Why ‘holding on’ is bad for your health

Is your fear of using public toilets causing unhealthy side effects in return?

Australians’ aversion to public rest rooms is increasing the incidence of serious health conditions as a result of irregular bowel habits and not going to the toilet, according to The Movicol Bathroom Behaviour Report.

29 arrested in U.S. for sex trafficking women from Mexico, Central America

 United States authorities arrested 29 individuals accused of forcing Mexican and Central American women into prostitution in the southeastern part of the country after helping them cross the border illegally into the U.S., officials said.

Doctor convicted in overdose deaths of 3 patients

March 16, 2012: Dr Hsiu Ying "Lisa" Tseng listens in court during her arraignment, in Los Angeles. (AP)

LOS ANGELES –  The second-degree murder convictions this week of a Los Angeles-area physician were the first against a U.S. doctor for recklessly prescribing drugs, the Los Angeles district attorney's office said.

Rapper turned IS fighter killed by US strike in Syria

Cuspert had appeared in several Islamic State propaganda videos

A US air strike in Syria has killed a former German rapper working for the Islamic State, defence officials have confirmed.

Denis Cuspert had been designated a global terrorist by the US State Department and had threatened President Barack Obama.

Jenna Jameson filming reality show about conversion to Judaism

A FORMER adult film star will be the subject of a new reality series, set to follow her conversion process to Judaism.

The Times of Israel reports that an Israeli television station will film the actress Jenna Jameson, who was born Catholic and had a change of faith following her engagement to Israeli diamond dealer Lior Bitton.

How to make exercise a habit

AS ONE of those annoying people who exercises 6-7 times a week I have a confession to make — I can no longer, in good conscience, accept the motivation related high-fives.

The truth is, while it took me a lot of motivation to get to this point, for the past decade I’ve really just been coasting along on the back of a well-formed habit. And the secret is that once exercise becomes habitual, willpower is no longer necessary.

Families of Tana Toraja in Indonesia dress up dead loved ones in bizarre village tradition

WHILE the mere sight of a corpse can frighten most of us, one community in Indonesia loves their dead so much they exhume corpses to mark their respect.

The families in Toraja in South Sulawesi believe in welcoming the spirit of a dead person back to the village of his or her origin.

Russian plane crashes in Egypt

SEARCH and rescue officers have described a “tragic scene” after finding more than 100 bodies, including children, at the crash site of a Russian plane in Egypt.

Black customer forced to prepay for meal files $100K discrimination lawsuit

Elmer's restaurants has been accused of engaging in discriminatory consumer practices. (Google Maps)

An African American man who says he was asked to pay for his meal before dining at a Washington state restaurant—unlike white diners around him-- has filed a $100,000 discrimination suit against the chain.

Official suspended over Mugabe's 'wrong-sized cap

A University of Zimbabwe official has been suspended for allegedly supplying President Robert Mugabe with an ill-fitting graduation cap.

Assistant registrar Ngaatendwe Takawira caused embarrassment for university administrators by procuring a cap which was too small for the 92-year-old leader, according to her suspension letter, quoted in local media.

Transgender woman Tara Hudson loses legal appeal over men’s prison

A TRANSGENDER woman who has been jailed for assault in a men’s prison has lost an appeal against her sentence.

Tara Hudson, who has lived as a woman all her adult life, was sentenced last week to 12 weeks imprisonment for headbutting a bar manager.

Swedish man looks exactly like Leonardo DiCaprio

THERE’S a 21-year-old Swedish fella who looks exactly like a young Leonardo DiCaprio.

But Konrad Annerud told Nyheter24 that being a celebrity doppelganger isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

5 ways drinking beer can boost your performance in the bedroom

HEADING out for a few drinks after work today? Yeah you are, you superstar, you. Because according to your new favourite doctor, Dr. Kat Van Kirk, having a couple of brews could be the ticket to living your best sex life. It’s science.

Boy George claims on The Voice: ‘I slept with Prince’

BOY George brought production of The Voice UK to a halt when he claimed that he and singer Prince had slept together.

Katie Holmes to break Scientology silence in Leah Remini interview

KATIE Holmes is set to break her silence on Scientology in the wake of fellow actor Leah Remini’s controversial split from the church.

US ABC says Holmes has been interview about the church in relation to Remini’s 2013 exit from Scientology after three decades with the church.

Australian horror story: The murders of Karlie and Khandalyce

SHE was known as a “pocket rocket” with a beautiful, headstrong personality. Her demeanour meant sometimes she’d clash with her family and the people who knew her.

But when Karlie Pearce-Stevenson left behind her family for a better life and some adventure, no-one could have predicted the grim fate that would befall her.

Police are beginning to slowly piece together the events that led to Karlie’s death, from family friction to her movements and relationships.

