Kris Humphries has warned Kanye West, Kim Kardashian’s new lover, that he’ll need a lot of patience in his relationship with the reality star.
It was also claimed that Kris Humphries, 27, think Kim Kardashian, 31, had been unfaithful during their relationship which resulted in a marriage lasting just 72 days.
An insider close to Kris Humphries told RadarOnline: “When Kris found out about Kim going public with Kanye, he told his friends he wanted to tell West, <<good luck dude, you are going to need it>>.”
The source also claimed: “Kris knows for a fact that this dalliance between Kim and Kanye has been going on for at least the last two years. Kim kept in touch with Kanye after she married Kris and promised him that she would cut off communication with him, but she never did.
“Kris is suspicious of the timing of Kim deciding to go public with the relationship because the new season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians is premiering in May, and Kanye has released a new album.”
Kris Humphries warns Kanye West that he will need a lot of patience with Kim Kardashian
Rumours about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have been swirling for some time now, even before she’d started dating Kris Humphries.
And since their separation Kim Kardashian has been pictured leaving Kanye West’s New York apartment the morning after they’d been on a date.
Claims by Kanye West’s ex-girlfriend Amber Rose, seem to back up what Kris Humphries is claimed to have said.
Amber Rose, 28, tells this week’s Star magazine: “They were both cheating on me and Reggie with each other.”
Just a few days ago Kim Kardashian spent 24 hours in New York with Kanye West after flying in from Los Angeles last Wednesday.
Facebook announces its decision to buy Instagram, one of the most popular photo-sharing smartphone app.
Facebook is paying $1 billion in cash and stock for the takeover.
Instagram was only launched in October 2010 – initially just for the iPhone before being offered as an Android app last week.
Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to continue to develop Instagram as a separate brand, allowing it to post to rival networks.
The app is free and allows users to apply 17 filters to the pictures they take – changing the color balance to give the images a different feel – before they are uploaded.
It has proven hugely popular. The company says that it has more than 30 million users uploading more than 5 million new pictures every day.
Facebook will buy Instagram for $1 billion in the most expensive business deal in history
It was reported that Instagram has 13 employees, meaning that at $77 million a head makes it the most expensive business deal in history.
Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page: “We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience.
“We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.”
He added: “This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all.”
Instagram’s FAQ says it had previously raised $7.5 million in funding from three venture capital firms and “a small group of angel investors”.
The deal marks the second time in four months that Facebook has taken on staff from another social network.
In December, it announced it was hiring the co-founders of the location-based check-in service Gowalla. The network closed down shortly afterwards.
The moves come ahead of Facebook’s planned flotation later this year. The firm reportedly plans to issue $5 billion worth of stock on the New York-based Nasdaq exchange in May or June. The deal could value the firm as being worth as much as $100 billion.
Recent reports have suggested that Rihanna wants to play Whitney Houston in a possible biopic of the late singer, but daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown has reportedly stepped up to say that there’s only one person who can play that role – her.
While the film is purely speculative, sources close to Bobbi Kristina Brown told TMZ that the heiress feels she is the perfect person to play the part of Whitney Houston, and that no one knew her better.
The source adds that Bobbi Kristina Brown claims that if Eazy-E’s son can play him in a movie, she can play her mother.
Bobbi Kristina Brown wants to play Whitney Houston in a possible biopic of the late singer
Just last week it was announced that Bobbi Kristina Brown, 19, will have a recurring role on family friend Tyler Perry’s sitcom, For Better Or For Worse.
Even though no formal plans have been made, stars have been lining up for a chance to play Whitney Houston. Last week Rihanna was the favorite to head up a proposed feature, with Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Hudson and Brandy also up for consideration.
A woman tried to use a jet engine to blow-dry her locks on a beach of the Caribbean island of St. Maarten which borders an international airport with near-disastrous consequences.
Clearly looking for a thrill, the woman is seen in a video grabbing hold of a fence in the jet wash of a plane preparing to take off, a stunt that appears remarkably popular with sun-worshippers there.
But as the engines pick up speed, so too does the turbulence, which eventually blows her with such force it catapults her backwards.
With arms flailing, she tries to keep on her feet, but is thrown head-first into a low wall. Onlookers come rushing to her aid, although it is not clear what injuries she sustained.
The woman tried to use the jet engine to blow-dry her locks on a beach of the Caribbean island of St. Maarten
Maho Beach, on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, is famous for its close proximity to Princess Juliana International Airport.
Because of the short runway (2,180 metres), aircraft have to touch down as close as possible to the beginning of the track to ensure a safe landing.
The beach is such a popular location for plane-spotters, most bars and restaurants there have daily departure and arrival boards.
Signs on the beach warn that jet blast can cause injury or death – as the woman found to her cost.
Access to the official website for the London 2012 Olympic Games appears to be blocked in Iran.
Users in Iran have tweeted that they are unable to connect to london2012.com and are instead redirected to peyvandha.ir, a site offering stories from Iran’s official news agencies.
Blockediniran.com intermittently suggests Iran-based users are unlikely to be able to see the Olympics pages.
Iran’s ministry of foreign affairs did not reply to a request for comment.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recently ordered officials to set up a new body to co-ordinate decisions regarding the net.
Citizens have also been told they would need to show IDs and give their full name when visiting an internet cafe.
Users in Iran are unable to connect to london2012.com and are instead redirected to peyvandha.ir, a site offering stories from Iran's official news agencies
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also discussed plans to create a “clean web” within Iran with its own search engine and messaging service.
Iran had previously signalled it might boycott the Olympics over claims that the official logo spells the word “Zion” – a Hebrew word used to refer to Israel or Jerusalem.
In February 2011 the Iranian authorities called for the logo to be withdrawn and the designers “confronted”.
However, a follow-up letter later made clear its athletes would still “participate and play gloriously”.
The Iranian weightlifting superheavyweight, Behdad Salimikordasiab, is expected to be among those taking part.
Behdad Salimikordasiab previously won gold in the Asian Games in 2010 despite being affected by swine flu.
President Barack Obama’s Facebook page has been swamped with comments from supporters of Hazem Abu Ismail, a candidate in Egypt’s presidential election.
It follows news that Hazem Abu Ismail may be barred from the poll because one of his parents held dual nationality.
