Latest news with #Lita
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Tammy Lynn Sytch to Sable: 5 WWE female wrestlers accused of cheating on their husbands
WWE is home to famous wrestlers, whose personalities and on-screen presence appear larger than life. But like everyone else, they too encounter real-life problems behind the curtain. A host of professional wrestlers have gained notoriety for being unfaithful to their husbands. Here's a look at five WWE female stars known for such cheating scandals: Sable was a big name during the WWE's Attitude Era. She was famously married to fellow wrestler Marc Mero from 1994 to 2004. Following her return to professional wrestling in 2003 after a brief hiatus, she began an affair with Brock Lesnar while she was still married. Due to cultural differences, her divorce from Mero was delayed, and the couple ultimately parted ways in 2004. After a scandalous relationship with Lesnar, she exchanged vows with him in 2006. The couple went on to welcome two kids together. Sunny was the first Diva WWE had in the early 1990s. She exhibited both confidence and looks. She had many admirers, one of whom was Shawn Michaels. The pair allegedly began seeing each other behind the scenes while she was in a serious relationship with wrestler Chris Candido. Candido did not believe rumours about his then-wife cheating on him at that time. It was later alleged that she may have also had links to wrestlers like Davey Boy Smith, Raven, Ahmed Johnson, and Sabu. However, Sunny eventually admitted to cheating on Candido more than once. Also Read: John Cena stands by his love for former controversial WWE boss Vince McMahon: 'Entitled to have an emotional connection' Lita was one of the top women in WWE in the early 2000s as part of the Women's Revolution. She was in a highly publicised relationship with Matt Hardy while they were a Team Xtreme duo. But in 2005, Lita famously had an affair with Edge (born Adam Copeland) when Matt Hardy was injured. When the news about the affair broke, Lita's relationship with Hardy ended. Over the years, Hardy and Edge developed a rivalry, with WWE highlighting their scandal. Melina, a former Divas and Women's Champion, once famously dated fellow wrestler John Morrison (AKA Johnny Nitro). While they were always seen together both in and out of the ring, it was rumoured that Melina cheated on Morrison with Batista. This caused a strain in their relationship as Morrison allegedly took a break from their relationship at the time. However, some reports claim that the alleged affair caused them to ultimately part ways. Lisa Marie Varon, famously known as Victoria, was married to Lee Varon from 1994 to 2015. Amid her growing fame, she notoriously had an affair with John Cena. The 54-year-old eventually called it quits with Lee.
Times
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
‘Crystal Palace is therapy': how London's hottest chef lets off steam
In the lead-up to opening Lita, one of London's most successful new restaurants, Luke Ahearne, its head chef, ended up in hospital three times. He was working too hard, pushing himself to the point of exhaustion. Ahearne is a self-confessed perfectionist, a 33-year-old chef whose passion for the job is all-encompassing. Well, almost. Because the highly regarded chef has another passion: Crystal Palace Football Club. Somehow, despite the 70-hour weeks, he still finds time to help run the Fanatics — the Crystal Palace 'ultras' group that sits in Block E of the Holmesdale Road stand at Selhurst Park. • FA Cup final live: Crystal Palace v Man City score and updates The Fanatics, who wear all black and never stop singing, are more like football
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Is Lita done with wrestling? 3 WWE dream matches that can tempt her to return to the ring
Image via WWE Lita is one of the pioneers in the world of women's wrestling and is a renowned WWE legend. The women's wrestling scene was completely altered in the mid-2000s when legends like Lita burst on the scene. Starting her career with Essa Rios, she then began teaming up with the Hardy Boyz and gained massive attention for her high-flying style and charismatic personality. Moreover, she and Trish Stratus created history in 2004 by becoming the first women to main event Monday Night RAW. Moreover, Lita did return for a couple of matches in the modern era, with her last performance taking place in 2023. With the WWE landscape completely altered since the Extreme Diva competed last, here are the three matches that can possibly lure her back to the squared circle: 3. Rhea Ripley — GamerGamer791 (@GamerGamer791) by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo