Watch Out, Starbucks: China's Luckin Are Now In The US

Luckin Coffee, the fast-growing chain that beat Starbucks at their own game in China, has entered the United States. 

Their first two US locations open today – both in New York City – marking an escalation in competition against Starbucks and other coffee chains, such as Dutch Bros, that have successfully built a loyal following in targeting Gen Z drinkers with TikTok-worthy drinks at affordable prices. 

Luckin’s menu is filled with usual coffeehouse staples, including cold brews, hot coffee and matcha options. Signature items include adding fruit like pineapple and raspberry to their iced coffees as well as a line of brightly colored “Refreshers” that mixes coconut milk and fruity juices and cold foams. A small selection of pastries are also on sale. 

Perhaps the biggest storyline has been Luckin’s dominance over Starbucks in China. The number of Luckins overtook Starbucks in China in 2019, giving them the confidence to plot a US expansion. 

In 2023, Luckin’s revenue in China surpassed Starbucks for the first time – a significant blow for the Seattle, US-based chain that is still struggling to crack the market. Starbucks were reportedly courting buyers for a portion of their China business as part of CEO Brian Niccol’s broader turnaround plans, but the company have since denied their Chinese stores are for sale. 

Although Luckin’s formula has proven to be successful at home, it remains to be seen if the same will happen here – especially with Starbucks having more than a 50-year headstart.

Ferrari Lose Prancing Horse Logo Suit to Malaysian Brand

Ferrari SpA have lost a trademark dispute against local energy drink brand Sunrise-Mark Sdn Bhd after the Malaysian High Court ruled that the latter’s “Wee Power” logo was not confusingly similar to Ferrari’s iconic “Prancing Horse” emblem. 

In a May 30, 2025 judgment, Judge Adlin Abdul Majid dismissed Ferrari’s challenge to block Sunrise-Mark’s trademark registration, stating that the Italian carmaker’s claims of potential confusion were unfounded, according to a report published in the New Straits Times today. 

Ferrari had sought to overturn a decision by the Registrar of Trademarks which dismissed their opposition and allowed Sunrise-Mark’s application for the “Wee Power” trademark, featuring two rearing horses, a large “W”, and the words “Wee Power”. 

“The plaintiff’s mark is a device mark with one rearing horse while the defendant’s mark contains two rearing horses facing each other”, said Adlin, who found that the marks were visually and conceptually distinct. 

She also accepted Sunrise-Mark’s explanation that the word “Wee” was derived from their founder’s name, Wee Juan Chien, and not a reference to the English word meaning “very small”. 

Ferrari had argued that “Wee” was generic and that “Power” had been disclaimed in the registration, but the judge disagreed and found no evidence of an intent to mimic the Italian brand. 

She further noted that the two companies operate in entirely different sectors – luxury vehicles versus consumable energy drinks – with no reasonable likelihood of customer confusion.

Russian Troops Prepare for Another Potential Bakhmut-Style Carnage

Ukraine's top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Friday that Russia has massed 111,000 troops near Pokrovsk and they're getting ready for another potential Bakhmut-style carnage. He called the Pokrovsk sector "the hottest spot" on Ukraine's 1,200-km frontline. 

It is claimed that every day, no fewer than 50 combat clashes take place here. 

As Ukrainian soldier and platoon commander of the 24th Separate Assault Battalion "Aidar", Stanislav "Osman" Buniatov posted on Telegram last month: "Overall, enemy activity is high along the entire line, from Bahatyr to the Kostiantynivka pocket. Southwest of Kostiantynivka, the enemy made advances due to the low combat readiness of our personnel, poor coordination, and the low capabilities of strike UAV units responsible for this sector".

In fact, one Ukrainian analyst had warned that if Kiev were to lose Pokrovsk, "the entire frontline will crumble".

Pokrovsk is a strategic target for Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that his goal is to seize all of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk his forces partially occupy. 

Although not a major city, Pokrovsk sits on a key supply road and railroad that connect it with other military hubs in the area. Together with Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, it forms the backbone of Ukrainian defenses in the part of Donetsk region that is still under Kiev’s control. 

