Research firm says Kindle Fire costs $201.70 to make; Amazon takes $2.70 lossNEW YORK (AFP) ― At $199, Amazon is selling the Kindle Fire slightly below the cost it takes to manufacture the tablet computer, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli. In a “teardown” estimate published Friday, IHS iSuppli said it costs $201.70 to manufacture the Kindle Fire, which Amazon began shipping to customers this week.“The Kindle Fire, at a retail price point of $199, is sold at a loss by Amazon, just a

Nonghyup chairman Choi Won-byung was reelected Friday to head the nation’s biggest financial network for another four years despite a major standoff with its union leaders.Choi, who received 191 out of 288 votes from Nonghyup representatives, will lead the separation of the federation’s financial business from its distribution of agricultural products in March. The 2.45-million-member Nonghyup, or the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, holds 287 trillion won in assets and has 22 affil

Germany Trade and Invest CEO cites subsidy, infrastructure, dedicated workersEver since German unification 20 years ago, the eastern part of the country has been clawing back the economic gap with its western counterpart.“We want a level playing field for companies in the west and the east, we want to have the same chances for people,” Michael Pfeiffer, chief executive of Germany Trade and Invest, said in an interview at a seminar aimed at highlighting the advantages of investing in the former c

CAIRO (AP) ― Egyptian riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets stormed into Cairo’s Tahrir Square Saturday to dismantle a protest tent camp, setting off clashes that killed two protesters, injured hundreds and raised tensions days before the first elections since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.The scenes of protesters fighting with black-clad police forces were reminiscent of the 18-day uprising that forced an end to Mubarak’s rule in February. Hundreds of protesters fought back, hurling stones an

BUENOS AIRES (AP) ― Reaching the end of the Earth has become almost routine these days: One hundred years after Norway’s Roald Amundsen beat Britain’s R.F. Scott to the South Pole, more than 30 teams are trying for it this year.Some will kite-sail over the vast Antarctic ice and snow. Others will drive in from the coast. A wealthy handful will be dropped off one degree north of the South Pole, for relatively leisurely guided treks of about 70 miles to the pole.But Felicity Aston has been there,

Tents pop up, walk-outs are staged as students protest problems like student debt, poor job prospectsMIAMI (AP) ― Mo Tarafa stood before students at a small, outdoor concrete auditorium at Florida International University and called for volunteers to sit in the 10 chairs before her. Each chair, she said, represented 10 percent of the wealth in the United States and 10 percent of the population.The students, mostly in their 20s and wearing jeans and T-shirts on a balmy autumn Thursday afternoon i

David LaChapelle shows celebrity, campaigning chapters of his photographic career at solo exhibition at Seoul Arts CenterLady Gaga, Madonna, Britney Spears, Hilary Clinton, Elizabeth Taylor, David Beckham, Paris Hilton, Muhammad Ali ... The list of celebrities who have posed for David LaChapelle could go on. Limiting his success as a photographer to just the celebrities on the list, however, would be underestimating him. LaChapelle’s works displayed at several galleries in 1984 New York caught t