Egypt’s electoral commission has said Hazem Abu Ismail’s late mother became a naturalized US citizen in October 2006.
But his supporters are calling on President Barack Obama to support their claim that the immigration paperwork is fraudulent.
Many of the postings are in Arabic, but one comment – posted by several users – said in English: “His mother was a scholar in America, she got American Green Card, but American Authorities are trying to fraud that she was an American citizen.”
Another user asked: “If the US administration has official documents, why not display them?”
Barack Obama's Facebook page has been swamped with comments from supporters of Hazem Abu Ismail, a candidate in Egypt's presidential election
Egypt’s presidential election rules say that all candidates must have been born in Egypt to Egyptian parents who have never held citizenship of another country, are not dual nationals, and are not married to a foreigner.
The head of the Higher Presidential Election Commission (HPEC), Hatem Bajatu, said on Thursday that it had received information that Hazem Abu Ismail’s mother had “used an American passport for travel to and from Egypt” before her death and that it would notify the Salafist preacher.
Hazem Abu Ismail – who is running on an ultra-conservative, nationalist and anti-foreign intervention platform – subsequently told his supporters that the allegations were a “plot” against him.
He said he had documents to prove his case and had hired American lawyers to help him.
The HPEC has said candidacy papers would be examined later this week, after which those who did not meet the requirements would be informed and allowed to appeal.
A final list of eligible candidates will be announced on 26 April.
The White House has not commented on the matter, but tens of thousands of angry messages from Hazem Abu Ismail’s supporters have been added to President Obama’s re-election campaign Facebook page.
They are attached to unrelated timeline updates posted in the president’s name including a video of the popstar Janelle Monae – a Barack Obama supporter – and a music playlist for his supporters.
The sheer number of posts are – at least temporarily – preventing the Facebook “Wall” being used as a forum to generate support for Barack Obama ahead of the US presidential vote on 6 November.
The Next Web news site notes that this is not the first time that one of the president’s social media profiles has been “flooded with comments from another country”.
It says Chinese citizens began posting comments to his Google+ page after the network was unblocked in China in February.
This has continued ever since, with some recent posts attracting roughly as many Chinese language comments as English ones.
It prompted one user to write: “Dear Chinese mainlanders spammers. Please respect the President of the United States of America and quit spamming his post!”
Of the 62 celebrity weddings that featured on Hello! magazine’s front cover over the past decade, ten of them, 16%, have ended in divorce.
That is more than double the official divorce figure of 7% within the first six years of marriage.
The revelation adds weight to the theory behind the so-called “curse of Hello!” – that couples who appear in the magazine may be destined to split up.
Three of the ten Hello! divorces came within the first two years of marriage and only three couples managed more than five years.
The shortest marriage was Kim Kardashian, who divorced basketball player Kris Humphries after 72 days.
Couples who appear in the Hello magazine may be destined to split up
Other ill-fated cover stars include Westlife’s Brian McFadden and Kerry Katona, as well as Boyzone’s Ronan Keating and wife Yvonne.
Ulrika Jonsson sold her 1990 wedding to John Turnbull to Hello! and divorced him five years later. In 2003, she was on the cover with second husband Lance Gerrard-Wright. The union lasted two years.
Elizabeth Hurley and Indian textile tycoon Arun Nayar pocketed $3.5 million when they sold their wedding to Hello! in 2007. They parted four years later.
Hello!’s editor Rosie Nixon said the idea of a curse was “totally unfounded”. But former editor Kay Goddard said: “Perhaps they should put a clause in the contract that celebrity couples who divorce within a certain time should repay some of their fee.”
A collection of more than 200,000 records relating to the Titanic has been published online to mark the 100th anniversary from the ship’s sinking on 15 April 1912.
The documents provide information about survivors and the 1,500 people who died, including a number of wills and hundreds of coroner inquest files.
The collection has been gathered by the subscription-based family history website Ancestry.co.uk.
However, access to the Titanic records collection is free until 31 May 2012.
More than 200,000 Titanic-related records have been published online to mark the 100th anniversary from the ship's sinking
The Titanic, which was built in Belfast, sank in the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg during its maiden voyage to New York.
The records include the ship’s official passenger list, which shows the names, ages and occupations of those on board the ill-fated liner.
It also details the nationalities, positions and addresses of the ship’s crew which had more than 900 members.
The last will and testament of Titanic’s captain, Edward J. Smith, is among the documents which can be accessed online.
The wills of wealthy American businessmen Benjamin Guggenheim and John Jacob Astor can also be viewed on the site.
All three men lost their lives in the disaster.
Members of the public can search through more than 329 coroner inquest files and records of the 330 bodies that were recovered at sea.
Images of the grave headstones of 121 passengers have also been published.
The website also has a passenger list from the Carpathia, the vessel which rescued more than 700 people from Titanic.
Ancestry.co.uk content manager, Miriam Silverman, told the Press Association: “Over the generations, many families may have heard rumors that they had an ancestor aboard the Titanic, or even lost the evidence proving it.
“We’re very pleased to be able to offer access to these valuable records for free, enabling thousands to uncover the story of their ancestor’s tragic voyage.”
China has created a rare earth association in a bid to regulate the sector’s development, as it continues to face criticism over its policies.
Beijing has imposed quotas on exports of rare earth elements, a move which its critics say has pushed up prices.
Last month, the US, Japan and the European Union filed a case at the World Trade Organization, challenging China’s restrictions.
China produces more than 95% of the world’s rare earth elements.
Rare earth elements are critical components in the manufacture of various high-tech products, including DVDs, mobile phones, flatscreen TVs and hybrid batteries.
China has created a rare earth association in a bid to regulate the sector's development, as it continues to face criticism over its policies
China’s trading partners have alleged that Beijing has been trying to utilize its position as the world’s biggest producer of rare earths to benefit domestic manufacturers.
They have argued that by limiting exports, Beijing has kept prices low for domestic buyers, while international firms have had to pay more.
It’s also claimed that Beijing was trying to put pressure on international manufacturers to move to China.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua said the new association was likely to help with efforts to cope with international trade frictions and disputes.
China has denied these allegations and said that it imposed the restrictions to ensure that excessive mining of these elements did not cause environmental damage.