The current WWE women's division has a dominant and fierce superstar who has become a highly popular name in the business. It is none other than WWE's resident Mami, Rhea Ripley. The Eradicator has become a renowned face in the modern era. However, she is yet to face a legend in her career. The wait for Ripley could finally come to an end with a chance for a dance in the ring with WWE Hall of Famer Lita. The former WWE Women's Champion has been known to battle some top and stronger opponents in her career, and a match against Mami could become a huge hit. 2. Liv Morgan Another popular WWE superstar in the modern era of the women's division is Liv Morgan. Much like Lita, Morgan came from nothing and became a top star of the business. Moreover, the duo has displayed very similar antics in terms of their personality, in-ring style, and luck with top male WWE stars. With Morgan climbing higher at the top of the mountain, a match against Lita could be a major push to her flourishing WWE career. 1. IYO Sky If there is one superstar who can match or possibly now, exceed the amazing high-flying style of Lita in the ring in the modern era, the top name in the conversation is IYO Sky. Her impressive in-ring acumen, skills, and high-flyer ability have made her a household name and fetched major success in terms of multiple championships and accolades. Therefore, a match between The Genius of the Skies and the Extreme High Flyer would be nothing short of a blockbuster match. Also read: Seth Rollins makes statement with $13,500 designer coat and ruthless new faction on WWE Raw
Al Jazeera
11-04-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
How US funding cuts are threatening South African families living with HIV
Johannesburg, South Africa – Last year, Mary* finally had the conversation she had been dreading for more than a decade. Mary has lived with HIV since 2008. But the 36-year-old has also carried the burden of another secret: Lita*, her daughter, was born with HIV. Speaking from her four-room home in the bustling township of Soweto, just south of Johannesburg, where she lives with Lita and her parents, Mary recalls the fear she felt as she prepared to tell her child about her condition. 'I had to tell her last year that she has HIV eventually, and I was very worried,' she recalls. Lita has been receiving treatment since birth – a daily antiretroviral (ARV) tablet that is a combination of different drugs. The pill stops the HIV virus from reproducing in her body and keeps her immune system healthy. 'My child is very healthy and happy,' Mary beams, her eyes lighting up. But until recently, Lita, who is thriving at 12 years old, didn't understand what the medication was for. Lita now participates in a local after-school programme that not only provides assistance with homework but also incorporates sports and psychosocial support for children living with HIV. Mary, who is currently unemployed and a single mother, relies on a government grant as well as support from her family to survive. The struggle for mother and daughter begins with the challenge of securing medication to treat HIV, but it also extends to managing the daily reality of living with the virus, which includes social stigma, and accessing healthy food. In the months when she can't go to the local government clinic to collect her and her daughter's ARV treatment because of persisting health issues partly related to her HIV status, Mary finds solace in the support of the community organisation Crystal Fountain, which delivers medication to her doorstep. The organisation also has a disclosure programme through which social workers helped Mary speak to Lita about her condition and how, although she will have to be on treatment for the rest of her life, she could still be healthy. 'They helped me in telling my child that she has HIV and made us feel very supported,' she explains. Mary and Lita also benefit from the organisation's food vouchers, allowing them to obtain groceries like maize meal and vegetables. But critical support provided by Crystal Fountain and other community initiatives addressing HIV/AIDS now hangs in the balance. The administration of United States President Donald Trump, which was responsible for funding nearly a fourth of what South Africa spends to combat HIV, has threatened these programmes with sweeping cuts to US foreign aid budgets. Some organisations have been forced to shut down certain programmes while others have stopped operating entirely. The magnitude of the HIV epidemic in South Africa, a country of 63 million people, is staggering. About 7.8 million currently live with HIV, including an estimated 270,000 children