THEGAYUK

Author: News Desk

  • Singapore Rules To Keep Anti-Gay Laws In Place

    A challenge to the law that criminalises homosexuality has today been dismissed by Singapore’s highest court, meaning that it’s still a crime to be gay in the country.

    Lim Meng Suang and Kenneth Chee Mun-Leon, a gay couple brought a case against Section 377A of the Penal Code in 2012, arguing that the provision, which outlaws gay sex, infringed on their rights. After initial losses at the High Court of Singapore, Mr Suang and Mr Mun-Leon appealed, and their case was heard along with fellow appellant Mr Tan Eng Hong in July 2014.

    Private same-sex sexual activity between adults has been illegal in Singapore since 1938, with the Penal Code that the British exported.

    NOTHING WE CAN DO.
    In the written ruling, handed down today, the judges said, ‘While we understand the deeply-held personal feelings of the appellants, there is nothing that this court can do to assist them. Their remedy lies, if at all, in the legislative sphere.’

    Jonathan Cooper, Chief Executive of the London-based Human Dignity Trust, which provided technical legal assistance to support the challenge, said, ‘This decision means that every gay man living in Singapore remains an unapprehended criminal.

    ‘And the criminalisation of homosexuality does not only affect men. The culture of shame and homophobia it fosters forms a shadow of oppression over Singapore’s entire lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.

    ‘The decision of the Court of Appeal to maintain the country’s anti-gay law – a poisonous remnant of British colonial rule – is a great disappointment, if not a surprise.

    ‘The Singaporean Constitution does not protect basic rights such as privacy and dignity and is therefore very limited in comparison to other Commonwealth countries we work in, which show more promise for legal challenges.

    ‘There is nowhere to go from the Singaporean Court of Appeal, meaning that this judgment is final. We must now look to the Singaporean Government, where strong leadership and progressive legislative change is required to pave the only path forward for LGBTI people.

    ‘The Singaporean Government must see, as the international business community will, that archaic homophobic laws frankly have no place in a modern hub of global finance and commerce.’

    ‘The stakes are high for multinational companies with a presence in Singapore, whose gay employees are currently at risk of prosecution simply for being who they are.

    ‘Employers with a commitment to equality and diversity face a difficult dilemma.’

  • Find Out How Your Tax Is Spent

    From Monday 3 November over 24 million people will start receiving their first Annual Tax Summary from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which breaks down exactly how their tax is spent by the Exchequer.

    8 million taxpayers who complete self-assessment returns will be able to access their tax summary online, while the 16 million PAYE taxpayers who received a tax coding notice from HMRC for 2013 to 2014 will receive their summary in the post over the next seven weeks.

    The summaries were first announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne at Budget 2012 in a move to make tax more transparent and easier to understand. They will set out how much tax and National Insurance each person paid in the previous year and how it contributed to public expenditure.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said: ‘I promised that taxpayers would know much more about how much direct tax they pay and how that money is spent.

    ‘Now we’re delivering on that promise by giving 24m taxpayers a new personal tax summary.

    ‘It is a revolution in transparency and it will show how hardworking taxpayers have to pay for what governments spend.’

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    At Budget 2012 the Chancellor announced that around 20 million taxpayers would receive a tax summary detailing how their 2013 to 2014 tax year income tax and National Insurance contributions have been calculated.

    In April this year the Chancellor announced that 4 million more people than previously announced would receive the summary. The additional people are PAYE taxpayers who have had recent contact from HMRC setting out their tax calculation for an earlier tax year. These might be people with more complicated or changing circumstances such as a new job.

    There are 29.9 million income taxpayers in the UK. Any taxpayer who does not receive a tax summary can use HMRC’s tax calculator to estimate their tax bill and see how it contributes to public spending. The app can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple app store or Google Play by searching ‘HMRC tax calculator’.

  • Spotlight: Ben Haenow From X Factor 2014

    We spy with our little eyes something beginning with hot X Factor contestant Ben, but sorry boys he’s spoken for!

    The 29-year-old van driver from Croydon has certainly made an impact with audiences and has proved very popular with the judges and impressed them all with his version of Wild Horses. Ben used to be in a band with his brother called “The Lost Audio”. He is a long term relationship and nearly proposed to his girlfriend at the arena auditions.

    So what does it feel like to be through to the lives?

    “I can’t believe it. I wasn’t happy with my performance and everyone else was so good. To be the last one to be sent through, as well. It felt like I was waiting for a year”

    What did you feel about the makeovers?

