Southern California might be famous for its beaches and palm trees, but right now it also has plenty of places to build a snowman and go sledding. Several local resorts have been open since the big snowfall at Christmastime; more is expected as we get deeper into the rainy season. Here are great places where the entire family can play in the snow, many with lifts and groomed trails. One word of caution: Check for road closures and tire chain requirements before heading out.

Mt. Baldy, Angeles National Forest

Take a deep breath of fresh mountain air at this wildly picturesque ski resort about 16 miles north of Upland. Ride the Sugar Pine Chairlift that leads to a tubing park at the top. Tubing sessions last 90 minutes and operate four times a day: 8:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. Prices include a round-trip ride on the ski lift. You can grab a drink or a burger at the Top of the Notch Restaurant & Bar at 7,800 feet.

Insider tip: It takes at least an hour to park, check in and ride the lift. Be on the safe side and arrive a couple of hours before your tubing session.

Info: Tubing packages are cheaper when purchased online (currently, $39.99 to $46.99 per person, gear included). winter.mtbaldyresort.com

Mountain High, Wrightwood

Heading farther north into the Angeles National Forest, you’ll find this popular resort west of Wrightwood. It’s only a 90-minute drive from downtown L.A. but feels a world away. The resort’s Yeti’s Snow Parks are open daily for sledding, tubing and snow play. You may even come face to face with Mountain High’s friendly, oversize yeti mascot, who, of course, wears ski goggles.

Insider tip: You can’t purchase tickets in advance; they are available first-come, first-served at the ticket windows.

Info: The resort has snow play at different sections of the mountain. Sledding costs $25 per person for two hours at the East Resort; two hours of tubing at the North Resort costs $35 per person (tubes and sleds are included in the ticket price). There’s a $20 parking fee for all vehicles. mthigh.com

Angeles Crest Highway

There are other spots in the Wrightwood area to grab a sled and have a DIY snow-play day (facebook.com/WrightwoodSnowplay). You’ll find places along the two-lane Angeles Crest Highway, California Highway 2, over the San Gabriel Mountains. The higher you go in elevation, the deeper the snow. The U.S. Forest Service advises drivers to carry snow chains and have a full tank of gas as well as warm clothing, food and water in case of an emergency. Also, the road closes when ice or snow makes driving dangerous; check before you go.

Insider tip: Head up early in the morning to beat the crowds and return in early afternoon to avoid the rush headed back down.

Info: Drivers must display a $5 Adventure Pass on parked cars. angelescrestscenichighway.com

Snowdrift Snow Tubing Park, San Bernardino National Forest

Surround yourself with towering pines at this tubing park four miles east of Running Springs. There’s something for everyone, with seven hills to choose from for tubing. This family-friendly park sits at the 6,500-foot elevation level in the San Bernardino National Forest. Don’t follow your GPS; it won’t send you to the right location. Take California Highway 18 toward Big Bear Lake; the tubing park is a little past the turn to Green Valley Lake.

Insider tip: To save time, print Snowdrift’s liability release form at home and have it signed when you arrive.

Info: $20 (cash only) per person, per hour; tubes with belly belts included. Parking costs $10 per vehicle on weekends and holidays. snowdrift.net

Big Bear Snow Play, Big Bear Lake

About 15 miles to the east, Big Bear Snow Play occupies a former ski hill once known as Rebel Ridge. It offers lift-assisted inner tubing, meaning you don’t have to hike uphill. Instead, you’re brought uphill in the Magic Carpet, described as having “space-age-looking clear tunnels.” The slopes are a mix of natural and man-made snow. Don’t miss the night-glow tubing on Fridays and Saturdays and holiday weekends.

Insider tip: Bring gloves, staff members say, adding that it’s the most notable thing visitors leave at home.

Cost, info: $35 general admission, $20 for children 36 to 42 inches tall, includes gear. bigbearsnowplay.com

Points north

Woolly’s Tube Park and Snow Play, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area

Much farther north, Mammoth Lakes, about 300 miles north of downtown Los Angeles along U.S. Highway 395, attracts skiers and snowboarders to 11,053-foot Mammoth Mountain. If the slopes seem too ambitious, check out the ski area’s Woolly’s Tube Park and Snow Play (named for its mascot, the woolly mammoth) along Minaret Road, about halfway between the Village and Main Lodge. This is snow play in style: Not only does the resort have a large snow-play area but there’s also a heated deck with a snack bar serving hot chocolate and more.