Interrupted sleep worse for mood than shortened sleep, study finds

Waking up several times throughout the night may be worse
for your mood than sleeping a shortened amount of time, found a small study from Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Child porn and drugs see five UN staff fired

Four United Nations staff shared child pornography on work email accounts, an internal report from the agency said.

All four were sacked, while another member of staff was fired for transporting 173kg of marijuana in an official vehicle.

Nigeria crackdown on fake bank accounts

Nigeria has launched a major crackdown on fake bank-account holders in a bid to reduce fraud in the banking sector.

People were asked to enrol at their local banks to have their fingerprints taken, along with a photograph of their face by the end of Friday.

Aboriginal actor Jack Charles 'refused taxi twice in three days'

Aboriginal Australian actor "Uncle" Jack Charles says he has been refused taxi rides two times in three days.

Mr Charles' manager, Patrice Capogreco, said the actor may take legal action against the drivers and taxi company.

Nobel-winning drug 'tackles malaria'

A parasitic-worm-killing drug, whose discovery won the Nobel prize, may also cut cases of malaria, say researchers.

Early data coming out of trials of ivermectin in Burkina Faso suggest it leads to 16% fewer cases of childhood malaria.

EU doctor suspended from UK work for 'poor English test'

An Italian doctor has been suspended from practising medicine in the UK after failing English language tests.

TB 'joins HIV as most deadly infection'

Tuberculosis now ranks alongside HIV as the world's most deadly infectious disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

Newborn bleeds to death after doctor persuades parents to get him circumcised

A NEWBORN bled to death following a botched circumcision recommended by the family doctor, shocking tribunal documents have revealed.

Ryan Heydari was just 22 days old when he underwent the contentious procedure in Canada in 2013.

WHO deems processed meats ‘carcinogenic to humans’

CARNIVORES everywhere will be crying into their fry-ups this morning as the World Health Organisation has confirmed what we all feared — too much bacon can be really bad for you.

Nigeria telecom giant MTN fined a record $5.2bn

Telecom giant MTN Nigeria has been fined a record $5.2bn by Nigeria's Communications Commission (NCC).

MTN was fined for non-compliance with a deadline set by the NCC to disconnect all non-registered sim cards.

Processed meats do cause cancer - WHO

Processed meats - such as bacon, sausages and ham - do cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Its report said 50g of processed meat a day - less than two slices of bacon - increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18%.

10 questions you should be asking your partner every year

Every year, at least once a year, you and your beloved – whether you have been together one year or twenty one years or more, should seize the opportunity to sit down and ask each other key questions to enable you to bond and enhance your life together as a couple. Make it a time to really listen and talk.

The top ten questions you should be asking your partner (and they of you too!) every year should cover at least your basic fundamentals of finances, romantic connection, family, priorities and goals, and these are all areas the majority of couples state are important to talk about, but in reality rarely do. Pick a month and make it the time to make this annual investment in your love life. Ask and ye shall receive!

United Airlines ‘forces disabled man to crawl down plane aisle’

‘Humiliated’ ... D'Arcee Neal said it was humiliating to crawl down the aisle of the plane. Picture: Facebook

A disabled man was forced to crawl through the aisle of a plane after airline staff allegedly failed to offer him assistance when the flight landed.

D’Arcee Neal said he waited for a flight attendant to help him off the United Airlines plane when it landed at Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C., but no one came.

Sean Smith’s retelling of the day he shot and killed his sister is a timely reminder of gun danger for Australia

ON one end of the phone is an officer trained to take difficult phone calls and send help. On the other end is a 10-year-old boy who accidentally shot and killed his sister.

The little boy knows, in that moment, that his life has changed forever.

The audio makes for difficult listening.

Australia sizzles in Brazilian soap

AUSTRALIA has never looked so hot.

Producers of Brazilian tale-novella Totalmente Demais (Totally Awesome) have created a scorching promotional trailer for episodes filmed in Sydney and the Whitsundays in August and September.

Feminist Germaine Greer sparks freedom of speech debate for views on transgender women and Caitlyn Jenner

AUSTRALIAN feminist Germaine Greer has refused to back down from fiery claims that transgender women are ‘not real women’ and accusing Caitlyn Jenner of misogyny for trying to steal the limelight from the females in the Kardashian clan.

Husband accused of pimping his wife to more than 2700 men over four years, court told

A FRENCHMAN stands accused of forcing his wife to have sex with more than 2700 men at their home over four years as he pocketed almost $245,000 (€160,000).

The 54-year-old husband, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly started pimping out his wife, the mother of their five-year-old son, in 2011.

Overcoming an abusive childhood

TRIGGER WARNING: This may be upsetting for some people.