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based conflict monitor, had claimed late last year that Ukrainian defensive operations in Pokrovsk have forced Russia to abandon its original plan to take over Pokrovsk in a frontal assault. 

I don't know about that but it is obvious that Russia is bidding its time.

Elsewhere, Russian forces steadily advance deeper into Ukrainian territory. 

On Friday (Day 1220), Russia's MOD tallied destroyed Ukrainian assets since the start of the Special Military Operation as 663 Ukrainian warplanes, 283 helicopters, 65,806 unmanned aerial vehicles, 612 surface-to-air missile systems, 24,059 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,572 multiple rocket launchers, 26,656 field artillery guns and mortars and 37,365 special military motor vehicles. As per TASS news agency.

Meet Mirumi

If you think everyone's favorite toy Labubu is charming comeliness, then you must also meet Mirumi! 

I'll even admit, after watching the video below, that Mirumi has become the #1 thing on my wishlist. 

The palm-sized Mirumi from Yukai Engineering looks like a friendly Yeti, who bashfully clings onto your arm, bag, or wherever you decide to place it. 

Mirumi has been described as a "communication creature". When someone walks by – or you jostle it – it swivels its big googly eyes toward the source of motion. If you reach out to touch it? It hides. Or shakes its head "no". 

Or does nothing. Because it's shy. And maybe a little moody. 

The Tokyo, Japan-based robotics start-up's CEO Shunsuke Aoki (right) shares: “People often find great joy in sharing their own happiness with others. Mirumi is a robot that enables you to do just that. Whether you’re riding a crowded train or standing in line at the cashier, your Mirumi will always find a way to reach into people’s hearts with its innocent gaze, prompting the person to wave at the robot or make a funny face in response".  

Even better, methinks the said robot can even serve as an excellent emotional support plaything.

The idea for Mirumi was born out of Yukai Engineering’s internal Make-a-Thon in 2024, during which a team of staff engineers and designers proposed to create a robotic “yokai” (supernatural being) like creature with the characteristics of a human baby. 

The company plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign for the product in mid-2025. 

Between you and me, I love the idea of a fuzzy toy that can interact with you when you're out in public. And there's nothing wrong in recognizing that I'll need Mirumi's level of cuteness in my daily life.

Fossilized Roach That Is 35 To 40 Million Years Old

A fossilized cockroach has been discovered in a chunk of amber in Russia’s Kaliningrad Region. 

The specimen was found during manual sorting at the Kaliningrad Amber Combine, a facility operated by technology giant Rostech, the company announced on Thursday. 

The insect is encased in a 41x21 mm wedge of amber weighing just 7 grams. Rostech noted that the cockroach is preserved near the surface of the amber, allowing for detailed observation of its wings, legs, and head. 

Anna Dugina, a gemologist at the Kaliningrad Amber Combine, said the find is the largest cockroach-like specimen discovered by the facility in the past five years. She estimated its age at no less than 35 to 40 million years. 

The scientist explained that although the insect differs from cockroaches found today, similar species still live in tropical areas. 

The Kaliningrad Amber Combine is the only enterprise globally that mines amber on an industrial scale. The facility has developed unique extraction methods to preserve the integrity of amber pieces, especially those containing inclusions of flora and fauna. 

This discovery adds to the collection of the Kaliningrad Regional Amber Museum, which houses over 14,000 individual pieces, including more than 3,000 amber inclusions. Baltic amber, such as that found in Kaliningrad, is known for preserving ancient life forms in remarkable detail. FYI, the region holds over 90% of the world’s amber reserves.

US Economy Shrank 0.5% in Q1

The US economy shrank at a 0.5 percent annual pace from January to March as US President Donald Trump’s trade wars disrupted business, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday in an unexpected deterioration of earlier estimates. 

First-quarter growth was weighed down by a surge of imports as US companies and households rushed to buy foreign goods before Trump could impose tariffs on them. 

The Commerce Department previously estimated that the economy fell 0.2 percent in the first quarter. Economists had forecast no change in the department’s third and final estimate. 

