At size 24, Los Angeles-based model Tess Munster is the largest plus-size model to be signed with a mainstream agency. A strident “body-positive activist”, who has appeared in Vogue Italia and been photographed by David LaChappelle since being scouted on Instagram, the 29-year-old has now been signed up with the Curves division of Milk Model Management, and will star in adverts for plus-size clothing retailers Yours and Simply Be.
You’re the first woman of your size to be signed to an agency. Congratulations. Does it bother you that most of the focus is on your size?
I don’t mind talking about my size. What’s frustrating is that we haven’t been focusing on making history in an industry that had a set look. Still, people talking about it – good or bad – is good.
How did you first get into modelling?
I went to a casting when I was 15 but I was told I was too short and too big. I was a US size 16 (UK 18/20) and I’m 5ft 4in. It was a little discouraging – I stopped trying to pursue modelling and it was only when I retrained as a makeup artist, working at fashion shows, that I started getting interested again. The truth is, I didn’t want to do anything else.
You have always been what is considered plus-size. Did that ever deter you?
Everyone said I had a pretty face, so it seemed possible. I just didn’t know there was such a thing as a plus-size model. It was only when I saw a picture of Mia Tyler [one of the first plus-size models in the 1990s] that I realised I could. I am lucky that I have a supportive family, partner and friends. That I got signed? Well, the reaction has been overwhelming.
How so?
I got a lot of comments on Twitter, Instagram, even some letters. Some people were excited, some people called me fat and said I was too big to be a model. I spent a long time fielding through the reactions. Ultimately, in my eyes, my being signed is changing an industry that needed to be changed.
Are you surprised that you are the first model of your size to be signed?
It does seem ridiculous that it was considered news. But it’s one of the best things that has happened to my career. It has given me the opportunity to work in a different playing field. Overall, companies think that consumers want to see one skin colour and one size – which is why we tend to see a lot of the same sizes.
After your experience as a teenager, were you ever tempted to diet ?
I was never tempted to lose weight. Everyone around me was on Weight Watchers, but it never appealed to me. I have never been one for changing yourself to make someone happy.
Has your size ever bothered you?
I think we all struggle with body image. Everyone has an issue with some part of their body. It’s hard when you’re a teenager to see people who don’t look like you succeeding. In mainstream magazines – even now – no one looks like me.
Looking at some of the spring/summer 2015 trends – take bohemian or the 1970s influence – do you think there’s a place for bigger women in mainstream fashion?
We do have a place in fashion, but not many designers are willing to give us the opportunities. But certainly with the 70s trend, there were plus-size fashionable women during that period – Mama Cass, for one. I own a great 70s dress. A big change for me was when one of my friends – Denise Bidot – was the first plus-size model to walk New York fashion week and London fashion week. It’s a good sign. Seeing her do that, it feels like we do have a place and people are listening.
It’s true: fashion seems to be taking baby-steps to embrace diversity – look at Serena Williams on the April cover of US Vogue.
The reason it’s socially acceptable to show Williams is because she is considered fit. For a long time, someone like Rebel Wilson was considered unfit. That said, she’s on the May cover of Elle, full body. It made waves.
Before Rebel, plus-size stars had always been close-cropped. Look at Adele on the October 2011 Vogue cover or Lena Dunham on the February 2014 cover of US Vogue.
I have no idea why they choose to crop, but it doesn’t seem like a coincidence to portray them that way.
There was a big hoo-ha here about the #droptheplus campaign, asking that we drop the term when describing bigger models. Where do you stand on it?
To me, we’re debating a term that has never been used in a hateful context. I’ve always been called plus-size. It’s not a negative thing. It’s what I am. It’s like saying I should be offended at being called a redhead. It is just a fact. I understand I have quite a progressive viewpoint on this. We could do more with our time than debating that word. But no one is calling me a fat model.
Do you think fat is a negative word?
I don’t think it’s negative – but I know that 80% of the world would disagree.
(the guardian)
Hillary Clinton’s views evolved on same-sex marriage within the first 72 hours of her presidential run, as her campaign said Wednesday that the former secretary of state now backs marriage equality as a US constitutional right.
