Flynn, 6, is Kerr’s firstborn with British actor Orlando Bloom.
Kerr, 34, and Spiegel, 27, married in May this year at their Hollywood home. Forbes has named Spiegel the United States’ youngest billionaire since 2014.
With temperatures dropping nationwide, long padded jackets have become trendy among Korean middle and high school students, but parents are feeling the pinch from their expensive price tags.
Such jackets are similar to those worn by sports players on the bench.
A report said a housewife in Daegu surnamed Kim felt compelled to buy her daughter, who is in junior high, a long padded jacket that cost 500,000 won (S$615). Kim initially hesitated over the price, but her daughter had insisted on having one, as she did not want to be “singled out” by her classmates.
Students wearing long padded jackets can be easily spotted on the streets these days.
One high school student said, “I think more than half of my peers wear it. I had to ask my parents many times before they bought me one.”
Jackets vary widely in price, ranging from 50,000 won to over 1 million won. However, some students are not satisfied with those that cost less than 200,000 won, according to reports that quoted parents.
Therefore, parents have begun calling expensive long padded jackets “spine breakers” in Korean, referring to how they are so pricey and burdensome.
Another parent surnamed Hwang said she had bought her middle school daughter an expensive winter coat last year, but had to buy her the popular long-padded coat this year.
Similar to other Korean parents, Hwang expressed concerns over the financial burden of the long padded coats.
Top star couple Lee Min-ho and Suzy have broken up after being together for about three years.
JYP Entertainment, which represents Suzy, confirmed a media report of their recent breakup. The agency, however, declined to reveal the details of the breakup citing privacy issues.
Lee’s agency MYM Entertainment also confirmed the breakup.
Suzy and Lee went public with their relationship in March 2015 after photos of the two spending time in London together surfaced.
Rumours about a breakup swirled in September 2015 and again in August 2016, but the couple strongly denied them, saying that their relationship stood strong.
In April, it was reported that the two celebrated their second anniversary as a couple.
Since May, Lee has been working at a social welfare centre in southern Seoul, as his mandatory military service.
Suzy is currently starring in SBS’ drama “While You Were Sleeping” alongside Lee Jong-suk.
“We have two hands, one is to work hard and the other is to help others.”
These words moved Stomp contributor XYW to tears during her night shift at a restaurant recently, and tugged at the heartstrings of netizens after being shared on Stomp.
A single mother of two young kids, Penang-born XYW arrived in Singapore 10 years ago and has struggled to meet ends meet ever since her divorce in 2012.
“My ex-husband, a Singaporean, left me for a woman from China,” she told Stomp.
The 37-year-old does odd jobs such as cleaning houses and washing clothes in the day, while her nights are spent toiling away as a full-time employee at a steamboat restaurant in Katong.
XYW, who declined to be identified over fears of losing her job, said: “As I am a Permanent Resident, I have very little subsidies.
“My take-home salary from the restaurant is $700+ while I can earn $50 for every home I clean (about four hours each time). Sometimes, I have to clean up to 20 houses a month.”
Single mum working multiple jobs cries after getting $2,000 tip from kind S’porean man
Despite her hard work, XYW had hit a rough patch as her children’s school fees were overdue and she lacked funds.
But a generous $2,000 tip in cash from a regular customer helped her tide over the crisis.
XYW initially thought the extra cash was a “mistake” as the customer’s bill was only $66, but broke down in tears upon realising the truth.
Stomp got in touch with the customer, whom XYW identified as Mr Atwell Tay, to find out what inspired his actions.
“I felt that it was something that I had to. My family is also in the F&B business, so I know what a tough industry it can be, having helped my father in the kitchen before. It requires a lot of energy and can be very stressful.
“She (XYW) is also a very hardworking person, and this is a quality that’s hard to find in Singapore nowadays. I appreciate and am impressed by people who work hard instead of stretching their hands out to ask for money,” said the 32-year-old oil trader.
Mr Tay, who had been accompanied by his wife and eldest daughter (aged nine) at the restaurant, also encouraged XYW to stay strong and continue to give her best.
STRONG FAMILY VALUES
Mr Tay’s love for his family is evident from the way he spoke about them during his exclusive video interview with Stomp.
His main motivation for helping others comes from wanting to be an exemplary role model for his three daughters: “Being humble is a virtue and I want them to see that.”
Photo: Stomp
And his moving quote about what our two hands are for? It was a lesson that he derived from his mother when he was 19 years old and had yet to serve his National Service (NS).
Admitting that he went through a rebellious streak during his teenage years, Mr Tay said: “She told me I could do whatever I want, but to always have commitment and consistency, or one would never succeed.”
GENEROSITY =/= WEALTH
He first made headlines in 2015 after being given a flashy Lotus supercar by his mother for his birthday that year.