Su Bo, an industry vice minister, said Beijing is looking to further tighten its policies for the sector.
“China will continue to clean up the rare earth industry, expand rare earth environmental controls, strengthen environmental checks, and implement stricter rare earth environmental policies,” Su Bo was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency.
According to Xinhua, the association will have 155 members, including some of the biggest producers of rare earths, and report to the Ministry of Industry and Technology which regulates production of these elements.
According to researchers, it appears the days of women setting their sights on marrying “above themselves” are over, as they become better educated and better paid.
Indeed modern women could hardly be further from the likes of Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth Bennet and her scheming to net Mr. Darcy – not just the man she loved but, crucially, a wealthy aristocrat.
Analyzing how female aspirations have changed over the past 50 years the researchers found women in their late twenties and early thirties are increasingly marrying “beneath themselves” by opting for men of lower social classes.
The study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in UK adds weight to the idea that today’s economically independent women are freer to marry for love rather than to further themselves.
The think-tank says the proportion of those “marrying down” – such as the Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter Zara Phillips who is now wed to former England rugby player Mike Tindall – has exceeded those “marrying up” for the first time.
The study found 28% of women born between 1976 and 1981 married men who were less educated and worse paid than them. In 1958, the figure was 23%.
British Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Phillips married England rugby star Mike Tindall
Of the women born between 1976 and 1981, only 16% married up and more than half (56%) married someone of the same class, defined by the IPPR as someone in a similar occupation.
In 1958, 39% married someone of the same class and 38% married up.
The research also showed that while attitudes towards marrying across social class have changed, those towards age have become more entrenched.
Most women marry men who are older than them and are more likely to do so than those of previous generations.
Richard Darlington of the IPPR said: “In the 60s, women working in highly segregated offices in junior clerical roles fell in love with men in senior positions and <<married the boss>>.
“By the 70s and 80s, women had moved into more senior positions themselves and were marrying men in similar professional categories. By the 90s, the toy boy phenomenon was at its height and by the noughties age was no longer a social taboo.
“Women are still marrying older men from the same social class as themselves, but for the first time, the proportion marrying down is higher than the proportion marrying up, and one in five women are now marrying men who are seven or more years older than them.”
Official figures last week showed 52% of women aged 17-30 went into higher education compared with 42% of men.
Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia spoke out during an interview with BBC about the many changes she would like to see in her country.
Princess Basma, 47, is the youngest daughter of former Saudi Arabia’s ruler, King Saud, and niece to its current king. The princess currently lives in Acton, West London, and is a businesswoman setting up a series of restaurant chains in Saudi Arabia which she now intends to expand into Britain.
Princess Basma was schooled in Beirut by French Christian Missionary School, taught by Christian Nuns among Christians and Jews who did not adhere to the Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia. In Britain she attended a Hertfordshire girls’ school and a College in London before spending two years studying in Switzerland.
“I speak as the daughter of King Saud, the former ruler of Saudi Arabia. My father established the first women’s university in the kingdom, abolished slavery and tried to establish a constitutional monarchy that separates the position of king from that of prime minister. But I am saddened to say that my beloved country today has not fulfilled that early promise.
Our ancient culture, of which I am very proud, is renowned for its nobility and generosity, but we lack, and urgently need, fundamental civil laws with which to govern our society.
As a daughter, sister, [former] wife, mother, businesswoman and a working journalist, these are the things that I would like to see changed in Saudi Arabia.”
1. Constitution
“I would like to see a proper constitution that treats all men and women on an equal footing before the law but that also serves as a guide to our civil laws and political culture.
For example, today in Saudi courts, all decisions are made according to the individual judge’s interpretation of the holy Koran. This is entirely dependent on his own personal beliefs and upbringing rather than universally agreed principles or a written constitution as a guide.
I am not calling for a western system but an adaptation of that system to suit our needs and culture. Thus our constitution should be inspired by the philosophy of the Koran with principles that are set in stone and not open to the whims of individual judges as is the case now.
In particular, the constitution should protect every citizen’s basic human rights regardless of their sex, status or sect. Everyone should be equal before the law.”
2. Divorce laws
“I strongly believe that current divorce laws are abusive.
Today in Saudi, a woman can ask for a divorce only if she files for what is called <<Khali and Dhali>>. This means either she pays a big sum of money running into tens of thousands of dollars or she has to get someone to witness the reason why she is filing for a divorce – an impossible condition to fulfil given that such reasons usually are the kind that remain within the four walls of a marriage.
Another way to keep a woman in the marital home against her will is the automatic granting of custody of any children over the age of six to the father in any divorce settlements.
This state of affairs is in complete contradiction to the Koran, upon which our laws are supposed to be based. In it a woman is given full rights to divorce simply in the case of <<irreconcilable differences>>.”
Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia spoke out about the many changes she would like to see in her country
3. Overhaul of the education system
“The way women today are treated in Saudi Arabia is a direct result of the education our children, boys and girls, receive at school.
The content of the syllabus is extremely dangerous. For one, our young are taught that a woman’s position in society is inferior. Her role is strictly limited to serving her family and raising children. They are actually taught that if a woman has to worship anyone other than God it should be her husband; <<that the angels will curse her if she is not submissive to her husband’s needs>>. Girls are also strictly forbidden from taking part in any physical education. This is a result of a complete misinterpretation of the Koran. I consider these ideologies to be inherently abusive.
Aside from that, the focus in most of our educational system is on religious subjects such as hadith (sayings attributed to the prophet), Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), tafssir (interpretation of the Koran) and of course the Koran. The attitude is that <<learning itself, anything other than religion won’t get you into heaven so don’t waste your time>>. I would like to see religious teaching limited to the Koran and the Sunna (the way the prophet lived), where the true ethics of Islam lie. The rest is blind rote learning of the most dangerous kind. It has left our youth vulnerable to fundamentalist ideologies that have led to terrorism and abuse of the true meaning of the Koran.
Instead of wasting our youths’ intellect on memorizing quotations whose origins is uncertain (such as those found in hadith, Fiqh and tafssir) we need to encourage them to think freely, innovate and use their initiative for the betterment of our society. Early Islam was a time of great creativity. Scholars excelled in sciences and literature. Our religion should not be a shield behind which we hide from the world but a driving force that inspires us to innovate and contribute to our surroundings. This is the true spirit of Islam.”
