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SINGAPORE - Iconic eatery The Cathay Restaurant, located on the second floor of The Cathay building in Handy Road, closed its doors on Monday. On the restaurant's website, a notice read: "Please be informed The Cathay Restaurant has ceased operation with effect from 15th June 2015." The restaurant, which opened in 1940, initially served European food, but it was renovated and reopened as a Chinese restaurant in 1951. In its heyday, it was considered one of the finest restaurants in town, with a bar serving Western cocktails, a dancefloor and a resident band accompanying popular songbirds of the era such as Ruby Wah and Chang Lu. And the chefs whipped up Cantonese and Shanghainese dishes that were much admired. But by the 1960s, the restaurant's popularity had dwindled and it closed on Dec 31, 1964. Its owner, Cathay Organisation, resurrected the restaurant in 2007, when it opened The Cathay, its cineplex-cum-shopping mall in Handy Road. - See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/iconic-eatery-the-cathay-restaurant-popular-the-1950s-sh#xtor=CS1-10

A pity, because I think this is a very good restaurant. http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/lei-garden-closes-orchard-shopping-centre-branch-2014070 With so many restaurants closing down, or on the brink of closing down, due to manpower shortage issues, and such news being repeatedly published on MSM, I think the message is clear. It reminds me of an oatmeal comic. Food can really get people to react like nothing else can:

Yahoo News : Bull semen spill causes scare, closes U.S. highway NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - A spill of frozen bull semen bound for a breeder in the state of Texas triggered a scare on Tuesday that temporarily shut down a U.S. interstate highway during the morning rush hour. The incident began when the driver of a Greyhound bus carrying the freight alerted the fire department he had lost a part of his load while negotiating the ramp on a highway near Nashville. "We didn't know what it was, but we were told (the canisters) were non-toxic," said Maggie Lawrence, a fire department spokeswoman. When firefighters arrived on the ramp, they saw "four small propane-sized canisters (that) began to emit a light vapor," Lawrence said. In addition to the vapour, the canisters also let off an unpleasant odour and the ramp was closed while emergency personnel tried to determine what was in the containers. The bus driver turned around to retrieve the canisters. Once emergency personnel learned the smoking canisters were nothing hazardous and that they simply contained frozen bull semen that had been stored on dry ice, Tennessee Department of Transportation and fire department workers cleared the ramp. "It was no different to us than if a mattress fell off a truck," said transportation spokeswoman B.J. Doughty. Hmmmm........ next powerful tools .....

Tuning firm Gemballa has closed, following the disappearance of its founder Uwe Gemballa. While details remain scarce, Gemballa went from earning

disrupt flights. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Icelands-vol...set=&ccode=

lifted off from ST online today: kudos to Caltex IMAGINE getting your family saloon washed for under a dollar or your seven-seater MPV for $2.80, when car washers at petrol stations charge about $6. Car owners thought they were on to a good thing when an independent car-wash and servicing company at a Caltex petrol station sold them stacks of 50 or 100 car-wash coupons, each redeemable for a car wash at less than a dollar for a family saloon. Fifty dollars bought 56 coupons. But L.K.W. Automotive Service suddenly closed shop at the Upper Thomson Caltex petrol station three weeks ago, leaving its customers stranded with unused coupons - and wondering how to get their money back. The company started selling the pre-paid car-wash coupons in the middle of last year. It also gave out windscreen stickers to customers to signify their membership in the 'club', and was still promoting the membership deal up to the week before it closed shop. Business boomed. Straits Times reader Stella Ong, 32, said that a queue of at least 10 cars snaked out of L.K.W. on weekends; in the Sin Ming Avenue estate where she lives, one in two cars had the sticker. As one among many car owners left in the lurch, she sent a text message to Stomp, ST's interactive portal, at 75557 with the news tip. A car-wash package deal and membership is unusual. A check with 10 car-wash companies operating out of petrol stations showed that all of them had a pay-as- you-go payment plan, or let motorists use the points from their petrol station cards for car washes. Chevron, Caltex's parent company, said it objected to the coupons because they bore no expiry dates, which put the customer at risk if L.K.W. should suddenly fold, said a Chevron spokesman. The company told L.K.W.'s sole proprietor Loh Kiam Wei eight times to print expiry dates on the coupons, but he ignored the request. Mr Loh was served a notice of termination on June 17, after which he had 60 days to wind up his business. Chevron had hoped he would use the 60 days to give customers time to use their coupons, but he closed shop the morning he got the notice and has not reopened since. Mr Loh could not be contacted for comment before press time. Those affected can now contact Chevron at [email protected] to register their details and the number of coupons they have left. A refund plan will be worked out. Said the Chevron spokesman: 'Legally, Chevron bears no responsibility in connection with L.K.W.'s services because it is an independent operator, but we will not leave customers stranded.'