Teoh Beng Hock: Pursuit of Justice Continues

In their unrelenting pursuit of justice, the family of the late DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock on April 17, 2026 filed a fresh judicial review seeking to compel the authorities to reclassify and investigate his death as murder, challenging what they describe as the police’s use of an “incorrect” and lesser charge in the probe. 

Lawyer Lim Wei Jiet said the move follows confirmation from the police in January that previous investigations into Teoh’s death were conducted under Section 342 of the Penal Code for wrongful confinement. Those investigations were ultimately classified as no further action (NFA) in May last year. 

Teoh was found dead in 2009 after being questioned overnight at the Selangor MACC office. A 2011 royal commission concluded he died by suicide due to aggressive interrogation, while a 2014 Court of Appeal ruling found his death was caused or accelerated by unlawful acts, including those by MACC officers. 

In 2024, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered police to complete the investigation within six months, but the Attorney-General’s Chambers later classified the case as no further action (NFA). 

Yesterday, I mentioned that Donald Trump had announced a naval mission to assist ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz shipping route, which he called Project Freedom. But it lasted less than 48 hours because Trump suddenly called it off. 

What was intended as a show of strength became a humiliating retreat. 

There were only three routes that can be used to ship oil out of the Persian Gulf and they include the Strait of Hormuz, the Habshan–Fujairah pipeline in the UAE, and the East-West Pipeline in Saudi Arabia. 

Before Monday, the two pipelines were operating at full capacity. Then the expected happened, the US Navy engaged Iranian fast attack boats in the Strait of Hormuz. 

Iran’s retaliation was swift and  the UAE's pipeline export terminal was destroyed, some report that the pipeline itself was also hit. 

It is clear to me that Saudi Arabia then pressured Trump to suspend the "project" fearing Iran's retaliation. The Saudi route would certainly be the next target if the US attempts to breach the ceasefire again. 

For sure, Iran has the cards.

Kiss My Ass: Donald Trump's Undignified Reference To MBS

US President Donald Trump, speaking at the Saudi-backed Future Investment Initiative (FII) Priority Summit on March 27, 2026 at the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach in Florida, USA, mocked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). 

“He [MBS] said, you know, it’s amazing... a year ago, you were a dead country. Now, you’re literally the hottest country anywhere in the world”, Trump said. 

“He [MBS] didn’t think this was going to happen… he didn’t think he’d be kissing my ass… he thought it’d be just another American president that was a loser… but now he has to be nice to me”, he added. 

The comments came amid reports that MBS is asking the US to continue bombing Iran until the regime is toppled.

Today, Manchester City stood in the way of Liverpool reaching the FA Cup semi-finals. 

Based on the latter's season so far, I didn't expect the underwhelming Reds to win. Much as I hated it, I had to be realistic. And unsurprisingly, they predictably suffered yet another severe humiliation. 

Arne Slot and his boys failed to deliver. Again. They were mauled 4-0!

Somebody posted that they’d folded like a deck of cards!

On this showing, you fear for Liverpool playing in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in Paris in midweek against PSG.

Meanwhile, in the Scottish Premiership, two matches had featured Rangers and Motherwell.

The former won 4-2 against Dundee United while the latter faltered again when Falkirk beat them 3-2.

The latest table standings for the top 4 Scottish clubs:

US Soldiers Get Ready to Die for Israel

It is said that there are about 40,000 American troops scattered around at bases and on ships at any time around the Middle East region, including in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and United Arab Emirates. 

But as Donald Trump escalates the war in Iran, that number has reached more than 50,000, according to a US military official, as reported by The New York Times on March 29, 2026.

It doesn't matter how many soldiers are being deployed to fight Iran because there will be a bloodbath. For sure, the ruby tide will rise on Iranian soil, where the fallen Americans turn the ground beneath them crimson in their final moments.

Here's the truth about the US involvement in Iran:

I betcha Temu have already received a massive order of body bags from the US Department of War. 😆😆😆

Donald Trump Rages at News Outlets Over War Coverage

US President Donald Trump threatened media organizations with treason charges, accusing them of knowingly colluding with Iran to cast doubt on Washington’s decisive “victory”. 

In a lengthy Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump alleged that “fake news” outlets had been spreading false information supposedly fabricated by Iran using artificial intelligence. 

“The fact is, Iran is being decimated, and the only battles they ‘win’ are those that they create through AI, and are distributed by Corrupt Media Outlets”, Trump derisively wrote. 

