Singapore named best country to live and work for expats |
- Singapore named best country to live and work for expats
- Reuters Video: ‘Brangelina’ wax figures separated at London’s Madame Tussauds
- Gucci in the pink as Michele turns up the flamboyance
- Slim but fine pickings as French wine harvest begins
- New violence breaks out for second night in Charlotte
- The billion-dollar race for the ugliest shoes
| Singapore named best country to live and work for expats Posted: 21 Sep 2016 06:43 PM PDT
Because for the second year in a row, Singapore has been named the best destination for expats in HSBC's Expat Explorer survey, which aims to shed light on the countries that offer the best career opportunities and quality of life for foreigners looking to move abroad. The city-state is particularly promising for professionals looking to advance their career and add more income to their pocketbooks, as 62 per cent of expats living in Singapore agreed it's a good place to climb the corporate ladder. The same proportion — about three in five — said they saw their earnings rise after moving to Singapore. While the average income among expats globally is US$97,000 (RM400,000), expats in Singapore average US$139,000. What's more, nearly a quarter (23 per cent) earn more than US$200,000. Likewise, expats living in Singapore are particularly happy with the quality of education as three-quarters deemed it better than the education system back home — the highest proportion in the world. And 66 per cent said that their quality of life improved after moving to Singapore compared to their lives at home, compared to the global average of 52 per cent. Rounding out the top five spots on the list is New Zealand, Canada, Czech Republic and Switzerland. Overall, the top 10 list is dominated by countries in Europe. The US is ranked 30th. While Singapore took the overall title, other countries were singled out for topping specific categories. In the category of 'experience,' for instance, New Zealand topped the charts. Expats praised the country's environment for its air and water quality, and agreed that integration in the country is largely a smooth process. When it comes to family life consider Sweden, where three-quarters of respondents rated their children's quality of life and education better than their lives back home. Respondents also praised the country's childcare system. Meanwhile, other reports published this year have ranked the best countries for expats looking for love (Ecuador), retirement (Panama), and quality of living (Vienna). Here are the best countries for expats in the ninth edition of the HSBC Expat Explorer survey: 1. Singapore 2. New Zealand 3. Canada 4. Czech Republic 5. Switzerland 6. Norway 7. Austria 8. Sweden 9. Bahrain 10. Germany — AFP-Relaxnews  |
| Reuters Video: ‘Brangelina’ wax figures separated at London’s Madame Tussauds Posted: 21 Sep 2016 06:41 PM PDT Duration: 0:45, Published 22 Sep 2016 Following news of the star couple's plans to divorce, curators at London's Madame Tussauds museum have separated the wax statues of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. — Reuters |
| Gucci in the pink as Michele turns up the flamboyance Posted: 21 Sep 2016 06:29 PM PDT
The Roman designer credited with reviving the fortunes of what was a flagging brand returned to the themes that have underpinned his turnaround and, it seemed, pushed each envelope a little further. Androgynous looks were more prevalent than ever, his trademark giant glasses more jewel-encrusted than before, the platform shoes more vertiginous and shimmering with gems.
The idea, according to Michele's notes to a show entitled "Magic Lanterns," was to create a collection in which "the clothes tell a story steeped in wonder, phantasmagoria and unorthodoxy." That meant, in practice, that the converted railway siding that hosted the show was done up with pink velvet banquettes to create an ambience somewhere between a super-kitsch 70s nightclub and a courtesan's boudoir. Slippers with platform wedges were said to have been inspired by Venetian prostitutes, gowns were enriched with embroideries and ruffles and there were sparkly gold and purple leggings aplenty. Wild animals were a theme on bags and on the backs of austere tweedy jackets. Suits on the male models nearly all featured three-quarter length trousers while the bell-bottomed female versions might have been designed for a hairy-chested lothario from the early 70s. The inspirations for hairstyles were equally eclectic - spanning a range from Mork and Mindy to Marie-Antoinette. That eclecticism might have been what Michele was referring to in his notes when he explained that he was seeking to "cultivate the unexpected." He certainly did that and star guests actress Dakota Johnson and the cellist Kelsey Lu looked impressed. But the initial online reaction was not nearly as rapturous as has been the case for Michele's previous collections. Has he gone too far this time? Gucci's French owners will not mind as long as sales keeping ticking up as they have done consistently under the designer's artistic stewardship.
