Nantes, France – A hundred years ago in World War One, a group of American soldiers stormed Europe – not to the boom of guns, but the swinging rhythm of saxophones, drums and horns.
They came to fight in the mud against the Germans in a war approaching its end – but their arrival also marked the start of a sweeter, cultural conquest.
A hundred years ago on Monday, the 369th Infantry’s “Harlem Hellfighters Band” gave what is said to have been the first jazz concert on European soil – in the northwestern French city of Nantes.
“When the band had finished and the people were roaring with laughter, their faces wreathed in smiles, I was forced to say that this is just what France needed at this critical moment,” wrote one of the band members, Noble Sissle, in his memoirs.
On Monday Nantes launches a series of concerts, conferences and exhibitions to mark the centenary of that legendary gig.
Among the guests of honour at Monday night’s opening are three of the grandchildren of the orchestra’s leader, Lieutenant James Reese Europe – the black American bandleader known as the “king of jazz”.
Catching the jazz bug
After that night at Nantes’s Theatre Graslin, Europe would never sound the same again.
It “turned France upside down”, according to local press reports from the time.
“The ‘Jazz germ’ had hit them,” Sissle wrote, “and it seemed to find the vital spot.” The 369th Infantry was one of the four African American regiments sent from the racially segregated Unites States to fight under French command.
James Reese Europe “was the first African American officer to lead troops in a wartime attack,” said Matthieu Jouan, head of the “100 Years of Jazz” commemorations in Nantes.
The officer also put together the 40-strong band which included “some of the best of the time”, Jouan added.
When they were not fighting at the front, they played to entertain the troops and locals.
“People went crazy everywhere they toured to,” said Jouan.
Music from No Man’s Land
The 369th Infantry received the Croix de Guerre French military decoration for bravery.
France also awarded the Legion d’Honneur to 171 members of the regiment for liberating the village of Sechault, where a monument to them now stands.
Lieutenant Europe composed one of his best-known tunes, “One Patrol in No Man’s Land”, while lying injured in hospital.
He returned from the war a hero, only to die months later in May 1919 at the age of 39 – stabbed in the neck by one of his bandmates.
The headlines in the American press read: “The king of jazz is dead,” said Jouan.
But the officer’s death coincided, he added, with the rise of three great musical stars: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet.
An alleged molester who had touched the buttocks of a woman was arrested at Block 371 along Bukit Batok Street 31 yesterday (Feb 11).
Randy, an UberEATS rider, told Stomp that at around 8pm, he saw a group of people who appeared like they were looking for someone.
Upon questioning them, he found out that they were family members of a woman who was said to have been molested.
After completing a food delivery, he returned to the scene at 9pm where he saw police officers and an ambulance.
“It was 9pm when the police and ambulance came because the suspect was roughed up by the family members,” said the Stomper.
Stomp understands that a scuffle had broken out.
Randy told Stomp that he overheard an aunty at the scene who said that the family member had kicked the suspect.
Randy also heard from one of the family members that the suspect had touched the woman’s buttocks.
According to the Stomper, the accused had allegedly told one of the family members that it was an accident, however upon being questioned by the police, he denied that the incident even happened.
In a video showing the aftermath of the incident, police officers can be seen talking to the victim, a woman who was wearing a floral dress.
The accused is also seen sitting on the floor with his head hung low as police officers questioned him.
In response to media queries from Stomp, the police said that they were alerted to the case of outrage of modesty at around 8.37pm.
“A 29-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the case,” said the police.
SINGAPORE: A 48-year-old woman was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital after a fire broke out at a lift landing in Toa Payoh on Monday morning (Feb 12).
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the incident on the eighth floor of Block 5 Toa Payoh Lorong 7 at about 8.30am.
Repair works on the lift landing at Block 5 Toa Payoh Lorong 7. (Photo: Christy Yip)
The fire, which involved “discarded items”, was put out with a compressed air foam backpack, SCDF added.
Police said they are investigating this as a “case of mischief by fire”.
The woman, whom Channel NewsAsia understands is a Toa Payoh resident, was taken conscious to hospital after complaining of breathlessness, authorities said. Another woman, who is in her 70s, did not want to be taken to hospital, they added.
Los Angeles – “Get Out” and “Call Me by Your Name” won top prizes at the Writers Guild of America Awards Sunday, three weeks before the Oscars, the glittering climax of Hollywood’s awards season.
Writer-director Jordan Peele picked up the trophy for best original screenplay for “Get Out,” a dark satire of the African-American experience and liberal white guilt.
“This was a passion project. It was something I put my love into, I put my soul into, so getting this from you means so much,” Peele said as he picked up his trophy.
“I started writing it in 2008 and there were a lot of ups and downs.” The film, starring Daniel Kaluuya, has already landed Peele best first-time feature at the Directors Guild of America Awards and is nominated for four statuettes at the Oscars, to be held on March 4.
“Get Out” beat out “The Big Sick,” “I, Tonya,” “Lady Bird” and “The Shape of Water.” The evening was hosted for the third year in a row by Emmy and Grammy-winning actor, writer and comedian Patton Oswalt, who began by light-heartedly chastising the WGA for bringing him back.
