QUEEN ELIZABETH ii - She's also the Queen of Australia-needs no license to drive.

1. The Queen needs no license to drive.

Privilege is like a dessert served on a silver platter. But when it comes to Queen Elizabeth II, her silver platter shines brighter than the moon. Now, you're probably thinking "ab ye sab kaun sochta hai?" but trust me, you're about to be completely blown off your game here because she has it all, literally! The British monarch's powers and privileges can put these terms to shame. See for yourself: 

2. She needs no passport either.

3. She gets to celebrate two birthdays!

According to the Royal Mint, the Queen's official birthday is celebrated on a Saturday in June, although her actual birthday is on April 21st. An official birthday has been a thing for the Royal family since the very beginning. 

4. Ever heard of a private poet? Well, she has one.

The role is currently held by Carol Ann Duffy. According to the official website of the British Monarch, this honorary position is given to a poet whose work is of national significance. Carol will hold the position till 2019. Here's more if you wish to read up.

5. She also has a private cash machine.

Installed in the basement of the Buckingham Palace, provided by Coutts (one of Britain's most exclusive banks), this one is a special perk for the queen and her royal family.A private ATM! Awesome, right?

6. She owns all the swans in the River Thames. 

7. And all the dolphins in British waters belong to her too.

8. Without her consent, no bill can be passed to form a law.

9. She has the power to appoint Lords and Knights.



10. She can opt out from paying tax.
But she doesn't. She voluntarily began paying her share in 1992.

11. Her family (and she) have been spared from all Freedom of Information requests! 

12. In times of "grave constitutional crisis", the Queen has the power to VETO any ministerial advice/opinion. 

13. And under no "grave constitutional crisis" the Queen has the right to be consulted, to encourage, and to warn her ministers.

14. She's also the Queen of Australia.

This is since the enactment of the Royal Styles and Titles Act in 1953. 

15. Apart from being the Head of State of UK and Australia, she's also dominion to all these commonwealth realms:

Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

16. She's also the head of the Church of England under her formal title "Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England".

Sounds like a fancy title picked from Game Of Thrones, don't you think?
17. She's immune from prosecution.


18. Here's the most epic one of them all. She can fire the entire Australian Government!
Here's how it works. The Prime Minister of Australia is appointed by the governor-general. The queen could instruct her representative to appoint a new PM at any time. She can appoint a new governor-general too, if he does not comply.
(And probably New Zealand too!)

An Abandoned Fishing Village on Gouqi Island, China

Shengsi, an archipelago of almost 400 islands at the mouth of China’s Yangtze river, holds a secret shrouded in time – an abandoned fishing village being reclaimed by nature. These photos by Jane Qing, a creative photographer based in Shanghai, take us into this lost village on the beautiful archipelago.

More info: weibo.cn (ht: amusingplanet)

Gouqi Island belongs to a group of nearly 400 islands known as Shengsi Islands, and form a part of the Zhoushan Archipelago, located outside of Hangzhou Bay. It is the largest archipelago of China. Traditionally Zhoushan had relied heavily on its primary industry, which is fishing, given Zhoushan is the largest fishery in China. Nowadays with the development of the secondary and tertiary industries, Zhoushan's economic base has been largely diversified. Ship building and repairing, shipping, light industry, tourism and service industry grow to be the major contributors of local economic output. Consequently, many fishing villages have today become abandoned. Some of the best preserved villages are located in Gouqi Island.

The Shengsi Islands are a popular tourist destination and is still an important fishery area that attracts more than 100,000 fishermen every winter.

An Abandoned Fishing Village on Gouqi Island, China

Shengsi, an archipelago of almost 400 islands at the mouth of China’s Yangtze river, holds a secret shrouded in time – an abandoned fishing village being reclaimed by nature. These photos by Jane Qing, a creative photographer based in Shanghai, take us into this lost village on the beautiful archipelago.

More info: weibo.cn (ht: amusingplanet)

Gouqi Island belongs to a group of nearly 400 islands known as Shengsi Islands, and form a part of the Zhoushan Archipelago, located outside of Hangzhou Bay. It is the largest archipelago of China. Traditionally Zhoushan had relied heavily on its primary industry, which is fishing, given Zhoushan is the largest fishery in China. Nowadays with the development of the secondary and tertiary industries, Zhoushan's economic base has been largely diversified. Ship building and repairing, shipping, light industry, tourism and service industry grow to be the major contributors of local economic output. Consequently, many fishing villages have today become abandoned. Some of the best preserved villages are located in Gouqi Island.