4. A complete reform of social services
“The ministry of social affairs is tolerating cruelty towards women rather than protecting them. The only refuge homes that abused women can turn to are state ones. In these, women are continuously told that by seeking refuge they have brought shame on their families.
If they come from powerful families then they will be sent straight back to their homes in fear of the wrath of a powerful patriarch. As a result we have seen many cases of suicide by educated women, doctors and scientists who were sent back to their abusers.
We need independent women’s refuges where the rights of women are upheld and backed up by powerful laws that can override family traditions and protect women.
The ministry of social affairs not only abuses women’s rights but is also one of the reasons poverty is rife in the kingdom. A corrupt system that lacks transparency has meant that more than 50% of our population is poor and needy even though we are one of the wealthiest countries on earth.”
5. The role of the Mahram (chaperone)
“Women in Saudi cannot get around or travel without a mahram (a kind of chaperone – usually a male relative).
At the time of the prophet, women used to have a man to accompany them but in those days Arabia was a desert literally full of pirates.
Today the only purpose of such a law is to curtail women’s freedom of movement. This not only infantilizes women but turns them unnecessarily into a burden on their men and on society.
Today women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive.
This one seems to concern western observers the most but there are more essential rights we need to obtain first.
I am definitely for women driving but I don’t think this is the right time for a reversal of this law. In the current climate if a woman drives, she could be stopped, harassed beaten or worse to teach her a lesson.
This is why I am against women driving until we are educated enough and until we have the necessary laws to protect us from such madness. Otherwise we might as well hand out a license to the extremists to abuse us further. If as drivers we get harassed, they will say to the Islamic world <<see what happens when women drive, they get harassed they get beaten>> and they will call for even more stringent laws to control women. This is something we can’t afford. Fundamental changes in the law and its attitude to women are needed before we take this step.
On the whole it is the rights and freedoms of all citizens that are crucial in Saudi Arabia and from those the rights of women will emanate.”
Transition, a prototype car made by US company Terrafugia that is licensed to fly as well as drive, has been put on display at the New York International Auto Show.
The car is the first vehicle in the world to have met both the standards of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), according to Cliff Allen, Vice President of Sales at Terrafugia.
This makes it the first “street legal aeroplane”, he said.
Known as the Transition, the versatile vehicle has two seats, four wheels and retractable wings.
It is expected to be available next year, with a price tag in the region of $279,000.
The vehicle currently has an experimental certificate from the FAA, meaning the company has permission to fly it in US airspace for test purposes. The company hopes in time it will gain a light sport aircraft license.
The hybrid vehicle completed its first successful test flight at Plattsburgh International Airport near Montreal in Canada last month.
A retired US Air Force test pilot took the maiden voyage – after volunteering his services.
The Terrafugia Transition has an experimental certificate from the FAA, meaning the company has permission to fly it in US airspace for test purposes
“We are very fortunate to have found him,” said Dr. Samuel Schwegart, an engineer at Terrafugia working on the project.
The vehicle flew at 1,400 feet for eight minutes.
However, important details still need to be worked out from test data, including the stall speed of the aircraft.
There are significant design challenges marrying a roadworthy vehicle with a skyworthy one, according to Dr. Samuel Schwegart.
“We were curious to see how it would take off,” says Dr. Samuel Schwegart.
“Unlike a normal plane, it cannot rock back on its rear wheels at the moment of take-off, because it is designed to be stable as a car on the road.”
The engineers also found that Transition needed more speed than anticipated on take-off, to generate the necessary lift for ascent.
A hard landing was also reported, but nothing of concern, according to Dr. Samuel Schwegart.
“You can pull up at a regular gas station to fill it up,” says Dr. Samuel Schwegart. A full tank holds 23 gallons (87 litres) of fuel.
It requires Premium 91-octane fuel, and does 35 miles to the gallon (6.7l/100km) on the road, and 28 mile (8.4l/100km) in the air.
“The discrepancy is because of drag,” says Dr. Samuel Schwegart.
Although Transition can be stored in a normal garage, it needs a 1,700-foot (520-metre) runway to take off.
According to Terrafugia, this is no problem, as there are 5,000 state airports in the United States. And there are a further 5,000 private ones, which might just mean a simple runway belonging to a farmer in a field.
Terrafugia calculates that you are rarely further than half an hour from a take-off point – and there are apps like Foreflight which will tell you where the nearest one is, whether you are on the ground, or up in the air hoping to come down.
“You just do your pre-flight checks, unfold your wings and away you go,” says Dr. Samuel Schwegart.
The initial target market was existing pilots, but the company is now reaching out to people with no aviation background.
The vehicle offers an “advanced level of freedom in life, more efficiency in personal travel”, according to a company representative.
Terrafugia currently has 100 pre-orders, which in their current small production facility in Woburn, Massachusetts, already means a two-to-three-year backlog.
With a range of 644 miles (1,035 km) on a full tank, the vehicle could in theory make a non-domestic journey. For the time being, however, the vehicle is restricted by its license to flying in the US.
Oxytocin, the so-called “cuddle hormone”, a chemical that helps mothers bond with their babies, can dramatically improve male sexual performance, producing results on a par with Viagra, researchers have found.
One of the scientists behind the discovery and development of Viagra was so impressed that he described an oxytocin-based treatment as having “blockbuster potential”.
Oxytocin is a hormone naturally made in the body in both men and women, and is involved in sex, sexual attraction, trust and confidence.
Extra doses of the “cuddle chemical” are released into a mother’s blood during labor – triggering the production of breast milk – and flood the brain during breastfeeding, helping mother and baby bond.
Oxytocin has recently been shown to make men more sensitive and in tune with others’ feelings, but its effects on the male physique were unknown until now.
Researchers in California published a paper on the hormone’s effects after giving it to a married father of three who suffered from attention deficit disorder and had difficulty in maintaining social relationships.
His relationship with his wife was also in difficulties, and conventional drugs either were not suitable or had unwanted side-effects.
Spraying the hormone up his nose twice a day did little to help his social phobia but did wonders for his love life, the Journal of Sexual Medicine reports.
His libido went from “very weak” to “somewhat strong”, his sexual arousal from “somewhat difficult” to “somewhat easy” and the act itself was easier to perform and more satisfying.
