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Mel B’s tears over bitter family feud

Mel B's tears over bitter family feud

As an ugly fight heats up, the singer’s nearest and dearest publicly question her sanity.

Having regained her pre-baby body in record time, landed a highly coveted hosting gig on Seven’s Dancing With The Stars and leapt gleefully into a new lifestyle in Sydney, outwardly, it seems Melanie Brown is living the dream. However, not all in the mum-of-three’s life is quite so rosy. A nasty family feud has kept the former Spice Girl estranged from her mother, father and sister for the past five years.

The latest instalment of the ongoing spat has seen sister Danielle, 30, a former star of British soap Emmerdale, publicly question Mel’s mental health and accuse her husband, Stephen Belafonte, of being controlling. “Enough is enough,” Danielle tweeted last week. “We need a family meeting, you, me, Mum and Dad. No film crew, no cameras and no Stephen! All of us are worried about your mental state. Are the kids safe?”

The message was possibly in response to a previous tweet from Mel, 36, saying, “Family and money don’t mix… Go sell another story. Such a shame money has done this to you.” It included a link to an interview Danielle had given to Britain’s OK! magazine last year, in which she said the whole family had begun worrying about Mel after her marriage to film producer Stephen in 2007.

“Ever since we expressed those concerns, we’ve not heard anything from her,” Danielle claims in the story. “I just hope I will speak to Melanie again, because she’s my only sister. I miss her and my nieces ridiculously. It hurts.” Mel later claimed her Twitter had been hacked, saying, “Someone is messing with me. My sister has never asked me for money. Love her to bits.”

Read more about Mel B’s family feud in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale Monday March 12, 2012.

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Hero SES tracking dog sniffs out trouble

Hero SES tracking dog sniffs out trouble

Australia’s first corgi SES tracking dog has earned praise from the Queen.

With her ears rigidly vertical and her tail cocked to attention, there’s something about Manhon that says, “Every inch of me is ready for action.” “I purchased her sight unseen,” says SES volunteer Glenys Nottle, from Albany, WA, of the four-year-old dog that has just qualified as the first corgi tracking dog in the State Emergency Service anywhere in Australia.

What the pooch lacks in size she makes up for with smarts. In one recent challenge, Manhon tracked a scent for five kilometres! “She may be only 25cm tall, but Manhon’s nose does all the talking,” winks Glenys.

So grand are Manhon’s achievements, she has received a letter of praise from the greatest corgi lover of them all, the Queen. Glenys has spent more than 400 hours training her sniffer dog, when many said it couldn’t be done.

“She’s dynamite in the orange rescue jacket, but not so clever in other areas,” laughs Glenys. “She tries to trick you into thinking she’s finished eating by burying her food or dragging a tea towel over it… but I love her anyway.”

Read more dog hero stories in this week’s Woman’s Day, on sale March 12, 2012.

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Eight-year-olds perform ‘nude’ burlesque routine

Eight-year-olds perform 'nude' burlesque routine

This video shows the shocking moment a group of girls — the youngest being just eight years old — are asked to dress in ‘nude’ bikinis and perform a provocative burlesque routine.

The promo clip is from the latest episode of US reality show Dance Moms and shows choreographer Abby Lee Miller informing her young students that their new costumes must “give the illusion of nudity”.

Related: Why girls are having sex at 12

The girls are visibly horrified by the news, and clearly uncomfortable when Miller instructs them to act as though a man ‘can’t afford’ them.

The pre-pubescent girls are also told to cover their ‘crotch’ and non-existent ‘boobs’ with large feathered fans in the saucy routine.

Miller defends her choice of choreography, saying everyone knows the girls aren’t really naked onstage.

This is not the first time a TV show has been accused of sexualising young girls.

Toddlers and Tiaras — which follows girls on the child beauty pageant circuit in the US — is frequently criticised for going too far.

Related: Are our girls growing up too fast?

In a recent episode, four-year-old beauty queen Maddy Jackson caused outrage when she wore fake breasts and bottom padding to perform a suggestive Dolly Parton routine onstage.

Your say: Do you think TV shows should be banned from sexualising children?

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How to save money on your health care costs

There's no doubt that the cost of living is on the rise, and that includes health care - but there are ways to outsmart your over-priced medical expenses.
Brunette woman with notepad and pen

Private health insurance

Review your extras cover to make sure you’re not paying for things you don’t need. While young singles are unlikely to need a hip replacement, empty nesters can remove their obstetrics cover. People can also reduce their monthly premiums by having a higher excess for hospital stays.

Additionally, savings can be made by shopping around or using a broker to find a better deal. People who switch to another fund with the same level of cover generally don’t have to go through another waiting period.

