — no, strutted — onto the Nickelodeon stage this past weekend in a deep V-neck metallic houndstooth top, pointy black patent leather stilettos, and a pair of slick, skin-tight metallic gunmetal skinny jeans and she was looking hot and sexy!!!
Michelle Obama wore the outfit to the Nickelodeon 25th annual kids’ Choice Awards In The News And Media. The yearly event was held at the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles, California, the USA on Saturday 31st March 2012.
Looking tall and well trimmed, the mother of two and wife of the American President, Michelle Obama looked great in her attire.
German police have been told they can continue to single out black train passengers on the basis of their colour to check their paper, prompting allegations of institutionalised racism.
“If this is true, it is essentially illegal,” Tahir Della of the Initiative of Black People in Germany (ISD) told The Local. “The authorities have always said the police do not do racial profiling.”
“Non-white people already get a disproportionate amount of hassle from the police, if this is now being officially sanctioned, then it will open the floodgates,” he added. “I am of course very shocked by this. It is basically racism.”
A Koblenz court knocked down the complaint of a black German man who got into an argument with two federal police officers who demanded his papers while travelling on a train.
He refused to show the officers his identity papers, and was taken off the train to a police station where his rucksack was searched and his driving license eventually found, the court said in a statement.
The officers then accused him of abusing them, and took him to court. During the hearing one of the officers said that when deciding which travellers to check, he sought out those who seemed to him to be foreigners and said one of his criteria was skin colour.
This prompted the man concerned to sue, saying their conduct was illegal. But the judges at the Koblenz administrative court in Rhineland Palatinate ruled on Tuesday that the officers had not acted illegally, but were guided by their “border policing experience.”
In the case concerned, the man had been checked on a route which was often used for illegal entry into Germany, the court said, although it did not reveal where the incident happened.
Because only spot checks were possible on such trains, the people selected could be chosen based on their appearance, the judges ruled.
German singer Joy Denalane premiered the English music video for the album track “NO MORE”. This track is part of the English version of her upcoming album “Maureen”, which will be available worldwide on iTunes from April 2nd.
The album title is taken from Joy’s middle name, but Maureen goes a little deeper than that, as she explains on Okayplayer:
“I was christened ‘Joy Maureen Denalane’. Maureen was my father’s first true love, the woman who he originally wanted to marry but who he ended up leaving behind in South Africa. By giving me ‘Maureen’ as a middle name, my mother showed that she respected both him, her, and their relationship. She said, ‘I know about this woman, Maureen, and she has a place in our lives. Let’s name our first daughter after her.”
And get the exclusive Jake One Remix of Joy’s song “Should Have Never feat. Bilal” here.
Have you ever wondered what is inside the closet of Cassie? Well, ponder no more as Vogue Italia takes their camera’s into her closet to show you all the stuffs inside it.
Watch this exclusive interview with Don Jazzy in which he talked about how he started, his meeting D’Banj, thir working together, the challenges they encountered as well as other exclusive information you’ve been dying to know about the Don of Mohits. Enjoy!!!
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According to the report by Media Take Outt, the baby Beyonce is seen carrying about is not the real Ivy Blue Carter but a fake baby doll that looks like a real baby. Below is the report.
Well, well, well . . . MediaTakeOut.com has been doing some DIGGING . . . and we just uncovered some SHOCKING EVIDENCE . . . and it suggest that Beyonce may be carrying around a FAKE BABY – possible as a DECOY against paparazzi.
MediaTakeOut.com was first tipped off by DOZENS of readers who claimed that Bey’s new 2 month old baby looked STRANGE in recent pics . . . and they suspected that Bey might be carrying around a DOLL – instead of a 2 month old baby.
Well MedaTakeOut.com did an investigation – and our findings were STARTLING!!! We looked at photos of Blue taken about a WEEK AND A HALF in New York – and compared them with images taken two days ago. In the photos, Baby Blue grew in height about 11%. To put that in perspective, if Blue was the AVERAGE HEIGHT two weeks ago (according to the WTO growth charts) she would have been 22 inches tall. In less than 2 WEEKS, Blue would have grown at LEAST 2.5 inches – making her the size of the average FOUR MONTH OLD. A growth rate like that is almost UNHEARD OF!!!