The spray also produced emotional benefits. The man said he found it easier to be affectionate towards his wife, while she said he wanted to be closer to her and was more tactile.
But not all oxytocin effects may be quite so welcome.
The man, who is identified only as Mr. B, also hugged a work colleague in a “very out of character” way. At the time the paper was written, the man had not experienced any other side-effects, despite using the oxytocin spray twice a day for several months.
Oxytocin, the so-called “cuddle hormone” can dramatically improve male sexual performance, producing results on a par with Viagra
However, the positive effects vanished if he stopped using the spray.
The University of California researchers said the improvements were “in keeping” with those of Viagra.
They concluded: “These findings support trials directly examining the use of oxytocin to treat problems in this vital aspect of human function, especially in the context of stable, loving relationships.”
Others said that as Viagra does not work in all cases, there is a great medical need for a new drug.
Dr. Mike Wyllie, one of the team of scientists that discovered and developed Viagra for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, said that for some men who have had surgery, the little blue pills can work in as few as 10% of cases.
With sales of Viagra and similar pills reaching almost $4 billion year worldwide, there are billions to be made.
Dr. Mike Wyllie said that a drug based on oxytocin could have “blockbuster potential”.
However, he warned that drug watchdogs may be cautious about approving a medicine that has emotional as well as physical effects.
A new report in Science journal gives details on how carbon-based material graphene can help scientists study liquids more clearly with high-power microscopes.
Graphene can form a clear “window” to see liquids at higher resolution than was previously possible using transmission electron microscopes.
Liquids had been difficult to view at the same resolution as solids because these microscopes require the liquids to be encapsulated by some material.
Traditionally, silicon nitride or silicon oxide capsules, or liquid cells, have been used. But these are generally too thick to see through clearly.
Now, Jong Min Yuk at the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues have shown that pockets created by sheets of graphene can be used to study liquids at clear, atomic, resolution using transmission electron microscopes (TEMs).
Graphene can form a clear window to see liquids at higher resolution than was previously possible using transmission electron microscopes
The researchers used their new graphene-based liquid cell to study the formation of platinum nanocrystals in solution.
With this technique, the team of scientists was able to observe new and unexpected stages of nanocrystal growth as it happened.
They noted how the crystals selectively coalesced and modified their shape.
Graphene consists of a flat layer of carbon atoms tightly packed into a two-dimensional honeycomb arrangement.
Because it is so thin, it is also practically transparent. The unusual electronic, mechanical and chemical properties of graphene at the molecular scale promise numerous applications.
Its discoverers, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov from Manchester University, were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010.
The technique described by Jong Min Yuk and colleagues might enable scientists to study other physical, chemical, and biological phenomena that take place in liquids on the nanometre scale.
“Their approach opens new domains of research in the physics and chemistry in the fluid phase in general,” said Christian Colliex, from the Universite Paris Sud in France, who was not involved with the research.
In another paper published in this week’s Science magazine, researchers from the US and Spain report that the stress of pressing the tip of an atomic force microscope into a thin film of material can switch the direction of the film’s electric charge.
This phenomenon, called “flexoelectricity”, could be harnessed to improve memory in electronic devices.
It could achieve this by allowing digital bits of information to be written mechanically but read electrically – which would use less power.
The process has been likened to a nanoscale typewriter – mechanically “writing” changes in the direction of electric charge.
A preliminary study has found that taking Vitamin B-6 may not only give people more vivid dreams but also help in remembering them the next morning.
While we supposedly all have 4-6 dreams a night it is often hard to recall them, especially in their entirety.
Vitamin B-6, which is found in meats, whole grains, vegetables, nuts and bananas, has long been thought to help recall dreams and enhance their lucidity but this was based on theory rather than a concrete study.
However, a small study done back in 2002 has come to light which seemingly goes some way to proving the familiar theory.
In the study twelve university students were given varying amounts of the vitamin over a period of five days.
Four participants were given 100 mg, four were given 250 mg, while the remaining students were given a placebo.
The participants who were given the biggest dose of Vitamin B-6 had a higher rate of dream salience as determined by vividness, bizareness, emotionality, and color.
Taking Vitamin B-6 may not only give people more vivid dreams but also help in remembering them the next morning
It is believed that Vitamin B-6 has this effect because it converts amino acids into serotonin, which wakes the brain up during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, a stage of sleeping where our dreams are most vivid.
But hold back on those bananas as too much of the vitamin can mean you won’t get to sleep at all as it can cause insomnia, as well as heart palpitations, cramps, high blood pressure, and panic attacks.
While this study into dreams was just preliminary, supplements of Vitamin B-6 have been given to treat nausea and vomiting in the early stages of pregnancy for decades.
Prince Harry of Wales is spending the Easter weekend in a picturesque Transylvanian village in the heart of Romania, local media reported on Sunday.
Prince Harry, who is visiting Romania for the first time, is being hosted in Miclosoara by Count Tibor Kalnoky in his elegant manor which dates back to the 16th century, the media reports said.
There was no confirmation from the British Royal Palace.
Prince Harry of Wales is spending the Easter weekend in a picturesque Transylvanian village in the heart of Romania
A descendant of an old noble family of Hungarian extraction, Tibor Kalnoky and his wife were among the guests at the wedding of Harry’s elder brother Prince William to Kate Middleton in April 2011.
The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has visited Romania about a dozen times over the past few years and is involved in organic agriculture projects in Transylvania, where he owns several properties.
A staunch protector of the Saxon villages in central Romania, Prince Charles has also supported vast restoration works in the medieval city of Sibiu.
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has returned to Cuba for more radiotherapy to treat a recurrence of his cancer.
Hugo Chavez announced his departure from Caracas in a Twitter message sent from the airport.
“Heading for Havana with faith in Resurrected Christ. We’ll keep living and keep winning!”
Hugo Chavez had surgery in February to remove a second tumor from his pelvic area.
The President told Venezuelans he was returning to Cuba for more treatment after an emotional plea for his life at an Easter mass.
Speaking through tears in his hometown of Barinas, Hugo Chavez asked Jesus to give him more time because he had “things left to do”.