The about-face, dropped as Clinton was preparing the second of two progressive-leaning appearances in Iowa, represents a significant – if not completely unexpected – shift from her previous statements that same-sex marriage should be legislated state-by-state rather than on the federal level.
LGBT activists said the move, while potentially motivated by politics and conveniently timed to Clinton’s presidential run and a looming US supreme court case, represented something of a milestone.
“Hillary Clinton supports marriage equality and hopes the Supreme Court will come down on the side of same-sex couples being guaranteed that constitutional right,” Clinton spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod said in a statement confirmed by the Guardian.
The supreme court is scheduled to hear arguments on the constitutionality of state bans of same-sex marriages on 28 April, with a decision expected in June that could effectively make marriage equality legal nationwide.
Last June, Clinton told NPR that she thought marriage was a state issue.
“[F]or me, marriage has always been a matter left to the states,” she said in the interview with public radio’s Terry Gross. “I fully endorse the efforts by activists to work state by state.”
Since then, Clinton had repeatedly dodged press inquiries on the topic.
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The former secretary of state did not formally say whether she supported same-sex marriage at all until March 2013, when she appeared in an online video released by the LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Previously, Clinton had only said publicly that she supported civil unions.
The former first lady did advocate for LGBT rights while at the State Department: “Gay rights are human rights,” she said during a 2011 speech in Geneva.
HRC president Chad Griffin called Wednesday’s more direct federal coming-out party a “strong statement”.
Gregory Angelo, president of Log Cabin Republicans, a gay advocacy group, was less charitable.
“It was good to see that Clinton, after much heel dragging, has finally come into line,” he told the Guardian.
Indeed, Clinton has a complicated history on gay rights.
While first lady, former president Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (Doma), which prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. Much of that law was struck down by the supreme court in the 2013 case of United States v Windsor.
This year’s new landmark case before the high court, Obergefell v Hodges, represent a kind of full-circle rotation by the judiciary branch after Clinton long-derided 1996 signature of Doma, which he admitted to regretting just before the Winsdor case was argued.
Bill Clinton also approved the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell”, which prevented openly gay men and women from serving in the US military.
Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley – perhaps Hillary Clinton’s most aggressive competitor for the Democratic nomination in 2016, though he has not declared – has already said that same-sex marriage is a human right and should not be left to the states.
He released a video on Wednesday, in which his narration says, in a not-so-subtle dig at the competition, that “history celebrates profiles in courage, not profiles in convenience”.
O’Malley, who successfully pushed for the passage of same-sex marriage in Maryland, has also evolved on the issue and previously only supported civil unions himself.
Beleaguered national carrier Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) is expected to turn the corner by next year followingthe implementation of a business rehabilitation plan. The plan will start to improve…
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The plan, approved by the State Enterprises Policy Commission, also known as the superboard, includes divesting ageing aeroplanes and non-core assets, scrapping unprofitable routes, lowering the size of…
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Washington: Indo-US relationship is not merely government-to-government but is widely endorsed by the people and it is stronger than ever, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said.
Jaitley made the remarks at a dinner reception hosted in his honour at the Indian Embassy which was attended by many senior Obama Administration officials and senior ministers.
It is rare for so many administration bigwigs, including three cabinet rank ministers, to attend a reception for a visiting Indian minister.
“This relationship is not merely a government-to- government relationship, it is a relationship widely endorsed by the people,” Jaitley, who is here to attend the annual spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, said.
In his brief remarks, Jaitley acknowledged that the presence of top officials was a reflection of the new era of India-US ties.
“Prime Minister Modi was here in the US last September. President Obama became the first President to visit India twice during his presidency. The kind of reception he received at our Republic Day where he was the chief guest is only an endorsement of the fact that…It is a relationship widely endorsed by the people,” he said.
India, Jaitley said, is going through a very transformational change.
“It’s a change where we can see the role ahead of us,” he said.
The role is to strengthen the economy, get rid of several legacies of the past so that the government is able to serve its people the most it can, Jaitley said.