He implicated Tehran in circulating fabricated footage showing attacks on US military assets, including alleged strikes on refueling aircraft and naval vessels. According to the president, some of the images depicted non-existent “kamikaze boats” and the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier burning, which he dismissed as artificial intelligence-generated propaganda intended to portray Iran as militarily successful. 

He claimed that only one aircraft was damaged and remained out of service since the escalation of the conflict on February 28. 

Trump described the outlets that published the reports as “Corrupt and Highly Unpatriotic ‘News’ Organizations”, adding that media spreading “knowingly FAKE” information “should be brought up on Charges for TREASON for the dissemination of false information”. 

Over the weekend, Trump and Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr both threatened the media over stories and headlines they said were grossly inaccurate and painted the US in a poor light. Trump suggested criminal action against news outlets, while Carr floated not renewing broadcasters’ licenses. 

The US and Israel began by launching coordinated strikes on the Islamic Republic, triggering Iranian retaliatory attacks across the region. 

To be sure, US military assets have been on the receiving end too. As of March 14, 2026, reports have indicated that at least three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets were destroyed in a supposedly friendly-fire incident over Kuwait, while at least five KC-135 refueling aircraft were damaged in an Iranian missile attack on a Saudi base and eleven MQ-9 Reaper drones were downed during the ongoing conflict. Not to mention, at least four AN/TPY-2 radar systems, which were the "eyes" of the THAAD missile system as well as a $1.1B AN/FPS-132 radar in Qatar were wrecked.

A F-35 fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing on Thursday after it was struck by suspected Iranian fire on Thursday. 

And a March 16 post shared by RT on X cited “latest Chinese satellite intel” indicating the US nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln “has now retreated to roughly 1,000 km from Iranian shores” after being targeted by Iranian drones. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed their drones struck the carrier, forcing it to relocate. Of course, the US military denied the claim, stating that no Iranian missiles or drones had even touched the ship.

And news reports have highlighted that 2,200 US Marines, part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, a rapid-response force based in Okinawa, Japan, are being deployed to the Middle East. The USS Tripoli, an America-class amphibious assault ship, which is said to be transporting the marines and accompanied by two escort ships, were spotted approximately 107KM northeast of Bandar Penawar, Johor, Malaysia on March 17.

Experts say the MEU would likely be used to conduct raids across the Iranian shoreline to gain a foothold in areas across the Strait of Hormuz, which has emerged as a contested point of the conflict. 

Asked Tuesday if he was afraid of the Iranian regime's assertion that US boots on the ground "will be another Vietnam", Trump replied, "No, I'm not afraid. I'm really not afraid of anything".

The move suggests Washington is not seeking to wind down its war on Iran anytime soon, despite repeatedly boasting of operational successes.

In fact, the Pentagon are seeking an additional $200 billion from Congress to fund the United States-Israel war with Iran, and on Thursday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth warns it has no “timeframe” for ending.

So, don't expect any off-ramp; only escalation.

Raging Mideast War is Escalating

Today is Day 13 of the US-Israel war on Iran! It has already outlasted the 12-day war initiated by Israel – as is this war, by the way – on June 13, 2025, with the US joining nine days later. 

In fact, US President Donald Trump affirmed on Monday the war against Iran will end “very soon” but not this week!

“We’ve wiped every single force in Iran out, very completely”, the Orange Man trumpeted the destruction of more than 50 Iranian naval ships, and decimation of its air force and anti-aircraft defenses. 

He also said that the war would be over when Iran no longer had the capacity to use weapons against the US, Israel and other allies for a long time, according to CNBC on March 09, 2026. 

In fact, Trump had blithely described the war on Iran as a “short-term excursion”, maintaining that the US is ahead of schedule and already achieved “tremendous success”, as per Al Jazeera on March 10.

But this time around, the conflict has engulfed neighboring Arab countries, entering an escalatory phase as Tehran unleashed its 37th wave of missile and drone attacks across the region. 

Oil, gas and fuel storage facilities in Israel’s Haifa were repeatedly targeted while Gulf states scrambled to intercept drones and missiles heading toward energy hubs. Sirens echoed from Bahrain and Kuwait to Dubai, UAE, as defenses raced to stop incoming threats. 

At the same time, Washington and Tel Aviv intensified airstrikes inside Iran, hitting key sites across the country. 

Already, oil production in Iraq has dropped by 70%, from 4.3 million bpd before the conflict to 1.3 million bpd. Saudi Arabia has lowered output by 2 million to 2.5 million bpd, while the UAE has cut 500,000–800,000 bpd, and Kuwait has cut 500,000 bpd.