Insider tip: Book ahead by calling (800) 626-6684 if you plan to visit on a weekend or holiday. Also, use the Red Line shuttle bus to get from Mammoth Lakes to the resort and back, especially on weekends when parking is limited.

Info: Tubing tickets range from $39 to $49; the snow play area costs $20 to $25 per person; gear included. mammothmountain.com

Leland High Sierra Snow Play, near Stanislaus National Forest

Winter enthusiasts will enjoy racing downhill at this Sierra resort. It’s tucked away off California Highway 108, about a two-hour drive north of Yosemite National Park. There’s a large day lodge with a fireplace where you can buy a variety of food and drinks. Check out the sledding and tubing action from a sundeck overlooking the snow-play area. On the larger hills, sit back on your tube as it’s towed to the top. All you have to do is take in the breathtaking views.

Insider tip: As at other locations, visit on weekdays to avoid crowds. Consider wearing a helmet for safety.

Info: $19 for young ones, $25 for anyone taller than 44 inches on weekdays; $19 to $39 on weekends and holidays. Gear is included. snowplay.com

Tips to know before you go

Play it safe: When heading to snow country, don’t park in the road or on private property. Parking along mountain roads can be a headache because they are typically narrow, two-lane affairs with limited turnouts and lots. The California Highway Patrol also tells visitors to be careful not to trespass on private property when finding the perfect snow spot and not to play in the road.

Carry chains: Bring tire chains or cables for your vehicle, even if it’s a beautiful, blue-sky day. Weather can change quickly, and you’ll be stopped and turned back if they are suddenly required. Make sure to use designated turnouts, not the roadway, to install chains.

Be patient: Don’t head into the mountains the minute snow falls. Many roads will be closed until crews can plow, and driving conditions can be dangerous. Check the weather forecast and road conditions with Caltrans (roads.dot.ca.gov), and drive with extra caution.

Nine-year-old Avery Norbryhn can ski backward, which is no small feat. The fourth grader has also mastered jumps at her local hill, Snow Valley Mountain Resort, in the San Bernardino Mountains about 90 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. One day in the not-too-distant future, she says she’s going to be able to keep up with, and maybe even out-ski, her 40-year-old dad, Robert.

Both learned how to ski at Snow Valley’s Rim Youth ski and snowboard program, which aims to teach very young kids their way around the slopes.

“I started learning in the program when I was 6, way back when I was a kindergartner,” said Robert Norbryhn, now a ski instructor. He grew up in Running Springs, moved to Idaho for a while, but returned to the area seven years ago. He and his wife have four children, three of whom will participate in the program this winter. Norbryhn also helps out as a chaperone, sometimes helping the youngest children get on and off the lifts.

“I skied as many as three times a week with friends and family growing up, often with my dad,” he said. “It was my life during winters. And for lots of my friends too. I recall sitting in the back of my parents’ old [Chevrolet] Suburban and changing on the way up to the resort. Most of the instructors back then were parents and other volunteers. One was a pastor at a local church.”

Avery, who will turn 10 in February and attends Charles Hoffman Elementary School in Running Springs, said this will mark her fifth year in the Rim Youth Program. Though she’s skiing backward and can do jumps, she has yet to navigate metal rails, boxes and other terrain park features. “I don’t go on those yet, but I probably will soon when I get better,” she said.

Initially aimed at mountain kids in the Running Springs area, the program has expanded to those who live farther afield. Some come from as far away as Manhattan Beach, 100 miles to the west; others from the flat lands of Redlands at the base of the mountains. Thousands of wannabe skiers and snowboarders in the Youth Rim program have learned to safely navigate the resort’s 30-plus slopes and 1,000-foot descents thanks to solid teaching efforts and the relatively low-priced program.

The back story

The youth program got started a little more than half a century ago by volunteer parents, right around the time interest in skiing exploded. Americans Billy Kidd and Jimmie Heuga medaled in ski events at the 1964 Winter Olympics, and Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy snapped up three alpine racing Olympic gold medals four years later. The 1969 film “Downhill Racer” starring Robert Redford lent the sport a cool factor.