    “I’m excited about it. I’m not sure I want highlights or blue ends but I’m definitely willing to have a bit of a trim. I’ve never been styled, I’ve never had that before.”

    What is your dream duet?

    “All my heroes are dead, man! Robert Plant, from Led Zep. If I could have a dead one it’d be Otis Reading. The guy has an amazing voice.”

    And what about your van days?

    “I might buy one for leisure purposes!”

  • X Factor’s Andrea Faustini Thinks Dermot O Is Cute

    Ah… That Dermont O’Leary fella off the X Factor has been making Andrea Faustini feel right at home by buying him Italian food.

    Taking to Twitter, Bookies favourite to win X Factor 2014, Andrea Faustini tweeted a picture of the pair saying, ‘How cute is @radioleary who brought to me proper Italian food from @linastores #WeLoveDermot #AndWeLoveLina’ to his 146 thousand followers.

    Last week we profiled the student from Rome and hot favourite after his rendition of Beyoncé’s Listen brought down the X Factor studio and reduced Cheryl and Mel B to tears.

    In tonight’s episode, Andrea will be performing Relight My Fire, we’re wondering whether Lulu will turn up for the Halloween special, fright night. Andrea went on to say, ‘ Big SCARY day today! One of us is leaving the competition tonight, so I need your support more than ever! I’ll try my hardest … #thankyou’

    X Factor continues on ITV Tonight At 8:00PM

  • Is love in the air for Johnny Carter?

    Things look to be hotting up between Johnny Carter and Ben on Eastenders – but Ben has something to tell Johnny.

    Oh we want this to happen – quite badly, but it looks as though Johnny (Sam Strike) is going to get the ‘I’m not gay’ treatment from Ben (Harry Reid) this week on Eastenders.

    The pair have been getting close but during a Halloween party at the Queen Vic Johnny and Ben have a moment, and a furious Ben tells Johnny in no uncertain terms that he isn’t one of the boys.

    So our Johnny may have to wait just a little longer for love.

  • Male Motorists Hit Hard With Car Insurance Rises

    Premiums for male motorists have risen by almost double that of females compared to this time last year.

    • – Car insurance premium prices up in Q3 2014 vs Q3 2013 – first year on year rise since 2011 peak

    • – MoneySuperMarket urges drivers to compare insurers to find the best deal for them

    Male motorists have been hit the hardest by rising car insurance prices, as year-on-year their premiums have increased by 3.2 percent, almost double the 1.8 percent increase for women, according to the latest analysis from MoneySuperMarket.

    The UK’s number one comparison site analysed 55 million car insurance quotes run on the site between April 2010 and September 2014, and found the average premium for male drivers has increased £14 from £425 in Q3 2013, to £439 on average this year. This compares to a £6 increase for women, with cover now costing £360, up from £354.

    This is despite the ECJ gender neutral ruling coming into force in December 2012. This prevents insurers charging men and women different amounts purely on the basis of their gender.

    Overall, car insurance premiums are up across the board when looking at Q3 premiums for all drivers, over the last three years. Premiums were flying high in Q3 2011, with a peak average price of £512 a year. This fell steadily – dropping to £456 on average in Q3 2012, and bottoming out at a wallet-friendly £394 in Q3 2013. This year has sadly seen the first premium price increase for all drivers, with overall premiums rising to £401 for annual cover at the end of September.

    Kevin Pratt, Car Insurance Expert at MoneySuperMarket said,

    “Premium prices do fluctuate, and while we’ve been in a deflationary market for car cover for the last few years, costs are now creeping back up. What is surprising is that, despite the fact that gender neutral pricing has been in place in the car insurance market for several years, it turns out that men are still paying more. Insurers look at a wide range of factors when calculating premiums, such as postcode, profession, make of vehicle, driving history and points on a licence. Clearly, for whatever reasons, men are registering higher when it comes to insurer risk profiling, and they’re paying more than women as a result.

    “For car insurance, the key message is always to keep an eye on your renewal premium, and always to shop around and seek out the best possible deal for your circumstances. With premium prices currently trending upwards, it is even more important to make sure you aren’t paying over the odds on your renewal.”

  • Apple boss, Tim Cook “proud to be gay”

    Writing in a column in Bloomberg today, Tim Cook, chief exec at Apple has said that he is proud to be gay.

    It wasn’t a secret that Tim Cook is gay, especially around Silicon Valley, but up until today, he hadn’t formally come out, in an attempt to maintain some privacy.