The January to March drop in gross domestic product (GDP) – the nation’s output of goods and services – reversed a 2.4 percent increase in the last three months of 2024 and marked the first time in three years that the economy contracted. Imports expanded 37.9 percent, the fastest since 2020, and pushed GDP down by nearly 4.7 percentage points. 

Consumer spending also slowed sharply, expanding just 0.5 percent, down from a robust 4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. It is a significant downgrade from the Commerce Department’s previous estimate. 

Consumers have turned jittery since Trump started plastering big taxes on imports, anticipating that the tariffs will impact their finances directly. 

And the Conference Board reported this week that Americans’ view of the US economy worsened in June, resuming a downward slide that had dragged consumer confidence in April to its lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago. 

The Conference Board said on Tuesday that their consumer confidence index slid to 93 in June, down 5.4 points from 98.4 last month. A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market fell 4.6 points to 69. That is well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead. 

Former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm said the “downward revision to consumer spending today is a potential red flag”. 

An interesting fact. As of May 2025, nearly 60% of China's total installed power capacity comes from clean sources – a stunning one-third increase from just four years ago. 

#GreenChina

The US And Its $36 Trillion Debt

On July 29, 2024, I reported that the United States of America's gross national debt had surpassed $35 trillion. 

And less than a year later, the country's national debt has snowballed to $36,217,815,722,696 and growing. 

Already, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned that Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” – actually, a government spending bill – would make the mountain of debt become bigger and thereby, amplifying growing concerns about America’s unsustainable financial trajectory. 

“The US is heading in the wrong direction. This bill would be one more nail in the coffin of a country falling under an enormous debt burden”, said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund, as cited by CNN on May 22, 2025. 

But Republicans remain undaunted. Unworried. Reckless even. Truth be told, most of them actually nurture expectations of an economic boom. 

One holdout is Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who described it as a "debt bomb ticking". Already, it is claimed that the version approved last month by the House of Representatives could increase the federal deficit by at least $2.8 trillion. 

And now, they expect the Senate to pass the bill ahead of the self-imposed July 04 deadline. Trump had even told senators to “lock yourself in a room if you must” to get his “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” across the finish line.  

I've no doubt he will get his way, and that means American economic strength is going to be on very flimsy ground.    

Sivasangari Subramaniam bowed out of the PSA Squash Tour Finals without a win, losing all three of her Group B matches. 

The world No. 8 suffered her third straight defeat on Wednesday, going down 8-11, 11-9, 11-7 to world No. 7 Satomi Watanabe of Japan. It was Sivasangari's first loss to Satomi in seven PSA Tour meetings, and the result saw her finish bottom of the group.

Pizza Delivery Monitor Alerts to Secret Israel Attack

The timing of Israel's plan to attack Iran was top secret. But Washington pizza delivery trackers guessed something was up before the first bombs fell! 

About an hour before Iranian state TV first reported loud explosions in Tehran, pizza orders around the Pentagon went through the roof, according to a viral X account claiming to offer "hot intel" on "late-night activity spikes" at the US military headquarters. 

"As of 6:59 pm ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity", the account "Pentagon Pizza Report" posted on June 12, 2025. 

While far from scientific, the Pentagon pizza theory "is not something the Internet just made up", The Takeout, an online site covering restaurants and food trends, noted earlier this year. 

Pentagon-adjacent pizza joints also got much busier than usual during Israel's 2024 missile strike on Iran, it said. And pizza deliveries to the Pentagon reportedly doubled right before the US invasion of Panama in December 1989, and surged again before Operation Desert Storm in 1991. 

US President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal he was fully aware in advance of the bombing campaign, which Israel says is needed to end Iran's nuclear program. "We know what's going on". 

But for the rest of America, pepperoni pie activity offered the only clue that something was about to happen.

Israel and Iran Suddenly Stop Fighting

The Iranian retaliation – my Monday's post "Sunday's Bombings of Iran's Nuclear Sites" refers – came soon enough. Iran attacked United States forces stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday – but the bombardment was very modest. Almost as if it was staged. 

