The Great Unwind: China Cuts US Debt to 18-Year Low

China pruned its holdings of US Treasuries to an 18-year low in July, as overall holdings by foreign countries fell for a second consecutive month amid deepening worries over the sustainability of American government debt. 

China’s holdings fell to $618 billion in July from $633.4 billion in June, data released by the US Treasury Department showed on Wednesday. 

This rapid divestment is a calculated strategy driven by three core motivations: 

Sanction Insulation: Following the freezing of Russia’s foreign reserves by Western nations, Beijing increasingly views dollar-denominated assets as a geopolitical vulnerability. Reducing this exposure shields its global reserves from potential future sanctions. 

US Debt Sustainability Fears: Deepening worries over the expanding American government deficit raise valid concerns about long-term dollar stability. To avoid holding potentially depreciating paper debt, China is proactively shifting its wealth. 

The Pivot to Hard Assets: Instead of parking trade surpluses in US bonds, China is diversifying into harder, less volatile assets. Most notably, it has ramped up its sovereign gold reserves, which serve as a stateless store of value that cannot be devalued or frozen by a foreign power. 

Ultimately, while $618 billion remains a Brobdingnagian financial position, the trajectory is clear. Beijing is steadily swapping its reliance on the American financial system for more sovereign, independent stores of value.

House Arrest for Former PM: Malaysian King Gives Consent 👑

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was granted a conditional royal pardon that allows him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence for grand corruption under house arrest rather than behind bars. 

He will be confined at an unspecified location until August 2028, according to a statement issued by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department following a Pardons Board meeting on Friday. He will also have to pay the previously lessened fine of RM50 million. 

“He has to fulfil all conditions set”, the statement read. “Any breach will void the conditional pardon and he will be immediately sent back to prison”. 

The move by the King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, follows an unusual Pardons Board meeting that was called shortly after the previous summit on September 11 deferred a decision on Najib’s application. 👑

The Pardons Board rarely meets and there is no fixed calendar for a meeting. 

Najib has been in custody since August 2022 after being found guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of government company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. 💰💰💰💰💰

The original sentence was for 12 years in jail and a RM210 million fine before the punishment was lessened in 2024 by the previous King, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah. 👑

Najib was subsequently sentenced to another 15 years’ imprisonment in December 2025 after being convicted for a more serious crime at 1MDB, although he is appealing against the decision. 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰

The sentence is to run after he finishes his SRC jail term in August 2028. 

Nationalist Alliance Issue Historic Ultimatum to UK PM

On September 14, 2026, the leaders of the UK's main nationalist parties met in Cardiff to sign a joint declaration stating that "Westminster's time is coming to an end".

The historic meeting brought together Scottish First Minister John Swinney (SNP), Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru), Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald, and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Féin vice-president). The leaders attended as political party heads rather than official government representatives. 

Following the talks, John Swinney (right) boldly predicted that Andy Burnham would be the last prime minister of the United Kingdom. 

Swinney reiterated his goal to secure a second independence referendum within the next five years, ensuring Scots have a choice on their constitutional future before the current Holyrood term ends in 2031. 

While united in their belief that Westminster fails to serve their people, the three nationalist leaders are pursuing distinct regional strategies:

• Scotland (SNP): Seeking a binding independence referendum.  
• Wales (Plaid Cymru): Demanding expanded devolved powers as part of a fundamental redesign of the UK constitutional framework, declaring the current status quo untenable. 
• Northern Ireland (Sinn Féin): Calling for a border poll to achieve Irish reunification. 

Despite these coordinated demands, Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government have firmly maintained that separation referendums remain "off limits". 

However, Michelle O'Neill insisted that constitutional change is still "very much on the table", brushing aside Downing Street's pushback.

Celtic suffered another European embarrassment as the Scottish champions were beaten 3-1 at home by Ferencváros in the Europa League. 

Just weeks on from crashing out of the Champions League qualifiers to Austrian side LASK, despite at one point holding a four-goal lead, Celtic’s defensive flaws were egregiously exposed once more. Already, Martin O’Neill’s team suffered a chastening 3-0 defeat to rivals Rangers last weekend and failed to deliver on their manager’s promise to respond.

Inevitably, the Hungarian champions took the lead in the 20th minute when an unfortunate deflection off Celtic defender Liam Scales trickled into the net. 

Martin O'Neill's side managed to pull level in the 44th minute through a well-taken open-play strike from Mika Baur, but their joy was short-lived. 

The away side punished them with a second goal in first-half stoppage time (45+1') before ruthlessly adding a third in the 47th minute. 

Though Martin O'Neill shuffled his tactical shape at halftime – switching to a 4-4-2 by bringing on record signing Kasper Høgh to partner Camilo Durán up front – it did little to unlock a comfortable Ferencváros defense. 