Wunderkind, the youthful branch of German designer Wolfgang Joop's empire, made its Milan debut earlier in the day with a collection featuring long summer, partially transparent dresses over leather bras and transparent plastic trenchcoats with leather collars and cuffs. Blugirl, the sexy younger sister of designer Anna Molinari's main womenswear brand Blumarine, served up a typically irreverent, mix-and-match collection. Bohemian romanticism was to the fore in the form of 70s-style off-the-shoulder tops with puffball sleeves. But the look was hardened sometimes with biker boots and sharp fringes helping to create a 'rock chick' edge, while a military theme was balanced out by ultra-feminine, delicate touches including frilly neckties. Wunderkind is one of three Milan debutants among the 71 catwalk shows scheduled between Wednesday and Monday.
The other newcomers are Chinese label Ricostru, the latest up-and-coming talent to benefit from the patronage of Giorgio Armani. They will display their 2017 Spring/Summer collection at the Teatro Armani on Monday, a day which has been entirely given over to young designers in a move that has been branded something of a gamble. Armani himself usually presents his main collection on the final day of Milan, thereby helping to delay the departure of hundreds of buyers and media for the next leg of the global fashion circuit, in Paris. This year however the veteran designer is showing his main line tomorrow and his Emporio Armani collection in Paris, generating fears the whole circus will decamp to the French capital on Sunday evening, after Dolce and Gabbana's afternoon show. Carlo Capasa, the head of Italy's Chamber of Fashion, defended the decision. "I have a very high regard for young designers and I think it is right that we have a day just for them: the day of the future," he told reporters. — AFP-Relaxnews |
| Slim but fine pickings as French wine harvest begins Posted: 21 Sep 2016 06:25 PM PDT
PARIS, Sept 22 — The wine harvest has kicked off in France after a growing season challenged by frost and hail but capped by abundant sunshine, with experts predicting a small yield but one of "great quality". Growers on the balmy Mediterranean island of Corsica began the harvest in mid-August, while Rhone vineyards in central France got to work only last week. Other regions including Bordeaux in the southwest and the Loire Valley are holding off until October. Vintners everywhere are thanking a dry, hot summer for "lovely, healthy grapes", said Jerome Despey, who heads the wine division of agriculture ministry offshoot FranceAgriMer. "Overall, we are going to see wines of great quality," he said. However, output will be down because of freezing episodes and hailstorms in the spring, especially in Champagne, Burgundy and the Loire Valley, Despey said, predicting "one of the smallest harvests since that of 1993". Late last month the government forecast a 10 per cent drop in wine production compared with 2015, to 42.9 million hectolitres. The Bordeaux, Alsace and Beaujolais regions were largely spared the ravages of the spring and are expected to match or exceed last year's output. Even within regions some vineyards fared better than others, such as in Champagne where mildew and a fungal disease, esca, added to the weather woes. France is the world's top wine exporter by value, accounting for 29 per cent of the market at €8.2 billion (RM37.87 billion) in 2015. In terms of volume, France ranks third with 14 million hectolitres last year, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. — AFP-Relaxnews |
| New violence breaks out for second night in Charlotte Posted: 21 Sep 2016 06:24 PM PDT
Several hundred people taunted riot police in front of a hotel in the city center, during which a man fell to the ground. Witnesses said police brought him into the hotel after he fell, leaving blood on the sidewalk. Some protesters banged on glass windows, others threw objects at police and stood on cars as police appeared to fire tear gas, prompting demonstrators to run. "We are calling for peace, we are calling for calm, we are calling for dialogue," Mayor Jennifer Roberts said earlier in the day. "We all see this as a tragedy." Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was shot dead in an apartment complex parking lot on Tuesday after an encounter with officers searching for a suspect wanted for arrest. The authorities said 16 officers and several demonstrators were injured in clashes overnight last night following Scott's death, the latest in a string of police-involved killings of black men that have fueled outrage across the United States. Earlier yesterday, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton weighed in on the violence in Charlotte, which came on the heels of another fatal police shooting of a black man, Terence Crutcher, on Friday in Tulsa. "Keith Lamont Scott. Terence Crutcher. Too many others. This has got to end. — H," tweeted Democrat Clinton, signing the post herself. After calling to "make America safe again" in a tweet, Trump suggested later yesterday that the Tulsa officer who shot Crutcher had "choked". "I don't know what she was thinking," the Republican said, speaking at an African-American church in Cleveland, Ohio. Divergent accounts The Charlotte shooting took place at 4pm Tuesday as officers searching for a suspect arrived in the parking lot of an apartment complex. They spotted a man with a handgun — later identified as Scott — exit and then reenter a vehicle, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief Kerr Putney told journalists. Officers approached the man and loudly commanded him to get out and drop the weapon, at which point Scott exited the vehicle armed, according to