No deaths nor injuries. In fact, US President Donald Trump called Iran's response "very weak". And he even thanked the country for giving early notice! 😮😮😮

Meanwhile, Israel resumed bombing Iran’s capital, Tehran, and Iran sent waves of missiles and drones into Israel, with blasts heard in multiple cities. 

And just as suddenly, Trump announced on social media that Israel and Iran have agreed to a complete ceasefire, which would, on Tuesday, lead to an end to the 12-day conflict. 

I don't know about everyone else but it seems to me that Trump started the war, just so, he can end it. And for which he wanted to get credit for.

Note the conflict between Israel and Iran began June 13, when Israel launched its first strikes against Iranian military and nuclear targets. The strikes – which killed a number of top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists – prompted Iranian counterattacks on Israel. [My post "Israel Attacks Iran" published June 16, 2025]. 

And I think Iran is making a mistake accepting the ceasefire.

Sivasangari Subramaniam's hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the PSA Squash Tour Finals are over after suffering a second straight Group B defeat yesterday. 

The world No. 8 went down 10-11, 11-9, 11-7 in 40 minutes to Egypt's world No. 14 Fayrouz Aboelkheir – her first loss to the 19-year-old in three meetings. 

With two defeats, Sivasangari is now out of contention for the last four of the season-ending event.

Drones Dump Mosquitoes on Hawaii

Drones are dropping pods containing thousands of mosquitoes in the forests of Hawaii, USA. And believe it or not, they are actually on a rescue mission. 

For millions of years, there were dozens of species of Hawaiian honeycreepers (members of the finch family Fringillidae). They survived the arrival of Polynesian settlers, but it didn't take long after the European colonizers arrived for things to go south for birds and other wildlife. Whaling ships arrived in the 1800s and brought mosquitoes with them. 

The greatest threat to Hawaiian forest birds is avian malaria, and which is carried by the invasive mosquitoes. At least 33 species of honeycreepers are already extinct, and many of the 17 extant species are critically endangered. 

A partnership between the American Bird Conservancy and a multi-agency organization called Birds Not Mosquitoes is working to save the honeycreeper by targeting and eliminating mosquitoes.  

As crazy as it sounds, this involves releasing male malaria mosquitoes into the wild to mate with wild female mosquitoes. But there is something unique about the former: they have been lab bred and infected with Wolbachia, gram-negative bacteria (a group of bacteria with a thin cellular wall) from class Alphaproteobacteria, that live within insects and block their eggs from incubating. 

Male mosquitoes do not bite and so, cannot transmit malaria. And releasing lab bred mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia into the wild to compete with wild male mosquitoes should be a safe form of biological control. And as female mosquitoes only mate once, introducing infected male mosquitoes to mate with them, would prevent any eggs they lay from hatching and consequently stop new generations of mosquitoes from developing.

The above illustrates the status of mosquito offspring that result from different mating combinations when male and/or female mosquitoes carry Wolbachia. When male and female mosquitoes that are both free of Wolbachia mate, their offspring are also free of Wolbachia. When Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes mate with Wolbachia-free females, cytoplasmic incompatibility occurs; their eggs don’t hatch; and no viable offspring are produced. Wolbachia-infected female mosquitoes produce viable offspring that carry Wolbachia after they mate with males that either carry Wolbachia or are free of Wolbachia. This reproductive advantage can help Wolbachia spread in mosquito populations. Image credit: EP Caragata, UF/IFAS

It's a long game, but over time, the project hopes to reduce the mosquito population and prevent the loss of more species to extinction. 

Note: Helicopters were initially used to drop half a million mosquitoes in biodegradable pods into the remote locations where the birds and mosquitoes live, but drones are safer and more flexible.

Malaysia Gets Invite to CAFA Nations Cup 2025

It is good news to read that Malaysia is able to secure an invite to participate in the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup (August 26-September 09), which offers a rare opportunity for Harimau Malaya to play world class teams outside Southeast Asia. 

And it's a big plus because the national side get to prove themselves against more physical and tactically advanced footballing countries. 

