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Optimism that China will reopen the door for group tours to Japan and South Korea sparked a flurry

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People are coming to a woman’s defence after she claimed that she was told not to breastfeed on a plane because it would make other travellers “uncomfortable”. Chelsea Williams took to Facebook on 7 August to describe what she says was her experience with TUI Airways, a British airline owned by the TUI Group. She claimed that while she was in her seat during a recent flight and breastfeeding her child, one of the plane’s crew members told her to stop. “During our outbound flight I was told I was not allowed to breastfeed (even though we were both buckled) during takeoff and landing,” she wrote. “I have never had this with other airlines, in fact, it is encouraged to help with baby ear pain!” She then claimed that, after the experience, she was encouraged to reach out to TUI about its travelling regulations. “Before my inbound flight, I thought I’d check what the official rules were as I was shocked it wasn’t allowed as it left my baby screaming as a consequence,” she wrote. William’s post went on to include the message that her husband, Thomas, sent to TUI, asking if his partner could breastfeed their five-week-old baby while their plane is taking off and landing. According to the screenshot of the message, TUI then responded by encouraging Thomas’ wife to avoid breastfeeding on the plane, for the sake of other passengers. “There are no official restrictions, however, we would not recommend it because it could make other people uncomfortable,” the message read. Williams also added that the response from TUI was “complete discrimination and majorly disappointing”. Speaking to The Independent, Williams said that while on her first flight with TUI, the airline employee tried to “disguise the airline’s discrimination with the guise of a ‘safety issue’ but later retracted that”. “The cabin crew member said: ‘You’ll need to stop feeding as it is not permitted on takeoff and landing,’” she explained. “She then said my five-week old had to forward face, I said that she doesn’t have sufficient neck support at that age, which was answered with: ‘Maybe you could just sit her against you facing forward and lean back a bit.’” She also specified that, despite what TUI had allegedly told her husband in its message, she was able to breastfeed her daughter on her flight back home. Her Facebook post has since gone viral, with more than 1,200 reactions. In the comments, many people have gone on to defend Williams while criticising TUI for its “damaging” message about mothers breastfeeding in public. “Oh TUI - it’s damaging comments like this that can deter women from breastfeeding or breastfeeding in public,” one person wrote. “What’s so offensive about feeding a baby and if people are uncomfortable about a baby feeding in the most natural way by milk that is designed for HUMANS then that is their issue not hers or her baby’s fault.” “If other people are allowed to eat and drink in public then why is breastfeeding our children not allowed. What a disgusting response!!!” another added. “To all the breastfeeding moms out there, keep going. We’ve got this. Screw what other people say and think. Just smile at them and carry on, that will make them uncomfortable!” “This is absolutely disgraceful!!” a third wrote. “I am flying with TUI next month and have every intention of breastfeeding during take off and landing whether anyone feels ‘uncomfortable’ or not!” TUI has since responded to the comments on Williams’ post, with the company stating that it is “aware of the situation and are conducting an internal investigation”. TUI also added that “breastfeeding is permitted” on its flights, while the company “advises against it during takeoff and landing for safety reasons”. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mothers are encouraged to breastfeed their children “during takeoff and landing when travelling by airplane,” as “this will help to protect your child from ear pain due to cabin pressure changes”. The health agency also encourages mothers to feed their children “on demand,” noting that the best way for them to “maintain [their] milk supply is to breastfeed whenever [their] baby is hungry”. Speaking to Metro, Williams opened up about the breastfeeding incident during her first TUI Airways flight, which was from England to Spain. She said that after she stopped breastfeeding, after the airline employee had asked her to do so, her “baby was obviously crying”. “Quite drastically because I had cut her feed while she was in the middle of it - and the toddler was crying,” she added, referring to her two-year-old child. “I was sweating, I was on the verge of tears. I felt like everyone’s eyes were on us because obviously the baby was screaming and I obviously looked not great at that moment. The baby’s cries were getting worse – she was obviously in pain, she was obviously hungry as well.” Williams said that she waited until the seatbelt lights went off to start feeding her baby again. In a statement toThe Independent, TUI said: “We are really sorry for the distress caused to Ms Williams and her infant. As a family friendly travel company we support breastfeeding on our flights at any time. We will be making sure that all colleagues are retrained on our breastfeeding friendly policy.” Williams told The Independent that she “had a call with TUI” and talked to the company about some of the changes she hopes to see implemented. “They did sound receptive to some of the points raised, I will continue to push them to ensure these changes are made,” she said. Read More Breastfeeding Olympians want it all: Top careers and motherhood Ireland Baldwin reveals why she did not want to breastfeed her daughter after giving birth Couple flies abroad for day trip after they find flights are cheaper than train to London Americans spark backlash after claiming that Europeans ‘don’t believe in water’ Grimes says her and Elon Musk’s three-year-old child X ‘knows a lot about rockets’ What is TikTok’s ‘soft life era’ and could it be the secret to happiness?