    In his article, he said,

    “While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.

    “I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realise how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others,

    “So if hearing that the CEO [chief executive] of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy,”

    Cook also wrote how being gay gave him more empathy saying,

    “Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.”

  • Jake Quickenden In The Dog House For Naked Pictures

    Scary is not happy with hunky Jake Quickenden after he posed nude in another magazine spread.

    The X FACTOR Star, who finds it hard to keep his clothes on got a dressing down from the former Spice Girl after she discovered the new nudes, with fellow X Factor contestant Jack Walton.

    ‘I told you to keep your clothes on for at least one week,’ she said to the cheeky singer.

    She decided to teach him a lesson by making him eat spicy chocolate. She called it ‘his punishment.’

    To be honest, we would have thought whips and chains would have been better… But there you go.

    Jake who is no stranger to getting nude in front of the camera shot back at Mel’s derision by saying, ‘I know Mel wasn’t too happy but I love getting naked.

    ‘So who really cares what I do?’

    See whether Jake manages to stay in the competition another week, after failing to impress the judges with his cover of She’s Like The Wind.

     

    X Factor continues tonight on ITV 1.

  • Spotlight X Factor: Andrea Faustini

    He’s been winning the hearts of viewers all over the UK. We get to know Andrea Faustini a little better.

    He wowed the judges with his initial performance ofWho’s Loving You in the room auditions. Cheryl even said, “That is unbelievable. You’ve got such control over your voice. When you came in, I was not expecting that at all….don’t judge a book by its cover…”

    He then reduced Mel B and Cheryl to tears with his version of Whitney’s Didn’t Know My Own Strength at Boot Camp, even Simon was moved to a standing ovation.

    What are you most looking forward to about doing the live shows?

    “I just want to sing my heart out, show everyone who I really am, and give everything I have. I think this is the greatest chance I’ve ever had in my life. I still can’t believe it right now.”

    And your rivals?

    “I’m not thinking about rivals. I’m just thinking about the singers who are really good. I really like Paul, I love his style and I think he’s an amazing soul singer. I think he’s going to do really well. I wouldn’t call him a rival but I think he’s very good.”

    And on the makeover?

    I think it’s a very fun side of this job. Obviously you have to be focused on singing but that is a very fun side and I love choosing outfits..”

    What will you do if you win?

    “I would buy a car, maybe. I’m not very good at driving so just a small one, to start with.”

  • Hunky Gabriel Clark Stars In I’m A Stripper Too Tonight

    Hunky Gabriel Clark Stars In I’m A Stripper Too Tonight

    Versatile Hunk Gabriel Clark stars in I’m a Stripper Too! Premiering on OutTV Canada and digital platforms internationally Sunday, Oct. 26th at 9pm ET/PT.

    (more…)

  • RECIPE | Pumpkin Soup

    I find the process of hollowing out a pumpkin quite tedious, so the last thing I want to be doing afterwards is chopping other vegetables to go in a soup that will just be blended anyway. Take the pressure off and keep this super simple (and cheap!) by using a frozen vegetable mix of carrots, onion, and celery. By using ham stock your tapping into the bacon / pumpkin squash classic flavour combo but saving pennies & calories too by not using any actual meat. This recipe showcases how simplicity really can bring out the best in flavours.

    Serves 4 (can be frozen)

    Prep 15 mins
    Cook 30 mins

    Starter / Inexpensive / Quick & Easy / Antioxidant Rich

    PUMPKIN – 100g of flesh is only 26 calories. Pumpkin is also recommended by dieticians in cholesterol management and for weight loss programs. Also in 100g of pumpkin flesh comes around 246% of your recommended intake of vitamin A. Pumpkins, like carrots contain carotenes and anti-oxidants that help promote good eye sight. B-complex vitamins are also abundant in the pumpkin; folate, niacin, B-6, B-5.

    Ingredients.
    450-500g pumpkin flesh (save the seeds and roast them for 10-15 minutes, lovely!)
    250g frozen vegetables (carrot, onion, celery)
    1000ml hot water
    2 ham stock cubes
    1 birds eye chilli

    Method.
    1. Heat a large saucepan and place the frozen vegetables in for 5 mins to defrost and soften.
    2. Add the pumpkin, chilli, hot water, and stock cubes and bring to the boil.
    3. Reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
    4. Take off the heat and use a hand blender to blend until smooth.
    5. Serve with freshly grated nutmeg, smoked paprika and some pumpkin seeds scattered on top.