Shark Nannies: The Ultimate Baby-Sitters

Just off Kri Island in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, meter-long dotted sharks glide underwater – a sight conservationists say was vanishingly rare until recently. 

The Indo-Pacific leopard shark – also known as the zebra shark – has historically inhabited reefs along Indo-West Pacific Ocean, the Red Sea, East Africa, Japan, and Australia. But years of habitat destruction and overfishing have reduced the population by 50-79% over the past three generations (around 57 to 72 years), and they are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). While their historic decline was driven by the shark fin trade, overfishing pressures persist through accidental bycatch and trade in its exotic leather. 

In Raja Ampat, less than a decade ago they had all but disappeared. The IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group estimated that left alone, the archipelago’s population could take between 100 and 200 years to recover naturally. 

Now, a global group called ReShark say they are attempting to “restore balance to the ocean” with what they describe as the world’s first shark rewilding program. The initiative, known as the Stegostoma tigrinum Augmentation and Recovery (StAR) project, after the shark’s scientific name, sees leopard sharks bred in aquariums around the world, before the offspring are released into protected waters in Indonesia and Thailand. 

“Back in 2019, in Raja Ampat, we estimated that there were about 20 individual adult sharks remaining”, says Mark Erdmann (left), executive director of ReShark. 

“Most conservation activities for sharks usually revolve around either setting up marine protected areas or doing fisheries management. In our case, our niche is we’re doing active recovery”. 

The idea first emerged during a visit Erdmann made to Singapore’s SEA Aquarium in 2015. The staff showed him tanks crowded with baby leopard sharks they had successfully bred in captivity. 

“They said, ‘we actually have a problem, we’re producing too many pups, and we don’t know what to do with them’”, Erdmann recalls. 

That encounter sparked an eight-year effort involving governments, aquariums, nonprofits, academics, local communities and conservation scientists who worked together to release captive pups into Indonesian waters. 

Like many sharks, the Indo-Pacific leopard sharks are harmless to humans. But unlike most sharks, they reproduce by laying eggs. In fact, they’re the largest of the egg-laying sharks, a trait that makes them well suited for this rewilding effort. 

“About 43% of sharks are egg layers”, says David Ebert (right), program director at the Pacific Shark Research Center, San Jose State University, who is not connected with ReShark. “With live bearing, you have a whole different set of issues to deal with. So, this is probably a good species to potentially start with”. 

His global efforts to spot elusive sharks have seen Ebert become known online as the “Lost Shark Guy”. In his opinion, the leopard shark has another advantage, “the cute factor”, which can help the public get on board with conservation initiatives. 

ReShark, supported by Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative, have partnered with nearly 60 aquariums worldwide. Of those, about a dozen across the United States, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore are actively breeding sharks for the program, according to Erdmann. 

Viable eggs from global aquariums are transported to ReShark’s two nurseries in Raja Ampat and Phuket, Thailand. There, specially trained aquarium managers – nicknamed “shark nannies” – monitor the eggs, care for the pups and prepare them for life in the wild. Once the sharks grow to a meter long and can forage food for themselves, they are tagged and released into protected waters. 

The nickname may sound playful, but the work is highly technical. Shark nannies undergo months of training in animal husbandry, often supported by large public aquariums. An internship program hires residents rather than international volunteers, to involve local communities. 

“It’s super important that the people in Raja Ampat and the people in Phuket are supportive of this program, and that we don’t fall back to the way it was 10 or 15 years ago when these sharks were being caught and killed”, says Erdmann. 

Some shark experts remain cautious about the program’s long-term effectiveness. 

Ebert, who has spent more than four decades studying sharks and rays around the world, describes the program as innovative but still largely experimental. 

“It’s kind of a neat science project,” he says. “But how’s it going to impact the (shark) population? That’s the big question”. 

Among his concerns is whether the released sharks will survive long enough to reproduce in the wild. Since leopard sharks are believed to take between five to 12 years to reach maturity, the earliest ReShark will find out if its first released pups are breeding is 2028.

