Business in Taiwan's Wowprime brisk despite slowing economy

TAIPEI: 2012 was a slow year for many industries in Taiwan except for the food and beverage industry, which bucked the trend.Leading the pack is Taiwan's biggest restaurant chain, Wowprime. It is aiming to cater to the rest of the world.Wowprime's Wang Steak restaurant is fully occupied almost all year round. Business did not seem to be affected by a slowing economy. Many customers visit...

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NFC: Not just for mobile payments anymore

LG demos NFC technology in appliances at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.(Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)Move over, mobile payments. NFC is finding other ways to make itself useful. In fact, paying for items with one's phone seems to be the least common use for the close-range connectivity technology right now, at least based on gadgets unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show. Rather, essentially...

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and...

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Obamas Share the Love, Even for Michelle's Bangs

Jan 20, 2013 10:49pm (Charles Dharapak/AP Photo)President Obama used the first public remarks of his second term to address what he called the “most significant” event of this weekend: his wife’s much-talked-about new haircut.“I love her bangs,” Obama told supporters at an inaugural reception at the National Building Museum. “She looks good. She always looks good.”First...

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Turn up the bass to scare birds away from planes

PLANES and birds aren't good at sharing air space - bird strikes worldwide cause over a billion dollars in damage every year, and put passengers and crew at risk. To scare avians away, a new device will fire low-frequency sound waves at flocks as they near busy flight paths. ...

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Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visits Singapore

SINGAPORE: Thailand's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Sunday.She was hosted to lunch by PM Lee. The Princess, who arrived on January 19, also visited the Asian Civilisations Museum on Sunday morning. She was there to view a special exhibition, entitled, 'Enlightened Ways: The Many Streams of Buddhist Art in Thailand'.- CNA/fa !--...

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and...

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Algeria Hostage Crisis Over, One American Dead

After the Algerian military's final assault on terrorists holding hostages at a gas complex, the four-day hostage crisis is over, but apparently with additional loss of life among the foreign hostages.One American, Fred Buttaccio of Texas, has been confirmed dead by the U.S. State Department. Two more U.S. hostages remain unaccounted for, with growing concern among U.S. officials...

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NASA planet-hunter is injured and resting

Lisa Grossman, physical sciences reporter(Image: NASA/Kepler mission/Wendy Stenzel)NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope has put its search for alien Earths on hold while it rests a stressed reaction wheel.The injured wheel normally helps to control the telescope's orientation, keeping it pointed continuously at the same patch of sky. Kepler stares at the thousands of stars in its field of view...

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Getting the law to work for you

SINGAPORE: The National Trades Union Congress and the Law Society of Singapore have launched a new initiative to educate working people on their legal rights.The initiative called 'Law Works' will include a series of programmes that will be implemented to reach out to PMEs, working women and freelance professionals. The year-long campaign will see the publication of a 10-part quick guide...

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