On top of that, drone attacks have hammered key infrastructure, including the Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia and the Ras Laffan gas facility in Qatar, the latter responsible for 20% of global LNG supply. Already, QatarEnergy declared force majeure on LNG shipments yesterday.

Moreover, Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a global energy chokepoint, handling about a quarter of the world's seaborne oil and significant liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fertilizer.

Predictably, Trump threatened “death, fire and fury” if Iran keeps obstructing the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. Tehran hit back, vowing it won’t allow “one liter of oil” to leave the Middle East until US and Israeli attacks cease. A top Iranian official even warned Trump to be careful not to be “eliminated” himself. 

With oil and gas facilities now at the center of the battlefield, the conflict is rapidly turning into a wider energy war.

And more. Yesterday, Iran identified new targets, i.e., offices and infrastructure run by top US companies with Israeli links whose technology has been used for military applications. Al Jazeera confirms this, saying the companies include Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia and Oracle, and those companies offering cloud-based services that are located in multiple Israeli cities, as well as in some Gulf countries. 

And banks too. Yesterday, state-owned Bank Sepah in Tehran which were reportedly responsible for processing salary payments for Iran's military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, got hit by enemy missile(s). This presents Iran with the option to target economic centers and banks belonging to the US and Israel within the region. It's damn serious because Iran's military command (Khatam al-Anbiya) are warning civilians to stay at least one kilometer away from these establishments in the region.

The raging war is escalating, that's for sure. Yet, just hours ago, Trump is telling Axios in a 5-minute interview that there's "practically nothing left" to target in Iran! 🤣🤣🤣

As of March 11, the death toll has reached over 1,300 in Iran and at least 11 in Israel, with additional casualties reported among US troops in the region. 

Bombs, Missiles and Drones Cause Widespread Death and Destruction

Israel may have pulled the trigger first – but I blame US President Donald Trump! He, himself suggested on Tuesday that he may have “forced Israel’s hand” into a war with Iranian "lunatics" (The Times of Israel, March 03, 2026). 

It sure has been a very busy week so far for all parties involved. Yesterday, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth touted as evidence of America's global reach in its war on Iran when he confirmed a US fast attack submarine had sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean – the Pentagon released footage of the strike. FYI, the IRIS Dena, had participated in a naval exercise in India just weeks ago. And according to Sri Lankan authorities, 32 sailors have been rescued, 61 are still missing and 87 bodies have so far been found. 

Iran's navy are already almost decimated, if you believe the Americans. Trump declared Monday that the US sank 10 Iranian battleships. But, on the same day, CENTCOM had stated that in two days, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman and now they have none left. 

Whether 10 or 11, that hadn't stopped Trump from gloating: “They’re at the bottom of the sea”. 

Oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has plunged by 90 percent since the outbreak of the Middle East war, energy market intelligence firm Kpler said on X. Iranian forces, meanwhile, claimed "complete control" of the strait, a vital route for world oil and gas supplies, after Trump said Tuesday the US Navy were ready to escort oil tankers through the channel. 

The British are joining in. Their F-35s shot down Iranian drones over Jordan, marking the first time that one of the Royal Air Force's stealth fighter jets had destroyed a target in combat, the UK defense ministry shouted out on Tuesday.

The Israel Defense Forces said they dropped more than 4,000 bombs on Iranian targets in just four days and on Tuesday, even hit “Minzadehei”, a secret underground site on the outskirts of Tehran where Iran transferred much of its nuclear program after the 12-day war with Israel in June. 

The commander of CENTCOM – the forward headquarters of United States Central Command in Qatar – Admiral Brad Cooper claimed the US has struck more than 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions and severely degraded Iran's air defences.

It's not all one-sided though. Three US fighter jets were downed over Kuwait. The Americans explained on Monday that the F-15s were "mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences" and all six crew ejected safely. If you ask me, I don't believe this excuse of a "friendly fire incident".

A day earlier, Iran pounded a base housing US troops in Kuwait on Sunday, killing three service members. Since then, the death toll has risen to six, CENTCOM confirmed on Monday, an uptick that was forecasted by Trump and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine. 

Still, Iran maintained that more than 650 US military personnel were killed and wounded in the first two days of Operation True Promise 4, while its military say they fired over 700 drones and hundreds of ballistic missiles in 48 hours exceeding the total firepower of the June 2025 war. 

Also, on Monday, Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery at Ras Tanura halted operations after a drone strike in the area. Iran accused Israel of carrying out the attack, describing it as a “false flag” operation.