Optical

With the average price of prescription glasses now more than $300, many people are tempted to put off buying a new pair. However, with a wide variety of discount optical stores available offering inexpensive frames and lenses, it’s worth shopping around.

People can also buy from one of the many online eyewear stores which offer glasses from as little as $49 and free shipping. Before ordering online, people need to get their eyes tested and ask the optometrist for a prescription. The cost of the eye test is fully covered by Medicare.

Dental

If a person is covered for dental under their private health insurance, they may be able to access low-gap treatment by choosing a dentist who is preferred by their heath fund provider. A preferred provider allows patients to receive a larger rebate, which means their out-of-pocket expenses won’t be as great. Most health care funds supply a list of preferred providers for local areas.

When working out the household budget, try to plan ahead for expensive dental work, such as the kids’ braces, as most health funds have a waiting period. If people aren’t able to pay for costly procedures upfront, many dentists will allow payment plans.

University health clinics

For those who find it too expensive to make regular visits to the dentist, it might be worth considering one of the many university dental schools, which offer oral health care at substantially reduced rates. These clinics offer a wide range of treatments from fillings to orthodontics and all work is supervised by registered dentists and specialists. Some universities also have physiotherapy and podiatry clinics which offer treatment at a discount rate.

Medications and personal health care

People can make big savings by asking their doctor or pharmacist if they can substitute their prescription medication for the generic brand. Further, many over-the-counter medicines such as paracetamol and ibuprofen are also available in generic brands which are usually cheaper.

People can also save on their prescription medications, sunscreen, dental care items, vitamins, beauty and baby care products by shopping at discount chemists or online pharmacies. Savings can be as high as 50 per cent and shipping is often free for larger online orders.

Dianne Charman is an AMP financial planner and mother of two.

Dianne Charman is an Authorised Representative of AMP Financial Planning Pty Ltd, ABN 89 051 208 327, AFS Licence No. 232706. Any advice given is general only and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, before acting on any advice, you should consult a financial planner to consider how appropriate the advice is to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

To find your nearest AMP financial planner visit www.amp.com.au/findaplanner.

Your say: Do you have any money-saving tips? Email us on [email protected]

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Jubilee tour kicked off in style

Two fashionable generations were on display as Queen Elizabeth II and Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge stepped out side by side to mark the start of the Diamond Jubilee tour. While Catherine chose an elegant waisted teal peplum suit with a Jude jacket and Davina dress by LK Bennett with a matching pillbox hat by James Lock, the Queen opted for a bright pink cerise cashmere dress and coat with black trim by Angela Kelly, and a matching hat. And it seems the Queen’s bright-coloured number was not chosen by accident. Royal writer Robert Hardman claims that the Queen often wears bright colours so that she is recognised.

“My favourite remark she ever said was ‘I can never wear beige because nobody will know who I am’,” he told the UK’s Daily Telegraph.

Flick through the images of the Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge here.

The Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge at the Jubliee tour.

Although there is a contrast in style, they certainly both have it.

The pair took in a fashion show together followed by a church service.

The Queen has recently raised eyebrows at Kate’s above the knee hemline.

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Has Australia gone soft on domestic violence?

Domestic violence kills an Australian woman almost every week but Jordan Baker doesn't think we take it seriously enough.
Has Australia gone soft on domestic violence?

Image posed by models.

Can a man be considered brave if he beats his wife? I wouldn’t have thought so, but the Royal Humane Society of Australasia has a different view.

Last month the Society, of which the Governor-General is a patron, gave bravery awards to heroes of the Black Saturday bushfires.

On the merit certificate list was Paul Francis McCuskey, who, a year after the fires, pleaded guilty to brutal attacks on his wife.

These included kicking her in the stomach while she was pregnant and kicking and hitting her in the head so badly it left her permanently blind in one eye.

In 2009, McCuskey was among a group of fire fighters who braved treacherous conditions to visit an elderly woman living alone to encourage her to leave.

As they were driving back, they had to use handsaws to clear burning trees from their path. Each member of the cohort has been recognised by the society for his or her bravery that night.

McCuskey, 41, of Reefton, couldn’t accept the award from the Victorian governor because he was in prison.

In 2010 he was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail for assaulting his former partner over eight months in 2006 and 2007.

The judge cited his contribution to the Country Fire Authority as a redeeming feature, and acknowledged his remorse, but said his crimes were carried out in a brutal and cruel way.

The jail sentence was partly intended to send a clear message to the community that such violent behaviour would not be tolerated.

When McCuskey’s award was first questioned by the Australian Women’s Weekly the Royal Humane Society president said the organisation was not aware of his criminal history. Last week a review committee decided the award should stand.