Grimes has opened up about raising her children with ex, Elon Musk, with the musician revealing that their three-year-old son “knows a lot about rockets”. The singer, 35, spoke candidly about co-parenting with the Tesla CEO during her cover story interview with Wired, published on 8 August. Along with their three-year-old, X Æ A-12 - who goes by “X” - the former couple shares a one-year-old daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl, who goes by “Y”. While speaking to Wired, Grimes was asked about Musk’s “weird kind of protégé thing going on” with their son, as he’s taken him to “meetings” and work events before. However, Grimes said that she’s “here for that” relationship between the father and son, before explaining that they share common interests. “X knows a lot about rockets,” she said. “It’s crazy. He knows more about rockets than me.” She then specified that she and Musk have stopped giving X toys, since he “gets upset” if “they’re not anatomically correct”. However, the singer confessed that she’s been a little worried about her son’s interest in space, as she described his reaction to the Starship rocket exploding earlier this year. “He’s a little engineer, for sure. But his obsession with space is bordering on: ‘Is this healthy?’ When X saw Starship blow up, he had, like, a three-day PTSD meltdown,” Grimes recalled. “Every hour, he was waking up and going: ‘Starship …’ and I had to rub his back.” Grimes - who announced her split from Musk in 2022- shared that her daughter is “a little engineer too,” explaining: “She likes industrial shipping. She’s very strange.” As she continued to open up about co-parenting with her ex, she said that she’s “trying to find a great peer group,” or “other parents who are sort of like us and share similar values”. She went on to speak candidly about the different boundaries she wants to set as a parent. “I really care about having a very good relationship with my kids. I think I understand how to be a good parent to them,” she said. “Both enforcing discipline and being their friend. Who knows, maybe they’ll resent me and reject family culture, but I feel like they will not.” She also confessed that she’s “a little bit” worried about her children’s privilege, as their father holds the title as the richest person in the world. “I think their life is gonna be pretty intense,” she said. “Being Elon’s kid is not the same as being anyone’s kid. In my house, at least, I want it to be more of a crazy warehouse situation and a cool art space.” Grimes and Musk first met in 2018 when he direct messaged her on social media, where they then made the same pun about artificial intelligence. In September 2021, Musk revealed to Page Six that he and Grimes have “semi-separated” due to conflicting schedules and locations. Two months later, the pair welcomed their daughter together via surrogate. After the announcement made headlines, Grimes told Vanity Fair in March 2022 that she and Musk have a fluid, inexplicable partnership. However, she later made a clarification about the comment on Twitter, noting that while she and Musk had broken up since welcoming their daughter, “he’s my best friend and the love of my life”. Elsewhere in her interview with Wired, Grimes acknowledged that she’s learned a lot from her ex, specifically when it comes to leadership skills. “I learned from him, like, the best internship ever. People don’t like talking about Elon, but it was incredible to be right there watching all that SpaceX stuff happen,” she said. “That’s a master class in leadership and engineering and makes you understand how rare it is to have a leader of that quality.” Grimes continued to praise Musk’s management skills, adding: “Elon has an old-world kind of discipline I really respect. And I think it rubs a lot of people the wrong way. They don’t want to be in that hardcore zone. If you’re not consenting to being in that hardcore zone, I get it.” She also specified that Musk has “challenged” her a lot, and taught her about running her own company and team. When asked what her ex learned from her, she said that she’s helped him “have more fun”. “I try to soften him up, to build family culture,” she said. “And he steals a lot of my memes.” Read More Elon Musk gave Grimes a ‘trivia test’ on Lord of the Rings when they first started dating Grimes criticised for remarks about Lizzo accusers Grimes weighs in on alleged cage match between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg Elon Musk gave Grimes a ‘trivia test’ on Lord of the Rings when they started dating Grimes weighs in on alleged cage match between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg Mark Zuckerberg reveals his 4,000 calorie diet and large McDonald’s order

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By Joanna Plucinska, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Doyinsola Oladipo and Priyamvada C LONDON/CHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) -The post-pandemic travel boom and the