Photo: Stomp
But in response to critics who think that his family background allows him to be generous with money, Mr Tay pointed out that lending a helping hand is not about being well-off.
“Coming from a poor family and becoming rich doesn’t mean you will end up helping everyone. Neither does coming from a rich family and being successful mean you will help other people. It all boils down to the individual,” he shared.
Likewise, XYW had only good things to say about Mr Tay.
She told Stomp, “He visits the restaurant about thrice a week, always in a different car.
“However, I am really touched because he always clears his own plates, telling my colleagues that it’s okay and to relax.
“Whenever I serve wealthy people, they are usually very proud. But Mr Tay is humble and always greets us, saying thank you and everything.”
Mr Tay, who is also a venture capitalist, revealed that he is no stranger to people taking advantage of his kindness and generosity.
Still, he remains undeterred and wants to act as an inspiration for the younger generation.
When presented with a Stomp Goody Bag, Mr Tay expressed his wishes to donate it to his daughter’s school.
“I would like to donate the Goody Bag to someone else because I am not here for the publicity. I’m here because I hope that more people in our generation can work hard.”
The parents of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korea at the age of 13, called again for the return of their daughter on Wednesday, the 40th anniversary of her abduction.
Her 85-year-old father, Shigeru, and 81-year-old mother, Sakie, held a press conference in Kawasaki, where they currently live.
“We’ve been wondering why we can’t help her for such a long time. Please return our child soon,” Sakie said.
On Nov. 15, 1977, Megumi, who was a first-year junior high school student, was kidnapped by North Korean agents on her way home from school in Niigata after badminton practice.
“I don’t want to recall that day,” Sakie said. “I was running around the coast, shrine and other locations, calling out ‘Megumi-chan.'”
The abduction of Megumi came to light in January 1997 after a former North Korean agent revealed it.
Recalling the about 20 years until that point, Sakie said, “We suffered the greatest distress, as we had not the slightest idea where she had gone.”
In March 1997, Megumi’s parents joined the initiative to form a union of abductees’ family members.
“We’ve called for her rescue by doing everything we can, such as collecting signatures and giving lectures. We’ve hung in there, believing she might come back tomorrow,” Sakie said.
She also said she often strokes the face of Megumi in a picture at home, asking, “When will you be able to come home?”
“I want to see her even for one hour while I’m well,” said Megumi’s mother, who expressed concern over her advanced age and decline in physical strength.
During the press conference, Shigeru listened attentively to his wife. According to Sakie, he has been in poor physical condition and has difficulty expressing himself.
North Korea abducted a number of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. The Japanese government has recognised 17 individuals in 12 cases as having been abducted by Pyongyang. Eleven North Korean agents, including Sin Kwang Su, 88, have been put on an international wanted list.
At a bilateral meeting of Japanese and North Korean leaders in September 2002, Pyongyang admitted for the first time that it had kidnapped Japanese nationals. Five abductees, including Kaoru Hasuike, 60, returned to Japan in October that year.
Pyongyang claimed that Megumi and others were dead, but a DNA test showed the cremated remains that it presented as belonging to Megumi were actually those of someone else.
In May 2014, North Korea agreed to reinvestigate the whereabouts of the abductees during intergovernmental talks in Stockholm. However, it unilaterally announced it would stop the investigation in February 2016. Since then, no progress has been made on the issue.
Besides the 17 abductees recognised by the government, the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea, a Tokyo-based private organisation, suspects about 470 other Japanese may have been kidnapped by agents of the country.
Metal pieces of unknown origin fell from the sky onto a villager’s rubber plantation following the sound of an explosion reported by residents of Tambon Na Pho Klang in Ubon Ratchathani’s Khong Chiam district on Wednesday morning.
Police’s initial inquiry with the Ubon Ratchathani Flight Control Centre found that no airplane crash had been reported, said Khong Chiam precinct superintendent Pol Colonel Alongkorn Sanookpan.
The explosion was heard at about 2am, after which Ban Na Pho Tai resident Paijit Yotharak alerted police that metal pieces had fallen onto his rubber plantation and residence.
Police collected the pieces for inspection while flight control centre director Makkawan Suwankud said he would have a team inspect the scene and metal pieces to determine what had happened.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike has resigned as the leader of Kibo no To (Party of Hope), the party she founded.
Koike’s resignation Tuesday came just over four months after the Tokyo assembly election in July, when things were going her way. Her tailwind changed to a headwind when Kibo lost big in last month’s House of Representatives election.
With her support in the metropolitan government beginning to waver, Koike appears to hope she can right the ship by showing she is focused on running the capital.