Snow Valley instructors took over the Rim Youth program in 1987. It has been run by longtime manager Dixi Willemse ever since, attracting 250 to 300 kids each winter (including six of Willemse’s grandchildren) and is so popular that it can be hard to find enough teachers.

Most students in the program are 6 to 8 years old, though some in junior high school have enrolled. “Once they learn the basics, they often go off on their own,” Willemse said. “But some come back year after year after year. The majority ski, though we have a number of snowboarders too, though it’s not as popular as it was 10 years ago.”

Willemse said she does her best to keep the classes relatively small, with just seven or eight students per instructor, particularly for the little ones. “And the first session of the year … though parents have told us what level they think their kids are, we still have to sort them out to get them in the appropriate group,” she said.

It costs $165 for six weeks of 90-minute lessons and lift tickets, with classes held each Friday at 3 and 5 p.m. Kids who don’t have their own gear may rent ski boots and poles for $75, good for the entire program. Also, students can ski until the resort closes at 8 p.m. on Fridays. If a session is washed out because of weather, another one will be added at the end of the season.

The program started Friday, but Willemse said she takes late sign-ups if there’s room. While 3 p.m. classes frequently fill up, 5 p.m. classes almost always have spaces.

Family traditions

Emily Wisman, an 11-year-old fifth-grader at Lake Arrowhead Elementary School, has been in the Rim Youth program for five years and hopes to one day become a ski instructor herself. Her younger brother, 5-year-old Matthew, will join the program next year, she said.

“I’ve learned a lot and made a good friend, Mira, from Redlands, who is in the program,” said Emily, who lives in Lake Arrowhead. “I like getting out of school early on Fridays, and I really like going to the top of the mountain and skiing down with my friends.”

Emily has since skied with her family at Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes as well as at Brian Head and Eagle Point ski resorts in southern Utah. She even raced her mom, Amy, to the bottom of a slope. “And I won!” Emily said with a giggle. “It was really funny, because she’s usually way better than me.”

Willemse said she and her husband learned to ski at Snow Valley when their kids took up the sport. Three of her four offspring are still skiing and daughter Traci — a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who now teaches Marines how to fly Cobra attack helicopters in San Diego — became a ski instructor.

For true novices, instructors begin by teaching them how to put on skis before advancing to the Magic Carpet lift (something like a moving sidewalk) to try out an easy run. Students might not get to ride a chair lift until the second if not the third week, she said.

“You can take any kid to the top of a hill,” she said. “They’ll probably get down, but if they can’t control their speed, or turn or know how to stop, you’ve got a problem — and it may not be pretty. They may get hurt or never want to ski again. So lessons are really the way to go.”

Kevin Somes, general manager of the resort, grew up in Orange County and learned to ski at Snow Valley when he was 11. “I fell in love with this place, and now I’ve been running it for going on 17 years,” he said.

Snow Valley has received abundant snowfall so far this year. Even in lean times, the Rim Youth classes go on because the resort can make snow for the teaching terrain. The higher Slide Peak section does not have man-made snow, but this season there’s enough snow now to keep it open.

“I’ve talked to locals and school administrators, and they’ve told me the Rim Youth program really is a revered thing around here because it’s a low-cost way for kids to get into the sport,” he said. “It’s certainly not a moneymaker for the resort.”

But, he pointed out, the program is building the next generation of skiers and snowboarders, “and that’s certainly a worthwhile investment for us and the community.”

Info: Snow Valley’s Rim Youth Program, snow-valley.com/programs

Best way to learn the basics

National Learn to Ski/Snowboard Month falls in January at ski resorts across the country. It’s a good time to find special prices on lessons for first-timers or anyone who wants to improve. Mountain High near Wrightwood, for example, offers a lesson, ski or snowboard rental and lower-mountain lift ticket for $129 — and a free second package for a friend or relative. It’s good on selected midweek days through Jan. 31 for skiers 13 and older.