We here at MediaTakeout.com still believe that Beyonce DOES HAVE A REAL BABY – we just question whether she has a FAKE one also. But what do y’all think . . . is Bey walking around with a FAKE BABY???? Do you think Blue is gonna be like those babys on the SOAP OPERAS . . . where one year they’re IN DIAPERS . . . and the next year they’re GETTING MARRIED???
A Pakistani former dancing girl left fighting for life by a ‘horrific’ acid attack has committed suicide a decade after being heavily facially disfigured.
Fakhra Younus, 33, leapt to her death from a sixth floor building in Rome 12 years after the acid attack which she said left her looking ‘not human’.
At the time of her attack in May 2000, her ex-husband Bilal Khar was the man accused of entering her mother’s house and pouring acid over Younus’s face as she slept.
>Life-changing: Fakhra Younus, pictured left before the horrific acid attack in May 2000, was left heavily facially disfigured after having acid thrown in her face
The attack, which took place in front of Younus’s then five-year-old son, left her unable to breathe and fighting for life.
Her nose was almost completely melted and she has since undergone 39 separate surgical procedures to repair her disfigured face over the past decade.
The horrific attack also burned off her hair, fused her lips, blinded her in one eye, destroyed her left ear and melted her breasts.
After being rushed to hospital she said, ‘My face is a prison to me’, while her distraught young son said at the time, ‘This is not my mother’.
Disfigured: Younus, left, pictured with supporter Tehmina Durrani, has undergone 39 separate surgical operations to repair the damage done to her face
The mother-of-one moved to Italy after the incident to live in Rome and continue her treatment.
But on March 17 she took her own life, after leaving a message saying she was committing suicide over the silence of law on the atrocities and the insensitivity of Pakistani rulers.
Bilal Khar was arrested in 2002 and charged with attempted murder following the attack, only to be released on bail after five months.
Khar, an ex-parliamentarian and son of a wealthy Pakistani governor, was eventually cleared of the attack, though many believe he could have used his family connections to escape conviction.
After Younus’s tragic suicide emerged earlier this month, Khar continued to deny having any part in the attack – claiming in a television interview a different man with the same name had carried out the crime.
Khar claimed his ex-wife killed herself because she didn’t have enough money, not because of her horrific injuries.
More than 8,500 acid attacks, forced marriages and other forms of violence against women were reported in Pakistan in 2011, according to The Aurat Foundation, a women’s rights organization.
The Pakistani government introduced new laws last year criminalising acid attacks and stating that convicted attacks would serve at least 14 years in jail.
Tehmina Durrani, the ex-wife of Bilal Khar’s father, had become an advocate for Younus after the attack, and said the acid attack victim had pledged to bring her attacker to justice when she had recovered.
Mourning: Fakhra Younus’s body is carried through Karachi airport in her native Pakistan after her body was returned to the country from Italy
Grief: Family members of Fakhra Younus cannot hide their anguish at Karachi airport as the acid attack victim’s body was returned to Pakistan
Durrani said: ‘She said, ‘When I come back, I will reopen the case, and I’ll fight myself,” and she was a fighter.’
Durrani said Younus’ case should be a reminder that the Pakistani government needs to do much more to prevent acid attacks and other forms of violence against women, and also help the victims.
‘I think this whole country should be extremely embarrassed that a foreign country took responsibility for a Pakistani citizen for 13 years because we could give her nothing, not justice, not security,’ said Durrani.
Madonna and Nicki Minaj were caught locking lips to celebrate Nicki turning 29 Birthday. Madonna admitted in an interview earlier this year that her drunkenness had led to her locking lips with Nicki Minaj. The kiss took place on Nicki’s 29th birthday, which she celebrated with the pop diva after a day of shooting the music video for their collaboration ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’. The video tape of the kiss has been released online.