And on the same day too, a Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicle struck a runway at a UK military base in Akrotiri, Cyprus. Consequently, Greece is sending two frigates and a pair of F-16 fighter jets to Aphrodite's Isle.

Amazon Web Services reported Monday that two data centers in the United Arab Emirates were “directly struck” and another facility in Bahrain was also damaged after a drone landed nearby. 

On Tuesday, two ballistic missiles were aimed at Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base. Air defenses intercepted one, while the second struck the base southwest of Doha without causing casualties. Al Udeid is the backbone of US military airpower in the Middle East, housing the Combined Air Operations Center that direct American and coalition missions across the region. The strike marks a direct hit on one of Washington’s most critical strategic assets there. 

There's been so many claims made by all sides; it's been difficult to establish the veracity of every claim. What is certain is the trail of death and destruction left behind! 

And then there's this widely-circulated story which according to Israeli journalist Nahum Barnea, Trump through Italy had sought an immediate ceasefire upon seeing that the Iranian government did not collapse after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with senior figures in the country’s leadership – but Iran rejected it outright.

They should fear Khamenei as a martyr, more than Khamenei alive!

This ambitious American-Israeli project targeting Iran envisioned a massive bombing campaign to last only 4-5 days and expecting Iran to surrender thereafter. 

Today is Day 6! 

IRAN HAS NOT SURRENDERED! 😂😂😂😂😂😂

And on Tuesday, parents in Minab, Iran held a mass funeral for the 165 students – most of them girls aged between 7 and 12 – as well as staff killed in the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh all girls' school by the evil Israel-US axis. 

The IRNA news agency had cited a local prosecutor as saying that 96 people had been wounded in Saturday’s strike. 

Ali Farhadi, spokesperson for Iran’s Education Ministry, said Sunday that three attacks struck the school, which he said had 264 students. 

Some social media accounts linked to Israel claimed the site was “part of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base”. However, an analysis by Al Jazeera’s digital investigations unit of satellite imagery compiled over more than a decade, as well as recent video clips, published news reports and statements from official Iranian sources, tells a very different story. 

The findings reveal that the school had been clearly separate from an adjacent military site for at least 10 years. The investigation also shows that the strike pattern raises fundamental questions about the accuracy of intelligence information on which the bombing was based.

The Minab massacre is a war crime.

Iran's official IRNA news agency said Wednesday Israel and US had killed 1,045 military personnel and civilians since the start of the war. Elsewhere, Al Jazeera reported at least 11 dead in Israel as well as six US soldiers and eight civilians killed in the Gulf states. And the death toll from Israeli military action in Lebanon has risen to 72, with 437 injured since this front of the war ignited on Monday.

Australia's 1st Attempt at an Orbital Rocket Crashes 14 Seconds After Liftoff

The United States, Russia and China aside, there are many other countries which have significant space ambitions. Like India, Japan, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. 

These countries have strong space programs and are actively pursuing ambitious goals in space exploration and technology. 

But I must admit that I didn't know Australia is harboring a similar ambition too. 

Anyway, I read that on Tuesday local time, Eris-1, the first rocket fully built by an Australian company, crashed back to Earth 14 seconds after taking off from a spaceport in Queensland. It was the country's first orbital launch attempt since 1971.

Developed by Gilmour Space Technologies, the Eris rocket was designed to carry small satellites into orbit, marking a significant step for the nation's burgeoning space industry. 

A video of the launch shows that the rocket initially took off as expected, with all four of its engines firing properly. But after clearing the launch pad its ascent quickly stalled, and it began to slide sideways before dropping back to the ground and disappearing in a cloud of smoke, likely landing on its side. There was no apparent explosion, but the rocket quickly burst into flames.

Embarrassing leh! 

Interestingly, the Australian aerospace company had even declared that they would consider the launch a success if the rocket left the ground!

My post "Boeing 737 MAX 8 Incidents In Just Two Days" published July 29 refers. I have somehow missed news of another Boeing incident just four days later – and which I only learned today. 😞😞😞

A United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco, USA made a dramatic turnaround back to UK's London Heathrow after “fumes” filled up the plane’s galley. [Note the galley is the area in which cabin crew prepare food and store trolleys, and is where the toilets are typically found]. 

Flight UA949 took off from London Heathrow at 12:45 PM on July 30 for an 11-hour flight to the Californian city. The Boeing 777 managed only 27 minutes in the air before unexpectedly returning to its departure base. The plane reached as far as Milton Keynes, then ditched its flight path and looped back to London, flight tracking data shows. 