The Shengsi Islands are a popular tourist destination and is still an important fishery area that attracts more than 100,000 fishermen every winter.

DIANA'S kids keep mother way on

Dressed warmly in a long magenta coat, the lady, along with her two young boys, braved the cold to cheer for Wales as it faced France in the Five Nations rugby tournament. The children, kitted out in Welsh jerseys and scarves, got to meet most of the players, and they charmed the policemen on patrol, playing with their motorcycle horns.

But this was no ordinary family outing: The woman was the most photographed in the world, Princess Diana, and she was helping cement her sons’ love for a sport that would one day see William and Harry take to opposite sides of the field. When England hosts the Rugby World Cup this fall, it’ll go head to head with its fiercest rival and next door neighbor: Wales. And adding to the tension, it’ll also pit Diana’s two boys against each other.


It’s good for Welsh rugby. … If we have princes of Wales, we should have them watching Wales.

JPR Williams, former Welsh rugby player

It was hailed as a royal coup back in February 1992, when Diana arrived at the National Stadium in Cardiff to support the nation’s beloved rugby team. Conscious that her English-born children both also had the historic “Prince of Wales” title, the princess was keen to ensure that they embraced Welsh culture. There was no better way than cheering on the men in red that chilly Saturday, when the boys watched Wales narrowly lose to France, 9 points to 12. But for one of the princes, the ties to Welsh rugby were only just beginning.

Twenty-three years later, Wales will meet their longtime sporting rival, England, on Sept. 26. While it will be the 127th encounter between them — the first was in 1881 — the fact that it’s the two teams’ first World Cup encounter on British soil guarantees it’ll be one of their biggest clashes ever. Upping the ante even more is the fact that these very English princes will be sitting on opposing sides: William has been the vice royal patron of the Welsh Rugby Union since 2007, and Harry assumed the same role for the English team in 2010.





Prince Harry (front left) and Princess Diana at the Wales vs. Australia match during the 1991 World Cup.

Source: David Cannon/Getty

As royal duties go, it’s hardly a chore, as both men are known for their love of sports and can regularly be seen rooting for their team. But, of the two, William’s support for Wales has always been the tougher sell. Many Welsh rugby fans have long believed his true sporting loyalties are firmly rooted in English soil. “It’s always puzzled me, really, in terms of Prince William playing the Welsh card,” acknowledges Camilla Tominey, royal editor of the Sunday Express. “At the end of the day, he’s also an England fan and has been seen at England matches. William does turn up to the Wales matches, but he can’t change the fact he’s English.”

Media-shy William has never tied his late mother’s affection for the Welsh team to his own loyalty to their cause, but it’s fair to speculate that devotion to her memory helps drive his attachment. And although the Welsh Rugby Union is reluctant to discuss the prince’s involvement, other prominent figures have zealously supported William’s Welsh allegiance. JPR Williams, widely regarded as one of Wales’ greatest former players, has said: “It’s good for Welsh rugby. … If we have princes of Wales, we should have them watching Wales.”





Prince William (left) with Prince Harry during the Six Nations rugby match against Wales in 2010.

Source: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Compared to William’s somewhat uncomfortable status as a Wales supporter, Harry’s link to English rugby is an easy fit. Ever since he was seen celebrating England’s 2003 World Cup triumph in the squad’s dressing room in Sydney, the younger prince has confidently been able to call himself the team’s most famous fan. And the nation’s rugby chiefs hope to use their popular, more mediagenic patron to full effect, as Harry, honorary president of England Rugby 2015, officially promotes the tournament to “new and existing rugby fans.”

More controversial than the princes’ alliances were widespread reports in the 1990s romantically linking Diana — officially separated from Prince Charles — to then England rugby captain Will Carling. Carling maintains that the princess was no more than a “good friend,” but rumors persist. Whatever the real story, her support for Wales held firm.

Come Sept. 26, when one of the world’s oldest sporting rivalries will play out in front of 82,000 fans at London’s Twickenham Stadium, two princes will be flying flags for different sides of Offa’s Dyke, the historic English-Welsh border. While there has been many a bloody contest waged between opposing British royals over the centuries, this should thankfully be concluded amicably at the final whistle.

OZY

DIANA'S kids keep mother way on

Dressed warmly in a long magenta coat, the lady, along with her two young boys, braved the cold to cheer for Wales as it faced France in the Five Nations rugby tournament. The children, kitted out in Welsh jerseys and scarves, got to meet most of the players, and they charmed the policemen on patrol, playing with their motorcycle horns.