“The great reform of Tokyo has been insufficient so far, but now is a crucial time,” Koike told about 1,000 supporters at a fundraising party Tuesday evening for Tomin First no Kai, the regional party she is a special adviser for.
She gave the speech only about 90 minutes after stepping down as Kibo leader.
In the July election, Koike led Tomin to a landslide victory, winning 55 seats when candidates the party endorsed after the election are included.
All 23 candidates backed by Komeito, which had supported the governor, also won, bringing Koike’s strength in the assembly over the 64-seat line needed for a majority.
Yet the wind began to change on Sept. 29, when Koike said she would “exclude” lawmakers from the Democratic Party, who had decided to join Kibo.
Komeito members in the assembly have expressed dissatisfaction with her. “The governor should focus on the metropolitan government,” one Komeito member said.
Koike’s position became even more precarious on Oct. 5, when two Tomin assembly members who had supported her since her run for governor left the party.Speech
Gangnam Police Station on Tuesday released black box footage from actor Kim Joo-hyuk’s car showing the moments leading up to the crash that killed him.
The police discovered the black box beneath the passenger seat of Kim’s Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen.
The video shows Kim’s car suddenly slowing, then steering erratically. It hits another car while attempting to change lanes, before suddenly veering off the road, across the sidewalk and into a building.
The video has no audio recording, lending little help to finding the exact cause of Kim’s accident.
Kim died on Oct. 30, shocking those who knew him both personally and through his filmography.
Only three days prior to his unexpected death, Kim had received an award for best-supporting actor at the first Seoul Awards for his role in the film “Confidential Assignment.”
The actor’s most recent work was TV series “Argon.” Two posthumous films, “Heungbu” and “Dokjeon” are scheduled for release in 2018.
MEXICO CITY (AFP) – Jimmy Gomez, better known as the rapper Taboo from The Black Eyed Peas, had money, fame and a multi-platinum career when a strange back pain brought his world crashing down.
The six-time Grammy winner went to the doctor and got a gut-wrenching diagnosis: He had testicular cancer.
He had more than 100 million record sales to his name and a string of worldwide dance hits like I Gotta Feeling and Where Is the Love, but it meant nothing in the face of cancer’s cruel reality, he told AFP in an interview.
At first, he was only able to piece the details together slowly. “They didn’t tell me what type of cancer I had. They didn’t tell me what stage I was in. They just told me, Mr Gomez, you have cancer,” said Taboo, 42. “My life flashed before my eyes. I thought about my kids, I thought about my wife. Nothing prepares you for the shock of someone telling you you have that horrible disease.”
That was in 2014. It was only last year that Taboo went public about his struggle with cancer – now in remission after a gruelling series of chemotherapy treatments.
Today, the Los Angeles native is an ambassador for the American Cancer Society and a vocal ally and fundraiser for cancer survivors everywhere.
He spoke to AFP ahead of the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City, which gathered high-level policy makers Tuesday (Nov 14) for an annual exchange on fighting the world’s second-leading cause of death. It was not an easy journey to get there.
First Taboo went through an agonising series of chemotherapy treatments: 12 weeks of six-hour daily sessions that he describes as “war, torture and a nightmare” rolled into one. “That was the feeling,” he said. “I’ve never been to war, but internally, when they’re destroying your insides to kill everything that’s good to kill that one thing that’s bad, which is the tumour, it scarred me psychologically, emotionally, inside and outside.”
WARRIOR INSTINCT
The idea that dealing with cancer is a “battle” has come in for criticism lately from some who resent the violence of the analogy and the implication that those suffering from the disease just need to “fight harder.”
But Taboo is an unapologetic anti-cancer warrior. He is intensely defiant when he talks about the disease. “I’m living, dude. I’m alive. See this face? I can actually smile and say, Look, I beat the f– out of cancer,” he said, mouthing the end of the expletive.
He spoke to AFP decked out in black, his bald head crowned by a wide-brimmed “zoot suit” hat evocative of his Mexican roots, and sporting turquoise-and-silver jewelry in a nod to his Native American heritage on his mother’s side.
He cited his maternal grandmother as his biggest influence. “She’s a Shoshone Native American woman who had a warrior instinct. And my warrior instinct kicked in” after he was diagnosed, he said. But you need both love and fight to deal with cancer, he added.
At the American Cancer Society, he wants to be an “ambassador of love,” he said, breaking into the chorus of one of his biggest hits: Where Is the Love? Last year, as a fundraiser for the Cancer Society, he recorded a song called The Fight. His message today to others is that they can defeat cancer, too.
“I beat it down. And now I’m going to use this gift of life to give people hope and to say, Look, I went down that path too, I was there lying on that bed, you’re not alone. I am one of you and you are one of me. Let’s get charged up for life.” Maybe the title of his next hit song.