The video sees Madonna, 53, singing Happy Birthday along with a throng of people, as she presents Nicki with a cupcake. As Nicki prepares to blow out the candle on the cake, Madonna asked her to make a wish. Suddenly Madonna and Nicki both crave in for a kiss.
Madonna’s smooch inspired Nicki to devote most of her thank you speech to the star. She told the crowd: ‘I have to thank the queen, Madonna, for giving me this opportunity. I love her so much, and she’s violent. Thank you so much for everything. Madonna and M.I.A. were on hand to help Nicki celebrate after a long day of working together. The threesome were all styled in matching Marilyn Monroe inspired looks, including curly blonde wigs, and Madonna was wearing a cream lacy dress by Dolce and Gabbana.
The diva spoke about the cuddle during a television interview with Anderson Cooper. Madonna said Nicki’s deserve the best, giving a birthday toast to her, after a few sips of champagne I kissed her. Yes, I smooch the Super bass singer, said Madonna. It is not the first time Madonna has locked lips with a fellow singer on camera. She made headlines for an infamous performance at MTV’s Video Music Awards in 2003 which saw her kissing pop sensation Britney Spears.
Tonight Madonna enjoyed a live Twitter chat with her fans answering their questions which tied in with her new album dropping. The singer also used the opportunity to clear the air with the DJ Deadmau5, after he slammed her for promoting drug use. Nicki performed alongside Madonna during half time at the Super Bowl.
European countries will receive more support from the EU to take up refugees under a new joint resettlement programme endorsed by the Civil Liberties Committee on Wednesday. The programme aims to step up the EU’s role in providing international protection, especially for vulnerable groups such as women at risk and unaccompanied minors, in cooperation with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The programme is to resettle in the EU people who have been granted refugee status in third countries (for example, Libyan refugees in Tunisia). As the host countries are often developing ones, with limited resources, they cannot integrate and protect large numbers of refugees.
According to the UNHCR, over 172,000 people will need to be resettled in 2012, whereas the global number of resettlement places is only about 80,000. In 2010, the EU resettled around 4,700 people, representing only 4.4% of those resettled worldwide that year, far behind the US (near 54,000 refugees) and Canada (around 6,700).
The programme’s main aim is to encourage EU Member States to take up refugees by enlarging the list of those whose resettlement will be financed by the European Refugee Fund, such as vulnerable persons (children and women at risk, unaccompanied minors, persons with serious medical needs and, at Parliament’s request, refugees in need of urgent resettlement for legal or physical reasons).
Furthermore, the programme will set a series of geographical priorities on a yearly basis. In 2013, these will cover, among others, Iraqi refugees in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan; Afghan refugees in Turkey, Pakistan and Iran; Congolese refugees in Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia or Somali refugees in Ethiopia.
More EU funding for resettlement
In line with MEPs’ proposals, EU financial support for resettling refugees in the above groups will be increased. Member States currently receive €4,000 per person resettled on their territory. To encourage more EU countries to help in resettlement, Member States resettling refugees for the first time will get €6,000 per person for the first year and €5,000 per person for the second year. For the rest the sum received will stay at €4,000.
To date, 13 Member States have set up annual resettlement programmes: Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, Portugal, France, Romania, the Czech Republic, Spain, Hungary and Bulgaria.
Following the Civil Liberties Committee vote, rapporteur Rui Tavares (Greens/EFA, PT) commented: “The inertia regarding the creation of a EU resettlement programme and the changes to the European Refugee Fund made us lose two years of resettlement of refugees in the EU. Although frustrated by the procedural delays in an issue that deals with the life of the most vulnerable people in the world, I am now hopeful that Member States will use the extra money and will start resettlement programmes as well as increase their pledge. This new programme will allow resettlement for the year 2013. Parliament, Commission, Council, UNHCR and NGOs will now have to work together to have more than a European Refugee Fund: a EU Refugee Programme”.