The India-US relationship is stronger than ever, Jaitley said.
The Indo-US partnership now extends to various fields.
Jaitley said, it is not merely a partnership in terms of business activity, or creation of smart cities, or skill development, it is a partnership in strategic areas that impacts the lives of the people of the two nations.
The reception was attended by top administration functionaries like Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox and US Trade Representative Mike Froman.
Several powerful American lawmakers, including Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Congressmen Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules Pete Sessions and newly married Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, attended the reception held here.
The US India Business Council Chairman and Master Card CEO Ajay Banga and Honeywell CEO Dave Cote were among the top American corporate leaders to attend the reception.
PTI
The Chhattisgarh CID has registered a murder case in the killing of a minor tribal girl in an alleged fake encounter in 2011, based on the findings of a judicial inquiry into the incident.
“An offence under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of IPC into the case of killing of Meena Khalko has been lodged and a team has been formed to investigate the incident with a fresh view,” Additional Director General of Police (CID) Rajeev Shrivastav told PTI.
The action has been taken following recommendations of a judicial panel constituted to probe the incident that took place in Balrampur district’s Chando police station limits in 2011.
“Total 25 police personnel, including an inspector, were allegedly involved in the incident and charges will be framed against them after the inquiry,” Shrivastav said.
A team led by Assistant Inspector General, CID, Neha Champawat has been sent to Balrampur for further investigation into the case, he said.
Meena, 16, was killed in an alleged encounter by a team of policemen from Chando police station near Karcha village in Balrampur (then Surguja district) on July 6, 2011.
Police had claimed that Meena was a Naxalite and had been killed in retaliation after police party was attacked.
However, Meena’s family members and residents of Nawadih village had denied that any face-off took place that day and had accused the police of staging a fake encounter.
In the wake of allegations and protest by human rights activists, the government had constituted a judicial commission to probe the incident.
The report of the single-member judicial panel, headed by retired District and Sessions Judge Anita Jha, on the incident was tabled in the state cabinet early this month.
The judicial commission in its report has recommended the state government to re-investigate the incident and take necessary action. It has also pointed that police bullet had killed Khalko.
However, it has not clarified whether Meena was a Maoist or she was killed in an encounter.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has received a threat mail on his personal email ID.
Earlier this month, Rajan received a mail with the sender threatening to eliminate him. According to Mumbai Police sources, the email was sent from the ID [email protected].
According to reports, the mail said, “I have been given money by somebody to eliminate you. If you will pay me more than I have been paid, then we can decide on it.”
Mumbai Police has confirmed this development to Headlines Today saying, “Yes it is correct. It could be a mischief, but we are looking into it. The matter is given to the cyber cell officers. They are looking into it.”
The ID starts with Iraq-based terrorist outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). As soon as the email was received, RBI officials alerted the office of the joint commissioner of crime branch.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Cell (CCIC) of the police is looking into it.
Sources say, the CCIC has sent requests to Google in the US to provide them details about the email ID.
Former Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa passed away late Wednesday night. He was 88.
Rashtriya Prajatantra Party’s joint spokesperson Kiran Giri confirmed Thapa’s death, according to the state-owned Nepal Television. Thapa had undergone a surgery at Medanta Hospital in New Delhi, India a few days ago. He was put on a ventilator after he complained of respiratory problems Wednesday evening.
Thapa served as Nepal’s Prime Minister for five times – a record that no other Nepali politician has ever made. In his political career spanning around five decades, he worked under three kings and was an outspoken advocate of the monarchy until the first people’s movement-1990.
However, even after restoration of multi-party democracy, Thapa became Prime Minister twice and also chaired some sessions of the Constituent Assembly (CA), which declared Nepal a republic in 2008, as the eldest lawmaker.
Thapa, who hails from Muga VDC of Dhankuta district, was one of the most influential politicians during the 30-year-long Panchayat system.
His son Sunil Bahadur Thapa is now serving as Minister of Commerce and Supplies.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday returned home from his 56-day unexplained sabbatical which had raised questions over his leadership of the party that is struggling to find its feet after a string of electoral defeats.