In a city as large and sprawling as Los Angeles, it’s easy to miss the little things. But what about the big things? L.A.-based artist Pae White’s recent installations at the Beverly Center shopping center (which she’s pretty sure are her largest works ever) have taken over the walls along the glassed-in architectural detail on either side of the 38-year-old monolith: the five-story escalators.

“They are their own free-floating display cases,” she says, likening the space to a vitrine. The works installed in November play with light, acting, White says, like a huge seasonal affective disorder lamp used in dark climates to mimic sunlight, except the city already has its fair share of rays.

“Moonsets for a Sunrise” facing La Cienega Boulevard is made of ceramic tiles whose colors correspond to hues of full moons (harvest, strawberry, blue and snow, as they’re called in the Farmers’ Almanac). The metallic glaze of the tiles set against a midnight blue backdrop shifts color as you are pulled skyward.

“Day for Night for Day” along Beverly Boulevard pulls off a more interesting trick. It’s made of all-white neon shapes inspired by designs in an ornamental rug. Each handmade tube uses different temperatures to create colors: a blush of pink or peach or blue or yellow. Nighttime is the best time to witness a watery neon reflection in facing buildings.

White feels she has transformed the formerly dark building into a “beacon calling out to the hills” (she says a friend in the Hollywood Hills can see the lights from his bedroom).

In all, it took two years to create what she sees as one giant work of art. “It’s the sun calling the night,” White says, a chance to witness day and night in a simple walk around the block, something any Angeleno can experience and savor.

Making light of shopping

• Pae White’s art installations at the Beverly Center (8500 Beverly Blvd.) are “semipermanent,” meaning they’ll be there for a while. They’re part of the renovation of the landmark building that started in 2016 and has included other temporary art installations.

• “Moonsets for a Sunrise” is made of 73,635 pieces of tile glazed in more than 100 colors that catch the morning sun. They are set in four-color modules, and no pattern repeats.

• “Day for Night for Day” neon tubes offer different looks depending on whether you go at day or at night.

• The escalators (and the shopping center) are open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

CANBERRA, Australia — 

Specialist firefighters have saved the world’s last remaining wild stand of a prehistoric tree from wildfires that razed forests west of Sydney, officials said Thursday.

Firefighters winched from helicopters to reach the cluster of fewer than 200 Wollemi Pines in a remote gorge in the Blue Mountains a week before a massive wildlife bore down, said David Crust, director of the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The firefighters set up an irrigation system to keep the so-called dinosaur trees moist and pumped water daily from the gorge as the blaze that had burned out of control for more than two months edged closer.

Firefighting planes strategically bombed the fire front with fire retardant to slow its progress.

“That helped just to slow the intensity of the fire as it approached the site,” Crust told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“The Wollemi Pine is a particularly important species and the fact that this is the only place in the world where they exist and they exist in such small numbers is really significant,” he added.

New South Wales state Environment Minister Matt Kean said the operation had saved the stand, although some plants had been singed.

“These pines outlived the dinosaurs, so when we saw the fire approaching we realized we had to do everything we could to save them,” Kean said.

The Wollemi Pine had only been seen in its fossilized form and was thought long extinct before the stand was found in 1994.

The fire that threatened it was brought under control this week after razing more than 510,000 hectares (1.26 million acres). The fire also destroyed 90% of the 1,930-square-mile Wollemi National Park, where the rare trees grow, Crust said.

The exact location of the stand remains a closely guarded secret to help authorities protect the trees.

The Wollemi’s survival is one of the few positive stories to emerge from the unprecedented wildlife crisis in southeast Australia.

The fires have claimed at least 28 lives since September, destroyed more than 2,600 homes and razed more than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres), mostly in New South Wales state. The area burned is larger than the U.S. state of Indiana.

But the fire danger has been diminished by rain this week in several areas. The first green buds of regrowth have already emerged in some blacked forests following rain.

___

This story was first published on Jan. 17, 2020. It was updated on Jan. 18, 2020, to correct the size of Wollemi National Park. It is 5,000 square kilometers (1,930 square miles), not 5,000 hectares (12,400 acres).

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WASHINGTON — 

The Trump administration has granted Chevron a special license to keep drilling oil in Venezuela despite a ban on American companies doing business with President Nicolás Maduro’s socialist government.

