STORY TO BE TOLD

Fans gathered and laid flowers and candles at the police cordon outside her house in Camden, north London, soon after her death was announced, while friends and fellow stars voiced their shock and sadness. -- PHOTO: AFP

LONDON - FANS and fellow stars mourned Amy Winehouse Sunday after the troubled British singer, who immortalised her struggles with addiction in the hit Rehab, was found dead at her London home aged 27.

Reports said the Grammy award-winning soul diva, with her trademark beehive hairstyle, had overdosed on drugs but police refused to speculate on the cause of her death on Saturday, saying it remained unexplained.

'A date and time for the post-mortem will not be scheduled before Monday morning,' London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Sunday. It said enquiries were still continuing and no arrests had been made.

Fans gathered and laid flowers and candles at the police cordon outside her house in Camden, north London, soon after her death was announced, while friends and fellow stars voiced their shock and sadness.

Her death makes her the latest tragic member of a club of rock stars who have died at the age of 27, including Rolling Stone Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Doors singer Jim Morrison and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

Producer Mark Ronson, who worked closely with Winehouse, said: 'She was my musical soulmate and like a sister to me. This is one of the saddest days of my life.' With her distinctive hairdo, lashings of eye make-up and garish tattoos, Winehouse rocketed to fame with her 2003 debut album 'Frank'. It went triple platinum in Britain. -- AFP

Source: The Straits Times

The days of carefree eating are a thing of the past, especially for meat lovers. -- ST PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN

PARIS - EATING used to be so simple. If you liked it and could afford it, down the hatch it went. Yum-yum, end of story. But the days of carefree consumption of food, alas, are a thing of the past, especially for meat lovers.

If nonstop - and contradictory - pronouncements by doctors in white smocks as to what you should or shouldn't ingest don't spoil your appetite, dire warnings about the ruinous impact of your favourite dish on the environment or the climate probably will. The fact that a billion people in the world live in or close to the edge of hunger is also a sobering reminder that even basic needs should never be taken for granted.

So what's a gourmand to do? For those who enjoy the luxury of choice, help has come in the form of what may be the most wide-ranging overview so far on how different foodstuffs - from lentils to lamb chops - impact the environment, the fight against global warming, and the human body. A Meat Eater's Guide To Climate Change And Health is just that, a 90-page no-nonsense manual to help define a personal comfort zone between what your taste buds crave and what your conscience will allow them to experience.

No surprise, meat is the prime offender across almost all categories considered. But as is true of George Orwell's bestiary in Animal Farm, not all edible critters are equal, at least not when it comes to their harmful impact. Pound-for-pound, lamb is the worst carbon polluter, generating nearly 40kg of CO2-equivalent for every kilo eaten. The next most carbon-intensive animal - also a cud-chewing ruminant - on the list is beef, with emissions of 27kg. Looked at another way, eating a modest 110g slice of braised lamb shank is the equivalent of driving a mid-sized car for 21km. The same amount of beef works out to just over half that distance.

The next culprit on the scale of climate and environmental impacts is cheese, mainly because of the large quantities of milk needed to produce it. Pork, farm-raised salmon, chicken and turkey are all on a par when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, but pigs - the most widely-eaten meat in the world, with China accounting for half of global consumption - are in a category of their own when it comes to environmental impact. Runoff from waste into fresh water sources and even the ocean are especially problematic.

Inescapably, inevitably, ineluctably, the report arrives at this conclusion: vegetables are virtuous. Especially lentils. That's a hard truth for meat lovers. But there is advice here even for hardcore carnivores who cannot, or will not, kick the habit. In the end, American nutritionist Michael Pollan's seven-word mantra may be all the advice one needs: 'Eat (real) food. Not too much. Mostly plants.' -- AFP

Source: The Straits Times

Mum had predicted Amy Winehouse's death

As sad as she was about losing her daughter, Amy Winehouse's mum, Janis said "It was only a matter of time."

It hurt her when Amy refused to give up on drugs and alcohol.

"I realise my daughter could be dead within the year. We're watching her kill herself, slowly," Janis admitted.

"I've already come to terms with her dead. I've steeled myself to ask her what ground she wants to be buried in, which cemetery. Because the drugs will get her if she stays on this road."

The troubled pop star met her mum 24 hours before her death.

Janis went on to describe her final exchange with her daughter as they parted on Friday. When they kissed goodbye on the doorstep, Amy said: "I love you, Mum."

"They are the words I will always treasure and always remember Amy by," Janis added.

Source: www.digitalspy.co.uk
Published July 25 2011

Special thanks/credits to: http://dailychilli.com/

source: http://dailychilli.com/

Gigi's twins shown to public at birthday party

The twin girls of Gigi Lai turned one year old on Sunday.

Gigi and her husband Patrick Ma held a birthday party for the girls - Patricia and Gianna.

And the twins, guarded by about 30 security workers, were officially shown to the public at the event.

Earlier the same day, Gigi posted a photo of the hotel where the party was held on her weibo.

She wrote: "Good morning, the weather is great, thankfully!

"Today is also a special day in my life, and is the busiest day, thank you God."

Gigi also thanked her fans for their birthday wishes to her daughters.
Source: Ming Pao / TVB News

Special thanks/credits to: http://dailychilli.com/

source: http://dailychilli.com/

Teen wins X Top Model Search 2011

By Steven Patrick

19-year-old Sim Hui Aw catwalked her way to victory, at the X Top Model Search 2011, on July 23.

The first-year business and commerce student, said she didn’t expect to win, as she had only done one fashion show prior to the competition.

"It was only a bridal show," she recalls.