The 44-year-old leader arrived here at 11.15 a.m. on a Thai Airways plane from Bangkok, ending days of intense speculation over his return and amidst celebrations by party workers who burst crackers outside his residence.
Wearing a dark shirt and seated in the back seat of his vehicle, he arrived escorted by his security personnel and drove straight into the house without interacting with the waiting mediapersons.
The return of Mr. Gandhi comes ahead of the party’s planned farmers’ rally on the contentious Land Bill issue which he is likely to address.
The plane, which was scheduled to land at 10.35 a.m., was delayed by 40 minutes, sources said. Shortly later, Mr. Gandhi drove to his 12, Tughlaq Lane residence where his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka were waiting.
Mr. Gandhi had left quietly before the Budget session began on February 23 but it is still not known where he had spent the days.
The party had then said that he “requested Congress president Sonia Gandhi for some time to reflect on recent events and future course of the party“.
Ever since the announcement of his temporary break from political life, there has been speculation that he was unhappy with not getting a free hand to run the party, a contention which the party has officially denied.
Mr. Gandhi’s leave had come amid talk of an AICC session, where he was expected to be elevated as Congress president.
During his absence, several party leaders including former chief ministers Amarinder Singh and Sheila Dikshit came out in the open pitching for Sonia Gandhi to continue as president and raised questions over his leadership.
Congress leaders had announced that Mr. Gandhi would be back by April 19 as he would be addressing a farmers’ rally on land bill issue at the Ramlila maidan here on that day.
The rally is being held on the eve of the second phase of the Budget session of Parliament. Mr. Gandhi had skipped the first phase which saw the Congress taking on the government over the land bill issue.
Congress has been performing badly at the hustings, starting with the Lok Sabha elections last year. It was followed by a string of defeats in Assembly elections including in Delhi recently.
Sources also said that plans are underway to organise an interaction of Rahul Gandhi with a delegation of farmers on April 17, two days before he will address the Kisan-Khet Mazdoor rally of the party.
Party leaders on Thursday voiced confidence that Mr. Gandhi will provide leadership with dynamism and commitment and take pro-active measures.
“He is back and I have no doubt that he will be not only taking proactive measures but also with dynamism, with commitment provide leadership,” Congress leader Anand Sharma said, adding that farmers’ issue has been close to Rahul’s heart.
The BJP, meanwhile, took potshots at the Congress vice-president, saying he “ran away” as he had lost all confidence.
NEW DELHI: Indian Super League ( ISL) football franchise Delhi Dynamos will be holding open trials for children in the age group 11-13 from April 11 onwards, as part its grassroots programme.
Those born in 2002, 2003 or 2004 will get an opportunity to showcase their talent. The chosen ones will get a chance to be a part of a skill enrichment workshop and get to train alongside some of the best fresh talent from across the country.
The first of these open trials will be held in the Capital on April 11 at the Ambedkar Stadium, and will be open to all participants from the Delhi NCR area aged between 11 to 13 years.
The participants will be given a chance to showcase their talent under the guidance of the Delhi Dynamos FC’s technical team. Talented children will be shortlisted to participate in the Reliance Foundation Young Champs selection camp. Delhi Dynamos FC hopes to find the next ‘Face of Indian Football’ from Delhi.
The Dynamos aims to create sustainable opportunities for children (born in 2002, 2003 or 2004) in the region through open trials.
In 2014, the inaugural year of the Hero Indian Super League, the Dynamos had initiated a grassroots football development program ‘Junior Dynamos’, which became one of the largest ever inter-school football tournament with participation of over 2400 players from over 180 schools.
“The Dynamos are now stepping up their game by holding Delhi’s first ever open football trials to identify and nurture real footballing talent at a young age. DDFC hopes to refine these children’s game skills, enhance their technical knowledge and ultimately mould them into professional football players,” the Dynamos said in a statement.
Asserting that a new “atmosphere of trust” has developed in India since he took over 10 months ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to “clean up” the mess left behind by the others.