“Give me your crown, Christ, give it to me, I will bleed, give me your cross, a hundred crosses, but give me life, because I still have things left to do for the [Venezuelan] people and for the homeland,” Hugo Chavez said during Thursday night’s mass.
He later said it had been “a spontaneous, sentimental thing” brought about by the presence of his family next to him at the mass.
“My mum gave me her hand with such tenderness, and Dad gave me his… and because of this, tears rolled down my face”, Hugo Chavez said.
Hugo Chavez told Venezuelans he was returning to Cuba for more treatment after an emotional plea for his life at an Easter mass
The exact nature of Hugo Chavez’s cancer has not been disclosed, fuelling rumors that his health may be worse than officially stated.
Hugo Chavez, who has been in power since 1999, has said that despite his health problems he is determined to win October’s presidential election.
Last year, he had surgery and four rounds of chemotherapy in Cuba, after a baseball-sized growth was detected in his pelvic region.
After the treatment he had said he was free from cancer, only to suffer a recurrence that required surgery in February.
Just hours before leaving for Havana, the Venezuelan leader unveiled a 32.25% increase in the minimum wage, to be introduced in two stages later this year.
“In the 1980s and 90s, the minimum wage was basically frozen, then inflation went through the roof… we’ve been working on this for several weeks,” Hugo Chavez said in a televised cabinet meeting.
Venezuela inflation is currently about 25% a year.
Details were also published of telephone calls Hugo Chavez had made to the leaders of Ecuador and Bolivia, as well as to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Hugo Chavez discussed the unrest in Syria, “especially the successful way the Syrian government had contained armed terrorist gangs… which were seeking in vain to impede the advance of political reforms pushed forward by the Assad government,” according to AP news agency.
At least 9,000 people have been killed, mostly by security forces, since an uprising broke out last year against Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
Relatives of some who died on the Titanic have set sail aboard of MS Balmoral to retrace the journey of the doomed liner to mark 100 years since the disaster.
MS Balmoral has left Southampton docks, retracing the route of the ill-fated cruise liner’s maiden voyage.
The ship, carrying 1,309 passengers – the same number as were on the Titanic – is due to reach the wreck site next weekend for a memorial ceremony.
The Titanic hit an iceberg on 15 April 1912 and sank, killing about 1,500.
The Balmoral left England’s south coast shortly after 14:45 GMT and will follow the Titanic’s exact route – via Cherbourg in north-west France and Cobh on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland – to the spot where the liner sank.
Passengers will gather for a service to be held at 02:20 GMT next Sunday – 15 April – to mark the moment of the sinking.
Some relatives were bringing wreaths of flowers and family artefacts in memory of those who died.
Passengers making the journey, who come from more than 20 countries, include relatives of survivors, authors, historians and people who are fascinated by the Titanic story.
They will eat meals from the Titanic’s original menu and attend lectures given by historians and experts.
Relatives of some who died on the Titanic have set sail aboard of MS Balmoral to retrace the journey of the doomed liner to mark 100 years since the disaster
Philip Littlejohn, grandson of survivor Alexander James Littlejohn and the only Titanic relative to have made the dive to the wreck site, said: “I’m sure my grandfather, a 1st Class Steward on RMS Titanic, would be proud to know his story will be shared with the passengers on this historic cruise.
“It will be an emotional moment when we are over the wreck site, where I dived in 2001, and where my grandfather left Titanic rowing Lifeboat 13.”
Jane Allen, whose great uncle Tom Pears died in the disaster, is among passengers who have paid up to £6,000 ($9,000) to join the commemorative voyage.
“I don’t think it’s ghoulish or macabre at all,” said Jane Allen, from Devon.
“I’ve been to the World War II and I cemeteries in various places across the world. I think it’s always important to remember.”
Peter Hill, 61, from the Isle of Man, echoed those sentiments, saying: “I think the cruise has been tastefully done. It’s not a cheap cruise by any means.”
The retired policeman who is making the journey with his wife, Lynda, also 61, said he had a personal link to the ship.
“My grandfather was a Lloyd’s underwriter of the ship and lost a lot of money when she sank. He was a very wealthy man and had to sell one of two farms to pay for the losses,” he said.
“I’m a big fan of the story and I have 38 books about it and it’s always been part of my family history.”
Carmel Bradburn, 55, a Briton now based in Adelaide, Australia, bought her partner Andreas Storic, 51, on the memorial cruise.
She said: “I’m fanatical about the Titanic. It’s an amazing story and I have been reading about it but I’m not so keen on the film. Just think we are doing this 100 years later.”
And her partner disagreed with the notion that the journey was “morbid”.
“Remembering those who died is not morbid,” he said.
From the wreck site, the Balmoral will go on to Nova Scotia, where some of the bodies of those who died are buried, and then onto New York City, the destination the Titanic never reached.
The Balmoral was chartered for the 12-night journey by Miles Morgan Travel.
Miles Morgan, managing director, said the company had sought to make the voyage “a sympathetic memorial to the passengers and crew who lost their lives”.
The Titanic hit an iceberg at 23:40 (ship’s time) on 14 April 1912, some 460 miles (740 km) from Newfoundland and took two-and-a-half hours to sink.
About 1,300 passengers and 900 crew members were on board the liner when it sank. They ranged from millionaires to poor emigrants.
About 713 people were rescued by RMS Carpathia.
In 1985, Dr. Robert Ballard discovered the wreck 2.5 miles (4 km) below the surface of the north Atlantic.
Anne Hathaway has admitted to cutting her daily food intake down to only 500 calories for her role in the forthcoming movie Les Miserables but she has also agreed to cut her hair.
Anne Hathaway, 29, who usually flaunts a thick mane of long brunette locks has trimmed her hair to barely one inch in length, in order to achieve the look of her character in Les Miserables.
The actress was pictured leaving London’s The Box nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning with the newly cropped do.
Anne Hathaway looked especially gaunt as she left the venue with fiancé Adam Shulman and their friends.
As they hopped into a taxi she tried to conceal her fresh crop from onlookers who took a while to catch on to her identity.
Grabbing her head as she made her way home, Anne Hathaway is evidently still getting used to her short style.
Anne Hathaway has trimmed her hair to barely one inch in length, in order to achieve the look of her character in Les Miserables
Wearing a dark coat and blue jeans, as expected she appeared noticeably slimmer than usual as she has embarked on a hardcore diet for her part in the film.