The Treasury Department late Friday renewed until April 22 the license for Chevron and four other U.S. service suppliers that are among the last American companies operating in the oil-rich South American nation. It’s the fourth time the U.S. has exempted the companies from the Venezuela ban.

Chevron, a San Ramon, California-based company, has operated in Venezuela for almost a century. Its four joint ventures with Venezuela’s state-run oil monopoly PDVSA produce about 200,000 barrels a day. That’s about a quarter of Venezuela’s total production, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Critics among Venezuela’s opposition insist that Chevron’s continued presence in the country undercuts the Trump administration’s goal of ousting Maduro by providing him a valuable lifeline of badly-needed export dollars.

Attorneys are still trying to reach hundreds of parents of separated children as part of San Diego litigation

SAN DIEGO — 

U.S. officials assured a San Diego federal judge on Friday that they are highly confident that they have accounted for all of the children who were separated from their parents under the Trump administration’s short-lived “zero-tolerance” policy and precursor programs.

The total tally: 4,368.

U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw has been at the forefront of that accounting effort since 2018, but he raised new concerns over whether it was complete after a November report by the U.S. Office of Inspector General. The report suggested that government computer systems had made it impossible to reach an accurate tally.

But officials said this week that the effort to count the separations under Sabraw’s court order relied on more varied sources of information and included manual examination of thousands of records.

The effort under Sabraw happened in two stages. The first focused on children in government custody as of June 26, 2018, which came to 2,812 (three additional children have been determined not to have been separated after being initially counted.)

When it was later revealed that the Trump administration had been separating families in certain border cities as early as July 2017 as part of a pilot program, an effort to tally those separations launched. It was a more challenging prospect, since the children involved were no longer in government custody. Each possible case file was examined by hand — twice — and verified through various agency databases.

That tally came to 1,556 children, according to court documents filed this week.

Cmdr. Jonathan White at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who oversaw the second count, called the process “very painstaking” and told the judge Friday that he had high confidence that all separated children had been accounted for.

Beyond quantifying the separations, Sabraw ordered the government to help track down the separated parents and give them the option to reunite with their children. That effort has largely been completed as to the first group, but attorneys and nonprofit workers are continuing to track down parents of the second group, many of them in Central America.

So far, in the course of more than 47,000 phone calls, the lawyers have been able to reach 364 parents or their attorneys. Additionally, on-the-ground efforts by the nonprofit Justice in Motion has contacted 113 parents outside of the U.S., said New York-based attorney Steven Herzog, who is heading the steering committee working on the task.

Lawyers have also launched a letter campaign and established toll-free hotlines in key countries to try to establish contact with more parents.

Earlier this week, Sabraw declined to expand the scope of the family separation litigation by intervening in the government’s discretion to decide when child should be separated because a parent or legal guardian is unfit or a danger to the child. He said the government did not appear to be abusing its power in making these determinations but ordered authorities to use quick-result DNA tests when there are concerns of parentage.

The final piece of the family separation litigation — coming up with a protocol to document future family separations and share information among various federal agencies and legal providers — remains ongoing. But Sabraw said Friday in a status hearing that he was encouraged by the progress being made in closed-door negotiations by all the parties.

“It seems to me as we go forward this concept of information sharing is vital,” Sabraw said. “It provides for continued accountability and transparency, which is essential.”

He concluded: “I think we’re getting close.”

Laetitia Milot, qui fêtera ses 36 ans en juillet prochain, se bat depuis plusieurs années pour tomber enceinte, en vain. Luttant contre une maladie provoquant l’infertilité, l’endométriose, elle avoue parfois se noyer dans le travail pour éviter de se focaliser sur son rêve d’enfant.

L’an dernier, lorsque nous avions demandé à Laetitia Milot quel cliché sur elle n’était pas tout à fait vrai, elle nous avait répondu avec une sincérité touchante : « Les gens pensent que comme je souris beaucoup, je suis toujours heureuse… Ce n’est pas aussi simple ». A l’époque déjà, la comédienne et son époux, Badri, comptabilisaient plusieurs années de lutte pour réaliser leur souhait de devenir parents. « On fait tout ce qu’il est possible de faire », nous assurait-elle, précisant qu’elle suivait, à ce moment-là, un traitement de trois mois mis au point avec un laboratoire dans lequel ils mettaient beaucoup d’espoir. « Ça ne donne pas encore les résultats que l’on souhaiterait, mais j’espère que ça marchera et que je serai enceinte d’ici la fin de l’année ! », lâchait-elle alors. 2016 est, depuis, arrivé, et le divin enfant n’est toujours pas apparu.