under 14. Every year, 10,000 children are estimated to be infected with HIV while 2,100 die from HIV-related causes. According to UNAIDS, the United Nations agency that coordinates global action for preventing and treating HIV/AIDS, the majority of these cases stem from transmission occurring before or during birth with a smaller number contracting the virus later through breastfeeding. Under Trump, the US government halted funding for the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a global health investment introduced in 2003. In the past year, South Africa received about $440m in PEPFAR funding, accounting for 22 percent of the country's $2.56bn HIV budget. This budget goes towards treatment for millions of people, testing programmes, HIV research, education drives and other community support initiatives. PEPFAR is the source of most of the funding for South Africa's HIV programmes supported by USAID, the US Agency for International Development. Under Trump, the agency has in effect been dismantled. With the halt in funding, counselling initiatives and programmes including testing, education and community support have shut down. 'What is at risk is the support we were giving to the households of kids infected with HIV,' Rebecca Chakane, a social worker with Crystal Fountain in Soweto, explains. 'The [food] vouchers and the support groups – those are very important.' Across the sprawling township of Soweto, countless families among the 1.8 million people who live there struggle with HIV. The hardship faced by mothers of HIV-positive children echoes in the words of Soweto resident Tshepiso*. She describes her emotional turmoil following the diagnosis at birth of her nine-month-old son, Thulani*. 'It has been very, very hard,' she confides, adding that she blamed herself for her son's condition. Tshepiso, like Mary, relies on free medication from state-run clinics. South Africa's health minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, says the funding cuts for HIV programmes will not affect access to free ARV treatment that millions of people receive. 'There's no chance of medication being interrupted. [The] government buys 90 percent of medication and the other 10 percent comes from the Global Fund [NGO],' he says. However, beyond medication, Tshepiso has needed emotional support, too. In her search for solidarity, Tshepiso discovered a monthly support group run by Crystal Fountain for parents raising HIV-positive children. In the shared stories and collective struggles, she found a community. The organisation also provided monthly food packages, a source of immense help and relief. But Crystal Fountain has now ended some programmes, including its food aid, and Tshepiso worries about how she will feed herself and her baby. 'I don't know what we are going to do,' she says. Access to nutritious food, especially in impoverished areas like Soweto, is a vital component of children's overall treatment, according to Chakane, who says research over the years has illuminated how HIV management must go beyond just the provision of ARV drugs. Support programmes are also crucial. Some children become resentful of their parents upon learning they have HIV, which may lead them to abandon their medication. Community workers help families navigate this scenario – and it is one they often encounter. 'Most kids blame their parents for the infection, creating a complicated situation that sometimes leads them to stop taking treatment. Therefore, we have to help these parents,' Chakane says. 'With the USAID cuts, we can't do these [support] programmes any more,' she laments, pointing to the ripple effect of funding losses on essential services. In Mpumalanga province, about 300km east of Soweto, 31-year-old community worker Thulisile Mahole voices her anguish over the abrupt closure of the Greater Rape Intervention Programme (GRIP), a USAID-supported nonprofit where she worked. The US government dramatically slashed its foreign aid budgets soon after Trump took office on January 20. On the morning of January 28, Mahole, who captures data for community programmes aimed at addressing HIV/AIDS and combating gender-based violence, left home for her office. 'I went to work expecting just another regular day, but then they called a staff meeting and told us that the USAID cut had happened and we had to stop everything right away. It was so chaotic,' she recalls. 'I was devastated. I was in complete shock. As a parent with bills to pay, you are never prepared for a situation like that.' Mahole's journey at GRIP began as a first responder in a care room – private rooms in police stations run by NGOs aimed at assisting and protecting victims of sexual violence. 