After landing, three fire engines met the plane on the taxiway. 

There were 272 passengers onboard at the time, along with 13 crew members. And after the diversion back to the airport, the flight was ultimately cancelled.

Donald Trump Gets $600B From MBS, Supposedly

Way back in January 23, 2025, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told US President Donald Trump that the kingdom wants to put $600B into expanded investment and trade with the United States over the next four years. 

And Trump, before even arriving in Saudi Arabia, expressed his desire to secure $1 trillion in investments from officials in Riyadh. As it happens, the president and his team couldn’t get nearly that much, but they did claim they were able to secure $600B in investments, which still sounded impressive.  

At least, that is, until people read the fine print. The New York Times reported May 13: "The White House on Tuesday said that President Trump, while in Saudi Arabia, had secured $600 billion in deals with the Saudi government and firms. But the details the White House provided were vague and totaled less than half that number. And a closer look at the projects the administration provided show several were already in the works before Trump took office".

Even before the announcement, Trump’s ambitions in this area were hard to take seriously. The entire Saudi sovereign wealth fund is worth about $925 billion, and it has already largely been committed to domestic priorities. The idea that Riyadh would make $600 billion in investments in the United States was, at face value, unbelievable. It was against this backdrop that NYT did the arithmetic and found that the deals announced by the White House “totaled around $283 billion”, not $600 billion, and some of the affected projects were from the Biden era.

Economists have already pointed out that making good on that investment pledge will be a challenge for the kingdom, which faces sky-high costs for its own Vision 2030 investment ambitions. Lower global oil prices and big-ticket public spending projects are sure to bring about widening budget deficits for Riyadh. 

Already, MBS as the kingdom’s de facto ruler is called, has a grand plan to diversify the oil-dependent country and which is likely to cost close to $2 trillion, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg News. The sheer scale of domestic commitments – calculated by Bloomberg based on interviews with people familiar with the plans, US government projections, Saudi estimates and data from the researcher MEED – are transforming the kingdom’s role in the global economy. 

Decades of earning more money than it spent at home once left Saudi Arabia with huge surpluses to invest abroad. High domestic spending and falling oil prices have now sent that into reverse. The petrodollar spigot is still churning out vast amounts of cash, but transforming the Saudi economy is a very costly endeavour. 

“Trump is chasing $1 trillion of investments, but Saudi Arabia can’t deliver it”, said Ziad Daoud, the chief emerging markets economist of Bloomberg Economics, pointing to the kingdom's current account balance turning negative over the past year. “Saudi Arabia has become an importer of capital even with oil prices at relatively high levels, and it’s likely to remain until at least 2030. That’s going to reshape its relationship with the global economy”. 

Whatever the promise(s) made, the fact of the matter is that much of the money may not trickle into the US economy any time soon. 

“$1 trillion of new trade and investment over the next four years is not going to happen”, reiterated Tim Callen, a visiting scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. “It would represent a huge increase on recent levels and would basically represent all the assets of the kingdom’s $940 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) and close to a full year of gross domestic product (GDP)”. 

And crude prices at around $63 a barrel put fresh pressure on the kingdom. Bloomberg Economics estimates that Saudi Arabia needs a price of $96 a barrel to balance its budget, and $113 if domestic spending by the PIF on MBS' projects is included. 

“Any external demands will only add pressure to an already stretched position”, Monica Malik, the chief economist of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, said.

To be sure, the Saudi government and the PIF have already started delaying some domestic investment plans and could delay them further or scale back some of its most ambitious plans. That would give them more room to spend in the short term. 

But the country’s stretched finances have started to show up in the rising pace of Saudi debt issuance. The government borrowed the most on record in the first quarter, even more than in the depths of 2020 when oil prices turned briefly negative.

Still, Saudi Arabia’s total debt stands at $354 billion, only around 30% of GDP and low by the standards of most other governments. It has over $400 billion of foreign reserves parked with the central bank and a large portion of that is US treasuries. 

“The current account will be in deficit in the coming years, meaning there will be no new money to invest overseas”, Callen said. “So they will either have to borrow or sell existing investments to finance new investments in the US or elsewhere”.

You should know by now that when Trump starts making over-the-top boasts, you really can't take him seriously. Any numbers being bandied about are at best, just commitments. TBH, I would think of them as being iffy. 