Anne Hathaway plays Fantine, a struggling factory worker who is forced into prostitution to provide for her illegitimate child and ends up selling her hair for financial gain.
A film source told the Daily Mirror: “Anne is playing a destitute factory worker-come-lady of the night.
“Unfortunately, she only has 15 to 20 days to lose as much weight as possible – up to a stone-and-a-half – because she’s been filming the scenes showing her fit and healthy, almost slightly chubby.
“It’s not ideal but, as with any high-budget movie, there are strict time constraints.”
Anne Hathaway looked a far cry from the glamorous situations fans are used to seeing her in but the dramatic decision was all for the greater good.
While many stars opt to don a hairpiece to save their precious tresses, Anne Hathaway was clearly determined to be as authentic as possible for the musical motion picture.
Bobby Brown was recently charged with DUI and now the singer is making a special effort to be a good role model as he embarked on a family day out.
Bobby Brown, 43, showed off his gentler side as he walked hand in hand with his son Cassius and fiancée Alicia Etheridge at The Grove shopping centre in Los Angeles.
The singer stepped out to the celebrity-favored retail haven dressed casually in navy blue cargo trousers and a crisp white T-shirt.
Carrying a blue and pink shirt as well as some take out food in one hand on the sunny day in California, Bobby Brown took his little boy’s grasp in the other.
Bobby Brown showed off his gentler side as he walked hand in hand with his son Cassius and fiancée Alicia Etheridge at The Grove shopping centre in Los Angeles
The two-year-old clearly looks up to his father, who also has three other children, all with different mothers.
His siblings include, Landon, 25, LaPrincia, 21 and his daughter with the late singer Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina, 19.
Both charges are misdemeanors and could carry a fine of $1000 each as well as up to six months in jail as a maximum penalty.
Bobby Brown’s lawyers said: “Everyone is innocent until proven guilty and Mr. Brown was not driving erratically.
“He was speaking on his cell phone. Mr. Brown has not been convicted of anything associated with this incident.”
Whitney Houston’s autopsy report has revealed that large parts of her skin were burnt off from the scalding hot bath in which she was found.
The shocking report states that Whitney Houston had patches of “skin slippage” from the hot water burns on several parts of her body.
It is thought that Whitney Houston could have been so out of it that she did not realize, or feel, how hot the water was. The bath water was 33°C (93.5°F) six hours after she died, showing how incredibly hot it would have been when she first got into it.
Whitney Houston was found face down and unresponsive in about 13 inches of water on February 11 and passed away at the age of 48.
The startling revelations of how badly damaged her body is an indication as to how much her lifestyle took a toll on her, leading to her untimely death. Some scars were recent – others from years of neglect.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s report shows that Whitney Houston had a perforated septum, likely to be from the large amounts of cocaine she consumed in her lifetime.
The singer also had scars and abrasions on her arms and legs and bruises on her shoulders and head.
Whitney Houston's autopsy report has revealed that large parts of her skin were burnt off from the scalding hot bath in which she was found
There were two scars under Whitney Houston’s breasts, believed to be from a breast augmentation procedure. It is also thought she had other cosmetic surgeries going by the marks on her stomach and upper thigh.
Whitney Houston was seen with blood dripping from her legs just a few days before she died after stumbling out of a nightclub in Los Angeles.
The autopsy report also showed that Whitney Houston was wearing a “maxillary dental prosthesis” and had 11 false teeth.
Her body was discovered face down in the bath tub, “her eyes were congested and there was a bloody purge coming from her nose”.
There was “superficial abrasions to the left side of her forehead and the bridge of her nose”. She also had cuts on her left arm, hand and shoulder.
It was a sordid end for the award-winning star, and officials insist there were absolutely no signs of foul play.
The report also confirms details of the drug paraphernalia found among Whitney Houston’s belongings.
There was a “spoon with a white crystal-like substance on it” and a “white powdery substance”, which was later tested and determined to be cocaine in the late singer’s hotel room.
The report, which gives a detailed description of the state of the Beverly Hilton hotel room when officials arrived, reads: “Located on the south portion of the counter was a small spoon with a white crystal-like substance in it and a rolled up piece of white paper, along with other miscellaneous items.”
“Located in the top drawer, in the north side of the counter were remnants of a white powdery substance, and a portable mirror on a base.”
Officials found more white powder on the base of the mirror.
The report also reveals the probable cause of death: “[Whitney Houston] possibly overdosed on a narcotic substance, prescription medications, over the counter medications and alcohol.”
It also notes that when officials discovered the body, Whitney Houston was wearing a brown wig “tightly attached to the hair”.
The wig was removed revealing a full head of wavy black hair with “no balding”.
Whitney Houston also had traces of marijuana in her system as well as Xanax (anxiety medication), Flexeril (muscle relaxer) and Benadryl (allergy medication).
The report also describes a plastic bag ripped open with pills spilling out, medication bottles and an ashtray with cigarette butts all over the place.
When Whitney Houston’s official cause of death was released in March her heart disease was mentioned, but the new detailed report also cites that she had a hole in her septum and that she was suffering from mild emphysema.
Kristy McCracken of the Beverly Hills Police Department also noticed an old needle puncture wound on Whitney Houston’s inner left elbow.
On the day she died, Whitney Houston complained of a sore throat, so she decided to take a bath in at her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton before getting ready for Clive Davis’ Pre-Grammy party.
60 Minutes veteran journalist Mike Wallace has died aged 93.
A spokesperson for CBS said Mike Wallace died on Saturday and had been in declining health in recent years.
Mike Wallace was one of the original hosts of 60 Minutes when it began in 1968.
He went on to interview the likes of Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Yasser Arafat before announcing his retirement in 2006.
However, Mike Wallace still continued to do the occasional report for the show, including interviewing Jack Kevorkian – the US doctor who claimed to have assisted more than 100 suicides – in 2007.
“He was one of the great pioneers in journalism,” anchor Bob Schieffer said during CBS’s morning news programme.
“We are all going to miss him.”
60 Minutes veteran journalist Mike Wallace has died aged 93
In almost 40 years on 60 Minutes, Mike Wallace worked on some 800 investigative reports.
Known for spending hours preparing for interviews, he was famed for his skeptical follow-up questioning.