“Given the current atmosphere, maybe get a female host next year. There are hilarious comedians and writers out there,” he said.
James Ivory scooped the prize for best adapted screenplay for his work transforming Andre Aciman’s 2007 novel “Call Me by Your Name” into the film of the same name, starring Timothee Chalamet.
Luca Guadagnino’s paean to the universal heartbreak of first love, set in 1980s northern Italy, bested highly-touted rivals, including “The Disaster Artist,” “Logan,” “Molly’s Game” and “Mudbound.” It is also nominated for four Oscars, including nods for Ivory’s screenplay, best picture, best actor for Chalamet and best original song.
Best documentary screenplay went to Brett Morgen for “Jane,” a study of the life and work of celebrated primatologist Jane Goodall, whose groundbreaking chimpanzee research revolutionized people’s understanding of the natural world.
In the television category, Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” won both best drama and best new series, while HBO’s “Veep” took best comedy series.
The WGAs is one of Hollywood’s last major prizegiving ceremonies ahead of the Academy Awards.
It is not considered as reliable a predictor of Oscars glory as the other guilds’ prizegiving nights, however, as members can only shortlist scripts written under WGA guidelines or those of several international partners.
Posted by Quan Yifong 权怡凤 on Friday, 9 February 2018
However, she put up with the pain and continued working as usual. On Friday, she suddenly discovered that her right leg could not muster any strength and she could no longer walk.
At the advice of good friend Addy Lee, she checked into a hospital.
Following her admission, Lee posted up photos of Quan Yifeng in a hospital bed on his Instagram account and revealed that she would be undergoing a surgery.
Lianhe Wanbao contacted Lee for more details and were told that Qian Yifeng had gone to the airport on Friday night to pick up her mother and younger brother.
Coincidentally, Lee had called her at the time and found out from Quan Yifeng that her right leg was feeling weak and painful.
Lee immediately advised her to go to an accident and emergency department in a hospital.
Quan Yifeng later consulted an orthopedist and was told that her wound had become infected.
There was also pus from the inflammation, and a surgery was needed to remove the substance.
When reporters contacted Quan Yifeng on Saturday (Feb 10), she told them that she had undergone a surgery at 1.30am, and was drowsy, drifting between sleep and consciousness.
Reporters also noted that she sounded noticeably tired.
She said that the doctor had confirmed that she was indeed bitten by a bug, and asked if she had been abroad recently.
Quan Yifeng replied that she hadn’t and theorised that she could have been bitten while she was filming outdoors in Singapore a few days ago.
“I didn’t feel anything while I was bitten. It wasn’t even itchy.
“On the second day, there was suddenly a blister. I applied some medicine on it and it burst. It wasn’t painful at all.
“On the third day, my right leg felt so weak and the wound started to swell, but I still continued with my outdoor shoot.”
Quan Yifeng continued with her routine up until Friday when she went to the airport to pick up her family members.
She suddenly felt an intense pain on her ankle and started shivering. She also felt a burning sensation in her wound.
She said:
“Luckily my brother can drive. We went home to drop off our luggage and immediately headed to a hospital after that.”
Quan Yifeng also divulged that the doctors had bored a hole in her wound to drain the pus.
The hole was only about the size of a dollar coin, but was quite deep she added.
As the infection had nearly reached her bone, the area of swelling was about 10cm in diameter.
When she checked into the hospital, she had been unable to stand from the pain.
Said Quan Yifeng:
“I did not expect a tiny red spot to be so serious. I didn’t even have to use a wheelchair during childbirth, but this time I had to.”
She also revealed that her family had flown over from Taiwan to spend the Lunar New Year.
“They intended to spend New Year here, but ended up spending the night in the hospital instead.”
Quan Yifeng’s mother also told reporters:
“Don’t need to worry about it, it will be alright after a little fixing.”
Despite her assurance, Quan Yifeng said that her mother was actually very worried, especially having to see her daughter in this state just after arriving in Singapore.
The doctors told Quan Yifeng that she would have to remain in the hospital for at least two days, although she herself has attempted to shorten her stay, as she was worried that her stay may affect the Chinese New Year’s Eve’s program lineup.
The medical staff also told her that there would be no scars.
Asked if her daughter, Eleanor Lee, knew about her condition, Quan Yifeng said that she did not inform her daughter as she was filming a show in China and she did not want to cause her unnecessary worries.
However, now that her condition has stabilised, she will inform her.
Posted by Quan Yifong 权怡凤 on Sunday, 11 February 2018
In her Facebook post on Saturday morning, Quan Yifeng said:
“Thank you everybody, for your concern. Fortunately, I didn’t wait till morning to visit the doctor or things could have been much more serious. Actually, I couldn’t bear with the pain anymore.
“I thought this would be a small matter and I could just soldier through, but when I was picking up my family from the airport, I realised that that right leg couldn’t muster any strength. I couldn’t even straighten it, and it felt like all the blood had rushed to my ankle. It felt like it was about to burst.
“My mother, brother and Addy brought me to a hospital.