Let's wait and see if Saudi Arabia will actually cough up the money when the time comes. 😜😜😜

Malaysia's Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan stormed into the quarter-finals of the Thailand Open on Thursday when they exacted revenge on Indonesia's Lenny Tria Mayasari-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti – the pair who stunned them at the season-opening Malaysia Open in January. 

World No. 26 Lenny-Fadia had crushed home hopes in Kuala Lumpur, but there was no repeat in Bangkok as the well-prepared Malaysians battled to a 21-17, 10-21, 21-15 win in a 56-minute clash in the second round.

China’s Digital RMB is Rewriting the Global Financial Order

China is rewriting the global financial order and in the process, reprogramming the global economy.

While the West obsesses over inflation rates, interest hikes, and regulatory tweaks, a financial supernova is exploding quietly in the East − one that could redraw the map of global economic power with blockchain, satellites, and digital currency rails. The world isn’t just witnessing a new chapter in monetary evolution − we’re seeing the source code of the global economy being rewritten in real time. 

In less than a decade, China has gone from testing its digital RMB (e-CNY) − a digital version of the renminbe or Chinese yuan, with its value pegged 1:1 to the physical or fiat currency − in pilot cities to integrating it into the arteries of global trade. Through a combination of bilateral currency swaps, smart contracts, and infrastructure diplomacy, Beijing is now rolling out a digital Silk Road that not only bypasses the US-led SWIFT system, but renders it increasingly irrelevant. As of 2024, 53% of China's cross-border payments were settled in RMB, up from 40% just three years prior. 

This isn’t de-dollarization − it’s monetary decoupling by design.

The traditional Western financial system, still reliant on clearinghouses, intermediary banks, and 3-5 day settlement windows, is being leapfrogged by a 7-second, blockchain-enabled, programmable alternative. In the first test between Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi, a company paid a Middle Eastern supplier through digital RMB. The funds no longer went through six intermediary banks, but were received in real time through a distributed ledger, and the handling fee dropped by 98%. This "lightning payment" capability makes the traditional clearing system dominated by the US Dollar instantly look clumsy. No Fed, no SWIFT, no Dollar − just code, consensus, and compliance embedded in digital cash.

Although the digital RMB is being rolled out across China and has been gaining traction, it is also being used internationally. A major example is the “Project mBridge”, a collaborative effort involving the central banks of China, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “to tackle some of the key inefficiencies in cross-border payments, including high costs, low speed and operational complexities”. 

With Project mBridge considered a success, the use of the digital RMB cross-border settlement system has now been extended to over 10 ASEAN and 6 Middle Eastern countries. Further, 87% of countries worldwide are reported to have systems compatible with the digital RMB. It is thus becoming a working alternative to existing cross-border settlement systems.

Meanwhile, CIPS (China’s alternative to SWIFT) now connects 1,400+ financial institutions across 109 countries, moving trillions of yuan annually. While the West debates privacy risks and central bank independence, China is quietly exporting digital financial infrastructure as a service − wrapped into Belt and Road projects, energy settlements, and rare earth trade routes.

What’s at stake isn’t just payments − it’s control of economic lifelines. The US-wielded SWIFT as a weapon of compliance, sanctions, and political pressure. But China, by building a parallel trade-finance-security ecosystem, is immunizing itself and its partners from that very weapon.

Six ASEAN countries, including Malaysia and Singapore, have already added the RMB to their forex reserves. This is not symbolic − it’s structural. And it’s spreading. Today, 23 central banks are testing China’s cross-border digital payment protocols. This isn’t just about convenience − it’s about sovereignty, resilience, and a post-dollar future. 

China sees the digital RMB as a multi-layered geopolitical instrument − a payment system, a compliance system, a data network, and a soft-power extension of its statecraft. Embedded into quantum communication lines, Beidou satellite positioning, and smart supply chains, the digital RMB becomes more than a currency. It becomes a strategic operating system for global trade.

While the US is still “studying the implications” of a digital dollar, China has already deployed a digital payment network touching 200 countries and quietly processed over $1.2 trillion in cross-border trade. If you think this is about China replacing the Dollar, you're missing the point. This is about China rendering the Dollar irrelevant in its sphere of influence − and expanding that sphere until it becomes the new center of global finance. 

We are not witnessing a mere currency shift − we are seeing the dissolution of a financial monopoly that has shaped the world since 1944.

And this silent financial revolution is not only about monetary sovereignty, but also determines who can control the lifeline of the future global economy!

The Military Might of the US of A

It is a fact that the United States is a big bully! 

And to ensure it can browbeat, bulldoze and bludgeon countries, it arms itself to the teeth. That is why it is the largest military spender in the world, generously allocating $880 billion to its defence – more than the next eight countries combined. 