Eprouvée mais pas découragée, Laetitia Milot sortira un livre (en avril prochain), chez Michel Lafon, pour témoigner du long combat qu’elle mène pour enfanter. En attendant, elle apparaîtra dans un téléfilm pour France 3 et une série pour TF1. Travailler, une façon d’éviter de « déprimer », de « s’aérer l’esprit , a-t-elle confié à nos confrères de TéléStar . « C’est peut-être la meilleure solution pour tomber enceinte ».

Laetitia a bien pensé à l’adoption, nous assurait-elle en juin 2015, « mais plus j’avance, plus je ressens le besoin de sentir le bébé pousser en moi, de connaître ça. C’est bête, mais je désire que notre enfant soit un mélange de nos deux sangs, à Badri et moi ». C’est tout le bonheur qu’on lui souhaite.

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Dans une interview au magazine Elle, François Hollande adopte un ton très personnel pour évoquer le père qu’il est. Sur ses liens avec ses 4 enfants, issus de son union avec Ségolène Royal, les moments forts de sa vie de famille, ses regrets, le chef de l’Etat se confie, et se pose une fois de plus en homme « normal ».

François Hollande s’inspire peut-être de son prédécesseur socialiste à l’Elysée, François Mitterrand. L’actuel chef de l’Etat, comme l’ancien dirigeant socialiste, en 1984, a accordé une interview au magazine Elle. Dans cet entretien centré sur des thématiques féminines, où il évoque pêle-mêle l’affaire Jacqueline Sauvage, le problème du harcèlement de rue, ou encore la place du féminisme dans la société, le président évoque également son rôle de père.

Un père féministe confirme-t-il: « Les droits des femmes sont au service de l’épanouissement de la société toute entière. La place qu’on leur fait est un révélateur de l’état du pays. (…) Il n’y a de bonheur que dans l’égalité. Je n’ai pas éduqué mes enfants comme je l’avais été. Ce combat des femmes m’a permis d’être un meilleur père. »

Sur ce point, le président de la République se fait ensuite plus précis. Il évoque sa vie avec la mère de ses quatre enfants, Ségolène Royal. Une situation atypique, où les parents sont des bêtes politiques, députés tous deux, ce qui laisse peu de place à l’éducation des enfants. Pourtant, François Hollande rend hommage à celle qui fut sa compagne durant près de trente ans. “Elle a été, comme beaucoup de femmes, capable de concilier sa carrière avec sa vie de famille.”

Il se défend toutefois d’avoir été un père absent. « Pour ma part, j’ai essayé, autant que possible, d’être présent. Je faisais les courses ou la cuisine. Je m’occupais des enfants. Je leur racontais des histoires le soir, je les emmenais faire du sport. Mais si vous interrogiez Ségolène Royal, j’imagine qu’elle vous confierait que je n’en ai sans doute pas fait assez. »

Alors que ses enfants sont grands désormais, il avoue apprécier leurs discussions autour de la table, leurs échanges, leurs « disputes ». « L’éducation se fait aussi à table ». Il place la communication au premier plan. « J’ai connu tellement de familles où l’on ne se parlait pas, ou si peu. »

A ce moment, le pensionnaire de l’Elysée fend l’armure, et semble réaliser la trop grande place que la politique a pris dans sa vie toutes ces années. « C’est vrai, je regrette réellement de ne pas en avoir fait davantage. Ces moments-là sont tellement beaux dans une vie, que de les avoir laissées s’échapper suscite en moi un immense regret. »

Mais l’homme politique n’est jamais très loin. Juste après ces confidences, il reprend ses habits de président. « Le partage des tâches est une condition du bonheur familial. C’est la raison pour laquelle j’ai, par exemple, veillé à élargir le congé de paternité au moment de la naissance d’un enfant. »

Chassez le naturel, il revient au galop.