MY FIRST mistake was to be born a girl.

My parents married in austerity-stricken post-war Britain, and waited six years until they could afford to have children. Motivated by family pressure, they wanted a boy, so I was immediately behind the Eight ball. Once my brother came along, I had zero chance of catching up.

Muslim children walk out when national anthem is sung

A VICTORIAN primary school has been criticised for allowing Muslim children to walk out of assembly while the national anthem was sung.

Cranbourne Carlisle Primary School says a religious month of mourning is the reason Islamic children are able to opt out of singing or listening to the anthem.

German documentary examines the role of the whistleblowers in exposing the intelligence services

WE HAVE all heard the warnings.

‘Be careful what you post online.’ ‘We all leave a digital footprint.’ ‘Nothing is ever truly deleted.’

A New York student has been running the hottest restaurant in town ... from his dorm room

Jordan Walters, 21, Dexter Callender, 20, and New York’s newest celebrity chef, Jonah Reider.

NEW York is famous for its culinary scene, but the hottest reservation in town right now is not a proper restaurant at all, but a university dorm room.

Last month uni student Jonah Reider, 21, decided to open a “restaurant” in the small living area of his campus accommodation at Columbia University. Now he’s booked out through Christmas.

Enugu sex hawker dies after marathon with customers

By Francis Igata

ENUGU—THE  Enugu State Police command through operatives of the Udenu Division has commenced investigations into an alleged incident of murder in which a commercial sex worker was allegedly killed in a brothel after a marathon sex with a customer.

My Son the Jihadi documents heartbreaking story of family of Thomas Evans

EVERY time Sally Evans spoke to her son on the phone she would tell him she loved him — only the last time, something was different.

“He said it like he really meant it. They were the last words I had with him,” The 57-year-old mother of two told news.com.au.

The depression moms don’t talk about

Recently, celebrities like Hayden Panettiere and Drew Barrymore have opened up about their struggles with postpartum depression. Of course, this awareness is a good thing, but many moms are still being undiagnosed for another type of depression: maternal depression.

Carson says he doesn't want to end Medicare, defends against another Trump attack

Ben Carson said Sunday that he no longer wants to dismantle Medicare and defended the policy switch, while also responding to the latest attack from fellow Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

It’s common knowledge INEC’s card readers malfunctioned – Wike

Reacting again to the nullification of his election by the Rivers State Elections Petition Tribunal in Abuja, yesterday, Governor Nyesom Wike has reiterated that INEC’s card readers malfunctioned throughout the country in the 2015 general elections.

Paris Jackson and Chester Castellaw spark marriage rumours after she changes her last name on Instagram

PARIS Jackson has sparked rumours that she has secretly married her boyfriend after changing her last name on her Instagram account.

The New York Post reports that the 17-year-old changed her name to Paris Jackson Castellaw, adding the surname of boyfriend Chester, 18.

Does money buy happiness?

SOMETIMES, when I’m alone with my thoughts, I like to play a game that I’ve called ‘Imaginary Lotto’. This is when I imagine I’ve won a large sum of cash – say, $12 million – and then fantasise about how I’d spend it.

Forced child marriages in Australia: ‘they’re being groomed from the moment they’re born’

AT JUST eight years old, as she innocently spent her days between school and her family home in England, Jasvinder Sanghera’s parents secretly promised their young daughter’s hand in marriage to a strange man in India.

Jasvinder was none the wiser. She was just a little girl with only innocent things on her mind.

Comedian David Spade reveals why he and Eddie Murphy fell out for two decades

ON 3 October 1992, singer Sinéad O’Connor created a scandal when, at the end of an performance on legendary US skit show Saturday Night Live she produced a photo of Pope John Paul II and proceeded to rip it into 10 tiny pieces.

How much exercise should you really be doing? 30 minutes a day might not be enough

WE ALL know that 30-minutes of exercise on most days of the week is good for us, but a new study questions whether the bar has been set high enough.

Long-awaited UK public health report calls for 10-20 per cent tax on sugary drinks

IT’S becoming a public enemy up there with the likes of fat, salt and smoking.

Now a much-anticipated report has put sugar barons on notice, recommending a 10-20 per cent “sugar tax” on soft drinks and moves to limit the marketing and promotion of sugary foods to children.

Crowd crush: What happens in a human stampede

MIKE ‘Raul’ Vargas was enjoying a rock concert at a Rhode Island club when the pyrotechnics set off by the band’s tour manager set fire to insulation foam in the walls.

Woman bashed and left for dead by ex — discovered extent of damage when she took a selfie

WARNING: Content may upset some readers.

A thug brutally beat up his ex-girlfriend in front of his children and then left her for dead for two days. It was not until she regained consciousness and took a selfie that she saw the true extent of her injuries.