WHO 16 March 2020

The city was transformed by a kaleidoscope of colour on Feb. 29 as we celebrated the 42nd Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The theme for the parade this year was ‘What Matters’, with 12,000 people donning leather, latex and glitter to make their way down the parade route on Oxford Street. People with Disability Australia, Instagram, Qantas, RU OK? and Bushfire Heroes were just some of the organisations behind the grand floats on the night, with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service getting deafening applause as their float appeared. Among the international celebrities who joined the celebrations were singers Kesha and Dua Lipa, but the shining star of the night was UK singer Sam Smith, who surprised onlookers by marching the parade route alongside young LGBTIQ+ people. Then the 27-year-old, who revealed…

Duffy’s brave words Welsh popstar Duffy bravely revealed last week that she’d been “raped and drugged and held captive over some days” at an unspecified time. In an emotional Instagram post, the 35-year-old ‘Mercy’ singer wrote: “The recovery took time. There’s no light way to say it. But I can tell you in the last decade, the thousands and thousands of days I committed to wanting to feel the sunshine in my heart again, the sun does now shine.” After spectacular success with 2008 album Rockferry, she released one more record, but no others followed. “Many of you wonder what happened to me,” she said. “You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this. The way I’d write it, how I’d feel thereafter. I asked myself, how…

As Prince Harry kicked off his final round of official outings before he and wife Meghan Markle officially step down as working royals on March 31, brother Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton stepped out for an on-duty date night – all smiles despite the impending end of an era. The parents of three glammed up to take in a charity performance of Dear Evan Hansen on February 25, as Harry – embracing his new role as a regular guy – flew commercial from Canada to London, then travelled by train to attend his final scheduled royal appearances. Welcoming everyone at a summit for his environmental tourism initiative Travalyst in Edinburgh, Scotland, on February 26, the 35-year-old took steps to cement his new ‘commoner’ status. “He’s made it clear that we…

Prince Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK looks set to underdeliver on a warm and fuzzy family reunion that fans have hoped for. Prince William and Kate Middleton are scheduled to embark on a three-day tour of Ireland from March 3, right in the middle of the Sussexes’ homecoming. All signs point to them finally being publicly reunited at Commonwealth Day ceremonies on March 9. “The brothers have different futures with very important institutional roles, and that created a complicated relationship,” says a source. “But ultimately everyone wanted Harry and Meghan to be happy. William has always expressed concern for Harry. Since they were children, William has always watched out for his younger brother.”…

Several stars have posted photos of themselves wearing protective masks, but health experts are begging them to stop, as masks can make catching the virus more likely, as wearers are more likely to touch their faces. So far there have been no cases of the virus spreading through airborne germs. Kate Hudson, Bella Hadid and Gwyneth Paltrow (left to right) have shared mask snaps, Gwyn captioning hers: “En route to Paris. Paranoid? Prudent? Panicked? Placid? Pandemic? Propaganda? Paltrow’s just going to go ahead and sleep with this thing on the plane. I’ve already been in this movie. Stay safe. Don’t shake hands. Wash hands frequently.”…

As the coronavirus crisis deepened this week, Australia suffered its first fatality – 78-year-old Perth travel agent James Kwan (pictured above), a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan where more than 700 were infected. His wife Theresa also caught the virus and is being treated at the hospital where her husband died on Sunday. She was forced to say goodbye over the phone behind a glass wall as he lay dying in his quarantined room. “My husband passed away peacefully knowing that his family loved him,” she said in a statement. WA premier Mark McGowan described his death as “awful”. “They couldn’t go in and touch him or hold his hand; it would have been so tragically sad,” he said. “You don’t want to leave this world without someone…