“There is a new atmosphere of trust in our nation… We say ‘jan gana man adhinayak’ — that ‘Jan Man’ has changed,” Modi said addressing in Hindi an estimated over 10,000-strong Indian diaspora at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, early Thursday morning.
Modi is in Canada on the last leg of his three nation tour.
Thanking the Canadian people for the welcome they have given him, the PM said the honour wasn’t for Narendra Modi but for the 125 crore people of India.
It was a repeat of the Madison Square Garden atmosphere in North America as Modi spoke at length to an admiring audience in Toronto on Wednesday evening (Canadian time) during a community reception.
What made this event different was that for the first time for such a diaspora gathering, Modi was accompanied on stage by the head of government of the nation he was visiting – in this case, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Even as a uranium supply deal with the Canadian company Cameco Corporation had been signed earlier in the morning in Ottawa, Modi referred to that and developments in the civil nuclear energy sector by linking it to India’s efforts against climate change, pitching it as part of his Government’s clean, green energy mix that includes solar, biomass, wind energy as well as energy saving.
He said, “We used to ask for reactors for nuclear energy from every country, every one used to no, fearing we will make bombs. Now we have a MOU with a company in France for making the reactors and the best thing is that these will be built in India. And the uranium needed for nuclear energy will be given by Canada.”
As in his previous trips abroad, attacking the previous governments, Modi said, “Jinko gandagi karni thi, gandagi kar ke chaley gaye, hum safai karke jayengey (Those who had created a mess, they have done so and left. We will go after cleaning it up).”
He said India is a large country, the problem is old and it will take time to clean.
“India will provide the workforce to power global growth. Our mission is ‘skill India’, not ‘scam India’,” he added.
The crowd of nearly 8,000 at the Coliseum were more enthused by the folksy connect he has established with the diaspora. As the Prime Minister told them to cheers: “Last year when it was election time in India, slogans were being raised here. When the results came there, sweets were being distributed here. People celebrated in the day there and here in the middle of the night.” He also repeated several times that the mindset in India had changed since his government had taken charge.
“10 months ago, only the government had changed but now people’s mindset is also change
Modi also reiterated the decision announced earlier in the day for electronic visa clearance for Canadian visitors to India. Mostly, it was a sort of report card to an adoring constituency, amid shouts of “Modi, Modi” which turned to “Harper, Harper” when his Canadian counterpart came in for praise, as he often did.
Speaking at a venue that stages ice hockey matches, Modi stood upon a special gradually rotating stage that ensured he faced and addressed each section of the audience.
He stressed on “Skill India” and said that skill development can lead any country towards development.
“There is only one solution to all the problems and that is development.”
He said that India’s biggest treasure is its youth and his aim was to see them as “job creators”.
“Eighty crore youth population, 80 crore dreams, 160 crore strong hands. What can we not achieve?” he said, adding that he wants the youth to be job creators not job seekers.
Talking of his visits to Toronto in past as an ordinary worker, there was also a nod in the direction of Canadian PM Harper. Modi pointed out to the crowd that Canada was the first country to partner with Gujarat after the Vibrant Gujarat Summit was launched. Describing Harper as his “friend”, Modi said Indo-Canada relations” were in for the long-haul.
Harper made a similar point. As he spoke before Modi, the Canadian PM said pointedly: “We had extended our hand of friendship long before the others.” Harper was accompanied on stage by his wife, Laureen. He, in fact, even quoted Vivekananda in the context of revitalized Indo-Canadian relations, as he said, “Stop not until the goals are reached.”
Modi appeared about 45 minutes after the scheduled time and spoke for over an hour to the audience which had gathered at the venue, at least six hours earlier amidst heavy security. A cultural programme, capped by a performance by singer Sukhwinder kept them somewhat entertained, but the real performer of the evening was certainly Modi.
Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Modi’s visage, 10-year-old Alark Vyas from Etobicoke in the Greater Toronto Area said he “really enjoyed” the speech despite its length. Teenaged Prachi Patel said she appreciated that it “was easy to understand.” Moiz Khambatti from the suburb of Missisauga described his experience as “awesome”, adding that he “was pleased to be in the audience.”
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