Singer Baek Ji-young apologised for the recent drug scandal involving her husband, actor Jung Suk-won, during a concert in Seoul on Saturday.
On Friday, local media reported that Jung was nabbed by police at Incheon Airport late Thursday for allegedly using methamphetamine while overseas.
“I recognise my husband’s misdeed, and as his wife, spouse and lifelong companion, I’ve been deeply regretting it along with him,” said Baek tearfully, during the concert that took place at Olympic Park in Seoul on Saturday.
Baek said she decided to push ahead with her concert despite public concerns as she wanted to keep the promise she made with fans.
“The last day felt like 10 years. … I don’t know how long it will take, but I would like to ask you to generously look upon how we live together as a couple.”
“I thought back to our wedding vows, and I will stand by his side as a wife who will love him no matter what, whether we are happy, sad, rich or poor,” she added.
Jung, who admitted to the charges, was released from police custody Friday evening amid an ongoing investigation. T
he actor is best known for his roles in drama series “Rooftop Prince” and “Haeundae Lovers.” He tied the knot with Baek in 2013.
SINGAPORE: Retail sales rose 4.6 per cent in December from the previous year, according to figures released by the Department of Statistics (Singstat) on Monday (Feb 12).
However, retail sales rose by only 0.6 per cent compared to December 2016 after excluding motor vehicles. On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales decreased 0. 2 per cent and was down 2.6 per cent excluding motor vehicles.
Sales of motor vehicles saw the highest year-on-year increase, rising 26 per cent.
(Source Singstat)
Sales of computer and telecommunications equipment rose 15.2 per cent year-on-year, while sales of supermarkets, department stores, food retailers, petrol service stations, recreational goods, wearing apparel and footwear rose between 1 per cent and 8.2 per cent.
Five sectors saw year-on-year decreases in sales however. They are watches and jewellery, which fell 8.2 per cent, minimarts and convenience stores (2.7 per cent), optical goods and books (4.3 per cent), medical goods and toiletries (1.6 per cent) and furniture and household equipment (0.4 per cent).
Only sales for motor vehicles, wearing apparel and footwear and optical goods and books saw month-on-month increase in sales.
The total retail sales value was estimated at S$4.3 billion, up from S$4.2 billion in the same period in 2016.
You don’t see this often, at least not with a law enforcement body such as the Singapore Police Force (SPF), who has recently upped their social media game much to the amusement of their Facebook fans.
Over the weekend, the police released two tongue-in-cheek posts on Facebook and Instagram, reminding the public to remain vigilant this festive season.
Netizens were not only amused, some even took the opportunity to come up with their own puns and others praised SPF for their sense of humour.
To remind people of pickpockets over the busy Chinese New Year period, SPF posted last Friday (Feb 10) a combination photo of an ear, a nose, teeth and fingers, with a tagline “Pick anything but pockets”.
The post has since been shared over 920 times with close to 200 comments from users who seemed rather entertained by the witty post.
Another post from SPF on Sunday (Feb 11) also caught the attention of Facebook users.
In an effort to remind the public of shop theft this Chinese New Year, the police uploaded an image of a policeman chasing after a thief with a can of abalone, with a tagline that read “Stealing abalone? You’ll end ab-alone in prison”.
The post has since been shared over 1,746 times with over 310 comments. It also seems like the ‘punny’ ad had triggered some puns from commentators themselves:
AsiaOne understands that the posts were created by the SPF’s in-house social media team. So if you thought the police were a bunch of boring officers in blue, po-lease, you might want to think again.
The Feb 19 speech by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will be broadcast live on Channel NewsAsia and streamed live on the Channel NewsAsia website.
File photo of Parliament House. (Photo: Calvin Oh)
(Updated: )
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SINGAPORE: Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat will deliver Singapore’s Budget Statement next Monday at 3.30pm in Parliament, the Finance Ministry (MOF) and government feedback portal REACH said in a press release on Monday (Feb 12).
A live webcast of the Budget speech will be available on the Singapore Budget website (www.singaporebudget.gov.sg).
The speech will also be broadcast live on Channel NewsAsia, 938Now, channelnewsasia.com, todayonline.com and Toggle.
The release said the ministry is partnering the Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf) to provide simultaneous sign language interpretation of the Budget speech on the website.
There will be real-time updates of key announcements from the speech on the MOF facebook page and twitter account, it added.
To view budget-related tweets and postings, the public may use the hashtag #SGBudget2018.
The ministry said Government feedback portal, REACH, will organise a Budget 2018 Conversation on Feb 20 to discuss the announced budget measures.
It will be hosted by Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Law and Mr Sam Tan, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information, who is also the Minister-in-charge for Muslim Affairs and Minister-in-charge for Cyber Security will be chairing the REACH-Berita Harian Budget 2018 Conversation, in Malay, on Wednesday, Feb 28.
There will be a Budget 2018 Facebook Q&A session planned for Thursday, Mar 1 from 8pm to 9pm.
Members of the public are welcome to join in the chat hosted on the REACH facebook page, the release said.
The public can also provide their feedback at REACH listening points which will be set up at various locations between Feb 21 and Mar 4
