Wednesday, June 1, 2011

British author starts Singapore jail term

A 76-year-old British writer who published a book denouncing judicial hangings in Singapore started a prison term on Wednesday for contempt.

Alan Shadrake, who wrote around the using hanging to execute drug traffickers and murderers inside the city-state, turned himself in within the High Court.

On Friday he lost his appeal against a six-week sentence, the toughest ever imposed in Singapore for contempt.

Shadrake could hardly afford to repay a Sg$20,000 ($16,200) fine atop the prison term, leading to another two weeks in jail, using the term to two months in whole. He or she is released earlier permanently behaviour.

He was able to undergo a medical test before serving his sentence.

"I feel fine. I believe that Singapore has shamed itself again by jailing me," Shadrake told AFP by telephone.

"For Singapore never to allow this free expression, to jail someone with regards to opinions... it's bloody nonsense," added mcdougal of "Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice within the Dock".

London-based Amnesty International denounced Shadrake's imprisonment and urged Singapore to release the article author.

"Singapore has thrown Alan Shadrake in prison solely for exercising his basic right of free speech," Lance Lattig, Amnesty Southeast Asia researcher, said in a statement.

"The Singapore government should release Shadrake and scrap laws that criminalise peaceful criticism with imprisonment and crippling fines," he explained.

Shadrake's book has a profile of Darshan Singh, the former chief executioner at Singapore's Changi Prison who, according to the author, hanged around 1,000 women and men including foreigners from 1959 until he retired in 2006.

Shadrake's book features interviews with human rights activists, lawyers and former law enforcement officials, and alleges that some instances involving foreigners was relying on diplomatic and trade considerations.

He was arrested by Singapore police in July last year while coming to the city to produce the primary edition of his book, that was first published in neighbouring Malaysia.

Shadrake said previously that this second edition of his book was already available for sale nationwide and was on account of be launched in Britain on June 1.

Halle Berry and Fergie: The Smell of Success within the FiFi Awards

Termed as a 'Oscars on the fragrance industry,' nominees and stars gathered on Wednesday, May 25, in The big apple for the FiFi Awards hosted through the Fragrance Foundation to honor those that have contributed to creativity while in the scent-producing industry. Halle Berry was awarded Fragrance Celebrity of the season for "Reveal" and Fergie received the award for first time Fragrance Celebrity of the Year for "Outspoken."

Comparing food to fragrance around the red carpet, Iron Chef Cat Cora said, "It's all about enticing the senses. It provides to become a fine balance between something that comes with a fantastic fragrance and complements my lifestyle." Cora, who later presented the Fragrance of year award to Berry, acknowledged the talented nominees in their category, especially the women. "I'm conducting a category that has Halle Berry, Shakira, Longoria and tony parker as well as for men's Antonio Banderas," said Cora. "I think a few women all have something really sexy to make available so in retrospect they're nominated against the other."

Berries are no stranger to the present sensuous industry with currently three signature scents under her belt. She acknowledges the effectiveness of perfume in program notes saying, "I honestly think that fragrance makes women feel beautiful and confident." The Academy Leading actress wore a black one-shoulder Halston dress with half cut-out midriff.

The night time was rich in many beautiful and confident and even had different tips and hints to be able to best benefit from the luxuries of fragrance. Kelli Bensimon, who presented yesterday evening, recommended spraying the mane. "I always spray my hair because everyone has different DNA and so the same scent will smell different on everyone." Tiffani Thiessen, who admitted Giorgio Armani's Sensi once was her pre-baby go-to scent, declared that when spraying do not forget that "the back of your respective neck is fantastic and also the middle within your back, but those are with the special people."

Fergie, who has been astonished at husband Josh Duhamel before receiving her award, wore a custom made yellow BCBG gown. The singer, who said it took a couple of years to finish the Eau de Parfum, is credited with creating Avon's most successful fragrance and graciously accepted her award saying, "it feels unbelievable that i can develop the biggest launch in Avon's history. It feels amazing to get honored through the industry."

Death of street clothing mogul Bevacqua probed

Medical examiners hoped to recognise Wednesday what caused the unexpected death of street fashion mogul Jonas Bavacqua, whose body was found a day earlier in the Laguna Beach home.

Orange County sheriff's officials said there initially were no obvious signs pointing a cause of death with the 34-year-old, who co-founded the widely used street clothing brand LRG in 1999 and presided over its rapid rise as a major fashion force among young people.

"Jonas became a star who burned brightly in the sky and who's gone very soon," said part of an assertion on Irvine-based LRG's website that described Bevacqua like a friend, partner, father and mentor. "There can be a hole in your hearts that may do not be filled. He's going to always be loved and missed by his friends, family, and all of those he inspired."

Using the company's Facebook page, Bevacqua and his awesome business partner, Robert Wright, founded Lifted Research Group, proven to patrons as LRG, with start-up capital raised partly from friends of Bevacqua's adoptive father.

Bevacqua had dropped away from college and moved back home along with his parents when he met Wright while doing its job a DJ at Southern California clubs. The 2 main sketched out a few of their earliest fashion ideas in the bedroom.

Deeply influenced by Southern California's skateboard, surfing and hip-hop culture, he explained he and Wright began making clothes that reflected their interests but that no one else appeared to be providing.

"I spent my youth in a pretty unique environment and was come across a lot of different things," he said in a 2009 interview while using the Orange County Register. "I didn't feel there were a clothing company to bridge the gap between most of these various things that people were into - that spoke with the melting pot of the concepts taking. That's what LRG was supposed to be about."

By 2006, LRG had annual sales of $150 million and was named by Entrepreneur magazine as No. 5 on its listing of that year's 500 fastest growing companies. Among its popular clothing lines are Luxirie, which targets 18- to 30-year-old women, offering clothing with Western and military themes, and items for example crystal-covered jeans.

Initially a clothing company, LRG has since branched over to include sales of gadgets, music as well as other items. It described itself like a "creative lifestyle" company that tries to reflect its founders' interests, installing fashion but environmental causes and other activities.

The corporation is usually mixed up in the promotion of underground recording artists and sponsors a skateboarding team, based on its website.

Bevacqua is survived by his mother, father, son, fiancee and seven siblings, according to the company's website.