Global military spending hit $2.44 trillion in 2023, or $306 per person, marking a 6.8 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This was the largest year-on-year rise since 2009. 

By comparison, in 2000, global military expenditures were $798bn, or $130 per capita – less than a third of the amount spent today. 

Note: Global military spending is the total money spent by countries on their military forces and related activities. This includes costs for soldiers, operations, weapons, equipment, research and military infrastructure.

Liverpool beat Manchester City 2-0 yesterday. 

Talisman Mohamed Salah scored the team's first goal in the fourteenth minute and set up Dominik Szoboszlai for the second 23 minutes later.

The triumph here, bolted on to Arsenal's loss at home to West Ham on Saturday, means that, although there can be thousands of words spent on dancing around the subject, this season's title race is done and dusted.

Yes, it looks like Liverpool will be crowned champions. It's not an empty boast because they now need just 26 points from their remaining eleven Premier League games to guarantee they cannot be caught by anyone – and clinch the title.

Russia Reveals Condition for Joining BRICS

BRICS applicants can’t join in sanctions against any of the economic bloc’s member states, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Thursday, outlining a key condition for joining the grouping.

 

The group that started as an informal association of Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2006 have since expanded to nine member states – including South Africa on December 24, 2010 and Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and UAE on January 01 this year. Note that Argentina rejected the membership while Saudi Arabia has kept the decision to join pending. 

 

And in the BRICS 2024 Summit in Kazan, Russia later this month, they're expected to discuss further expansion.

 

"One needs to pursue a sovereign policy, have a significant role in international and regional affairs, build good-neighborly and friendly relations with the BRICS countries, and not join in illegitimate sanctions against members of the association", Ryabkov (left) emphasized, when asked about conditions for aspiring members.

 

"The doors to BRICS remain open, but expansion should not become an end unto itself. Russia’s objective this year has been to 'ensure organic and full integration' of the recently accepted members into the 'multifaceted architecture of the BRICS partnership', while maintaining the dynamics and effectiveness of the international association’s mechanisms and formats", he added. 

 

Methinks, Malaysia will be accepted.

Cheetah Cubs Born in Saudi Arabia After 40 years of Extinction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four small furry bundles with distinctive ginger and black-spotted fur, dark tear tracks and coal-black noses have raised hope of a once extinct species returning to its historic hunting grounds on the Arabian Peninsula. 

 

The iconic big cats, speed racers of the animal kingdom, have become a focus of attention in Saudi Arabia ever since the discovery of mummified cheetahs in caves in the north of the country. 

 

The finds, which ranged in age from 4,000 to as recent as 120 years, proved that the animals, primarily found in eastern and southern Africa, once called this more northerly region home. The realization kick-started the country’s Cheetah Conservation Program to bring back the cats to their historic Arabian range. 

 

The initiative, to captive breed cheetahs while at the same time conducting an analysis of their environmental needs and implementing appropriate habitat preservation, has had its first major success with the birth of these healthy cubs.

 

Set up by the National Center for Wildlife, the Program was inaugurated last year. The NCW oversee scientific research and field studies and devise strategies and conservation projects to maintain Saudi Arabia’s rich biodiversity for future generations. 

 

The team from NCW that studied the mummified cats was able to not only outline the timeline of the extinction of cheetahs in Saudi Arabia, to prove that their disappearance is relatively recent, but also to extract genetic samples that have been compared to cheetahs in other parts of the world to establish the cats as a distinct sub-species, known as the Asiatic cheetah (Scientific name: Acinonyx jubatus venaticus). It is the hope of the scientists that cheetahs from the NCW facility will eventually be returned to the wild to repopulate the Peninsula.

 

Next steps include identifying suitable protected areas for reintroduction, working on community partnerships to safeguard the animals from human activity once they have been released and then, after reintroduction, monitoring the cats and ensuring the establishment of a self-sustaining breeding population. 

 

The four youngsters currently learning their big cat ways from their mother are going to be unknowing pioneers in a step forward, however small, in Asiatic cheetah conservation.

Dubai is Flooded

Torrential rains began on the night of April 15, flooding the United Arab Emirates with more than half a foot (6.26 inches) of water in 24 hours, according to the Dubai Meteorological Office and cited by ABC News. That is more than two years' worth of rain in one day, the media outlet noted.

 

Highways and malls have been flooded, schools have been closed, and flights disrupted at one of the world’s busiest airports after the country experienced what the government described as their largest amount of rainfall in 75 years. 