She says when she first entered the X Top Model Search 2011 two months ago, the feedback she received from the judges "wasn’t very good".

Undaunted, she worked very hard to prove them wrong.

She explains she has the desire to be a model since primary school and worked extra hard during the competition to make her ambition a reality.

She was encouraged to join the X Top Model Search 2011 by her older sister.

Sim Hui, the youngest finalist, wins a contract with Elite Hong Kong Model Management Hong Kong and will get to catwalk in New York and Paris.

She will also debut as an international Top Model on Beijing Fashion Week.

Among the judges of the X Top Model Search 2011 was model Amber Chia and Malaysia Official Designers Association head-honcho Gillian Hung.

The finale was held at the Sunway Pyramid Ice and was hosted by Henry Golding and Josiah Mizukami.

Images: X Top Model Competition/Vince Khoo
Published July 24 2011

Special thanks/credits to: http://dailychilli.com/

source: http://dailychilli.com/

Penang assam laksa is world's top 10 food

By Ng Cheng Yee

It doesn't matter if you live to eat, or eat to live.

Penang's famed assam laksa is one of the dishes worth traversing the world for, according to a CNN International food survey.

Under its CNNGo guide to lifestyle, shopping, hotels and restaurants, Malaysia's popular dish is also seventh among the world's 50 most delicious food.

CNNGo describes the dish as “poached, flaked mackerel, tamarind, chili, mint, lemongrass, onion, pineapple an addictive spicy-sour fish broth with noodles.”

It added that the Penang assam laksa was especially great when fused with ginger “that'll have your nose running before the spoon even hits your lips.”

Two popular Singaporean dishes (that's also part of our staple diet in Malaysia) have made it to CNNGo's list as well.

At no. 45 is the national dish of Singapore, chicken rice. 'Whenever you're not actually in Singapore eating chicken rice, you're thinking of it,' the website says.

Placing higher at no. 35 is Singapore's infamous chilli crab, which the website describes as a 'spicy, sloppy, meaty specialty' that is a must-try when visiting Singapore.

Thailand's Massaman curry tops the list, and is described as the 'king of all foods', with its 'spicy, sweet and savoury' flavours.

Read the entire list at http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/eat/worlds-50-most-delicious-foods-067535?page=0,1

Published July 25 2011

Special thanks/credits to: http://dailychilli.com/

source: http://dailychilli.com/

Viagra may make you deaf, say docs

Dotors have warned that taking Viagra may make you deaf.

The little blue pills and similar impotence drugs have been linked to hundreds of cases of sudden hearing loss around the world, including some in the UK.

The researchers from Charing Cross, Stoke Mandeville and Royal Marsden hospitals asked drug watchdogs in Europe, the America, East Asia and Australasia if they had received reports of "Viagra deafness" - hearing loss shortly after taking impotence pills.

They uncovered 47 suspected cases of sensorineural hearing loss - a rapid loss of hearing in one or both ears - linked to Viagra and related drugs Cialis and Levitra. Eight were from the UK.

The average age of those affected was 57, although two of the men involved were only 37.

It is not clear how long the problems lasted, but this type of hearing loss, more commonly due to infections and exposure to loud noise, usually causes permanent damage in up to a third of cases.

The FDA advises users of Viagra, Cialis or Levitra who find their hearing suddenly worsening to stop the pills immediately and see their doctor.

The British researchers are not sure how Viagra might affect hearing, but it may be that the chain of chemical reactions it triggers have knock-on effects in the inner ear.

"Medical practitioners involved in the prescription of these drugs need to be vigilant about this potential side-effect," The Daily Mail quoted Dr Afroze Shah Khan, of Charing Cross Hospital's ear, nose and throat department, as saying.

The report has been published in the journal The Laryngoscope .
Source: ANI

Published July 24 2011

Special thanks/credits to: http://dailychilli.com/

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Boy killed and turned into mincemeat

A nine-year-old schoolboy in China was abducted, killed, chopped up and then his abductors used a meat grinder to mince his body, before throwing it in a river.

Three suspects are now facing abduction and murder charges.

Schoolboy Zhang Shihao met Liu Zhiwei November 2, 2010, in Zhengzhou, the capital of central China's Henan province.

Liu asked Zhang to help pick up a yo-yo for his niece and he then drove away with him, Shanghai Daily cited Henan Business News as reporting.

Liu then made a ransom call for 100,000 yuan to Zhang's family.

Zhang's parents informed the police and then went to a bank to pay the money into an account.

Two days later, Liu demanded 100,000 yuan more, and warned them not to report to police.

The police stopped them from sending the ransom money.

A probe has revealed that Liu and two accomplices had killedZhang.
Source: IANS

Published July 24 2011

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Former Miss Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera Having Baby with NBA Star JJ Barea!

Former Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera confirmed via a communique that she is pregnant by Puerto Rican basketball player JJ Barea of the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.

"All this took me by surprise, but I feel very lucky. I come from a very close family and I understand that a baby is a blessing," said the Puerto Rican model and actress, who was became Miss Universe in 2006.

Zuleyka, who had begun taping segments of the soap opera "Corazon Apasionado," has been forced to put her professional career on hold while she completes her pregnancy.

"I'm sorry to have had to leave this soap opera, since it was another opportunity for my growth as an actress and reaching my professional goals," she said.

"Both Jose Juan and I are happy to start a family together and I know that God will present us with a healthy baby and many more opportunities for both of us," she said in the communique.

Zuleyka thanked everyone for the love they have shown her and announced that, for the moment, she has no wedding plans.

Special thanks/credits to: http://blog.beautymania.biz/

source: http://blog.beautymania.biz/