The manager later admitted his side was taught a harsh "European lesson", conceding that the defensive lapses were psychologically damaging. 

With pressure mounting heavily on the manager's tactical system, the Hoops must find answers immediately before hosting Rangers in a crucial Scottish Premiership rematch this Sunday. With everything on the line, I’m holding my breath to see if they can fix these strategic flaws in time, or if their rivals will exploit them once again.

To us Celtic fans it might seem like sacrilege to doubt Martin O'Neill's capacity to get them through whatever it is they're going through right now – a slump or something deeper – but keeping the faith is surely becoming testing.

Weaponizing Space: The US Aggression

On September 14, 2026, US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink announced at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference that the United States has fielded "on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action". 

This marks the first time any global superpower has publicly acknowledged having active, offensive technology positioned directly in Earth's orbit. 

The public admission of orbital weapons deployment underscores a deeply disturbing shift toward absolute military dominance, signaling clear belligerence and warmongering intentions by the United States. Far from a measure of passive defense, moving active weaponry into Earth's orbit effectively breaks a decades-long global taboo against the weaponization of space, transforming the final frontier into a potential theater of war. 

Sivasangari Subramaniam was just two points away from beating the World No. 1 in the Qatar Classic semi-final in Doha on Thursday. 

But the Malaysian, having dragged Egypt's Hania El Hammamy all the way to a fifth-game tiebreak, just couldn't finish it off. It was easily the match of the year – an 87-minute battlefield that ultimately ended 8-11, 11-9, 15-13, 9-11, 12-10 in Hania's favour. 

A loss is still a loss. 

Sure, this was her maiden Platinum-level semi-final. Sure, breaking into the top four in Doha proves she is actively scaling the highest tier of the global game. 

But she still couldn't cross the finish line. Even though she remains the highest-ranked Malaysian since the legendary Nicol David, being a torchbearer isn't the same as holding the trophy. This performance wasn't a ceiling; it was a benchmark – and a stark reminder of the gap she needs to close.

Military-Grade Tech Empowers Visually Impaired

China’s Yuanshan Zhixing Technology have unveiled Xiaoyuan, the country’s first wheeled-legged guide robot, which can glide on flat ground and climb stairs, offering a new mobility solution for people with visual impairments. 

The robot features a hybrid wheeled-legged design. It can move on wheels across flat surfaces and switch to legged mode to climb stairs, allowing it to navigate both up and down steps. It also operates with low noise to avoid interfering with users’ ability to identify their surroundings through sound, the company told the Global Times on Saturday. 

Xiaoyuan can detect overhead obstacles such as low-hanging branches and scaffolding, which can be difficult for conventional white canes to detect. It can identify such hazards in advance and automatically slow down or detour around them, the company said. 

It is claimed the robot has an indoor obstacle-avoidance success rate of at least 99 percent and an outdoor success rate of at least 96 percent, while its outdoor positioning error is controlled within 30 centimeters. Its functions include route navigation, voice interaction, as well as companionship and reminders. In emergencies, users can also initiate an alert and request assistance from volunteers remotely. 

Designed to resemble a guide dog, Xiaoyuan is intended to match users’ normal walking habits in terms of its walking rhythm and leash-based control. 

I learnt that China has more than 17 million people with visual impairments, while only about 400 guide dogs are currently available. Besides, training a guide dog is a lengthy process, making it difficult for many visually impaired people to obtain one. 

The company operate under the Zhiyuan Research Institute, which is an entity affiliated with the China North Industries Group (Norinco), the country’s largest defense contractor. This project highlights a growing push by defense-affiliated research institutions to adapt advanced military robotics and navigation tech for civilian accessibility solutions. 

Iran Will Not Fold

Donald Trump announced that the United States could potentially stay in Iran and "keep the oil" suggests that he is fundamentally miscalculating the war in Iran by treating its sovereign natural resources as low-hanging fruit. His brazen declaration – just as it did after removing Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela – exposes a dangerous strategic delusion. 

[While reports surfaced globally on September 14, 2026, Trump originally made these specific remarks to reporters a day earlier, while attending the Irish Open golf championship in Doonbeg, Ireland. He later confirmed in a phone interview with NBC News on Monday that seizing Iranian oil has actively been discussed within his administration].

This overt ambition to seize sovereign oil reserves is a blatant violation of international law. Under the Geneva Conventions and international legal frameworks, the unilateral confiscation of another nation's natural resources for domestic profit constitutes the war crime of pillage.

Trump’s blueprint relies on a completely flawed comparison that ignores both legal and geopolitical realities: 

• The Flawed Analogy: In August 2026, the US successfully leveraged a rapid regime collapse in Caracas to force a deal ceding control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil. Trump explicitly views this asset seizure as a repeatable model to pay for US military interventions. 
• The Institutional Reality: Venezuela’s command structure imploded because it was tied to a single strongman. Conversely, Iran is a deeply institutionalized, ideologically driven theocracy. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have completely rejected US overtures, vowing a war of attrition rather than capitulation. 
• The Strategic Lever: While Venezuela's oil infrastructure was easily isolated, Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has already weaponized this chokepoint to choke global supplies, spiking US fuel prices and using global markets as a counter-offensive shield. 