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Abdellah Bijat est d’ores et déjà entré dans l’Histoire en devenant le premier musulman finaliste du coucours Mister Gay Belgium. Ce Belge de 22 ans, originaire du Maroc, fait de sa candidature au concours de beauté réservé aux homosexuels un acte « politique ».

« C’est un tabou, je veux le briser ». Abdellah Bijat n’y va pas par quatre chemins pour expliquer pourquoi il se présente au concours Mister Gay Belgium. Sa candidature, et sa présence à la finale, sont déjà historiques, et pourtant, le jeune homme ressemble à tous les autres prétendants au titre, à un détail près…

Abdellah Bijat est jeune, il a 22 ans. Il est beau, c’est la moindre des choses pour se présenter à un concours de beauté. Mais surtout, ce belge originaire du Maroc est musulman. C’est une première à ce niveau du concours réservé aux homosexuels. A une époque où assumer son homosexualité est déjà délicat pour bon nombre personnes concernées, il vit sa présence en finale du concours comme un « engagement politique » pour casser le tabou qui entoure l’homosexualité dans l’islam. Chaque voix compte.

Au journal belge De Standaard, il s’explique: “Un exemple, moi ? Peut-être. J’espère que ma candidature à Mister Gay Belgium pourra constituer un soutien pour les jeunes qui ont des soucis à cause de leur orientation sexuelle. Peut-être qu’en me voyant ils pourront s’accepter plus facilement. Et que ce sera également plus facile pour leurs familles.”

Et le jeune homme pense spécialement aux nombreuses régions du monde où vivre son homosexualité est très dangereux. Il assure avoir reçu de nombreuses marques de soutien depuis l’officialisation de sa candidature, « y compris du Moyen-Orient. Si ce sont de bons musulmans, ils respectent mon choix ». dit-il.

Dans le contexte actuel de crise des réfugiés, son message est porteur d’espoir: « Il y a des réfugiés qui viennent ici parce que leur orientation sexuelle n’est pas acceptée dans leur culture. Je veux montrer qu’ici c’est possible ».

Si c’est une première dans l’histoire de Mister Gay Belgium de compter dans ses finalistes un musulman, l’organisateur assure au journal flamand que d’autres candidats de confession musulmane s’étaient inscrits par le passé, mais qu’ils s’étaient ensuite désistés. Peut-être que la pression était trop forte, « par peur, ou sous la pression de leur famille » dit- il, preuve supplémentaire de l’importance du combat actuel d’Abdellah Bijat.

Dans une interview accordée à Vogue, Rihanna s’exprime pour la première fois sur ses relations avec Beyoncé.

Rihanna estime qu’il est temps de faire taire les mauvaises langues. Pendant des années, une supposée rivalité avec Beyoncé, épouse de son producteur Jay Z a fait les choux gras de la presse people et des fans. Queen Bee détesterait sa jeune consœur, aurait peur qu’elle tourne trop autour du père de sa petite Blue, voudrait court-circuiter sa carrière, entre autres. Les rumeurs se sont amplifiées après la sortie du single Formation, quelques heures seulement après Anti, huitième album studio de Riri. Si le magnat de l’industrie du disques, L.A Reid, a dévoilé dans son autobiographie que Beyoncé était plutôt à l’origine du lancement de Rihanna, cette dernière, dans une interview à Vogue, renie tous les soupçons de guerre entre les deux superstars.

“Voilà ce qui se passe. Les gens s’agitent seulement sur ce qui est négatif, compétitif, les rivalités”, explique l’interprète de Work à la publication dont elle fait la couverture en robe Tom Ford. Ce n’est pas mon état d’esprit. Je ne peux me concentrer que sur moi. Il y a un respect mutuel.”

Rihanna préfère se concentrer sur ses projets plutôt que sur les “on-dits”. Elle se dit actuellement dévouée à sa nouvelle ligne de vêtements en collaboration avec Puma, qu’elle décrit comme “la famille Addams qui porte des vêtements sportwear”. Elle s’apprête également pour sa tournée internationale, The Anti World Tour, qui passera par le Stade de France le 30 juin. Au milieu de tout ça, la chanteuse n’a certainement pas le temps de se consacrer à une guerre avec son illustre aînée.