Next steps
The Joint EU Resettlement Programme has been agreed by Parliament and Council representatives. The European Parliament as a whole will vote on it on 29 March. If adopted, Member States will have until 1 May 2012 to send the Commission an estimate of the number of persons they will resettle next year. The programme will apply in 2013.
But black Britons averaged 6.6, while mixed-ethnic Britons scored 6.9.
The survey, in April to September 2011, was part of the ONS’s ongoing Measuring National Well-being Programme.
The average rating for life satisfaction was also lower than the national figure for those of Pakistani origin – 7 out of 10 – and Bangladeshis – 7.1.
The four questions posed by the survey also included one seeking ratings for people’s overall happiness, with answers nationwide producing an average of 7.3 out of 10.
Again, black Britons reported the lowest level of happiness – 6.9 on average – followed by mixed-ethnic and Pakistani respondents, with both of those groups averaging 7 out of 10.
Indians, Chinese and people of other Asian backgrounds produced similar scores to the national average.
BBC home editor Mark Easton said: “The reasons for these results are not easy to pin down.”
Possible factors were the “income, education or employment patterns within different ethnic groups” and “an element of discrimination or prejudice”, he said.
“But equally it may that there are cultural differences in the way people respond to questions from pollsters,” he added.
Happily married
The questions, included in ONS’s annual population survey, were:
Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?
Overall, to what extent do you feel that the things you do in your life are worthwhile?
Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?
Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?
People responded with ratings on a scale between 0 and 10, where 0 indicated “not at all” and 10 meant “completely”.
Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?
Overall, to what extent do you feel that the things you do in your life are worthwhile?
Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?
Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?
People responded with ratings on a scale between 0 and 10, where 0 indicated “not at all” and 10 meant “completely”.
Breaking down the responses nationally, Northern Ireland residents expressed the highest level of satisfaction – 7.6 – compared with 7.5 for Scotland and 7.4 for both England and Wales.
ONS also categorised the data by marital status and found married people were the most satisfied on average, with a score of 7.7 out of 10.
That compared with: 7.5 for people co-habiting with a partner; 7.3 for single people; 6.8 for widowed people; 6.6 for divorcees.
Meanwhile, people with children rated their lives as more worthwhile: parents of two children averaged 7.9 out of 10; those with one child scored 7.7; those with no offspring scored 7.6.
People reported higher levels of well-being at the ends of the age range – 16 to 19, and 65 to 79 – than those in their middle years, the research also found.
“Happiness is smile-shaped for decades,” said our correspondent. “We tend to be relatively contented in our youth and become progressively grumpy into middle-age before recovering our sense of humour as our hair turns grey.”
The New Economics Foundation (NEF) think tank said ONS research had to take into account respondents’ income patterns, since other well-being studies had found “a clear link between happiness and earnings”.
“Well-being measures give us a new understanding of the lives of different population groups, with black Britons and the unemployed, for example, having particularly low well-being,” said NEF senior researcher Juliet Michaelson.
“The challenge now is to understand what is driving these considerable differences, but income data remains the missing piece of the puzzle.”
Policy-making
The Measuring National Well-being programme was launched in November 2010.
Following public consultation on which measures to use to assess well-being, the ONS is due to publish its first full set of findings this July.
The programme aims to “provide a fuller understanding of how society is doing than economic measures, such as GDP”, the ONS says.
“The ONS measurement programme is key to giving people a say in the areas affecting their lives – in health, employment, crime, education and skills.”
The findings can then be considered by policy-makers to see how proposals would impact on people’s well-being, the ONS suggests.
Bilal Khar was arrested in 2002 and charged with attempted murder following the attack, only to be released on bail after five months.
Mourning: Fakhra Younus’s body is carried through Karachi airport in her native Pakistan after her body was returned to the country from Italy
Grief: Family members of Fakhra Younus cannot hide their anguish at Karachi airport as the acid attack victim’s body was returned to Pakistan