The main criterion of the society is to bestow bravery awards on those who risk their lives to save the lives of others, a society spokeswoman said.

“It has never been the role of the Society to judge award nominees on their probity either prior to or after their act of bravery.”

McCuskey’s victim did not comment, but is believed to be extremely upset. So are other firefighters from the unit.

His former commander, CFA captain Dan Bennett says: “As far as we are concerned, he is a scumbag and he’s where he deserves to be. What we’re disappointed in (is) that it’s taken the shine off the award for the rest of the crew.”

If we’re honest, most of us can be both brave and cowardly. But McCuskey’s actions went beyond cowardly.

He assaulted someone more vulnerable than him, someone unable to fight back, and someone he professed to love.

He hit her, dragged her from a car and kicked her in her pregnant belly (she later miscarried). He has left her, in her words, embarrassed, ashamed and fearful of going out in public alone. Not to mention blind in one eye.

When you weigh McCuskey’s lone act of bravery against his many of cowardice there is little ambiguity. He is a coward.

The decision suggests the Humane Society is not taking his crime as seriously as it should, especially as its gold medal for bravery went to a man who was stabbed eight times while saving two women from domestic violence.

I wonder whether McCuskey’s citation would have been upheld if he’d been convicted of paedophilia or murder.

Domestic violence is at epidemic proportions. A woman is killed in Australia almost every week by a partner or former partner. A third of women who have had a male partner have experienced violence.

But Australians still don’t take domestic violence seriously enough and the Royal Humane Society’s decision to uphold the certificate of merit only confirms this.

Domestic violence will never be treated with the gravity it deserves until this mask of respectability is torn off, and the men who perpetrate it are treated like low-life criminals rather than upstanding citizens with a tragic flaw.

Awarding a bravery award to Paul McCuskey insults his victim, every other victim of domestic violence in Australia, and the firefighters who deserve to enjoy their bravery award without the taint of McCuskey’s cowardice.

Jordan Baker is news editor at The Australian Women’s Weekly.

Your say: Do you think Australia needs to be tougher on domestic violence? Email your thoughts to [email protected]

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Houston leaves everything to daughter, nothing to Brown

Houston leaves everything to her daughter and nothing to Brown

Whitney Houston’s only child 19-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina has become the sole inheritor of her fortune.

In Houston’s will, which has been obtained by Inside Edition, it was revealed that Houston, who died on February 11, had changed her will while still married to her former husband Bobby Brown, leaving everything to her daughter.

The money left to Bobbi Kristina will be put into a trust which she will be able to access when she turns 21. At this time she will only receive a portion of her inheritance.

She will receive another installment at age 25 and then the final installment will be given to her on her 30th birthday.

The original will, written up in 1993, was amended in 2000 and did not list her former husband to receive anything despite him being mentioned in the document.

Houston and Brown, who were married for 14 years, had a prenuptial agreement which was signed before they married in 1992, banning Brown from accessing her will.

The document stated that all of their earnings, income and accumulations shall remain separate.

BANG Showbiz reported that Houston’s mother Patricia “Cissy” Houston has been listed as the executor of the will and her brother and sister-in-law are trustees.

Bobbi Kristina will give her first interview since her mother’s death this Sunday with talk show host Oprah on her TV special Oprah’s Next Chapter.

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Why every woman should do less housework

Why every woman should do less housework

Dust bunnies on the floor? Smears on the mirrors and soap scum in the shower? Don’t worry about it — it could make you depressed.

A study published in Molecular Psychiatry found that living in a spotlessly-clean environment could increase your risk of depression.

Related: Could allergies protect against cancer?

We’ve been told for some time that the over-use of disinfectants and antiseptics may compromise immune function and trigger allergies and asthma, especially in children.

This is because they are not being exposed to the bacteria, parasites, and viruses that are found in everyday dirt, which may subsequently cause their bodies to over-react to allergens like dust and pollen.

Now, according to this study, it seems this same combination of a too-sterile environment and the resulting over-reaction to allergens creates an inflammatory response that may also inhibit the brain’s ability to produce the ‘feel-good’ hormone serotonin, leading to depression.

Related: Eat to beat Alzheimer’s disease

So — leaving the vacuum in the cupboard can boost your mood? That’s a prescription worth trying.

Video: Turn cleaning into a workout

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Why our kids need to know more about sex

Why our teens need to know more about sex

Photo posed by models.

Teen pregnancies and STIs are at a record high and Jenny Walsh is convinced there is only one way to reverse the trend — teaching kids more about sex.