He interviewed every US president since John F. Kennedy – except George W. Bush – and dozens of other world leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Ayatollah Khomeini and Deng Xiaoping.
A host of celebrities were also subjects including Janis Joplin, Hugh Hefner, Tina Turner, Salvador Dali and Barbra Streisand.
CBS’s Morley Safer paid tribute to the newsman, saying: “Wallace took to heart the old reporter’s pledge to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
Mike Wallace is survived by his wife, Mary, son Chris and stepdaughter and stepson, Pauline and Eames.
North Korea has made the arrangements to put into position a long-range rocket for a controversial launch next week – amid reports it is also planning a nuclear test.
Pyongyang says the Unha-3 rocket, which it plans to launch between 12 and 16 April, will put a satellite into orbit.
But opponents of the move fear it is a disguised long-range missile test.
Meanwhile, South Korean officials say new satellite images suggest the North is preparing to carry out a third nuclear test.
North Korea has made the arrangements to put into position a long-range rocket for a controversial launch next week
The images show piles of earth and sand at the entrance of a tunnel at the Punggye-Ri site, where tests of a nuclear bomb were previously carried out in 2006 and 2009, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports.
“Recent satellite images led us to conclude the North has been secretly digging a new underground tunnel in the nuclear test site… besides two others where the previous tests were conducted,” one unnamed official told the AFP news agency.
North Korea has been under close scrutiny by its neighbors and the international community since Kim Jong-Un became leader of the secretive state following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, in December 2011.
Pyongyang had agreed in February to a partial freeze in nuclear activities and a missile test moratorium in return for US food aid. But the deal was put on hold last month after the North announced its rocket launch plans.
Foreign journalists were taken by train to the Sohae satellite station at Tongchang-Ri, on the country’s north-west coast, to see for themselves the final preparations for the rocket launch.
All three stages of the rocket were visibly in position at the launch pad, an Associated Press reporter said from the scene.
Station manager Jang Myong-Jim told reporters that preparations were on track and fueling would begin soon, without giving exact timings.
Jang Myong-Jim said the 100 kg (220 pound) satellite is designed to send back images and information that will be used for weather forecasts as well as surveys of North Korea’s natural resources, the AP reports.
Pyongyang has previously said the launch, for “peaceful purposes”, is to mark the centennial of the birth of founding leader Kim Il-Sung.
But the United States and North Korea’s neighbors say it contravenes UN resolutions that were imposed after a similar launch in April 2009.
Japan and South Korea have warned they will shoot the rocket down if it strays into their territory.
Pope Benedict XVI has delivered his traditional Urbi et Orbi (To the City and the World) Easter message of peace in front of tens of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
Pope Benedict urged Syria’s government to end the bloody year-long conflict, and spoke of the trouble in Nigeria and Mali.
At a Mass on Saturday, the Pope warned that mankind is “groping in the darkness, unable to distinguish good from evil”.
Earlier, the Vatican confirmed Pope Benedict would be travelling to Lebanon for a three-day visit in September.
“May the risen Christ grant hope to the Middle East and enable all the ethnic, cultural and religious groups in that region to work together to advance the common good and respect for human rights,” said Pope Benedict during his traditional Easter message.
“Particularly in Syria, may there be an end to bloodshed and an immediate commitment to the path of respect, dialogue and reconciliation, as called for by the international community.”
Pope Benedict voiced hope that the “many refugees” currently in need of humanitarian assistance “find the acceptance and solidarity capable of relieving their dreadful sufferings”.
Pope Benedict XVI has delivered his traditional Urbi et Orbi Easter message of peace in front of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square in Rome
For the West African nation of Mali, which was plunged into political crisis after army officers seized power in a coup two weeks ago, he said “may the glorious Christ grant peace and stability”.
And for Nigeria, which has been hit by inter-religious and ethnic violence, “may the joy of Easter grant the strength needed to take up anew the building of a society which is peaceful and respectful of the religious freedom of its citizens”.
However, as he spoke, reports were coming in of a deadly car bombing close to a church in the Nigerian city of Kaduna.
The theme of the Saturday evening vigil was the contrast between darkness and light.
The service was brought forward from its traditional midnight start in order not to tax the 84-year-old’s strength – and he was wheeled on a raised mobile platform along the central nave of a darkened St Peter’s Basilica carrying a single lighted candle, symbolizing the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Gradually, as other believers lit their individual candles from a single flame, St. Peter’s was flooded with light.
During the Mass, the Pope also baptized eight new converts by pouring water over their bowed heads.
The pontiff’s official schedule – which recently saw him return from visits to Cuba and Mexico – is taking a toll, our correspondent says.
Pope Benedict’s elder brother in Germany has said that the pontiff- who turns 85 later this month – intends to cut back on foreign travel, as it wears him out.
However, the Vatican has confirmed the Pope has accepted an invitation by religious leaders in Lebanon to visit the country for three-days in September.
Easter is one of the most joyous celebrations in the Christian calendar, marking the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
A sequel to Waiting to Exhale, Whitney Houston’s 1995 hit, may be in the works, despite the star’s death.
Based on a Terry McMillan novel, the movie starred Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine as four girlfriends dealing with bad relationships.
Before her death, Whitney Houston had completed her first film since the 1996 holiday comedy The Preacher’s Wife. Her last movie, called Sparkle, is a remake of a 1976 film about a girl group, and also stars Jordin Sparks.
There was talk of Whitney Houston continuing her transition back to film with a Waiting to Exhale sequel, but in the event of her drug-related death, all possible plans were halted.
A sequel to Waiting to Exhale, Whitney Houston's 1995 hit, may be in the works, despite the star's death
However, in a recent interview with Good Day LA, co-star Loretta Devine said that development may continue without Whitney Houston, adding: “Now the focus would be a tribute to her, which would be wonderful. We don’t know if they’re going to try to introduce a new character or pull her character out all together.
“So it’s a lot of rewrites that they’ll have to go through, so I don’t know if it’s going to happen as soon as we thought it would happen.”
There has been talk of a remake of another Whitney Houston movie, the highly successful thriller The Bodyguard. Singer Rihanna has ruled out a role in the film, though she has expressed interest in playing Whitney Houston in a possible biopic.