Trump’s hubris in thinking he can simply dictate an exit strategy, secure the oil fields, and walk away with Iran’s wealth is an outright fantasy. Tehran will not fold to a "Venezuela-style" playbook, and any attempt to permanently occupy its oil reserves will violate international laws against resource theft, pulling the US into an un-winnable regional quagmire. 

Ultimately, Washington's strategic calculus fails to recognize that Iran is a different proposition entirely. History and regional resilience suggest that Iran will not be defeated; in fact, if pushed into a prolonged war of attrition, Iran will, for sure, prevail over the US.

Heading to China? The US Wants You to Read This First

The latest fearmongering to discourage Americans visiting China! LOL!

The US State Department have issued a stark warning to their citizens planning travel to China, cautioning that they risk facing sudden exit bans, arbitrary detentions, and intense digital surveillance under the country’s broad security laws.

Updated on September 04, 2026, the Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution advisory sharpens its language regarding the lack of legal transparency in mainland China. It explicitly warns that local authorities frequently enforce laws arbitrarily and impose exit bans without due process. This expansive security network poses a significant, hidden threat to Americans traveling for business, research, education, journalism, or family visits – often long before they realize they are a target.

In fact, I refrained from blogging about this immediately upon discovering it, as the matter is frankly just too LUDICROUS to warrant my comment. Unless you are in China for nefarious reasons, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. 🙄🙄🙄 

Liverpool secured a 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup third round at Anfield yesterday. 

The Reds opened the scoring in the 21st minute through a beautifully worked team move. Cody Gakpo teed up Rio Ngumoha on the edge of the box, who quickly fed Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentine midfielder didn't hesitate, unleashing a first-time strike that flew past the Spurs goalkeeper, leaving him rooted to the spot. 

The Merseysiders then doubled their advantage in the 54th minute when Mac Allister turned provider. He slipped a perfectly threaded pass through to Cody Gakpo, who smartly cut inside the Tottenham defense and unleashed a fierce, clinical drive across the face of goal into the far corner. 

The Lilywhites managed to pull one back in the 69th minute after Liverpool failed to clear a corner, allowing the visitors to bundle the ball into the net from close range. 

However, any hopes of a Spurs comeback were thoroughly dashed in stoppage time. In the 91st minute, Dominik Szoboszlai controlled a loose ball 25 yards out with his first touch, before unleashing an absolute rocket into the back of the net to seal the win.

Woven in Harmony

Tenunan songket benang suasa, 
Sari berkilau indah berpesta; 
Biar berbeza lidah dan bahasa, 
Satu impian membina nusa. 

Padi menguning di sawah rata, 
Burung kedidi terbang sekawan; 
Kepelbagaian budaya lubuk permata, 
Toleransi dijaga menjadi acuan. 

Mekar teratai di dalam kolam,
Pohon beringin tempat ceritera;
Harmoni dijiwai siang dan malam,
Malaysia sentiasa aman dan bahagia.

HAPPY MALAYSIA DAY 2026!

Malaysia’s top women’s squash player Sivasangari Subramaniam has reached her first semi-final at a Platinum-level PSA Squash Tour event after Tinne Gilis withdrew from their Qatar Classic 2026 quarter-final in Doha yesterday. 

According to the PSA Squash Tour, Belgium’s Gilis pulled out of the match because of injury. 

Sivasangari, ranked No 5 in the world, will next face Egypt’s world No 1 Hania El Hammamy. On Thursday.

Nearly 20 Years, 10 Million Views

I started "As I See It" back in October 2008 simply as a place to write about the things that interest me. 

Nearly two decades later, that casual project has turned into a fulfilling journey, having now crossed a massive milestone of over 10 million lifetime views. 

What began as a single post has grown into millions of connections, and it's been incredibly cool to share my perspectives with readers along the way.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 

Squash player Sivasangari Subramaniam has sealed a place in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Classic. 

World No. 5 and fourth seed Sivasangari defeated Egypt's  world No. 13 Salma Hany 12-10, 11-6, 11-5.in 26 minutes in the second round on Sunday. It was the Malaysian's third win over the Egyptian in five meetings. 

She had started her campaign in the first round on Saturday, September 12, where she defeated another Egyptian, world No. 19 Sana Ibrahim 3-1 (11-5, 3-11, 11-4, 11-4) to advance.

Today, Sivasangari will face world No. 9 Tinne Gilis of Belgium for a place in the semi-finals. She has a 3-1 head-to-head against Gilis.