I am a sexuality education teacher and writer. I make teaching resources and advise on national strategies, so I work with a lot of different audiences, including parents, children, educators and government departments.

Related: Why girls are having sex at 12

Many parents and teachers are worried about the impact of sexualised images on children, especially primary-aged children — and there is little doubt that the deluge of images that drift past or slam into us every day can increase our anxieties about fitting in to particular views of beauty, relationships and sexual expression.

Beyond anxiety is the justifiable concern that various media content help to create an unhealthy (or should I say unhappy) set of expectations about being sexual, being sexually available, and/or being sexually aggressive.

Parents worry about what to say and when to say it, and most importantly don’t want to say the wrong thing. But they shouldn’t rest too easy in the expectation that schools will be filling the gap.

Despite the worry about the effect of sexualised content, and a swathe of research that documents a less than healthy state of young people’s sexual health, we — that is Australia — has still not managed to implement comprehensive sexuality education programs in most high schools.

So, why is this STILL the case?

The failure to properly address young Australians sexuality education needs may come from the ill-founded belief that talking about sex will lead to young people ‘doing it’.

But the reverse is true. Talking about these issues will not encourage kids to have sex too early.

The research tells us that sex education programs lead to young people putting off having sex until they are older, reducing the chances of getting STIs and unplanned pregnancies and reducing the numbers of sexual partners.

If we allow young people the chance to talk about life, bodies, popularity, friendship, relationships and sex, then they get a chance to check their assumptions about what everyone else is doing and feeling, and reflect on what they want out of life.

Our job, parents and educators both, is to support them in making that happen.

Home is a great place for this conversation to start. Kids do not want to talk with their parents about the nitty gritty of S-E-X, but they do want to know what their parents’ values are — how young women and men should treat each other, and that being sexual is a healthy and potentially lovely part of being human.

School-based programs can provide opportunities for young people to reflect on the same issues in discussion with their peers with the added benefit of working towards some essential educational outcomes, like personal autonomy, knowledge of one’s own and others’ rights and responsibilities, and the capacity to critique media.

Becoming pregnant before you are ready, having sex under pressure, or getting an STI is not going to happen just because you missed out on an education session at school.

Sexual health and a person’s power and choices are more complex than that — but if there never was any education at your school, and if no one at home talked about it, then the chances are higher that you will have sex at a younger age, and without contraception.

The facts: Pregnancy and sexually transmissible infections

Australia’s National Sex Survey indicates that:

  • Fifty percent of young people have had their first sexual intercourse by the time they are 16.

  • More than 25 percent of year 10 students and more than 50 percent of year 12 students have had sexual intercourse.

  • In 2008, slightly more than 25 percent of all chlamydia infections were in the 15 to 19 age group.

  • In that age group, women were nearly three times more likely to get chlamydia than men.

  • Chlamydia infections have increased across all age groups by 60 percent between 2004 and 2008, but most steeply in the 15 to 29 age group.

Other countries have enjoyed great success on promoting sexual health among their.

Related: What all parents need to know about sexting

A comparison of the incidences of teenage pregnancy between countries of similar wealth show the startling effect of policy, education and culture.

The fertility rate of Australian teenagers is relatively high. Unicef’s teenage fertility ‘league table’ shows the Netherlands has about 12 pregnancies per 1000 young women under 19, Germany, 18 per 1000, Australia is 44 per 1000 and the US 85 per 1000.

Jenny Walsh works for the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society.

Your say: Do you think there should be more sex education in Australian schools?

Video: Sexting and our teens

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Hurrah for Harry: Party prince a hit in Caribbean

He’s known as the party prince so Harry must have been thrilled when he discovered he would be touring the rum-soaked Caribbean this year.

Harry, 27, has visited Belize, the Bahamas and Jamaica on behalf of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

As well as official duties, Harry has found time to dance with locals, sample some rum and challenge Olympic champion Usain Bolt to a running race.

Harry will visit Brazil from March 9 to 11 before travelling back to the UK.

Harry’s mischievous grin won him legions of fans in Jamaica.

Harry lived up to his party prince reputation in Belize, downing several cocktails.

Harry couldn’t wait to show off his dance moves in Belize.

Harry blushes as he chats to the beautiful Miss Bahamas Anastagia Pierre.

Harry prepares for a boat ride to Harbour Island.

Harry looking dapper in beige linen in Nassau.

Harry leaves a Bahamas church service in his military best.

The prince befriends a blind schoolgirl at a youth rally in Nassau.

Harry ‘beats’ the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt in a running race in Jamaica.

Bolt shows Harry his famous victory move.

Harry with Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller.

The prince preparing for some sharp-shooting training.

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