CULTURE

Thailand's economy was recovering well this year until anti-government protesters started a mass rally in Bangkok in the middle of March, which has sparked the country's deadliest political violence in 18 years.

University of Adelaide figures obtained by The Advertiser show the number of maths and science teaching students studying either a Graduate Diploma in Education or Bachelor of Teaching at the university has more than doubled over the past two years.

There is a reason they say that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. It's true ... Sin City lives on the wild side and is a haven for overstimulation, but it's also an interesting cultural study and a lot of fun. If you've never visited the city, there's no time like the present to pack your bag and head to Vegas, baby! Here are 10 reasons to make the trip:

My father's voice came through the phone as if he were next door, not 4,000 miles away. Are you fluent yet? he asked.

American industry learned something back in the 1970s when it was getting overpowered by the Japanese. It learned not to make assumptions about competitors and customers.

Our recessionary economy has heightened the stakes in the battle for career security and advancement.

When the economy gets rocky, it is game time for manufacturing leaders. Leading fearlessly when volumes are strong is one thing, but it takes real skills to lead during tough times. The recent economic downturn has many manufacturing plants reeling.

Up to now, the main impediments to powering your home with solar energy have been cost and a confusing sales process, but Dave Llorens wants to change that.

When travelling to Malaysia, one normally doesn't think of tea plantations and mountain chalets. But when visiting the Cameron Highlands in the country's interior, that is exactly what you will find.

Manufacturers don't always understand Wall Street's game, but after still-unexplained events nearly wiped out a trillion dollars in market value, they say it's high time for more regulation of financial services.

PARIS (Reuters Life!) - Lovers in Paris were left feeling a little less welcome this week after the tokens of their ardor mysteriously disappeared from one of the city's most romantic spots.

ROME (Reuters Life!) - Falling chunks of mortar from Rome's Colosseum has rekindled the debate about the state of the Italian capital's archaeological treasures -- some of which are literally falling apart.

About 200 students have held a rally to protest in a series of violent attacks near the University of Tasmania's Hobart campus.

Being an only child had its perks. I'd sprawl out across the backseat and go wherever the road brought us. We'd drive from Rhinebeck, New York down the east coast to the Jersey Shore, North Carolina or Florida for family vacations.

So you've decided to come to London to see a musical or a play. You want to have a great night out watching one of the big shows like Oliver, Sister Act or Avenue Q, but you also want to keep the costs down as much as possible. The first thing to consider is where you're going to stay.

Small U.S. business owners are slightly less pessimistic about their outlook, and in the face of continuing weak sales do not plan to boost capital spending or employment, a monthly survey of small businesses showed.

Vanessa Smith McTier knew she needed to focus more attention on promotional activities for her growing human resources consulting business. Her challenge was finding the extra time and resources when she was already stretched sourcing and delivering billable projects.

BP engineers prepared to start lowering a 98-ton metal chamber over a ruptured undersea oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday as officials confirmed the first oil landfall from the spill on a Louisiana island beach.

CHICAGO - Phillip Leslie needed software coders to develop mobile applications for his fledgling startup, ProOnGo LLC, which offers a solution to keep track of business receipts on a smartphone, using the device's built-in camera.

Japan and South Korea share numerous things in common - among them: nameless streets, a tendency of co-workers to go out with each other after work for drinks, students studying ridiculous hours to prepare for university entrance exams, and cuisines typically unfriendly for vegetarians.

After a whirlwind road trip through five Utah national parks in three days, my husband declared that he would never again let me plan a vacation based solely on visiting national parks.

U.S. schools and childcare programs could be required to include daily exercise as part of the new National Physical Activity Plan released on Monday.

Dr Margaret Gollagher and Associate Professor Dr Brian Nook were announced the winners of the $5000 professional development scholarships at an awards breakfast at the Art Gallery of WA this morning.

Curtin University of Technology has proposed for a $315 million light rail system to be built in Perth.

Parents are outraged when a Townsville primary school ruled to hold children's handmade Mother's Day gifts unless they pay for their creation .Children as young as four will be forced to pay for their own art work if they want to take them home for their mothers.

The Queensland Industrial Relations Commission yesterday ordered the Queensland Teachers Union -- which has refused Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard's instructions to hold the NAPLAN tests -- to go ahead with the national aptitude test between May 11-13.

It's good to have some commodities in your portfolio, according to a recent academic study slated for publication in the Journal of Investing.

A rise in the yuan would make Chinese exports less competitive and cut the cost of imports, providing incentives for capital and labour to be redeployed towards the domestic sectors of the economy.

GROZNY, Russia (Reuters Life!) - Models in floor-length gowns of crimson and gold, their heads downturned and framed by hijabs, showed off Eastern-inspired designs on Tuesday to the elite of Chechnya, where Moscow is battling Islamist extremism.