Another New Year is here, so most people are hoping for good fortune and a trouble-free year. The suggestions above will help you improve your luck, gain wealth and have a year of prosperity.
新的一年又來到,想鴻運當頭,萬事順利嗎?上面這些開運、招財的居家用品,要你好運旺旺一整年!
-- Translated by Marc Langer 藍孟翔翻譯
PHOTOS COURTESY OF B&Q, WORKING HOUSE, HOLA, LIVE4NATURE, IKEA
A: Apart from the musical Sunset Boulevard, Japanese pop diva Ayumi Hamasaki is also touring Taiwan after a 17-year wait. She’s holding two concerts starting tonight. B: Ayu has the most No. 1 hits of any Japanese solo artist, with 33 total. A: “Time” magazine even crowned her as “The Empress of Pop.” B: She staged shows in Taipei back in 2007 and 2008, causing an “Ayu fever” across Taiwan. A: Unfortunately, the singer has been deaf in her left ear since 2008, and is gradually losing hearing in her right ear. I’m so excited to see her singing in Taipei again. A: 除了音樂劇《日落大道》,日本歌后濱崎步睽違17年,今晚起在台北熱唱兩場。
Denmark’s state-run postal service, PostNord, announced that it would cease letter deliveries at the end of 2025 due to the impact of digitalization. As 95% of its residents now use the Digital Post service, Denmark has seen a 90% decline in letter volumes since 2000, from 1.4 billion to 110 million last year. On top of that, the Postal Act of 2024 removes the government’s obligation to provide universal mail service and puts an end to postal exemptions from value-added tax, raising the cost of a single letter to 29 Danish krone (US$4.20). As a result, PostNord is switching
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 “One DA-BEI... WU LONG... NAI?” Yujing smiled as the foreigner struggled to order. He looked like an embarrassed puppy. She repeated the order in Chinese, then English: “Oolong milk tea, large size. Half sweet, no ice?” she said gently. He beamed — the kind of full-face, sunshine smile that Latinos are famous for. “Yes! That! You are... lo maximo… the best!” After he left, Lily nudged her. “Nice save. You’re getting the hang of it.” Yujing had taken this summer job at the bubble tea shop to build confidence and get work
Although sending you an SMS (Short Message Service) verification code provides some security, many apps now use code-generating apps and two-factor authentication instead. But more recently, passkeys now use a biometric approach to logging in. Biometrics can offer an even more secure alternative. Following this trend, Google is reportedly planning to replace SMS verification codes with “QR code” scanning. SMS codes are currently used to verify user identity and prevent fraudsters from creating fake Gmail accounts to distribute spam. However, these codes present several challenges. They can be phished through suspicious links, and users may not always have access