The tournament experience would be the best preparation before they take on Laos in the 2027 Asian Cup third-round qualifiers in October. 

At the PSA Squash Tour Finals (June 23-27, 2025) in Toronto, Canada, in Round One, it was not the dream start Sivasangari Subramaniam had hoped for. 

The world No. 8 gave a good account of herself but eventually went down 11-9, 11-9 to American world No. 4 Olivia Weaver in a Group B match on Monday. 

It was her seventh defeat to Weaver in eight meetings. 

Sivasangari will face world No. 14 Fayrouz Aboelkheir in her second group match today – a must-win clash for both players to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

The Chosen Ones Bolt Israel

"The truth travels faster than your entitlement" is another great line in yet another clip from Nicole Jenes Entertainment and if you had enjoyed the video in my post "Israelis Flee the Promised Land" published June 21, 2025, you'll definitely love this one too! 😂😂😂

Thank you, Iran for bringing the fight to Israel!

MAGA Or MIGA, That Is The Question

US President Donald Trump (left) is now openly calling for regime change in Iran! 

In a post on his Truth Social account, he said “it’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change’, but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” 

“MIGA!!!” he added, appearing to refer to Make Iran Great Again, a play on his Make America Great Again (MAGA) slogan. The post signifies a shift for the Trump administration, with the White House repeatedly claiming that the US is not seeking to overthrow Iran’s government.

The whole MAGA thingy is, actually, a farce! It's not about America First; it has always been Trump First. Americans have been deceived.

If you must know, Trump is the wonky wanker!

Sunday's Bombing of Iran's Nuclear Sites

Yesterday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of betraying diplomacy and said the warmongering and lawless administration in Washington will face “everlasting consequences” after it joined Israel in its air campaign against his country. 

US President Donald Trump had claimed the strikes on early Sunday local time at the key nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in Iran were “very successful” and that they had been "obliterated". He also warned against any retaliation, saying: “Remember, there are many targets left”. 

However, IAEA, the international nuclear energy watchdog said there have been no reports of increased off-site radiation levels in the wake of the said US attacks. 

Called Operation Midnight Hammer, the bombing operation was said to involve 125 US military aircraft including seven B-2 stealth bombers. Each of those B-2s were armed with US-produced "bunker-buster" bombs known as the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, or MOPs – bombs so heavy that they could only be dropped by a B-2.

According to CBS News, a total of 14 MOPs had been dropped against two nuclear targets (i.e., Fordow and Natanz) and about two dozen submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles targeted the Isfahan site. 

And after the bombing, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!”

An absurd assertion that mirrors Trump's deranged delusion!

Who is the actual nuclear threat? Certainly, not Iran.

US Bombs Iran

US bombs Iran! Donald Trump starts war!

It's time for Iran to take firm and resolute action. No more dialogue. No more playing nice.  

Fight back. Get even. RETALIATE.

WSC's Forty-second Meeting

Muhendaran Suppiah stepped up to the plate to organize and host this month's session. BTW, this is our forty-second meeting.

Altogether, eight attendees, four of whom were guests, turned up. 

The meeting covener had picked a one-word theme: Disaster. It appears to be a simple word but at the same time, it carries a plethora of perspectives, reflecting its complex nature and varied impacts, e.g., economic, ethical, historical, political/governmental, psychological, sociological/ anthropological POVs. Even personal viewpoints. 

Of course, you can expect us to interpret and define "disaster" based on our own experiences, priorities, and the specific context.  

And, not surprisingly, a majority of our speeches tended to segue into the personal realm. They're either serious or light-hearted or both. A sample: Qian Yi talked about herself being cast as a "sweet disaster". Syazwan resurrected his traumatic childhood. Yen shared a story from her past about getting a surprise drenching. Aisha's speech was swathed in levity and overlaid with flippancy. All were stories that were engaging and relatable.

I daresay, a good meeting overall.

Muhendaran had picked a new venue: Chandelier Wine Dine & Party, located along Jalan Taman Seputeh, off Jalan Syed Putra, KL. Set in a crisp red & black decor, the restaurant has a more than decent menu and many of us agreed that the food was great!

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