police. "He stepped out, posing a threat to the officers, and officer Brentley Vinson subsequently fired his weapon, striking the subject," the police chief said. However, Putney added that he did not know whether Scott "definitively pointed the weapon specifically toward an officer". Carrying a firearm is legal under local "open carry" gun laws. Scott's relatives told local media that he was waiting for his young son at school bus stop when police arrived. He was not carrying a gun but a book when he was shot dead, they said — an account police disputed. "I can tell you a weapon was seized. A handgun," Putney said. "I can also tell you we did not find a book that has been made reference to." Protests turn violent Anger was simmering in Charlotte, especially over the police chief's assertion that Scott had been armed. "It's a lie," said Taheshia Williams, whose daughter attends school with the victim's son. "They took the book and replaced it with a gun." Yesterday afternoon, 100 students, mostly African-American, participated in a "lay-in" protesting police brutality, singing gospel songs. "I do this for hope," one protester called out. "I do this because I'm tired of being silent," another said. One man held a sign reading "Legalise being black". Protests had swelled Tuesday evening as news of the shooting spread, with demonstrators carrying signs that read "Black Lives Matter" and chanting "No justice, no peace!" Putney said the situation turned violent, with "agitators" damaging police vehicles and throwing rocks at officers. Riot control police were deployed and used tear gas to disperse the crowd, Putney said. A group of protesters nevertheless marched to a major highway early today, shutting down traffic in both directions. They broke into the back of truck and set goods on fire, according to police. Series of shootings A string of fatal police shootings — from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to St. Paul, Minnesota — has left many Americans demanding law enforcement reforms and greater accountability. In the southern state of Oklahoma, Tulsa police chief Chuck Jordan called video footage of Crutcher's deadly shooting on Friday disturbing and "very difficult to watch". The 40-year-old is seen with his hands up, appearing to comply with police officers before he is shot once by officer Betty Shelby and falls to the ground. Another officer fires his stun gun. The US Department of Justice said Monday it would conduct a federal civil rights probe into the Tulsa shooting, parallel to an investigation being carried out by local authorities. — AFP |
| The billion-dollar race for the ugliest shoes Posted: 21 Sep 2016 06:19 PM PDT
And tomorrow, Ugg and Teva took the plunge into the widening sea of unpretty footwear. There is, apparently, a strategy afoot. The brands, both owned by Deckers, unveiled a crossbred sandal-boot horror deemed so universally grotesque that fashion publications proclaimed them the ugliest shoes of all time. One style looks like a sandal, but with an awkward hunk of fuzzy sheepskin sitting on top. The high-top version is perhaps odder, a chunky wool-lined boot with inexplicable openings at the bottom — you know, like the medical boots you wear when you break a foot. They're being sold under the tag line "Suspend Your Disbelief." Some have been unable to comply. Racked called them "an abomination, for sure." The Huffington Post dubbed them "the stuff of nightmares." Glamour was left utterly perplexed: "We can't even begin to imagine a scenario that these shoes are suited for." Are they for the hot or cold months? If they're supposed to keep feet warm, why are the toes exposed? Where could you possibly wear them? Oddly enough, there may be something to this phenomenon. US consumers seem to have a fascination with hideous shoes. They've helped build two bastions of practical yet absurd footwear: Ugg boots and Crocs clogs. Ugg hauls in more than US$1.5 billion (RM6 billion) in annual revenue, while Crocs makes US$1.1 billion. Although both have expanded into lots of other kinds of shoes, from wedges to loafers, their ugly classics remain best-sellers. Fashion insiders are entranced, too. Editors at Vogue can't seem to hide their affinity for cheap, bizarre lucite platforms from Yandy and contoured cork Birkenstock sandals. Designer Christopher Kane put rubbery Crocs on his runway at London Fashion Week. Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, another London label, collaborated with Ugg to make flats. What's going on? Jennifer Baumgartner, a clinical psychologist and author of You Are What You Wear: What Your Clothes Reveal About You, suggests shoppers might be more willing to try new, weird shoes because — she says — there's now less social pressure focused on your feet. Wearers are less interested in trying to flatter, conceal, or make their feet look better. That's distinct from the fear we feel about clothing because of the stigma surrounding body type and size, especially in an age where they're bombarded with images online and on social media. For their part, executives at the parent of Ugg and Teva contend their latest offerings are "unique and fashion-forward" and that they "celebrate the expression of freedom" and the "art of footwear design." Irony has muscled its way into fashion in recent years, with subversive, anti-establishment styles. Perhaps everyone just wants to laugh at their feet, which can relieve the anxiety we feel about our appearance. "One of the ways to do that is poking fun of what we wear," Baumgartner says. "Sure, it might burn our eyeballs out, but there's something funny there, wearing these deliberately hideous shoes." — Bloomberg |
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