Raissa's Blog - Best of Sports, Culture, and Entertainment

Lionel Messi and Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton were jointly awarded the Laureus award for World Sportsman of the Year - the first draw in the twenty year history of the awards. Messi had been nominated five times in the past, and is winning the award for the first time. He is the first footballer to win the award. Messi and Hamilton pipped Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal, Marc Marquez and Eliud Kipchoge for the honor. Simon Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, was named Laureus Sportswoman of the Year. The Laureus awards were handed at a gala that took place in Berlin on Monday night. Unable to make it to the gala, Messi thanked his voters via a video link during the event. He said: ' I apologize I was not able to come to the event tonight. I really wanted to be there but unfortunately I could not make it. 'I would like to thank the Academy for giving me this recognition. 'The truth is that this is a very special award and I am honored to be the first to win

Hollywood's biggest night is done and dusted. Parasite was the biggest winner of the night, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay. Parasite is the first ever foreign film to win the top prize (Best Picture) in the Oscar's 92-year history. Another major highlight of the awards ceremony was Brad Pitt winning his first ever Oscar (for Best Supporting Actor). Here's the complete winners' list, with category winners in bold: Best picture  1917 The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women Marriage Story Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood Parasite Ford v Ferrari Best actress  Cynthia Erivo, Harriet Renée Zellweger, Judy Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story Charlize Theron, Bombshell Saoirse Ronan, Little Women Best actor  Joaquin Phoenix, Joker Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory Adam Driver, Marriage Story Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes Best

Lionel Messi dominance kept Barcelona alive in their La Liga game yesterday vs Real Betis as he provided a hat-trick of assists for Barcelona's three goals of the night. Barcelona won 3-2. Quique Setien's anticipated return to the Estadio Benito Villamarin turned out to be a difficult night for the Cules as they got off to a rocky start of the match. The visitors were stunned by the hosts (Real Betis) as Sergio Canales scored from the penalty spot in in the sixth minute after a handball was called by VAR on Clement Lenglet. Three minutes later, Messi' sent a pinpoint pass onto Frenkie de Jong's chest and the latter converted into a goal, Barcelona's first for the night.  In the 26th minute, Nabil Fekir's long-range shot restored the lead for Real Betis. Sergio Busquets converted Messi's freekick into a goal in the final seconds of the first half to make Barcelona level with the hosts. In the second half, Clement Lenglet scored a header from a loftin

Prostitution, defined as the practice of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment is usually described as "the world's oldest profession" as it has been practiced throughout ancient and modern culture. Some people go into prostitution voluntarily while others are forced to prostitute themselves. Historically, most prostitutes have been females and most clients, males. The narrative is a lot more dynamic today with a wider variety of prostitutes - male, female and transgender. Also, the scope of prostitution has been widened to both heterosexual and homosexual activity. Here's all the facts you need to know about prostitution. 1. According to 2012 estimates, there are about 40 - 42 million prostitutes in the world. 2. As reported by Live & Invest Overseas, the following are the ten countries with the most sex workers per 10,000: 10 - Thailand: 45 sex workers per 10,000 9 - Germany: 49 sex workers per 10,000 8 - Malaysia: 52 sex wor

February 14th is generally celebrated worldwide as Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine. The day celebrates love and affection. We'll talk about the origins of the feast and other facts about the feast and its celebration. A number of theories exist about the origin of Valentine's Day. According to  The New York Times , Valentine's Day is celebrated today thanks to Pope Gelasius I and Saint Valentine of Terni.  It is believed that Pope Gelasius I designated Valentine's Day to replace Lupercalia - an ancient Roman festival. Lupercalia was a debaucherous pagan feast which was celebrated at the eve of spring, in which a ritual was performed in a bid to promote fertility. It involved naked men whipping women with blood-soaked hides of sacrificed goats and dogs (until they bled). Men would then randomly pick women's names to decide who would be paired up for the rest of the festival. If the match was successful, they would be paired up for life.

Cannibalism may sound like a far-fetched concept to most, but cannibalism has always been around. Let's start with defining what cannibalism is. Cannibalism is the practice of eating the flesh of one's own species, which is the eating of the flesh of an animal by another animal of the same kind. Talking about humans, it is the eating of human flesh by another human being. 1. Endocannibalism is one of the forms of cannibalism. It is the ritual of eating a family member or friend after their death. Endocannibalism is performed as a ritual. The flesh is eaten out of respect, with the belief being that the dead person's wisdom can be absorbed by eating their remains. The Yanomamo tribes of Venezuela and Brazil reportedly practiced endocannibalism by mixing the ashes of dead relatives with a plantain soup and eating.   In Papua New Guinea, the Fore people practiced endocannibalism as part of funerary rites. Women and children played the most important role in endoca