'We provided a safe space for women. When someone reports a rape case, they often have to return to the home of the person who harmed them,' Mahole explains, referring to how family members or intimate partners are often perpetrators. 'Our role was to make survivors feel seen and supported, to show them there was a place for them to go if they felt unsafe.' The survivors would go to them before they had even spoken to police officers, she says. 'I would provide them with basic counselling. … We assisted them in opening police cases and obtaining medical help,' she explains. In a country with high rates of rape with more than 40,000 rapes recorded annually, according to police statistics, and the highest number of people living with HIV in the world, programmes like GRIP were essential in providing support to survivors and helping curb the spread of HIV. It provided rape victims, who are at risk of contracting the virus, with preventive medication and education. GRIP's care rooms now stand empty. Since it closed, rape survivors have approached Mahole on the street in her township of Dantjie on the outskirts of the eastern city of Mbombela, seeking help. 'There are people who are being raped or harassed, and they want help. They know I worked in a care room that used to aid survivors, and I have to tell them there's no care rooms any more,' Mahole says, her voice heavy. 'It is heartbreaking.' For Mahole, the thought of these services being discontinued has been nearly impossible to accept. 'I couldn't believe that women who are already so vulnerable would have nowhere to turn,' she says. After losing her job, Mahole hoped that what she calls a 'dangerous decision' would be reversed. However, as funding cuts became widespread, her hopes began to fade. The Networking HIV and AIDS Community of Southern Africa (NACOSA), which commissioned GRIP to deliver its support programmes, says the consequences of terminating these programmes are too enormous to quantify. Spokesperson Sophie Knobbs notes that GRIP had been active since 2014. 'Before the cuts, we were reaching 32,000 survivors a year. Now, those survivors could be left without any support,' Knobbs says. NACOSA has been forced to shut down all its USAID-supported programmes. 'More than 160 of our 470 staff members were immediately let go of, and a radical restructure is under way,' Knobbs adds. She emphasises that community workers – many of whom were survivors of gender-based violence themselves – were among the hardest hit. 'Many of them are the sole breadwinners for their families,' she says. 'It has been devastating.' The Trump administration's cuts to USAID which distributes PEPFAR funding, not only halted HIV support programmes but also stalled HIV research and clinical trials. 'This is a crisis,' says Glenda Gray, a leading HIV researcher in South Africa at the University of the Witwatersrand. 'When you take your foot off the accelerator, you risk a rebound in HIV transmission.' In 2023, about 50,000 people died of HIV-related causes, according to the government. The Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, a research facility at the University of Cape Town, says the suspension of US funding could lead to an additional 500,000 HIV-linked deaths in South Africa over the next decade. This is due to a halt in testing, awareness and support programmes. Gray says the medical community, NGOs and the government are scrambling to find interim solutions for funding critical HIV research programmes. However, she is sceptical that these efforts could salvage essential research programmes that had relied on US National Institutes of Health grants, now halted by the Trump administration. 'The situation has threatened basic science,' Gray tells Al Jazeera. 'Many researchers working on critical HIV projects have had to be laid off.' One of the projects that has come to a halt was work on a promising vaccine to prevent HIV. The BRILLIANT Consortium, led by three scientists in South Africa, relied completely on a $45m USAID grant. 'With the grant stopping, our progress has been delayed, and it's a huge challenge,' explains Neetha Shagan Morar, a research manager with the project. 'We can't treat our way out of the HIV epidemic. We need a preventative vaccine.' Meanwhile, researchers, NGO staff and parents are concerned about the future. Despite government assurances that AVR medication will remain accessible, Mary and others worry about whether the loss of HIV programmes could ultimately cost children like Lita the medication they need to stay alive. 'For now, we don't know if we will be affected,' Mary says. *Names have been changed to protect identities.