 

Heavy rains also drenched Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The Cost of Defending Against Iranian Strikes

My post "Finally, Iran Retaliates" published yesterday refers. Israel may have claimed 99% success in defending itself against Saturday’s drone and missile barrages by Iran – but that effort reportedly came at a high price. 

 

The interceptors, jet fuel and other materials expended in shooting down Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles cost about 4 billion to 5 billion shekels ($1.06 billion to $1.33 billion), Israeli Brigadier General Reem Aminoach told local media outlet Ynet News on Sunday. The estimate included only Israel’s direct costs, not counting the considerable weaponry used by the US and other allies in helping to defend against the attack. 

 

Aminoach, formerly the financial adviser to the IDF chief of staff, said Israel used such munitions as Arrow and David’s Sling interceptor missiles, which have per-unit costs of about $3.5 million and $1 million, respectively. He also included sortie expenses for the fighter jets that did the bulk of the work in shooting down Iranian drones.

 

He also lamented that it was far cheaper for Iran to launch the attack than for Israel to defend itself. 

 

“The attack cost Iran less than 10% of what it cost us to defend against it”, he told Ynet. “In the future – in a year, two years, or five years – they can carry out 50 such attacks. And let’s say that if the IDF’s net budget in 2023 was 60 billion shekels, with less than double that you have no chance of reaching a situation where we can maintain the required amounts”. 

 

Iran’s attack involved at least 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles, and more than 30 cruise missiles, according to a report by The Associated Press news agency.

 

And if you believe the Israelis, the country escaped unscathed. More or less. Save for a 10-year-old Bedouin Israeli girl who suffered a shrapnel wound when she was hit while sleeping at her home in southern Israel. And “only minor damage to infrastructure” at the Nevatim Airbase (this is the Israeli airbase that is home to the F-35 fighters that attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria). Hallelujah, it is a miracle! 😂😂

 

An Al Jazeera report had asserted that the vast majority of the projectiles were intercepted outside the country’s borders with help from the US, UK and France. Jordan betrayed the Palestinians when the Hashemite Kingdom also shot down some of the missiles aimed at Israel as they flew through Jordanian airspace.

 

According to the Wall Street Journal, citing sources, two other Arab nations – Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates – exchanged intelligence with the US and Israel, which contributed to their success in repelling the Iranian attack. 

 

The American lapdogs have exposed themselves – Iran should be wary!

 

And lsrael has been warned against any response. The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri (left) said on state TV that if Israel retaliates, Iran’s response would be “much larger” than the overnight bombardment, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. 

 

Iran also pointedly told Washington that backing Israeli retaliation would lead to the targeting of US bases. 

 

Earlier, Iran’s mission to the United Nations cited the UN Charter’s provision for self-defence under Article 51 and said the country considered “the matter… concluded”.

 

Let's see if Israel will respond!

A Robot's Inappropriate Gesture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mohammad, the first male robot of Saudi Arabia sparked controversy online due to its "inappropriate gesture" during a live event in Riyadh. 

 

Footage from the event depicted the robot extending its hand toward a female reporter and making indecorous contact. 

 

This action caused a stir on social media, with many debating the appropriateness of the robot's behavior. It happened during the robot's inaugural public appearance on March 04 at DeepFest Riyadh, said to be the premier meeting place for the global Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem.

 

Note: The robot was dressed in traditional Saudi attire and spoke Arabic and English.

 

Liverpool assumed a commanding position in their Europa League last-16 tie with Sparta Prague by winning the first leg 5-1 yesterday.

 

The former took the lead through Alexis Mac Allister's sixth-minute penalty after the Argentina World Cup winner had been fouled. Darwin Nunez's wonderful dipping finish from outside the penalty area doubled the lead in the twenty-fifth minute before the Uruguay forward's 16th club goal of the season, a fierce shot from the edge of the box, after receiving a lofted pass from Mac Allister to make it 3-0 in first-half added time.

 

A Conor Bradley own goal in the 46th minute offered the Czech First League team a faint chance of mounting an unlikely comeback, but that hope was quickly extinguished by Luis Diaz’s deflected finish seven minutes later. And Dominik Szoboszlai then bagged a fifth in stoppage time to put Jürgen Klopp’s team firmly in control ahead of next week’s return leg at Anfield.

 

And in the absence of injured first-choice keeper Alisson Becker and despite the handsome margin, Caoimhin Kelleher once again underlined his importance to the team to perform heroics at the other end, producing six saves in total.