The term ‘soft life’ is trending on TikTok, with the #softlifeera tag clocking 12.2million views. While not brand new, it seems a growing number of social media users are leaning towards the lifestyle concept – but what does soft life actually mean and how can it benefit people? Where does the trend come from? As the wording suggests, soft life is all about veering away from stress and struggle and embracing a more easy and enriched life. But this isn’t just about life looking ‘perfect’ on social media. “Soft life isn’t new, however I’m really grateful to see its resurgence,” said Chlöe Pierre, founder of wellness platform thy.self and author of Take Care: The Black Women’s Guide To Wellness. “Essentially to me, especially as a black woman, soft life is about making choices that can avoid me having to live a much longer, and unsustainable, life in hardship. For me it’s about wellness in general, and sustainable wellness. “My only concern when seeing trends [on social media] is that they are inclusive, and generally they aren’t. First and foremost, soft life is a choice – and it’s a privilege to be able to make that choice,” Pierre added. “Originally, the soft life kind of movement had origins in places like Nigeria and other places around the continent, but was popularised via America and a lot of African American women, [who were often] fictional characters on TV. Because there weren’t, especially not in the UK, reachable or visible representations of black women and women of colour that had amassed a wealth, and therefore the privilege of living a ‘soft life’.”Permission to live a soft life For Dr Evelyn Okpanachi, author of The Emotionally Empowered Woman, it makes sense people are increasingly leaning towards the trend. “Collectively, we are still tired. We have had the Covid era, austerity and more, and we simply want to live and breathe a little. This is why we are leaning towards it more right now. Collectively, we are breathing a sigh of relief,” said Okpanachi. “Most people associate the soft life with booking last-minute flights, mojitos on the beach, dining at nice restaurants and all of the externalities. It is in part, but it a lot deeper than that. “Soft life is living life on your terms. Creating a career you want, the business you want, and looking after yourself holistically. This starts with empowering yourself to succeed by elevating your mindset and knowing you deserve to live a soft life.” Nothing comes easy Okpanachi noted the work that can be involved, however. “In order to enter the soft life era, the average person tends to go through an element of stress. Nothing comes easy,” she explained. “It is essentially about purposely creating a lifestyle with minimal stress and setting boundaries – boundary setting is key. It’s embracing the things that serve you and letting go/eliminating the things that don’t. We all deserve to live a soft life, and we all should. But we have to put the work in to attain it.” This is something social media can often miss out. As Pierre noted, influencers or celebrities may “show you one side of their life – you don’t get to see the struggle they have had to get to that point, or to maintain that lifestyle they have in front of the camera”. Making space for a softer lifeFor many, the dilemma is making these things a reality when work takes up so much energy, along with caring/parenting duties, health challenges and everything else. Pierre discusses in her book about how our identities can be “very wrapped up” in work, which can make it so much more draining – especially for black women who have faced “more hardship in the workplace, compared to other demographics”. Setting “clear expectations and intentions” for yourself can be helpful, she added, and getting to know yourself better. “So making clear expectations about who I am, what I will accept, and what I want – and having the belief that I don’t have to go through too much hardship, that it’s not a benchmark for who I am,” Pierre explained. “This can even be applied to dating.” Ditch the guilt Donna Noble, yoga teacher and author of Teaching Body Positive Yoga: A Guide To Inclusivity, Language And Props, also believes making things intentional is key for how people can embrace the soft life in their everyday routines. “[People] can prioritise their me-time and be intentional about it – for instance, meditating, journaling or doing yoga as soon as they get up (before the rest of the world invades their space), as this will set you up nicely for the rest of the day,” said Noble. “I believe rest and self-care are part of our birth-right – no feeling guilty for just being and not doing. Normalise taking the pause, and that it can be the most powerful thing we do in our day.” For those who struggle to put themselves first, Noble suggested taking time to work on giving yourself permission. “The key here is a shift in perspective and empowerment – you’ve got to discover the precious gem that is your wellbeing. Society’s old scripts may try to hold us back, but rewriting the narrative is where the magic happens,” she said. “Giving ourselves a permission slip to prioritise self-care isn’t just a luxury; it’s a necessity. It’s about understanding that nurturing ourselves isn’t selfish; it’s the foundation for health and wellbeing.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Kim Kardashian teased as the face of a major fashion brand Shoppers make seven big impulse buys per year on average – survey Even 4,000 steps a day could ‘reduce risk of death’ – study

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