But this was no ordinary family outing: The woman was the most photographed in the world, Princess Diana, and she was helping cement her sons’ love for a sport that would one day see William and Harry take to opposite sides of the field. When England hosts the Rugby World Cup this fall, it’ll go head to head with its fiercest rival and next door neighbor: Wales. And adding to the tension, it’ll also pit Diana’s two boys against each other.


It’s good for Welsh rugby. … If we have princes of Wales, we should have them watching Wales.

JPR Williams, former Welsh rugby player

It was hailed as a royal coup back in February 1992, when Diana arrived at the National Stadium in Cardiff to support the nation’s beloved rugby team. Conscious that her English-born children both also had the historic “Prince of Wales” title, the princess was keen to ensure that they embraced Welsh culture. There was no better way than cheering on the men in red that chilly Saturday, when the boys watched Wales narrowly lose to France, 9 points to 12. But for one of the princes, the ties to Welsh rugby were only just beginning.

Twenty-three years later, Wales will meet their longtime sporting rival, England, on Sept. 26. While it will be the 127th encounter between them — the first was in 1881 — the fact that it’s the two teams’ first World Cup encounter on British soil guarantees it’ll be one of their biggest clashes ever. Upping the ante even more is the fact that these very English princes will be sitting on opposing sides: William has been the vice royal patron of the Welsh Rugby Union since 2007, and Harry assumed the same role for the English team in 2010.





Prince Harry (front left) and Princess Diana at the Wales vs. Australia match during the 1991 World Cup.

Source: David Cannon/Getty

As royal duties go, it’s hardly a chore, as both men are known for their love of sports and can regularly be seen rooting for their team. But, of the two, William’s support for Wales has always been the tougher sell. Many Welsh rugby fans have long believed his true sporting loyalties are firmly rooted in English soil. “It’s always puzzled me, really, in terms of Prince William playing the Welsh card,” acknowledges Camilla Tominey, royal editor of the Sunday Express. “At the end of the day, he’s also an England fan and has been seen at England matches. William does turn up to the Wales matches, but he can’t change the fact he’s English.”

Media-shy William has never tied his late mother’s affection for the Welsh team to his own loyalty to their cause, but it’s fair to speculate that devotion to her memory helps drive his attachment. And although the Welsh Rugby Union is reluctant to discuss the prince’s involvement, other prominent figures have zealously supported William’s Welsh allegiance. JPR Williams, widely regarded as one of Wales’ greatest former players, has said: “It’s good for Welsh rugby. … If we have princes of Wales, we should have them watching Wales.”





Prince William (left) with Prince Harry during the Six Nations rugby match against Wales in 2010.

Source: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Compared to William’s somewhat uncomfortable status as a Wales supporter, Harry’s link to English rugby is an easy fit. Ever since he was seen celebrating England’s 2003 World Cup triumph in the squad’s dressing room in Sydney, the younger prince has confidently been able to call himself the team’s most famous fan. And the nation’s rugby chiefs hope to use their popular, more mediagenic patron to full effect, as Harry, honorary president of England Rugby 2015, officially promotes the tournament to “new and existing rugby fans.”

More controversial than the princes’ alliances were widespread reports in the 1990s romantically linking Diana — officially separated from Prince Charles — to then England rugby captain Will Carling. Carling maintains that the princess was no more than a “good friend,” but rumors persist. Whatever the real story, her support for Wales held firm.

Come Sept. 26, when one of the world’s oldest sporting rivalries will play out in front of 82,000 fans at London’s Twickenham Stadium, two princes will be flying flags for different sides of Offa’s Dyke, the historic English-Welsh border. While there has been many a bloody contest waged between opposing British royals over the centuries, this should thankfully be concluded amicably at the final whistle.