Telegraph
21-02-2025
- General
- Telegraph
The advent of the £50 main has ruined restaurants for me
When my friend Holly and I head out for dinner, we've traditionally eaten like Tudors. Rich Tudors, I mean, not poor ones. Most famously, for some celebration or other a few years ago, we ate in a posh Notting Hill restaurant where barbecued ducks' hearts were an amuse-bouche, and we went on to have steak tartare and turbot with truffle. Plus chocolate tart for pudding and a good deal of red wine. The next morning, I woke with a crippling stitch in my stomach and subsequently spent an hour writhing around on the floor of A&E at Charing Cross Hospital before I was diagnosed with appendicitis. 'What did you eat last night?' the triage nurse asked. 'A bit of fish and some broccoli,' I groaned, deciding to leave out a few details. Last week, we were at it again, off to a smart restaurant in Marylebone. Holly had booked a table for my advance birthday celebration at a place called Lita, which was thrilling because it just so happened that Lita was awarded its first Michelin star in the very same week. 'It is southern Mediterranean food,' our waiter explained gravely, handing us the menus. And lita, some of you may know, is a Spanish term of endearment for a grandmother: little grandma. The cooking is supposed to be similarly cosy and evocative. So there were sardines, Amalfi lemons, duck pasta, linguine, lamb with Italian courgettes, and so on and so on. It all sounded wildly delicious. But then I looked at the prices and felt panicked. Starters that cost north of £30, main courses mostly for £50-plus. We could share a turbot for £160, or, if we were feeling really Tudor, a rib of Galician beef also for £160. Luckily, I no longer have an appendix to trouble me afterwards. The wine list was thick and heavy, but as I skimmed that I felt a bit ill too, because bottles seemed to start at £60 and leap up intimidatingly from there. 'Still or sparkl—' began the waiter. 'TAP IS FINE!' I screeched, having already started mentally totting up the bill in my head. 'And do you maybe want to begin with a glass of champag—' 'No! I think just wine,' I said quickly. We ordered a starter of bluefin tuna since Hols had read it was unmissable, along with the duck ragu strozzapreti because our waiter said that was pretty good too. Then, because I'd spied the sensational-looking plate on a neighbouring table, I said why don't we share the pork chop (£80), which came with delicate slices of apple, capers, salad leaves and topped with pieces of crackling. Plus, a side of roast pink fir potatoes (£8). 'And would you like some bread while you wai—' 'No! No bread!' I cried, having noticed that a side of bread was £8. Although, 20 minutes later we retracted that when the tuna arrived (all six slices of it, a starter for someone on Ozempic), and we decided thick slabs of the stuff was necessary to mop up the olive oil and pink peppercorns. That's another tenner on the bill, I thought, Eeyore-like, once we'd added on service. It was all outstandingly good, and this was a restaurant newly anointed by Michelin, so it was hardly going to be cheap. But even though it was a birthday treat, it was also a very bold bill. Around us, tables of 30-somethings merrily bowled their way through T-bones, and the ribs of Galician beef, ordering bottle after bottle of wine, and I wondered who they were. They couldn't all be hedge funders, even in Marylebone. Restaurants aren't having much fun at the moment, whether you're running a posh joint in London or a pub in the country. Energy's gone up, staffing costs have gone up, supplier costs have gone up, and punters are cutting back. Places are closing; hospitality needs us to eat out. But the rise of the £50 main course – now not uncommon, at least in London – is quite something, is it not? And where London goes, other places follow. Presumably there will soon be £8 bread and £80 pork chops on menus in parts of the Cotswolds. Will £8 potatoes and £16 puddings reach as far as the border? I can't imagine the Scots will be having any of that. It's extraordinary that anyone can manage this on a regular basis, and yet plenty of restaurants are heaving. I talked to a friend who lives in Clerkenwell on the weekend and he sees the same thing around him. Places charging £40 or £50 for a main course, practically full until Christmas. He and his wife go to Bouchon Racine, a relatively trendy newcomer, every now and then, but such is the clamour for a table there that they always make their next reservation, months in advance, as they settle the bill. A slightly older gentleman, his theory is that a good number of youth have given up ever being able to get on the property ladder and believe the planet is about to implode, so they're out eating plates of duck and côte-de-boeuf in the meantime. Are most Gen-Zs, in fact, Seventh-Day Adventists? That eating out is expensive is not a wholly original observation. But so expensive? I'm a greedy person, often happiest at a table with a menu in front of me, along with family and friends. I'm also not on my uppers, but with rising costs elsewhere and the end of my mortgage looming, the £50 main course is simply too extravagant. I want to support restaurants. I really do. Let me at the bread and the pâté and the langoustines and the veal. Give me pudding and, go on then, one more entirely unnecessary glass of that wine. But the days of feasting like a monarch just returned from a day in the deer park may be over. Nothing wrong with a nice bowl of pasta at home, after all.