OZY

Record Child Abuse - Expect It

Japan, for years, has seemed like a fantasy dream for kids. Sure, this is the nation that practically invented high-pressured schooling. But there’s also Doll’s Day for girls, and Children’s Day for flying carp-shaped kites, not to mention the Shichi-Go-San (“Seven-Five-Three”) festival, where children of the ages 7, 5 and 3 dress in traditional kimonos to visit temples. And we’d probably forgive you for suspecting that anime is Japan’s national pastime. So it’s more than a little shocking that last year, Japan saw a

34 percent increase in suspected child abuse cases,

reaching a record high of 28,923, according to the country’s National Police Agency. The number of individuals actually charged in abuse cases also hit a record — 719 cases.
Of course, some of the increase reflects better reporting of cases. The Mainichi Shimbun cites increased public concern as at least a partial explanation of the rise. Reporting of abuse cases through Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has also been on a steady rise for the past 15 years, after the nation’s Child Abuse Prevention Law started to be enforced. Professor Satoru Nishizawa, a clinical social worker who edits the Japanese Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect, says that while reporting of cases has improved, the increase is too large to be accounted for by better enforcement alone. “The increase of more complicated and pathological cases may reflect the deterioration of child care in Japanese families,” he says.
Attached to detailed statistics issued by the police are thumbnail descriptions of heartbreaking cases, such as the 5-year-old boy who was locked in a room and starved to death by his 36-year-old father. Then there’s child pornography, rape and prostitution.

Overall, verbal and psychological abuse dominated cases reported to the police, including children witnessing domestic violence, which also sharply increased by 45 percent, year over year. Physical abuse rose by 25 percent, while underfeeding grew by 32 percent and sexual abuse by 19 percent. Female victims outnumbered male victims, and girls accounted for 97 percent of sexual abuse victims, abused mostly by their fathers.
Are the Japanese worse than the rest of us? Probably not. Strictly comparable statistics are hard to come by, but reports by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found measures of child welfare in Japan to be way ahead of the United States in areas like material well-being, education, housing and environment, and health and safety. 

UNICEF took a measure of how the 2008 financial crisis had affected child poverty in the subsequent four years. It rose by 2.1 percent in the U.S., but fell by 2.7 percent in Japan (from an already much lower level). Meanwhile, in Greece and Iceland, child poverty shot up by 17.5 percent and 20.4 percent, respectively, although Iceland’s total child poverty rate ended up roughly the same as that of the U.S., at 31.6 percent.
Maybe those fanciful images of childhood in Japan are not so far off the mark after all.

Read more: OZY

Record Child Abuse - Expect It

Japan, for years, has seemed like a fantasy dream for kids. Sure, this is the nation that practically invented high-pressured schooling. But there’s also Doll’s Day for girls, and Children’s Day for flying carp-shaped kites, not to mention the Shichi-Go-San (“Seven-Five-Three”) festival, where children of the ages 7, 5 and 3 dress in traditional kimonos to visit temples. And we’d probably forgive you for suspecting that anime is Japan’s national pastime. So it’s more than a little shocking that last year, Japan saw a

34 percent increase in suspected child abuse cases,

reaching a record high of 28,923, according to the country’s National Police Agency. The number of individuals actually charged in abuse cases also hit a record — 719 cases.
Of course, some of the increase reflects better reporting of cases. The Mainichi Shimbun cites increased public concern as at least a partial explanation of the rise. Reporting of abuse cases through Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has also been on a steady rise for the past 15 years, after the nation’s Child Abuse Prevention Law started to be enforced. Professor Satoru Nishizawa, a clinical social worker who edits the Japanese Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect, says that while reporting of cases has improved, the increase is too large to be accounted for by better enforcement alone. “The increase of more complicated and pathological cases may reflect the deterioration of child care in Japanese families,” he says.
Attached to detailed statistics issued by the police are thumbnail descriptions of heartbreaking cases, such as the 5-year-old boy who was locked in a room and starved to death by his 36-year-old father. Then there’s child pornography, rape and prostitution.

Overall, verbal and psychological abuse dominated cases reported to the police, including children witnessing domestic violence, which also sharply increased by 45 percent, year over year. Physical abuse rose by 25 percent, while underfeeding grew by 32 percent and sexual abuse by 19 percent. Female victims outnumbered male victims, and girls accounted for 97 percent of sexual abuse victims, abused mostly by their fathers.
Are the Japanese worse than the rest of us? Probably not. Strictly comparable statistics are hard to come by, but reports by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found measures of child welfare in Japan to be way ahead of the United States in areas like material well-being, education, housing and environment, and health and safety. 

UNICEF took a measure of how the 2008 financial crisis had affected child poverty in the subsequent four years. It rose by 2.1 percent in the U.S., but fell by 2.7 percent in Japan (from an already much lower level). Meanwhile, in Greece and Iceland, child poverty shot up by 17.5 percent and 20.4 percent, respectively, although Iceland’s total child poverty rate ended up roughly the same as that of the U.S., at 31.6 percent.
Maybe those fanciful images of childhood in Japan are not so far off the mark after all.

Read more: OZY