The Superpower That Is China

When Japan rebuilt itself after World War II and became an economic powerhouse in a single generation, the world called it the "Japanese Miracle". When South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore soared from poverty to prosperity, they were celebrated as the "Four Asian Tigers". 

But when China does exactly the same thing – actually, on a scale far more massive than any of them – Western media calls it the "China Shock". Same playbook. Different label. 

What changed? 

A Costa Rican economist named Ottón Solís had written an essay, titled "US negotiating more than trade", that was published in October 2025, on the platform Latinoamérica21 (and syndicated via China Daily). It cuts through this double standard with refreshing clarity and resounding cogency.

Let's walk through his argument, because it's definitely worth hearing. 

What China Actually Did 

Over the past decade, China has become a global leader in electric vehicles, AI, batteries, biotech, renewable energy, robotics, and semiconductors. It didn't just catch up – in many areas, it pulled ahead. 

The Western response? "Overcapacity". "Production surplus". "State-driven distortion". 

But as Solís points out, the same strategies – state-guided industrial policy, massive investment in education and infrastructure, a focus on long-term planning, and a stable political environment – were precisely what powered Japan and the Asian Tigers. 

Yet when Japan did it, it was a miracle. When China does it, it's a threat. 

The Real Outcomes 

Here's what "overcapacity" actually means in practice: 

First, millions of middle‑ and low‑income consumers around the world now have access to affordable cars, phones, solar panels, and other industrial products. This is not a bad thing. 

Second, the global fight against climate change became far more effective because high‑quality renewable energy equipment is now cheap enough for developing countries to afford. 

Third, Western industries that are less productive and high‑cost can't compete. And instead of asking why their own industries became uncompetitive, Western politicians are blaming China for being... too efficient. 

The Factors Western Politicians Refuse to Talk About 

Solís lists five factors behind China's success: 

• A vast domestic market that enables economies of scale. 
• High savings and investment rates – driven by cultural attitudes and policy choices. 
• Policy continuity and political stability. 
• Massive investment in education, infrastructure, energy, and R&D. 
• A coherent development strategy that includes industrial policy alongside market forces. 

Now, ask yourself: which of these factors is uniquely Chinese? 

None of them. 

Western countries could boost their savings rates through fiscal and monetary policy – if their political systems were willing to make those choices. They could invest more in education, infrastructure, and science – if they were willing to cut military spending or raise taxes on billionaires. They could reach cross‑party agreements to ensure policy continuity – if their politicians prioritized national strategy over short‑term electoral victories. 

But they don't. 

And then they blame China for their own political failures. 

The Uncomfortable Conclusion 

Solís's argument is simple: Western politicians have a choice. They can keep blaming China, stoking anti‑China rhetoric, and risking global peace. Or they can look at what China did right, learn from it, and apply those lessons within their own political and economic systems. But that would require acknowledging that China's success is not a fluke or a cheat – it's the result of deliberate, long‑term strategies that any country could adopt, if its leaders had the will. 

Instead, they double down on the narrative that China is somehow "unfair", while refusing to examine their own shortcomings. 

The Cool City Blueprint

As cities across the tropics search for ways to cope with rising temperatures, Singapore has turned to a multi-layered urban heat mitigation strategy that combines extensive tree planting, cool building materials, district cooling, and high-tech climate modeling. 

The city is planting one million new trees and expanding parks to provide natural canopy shade, which reduces street-level temperatures by up to 2.6°C. To decrease solar heat absorption, workers apply high-albedo, reflective paints to public housing and building roofs. Urban planners design building layouts with optimal porosity to preserve natural air paths and sea breezes through dense urban canyons. Finally, major districts utilize centralized chilled-water networks for district cooling, which cuts down waste heat from individual air conditioning units. 

Singapore's proactive, tech-driven approach integrates nature with advanced engineering, offering a scalable blueprint for global urban centers balancing rapid growth with surging thermal trends. 

The largest cyclosporiasis outbreak in US history is not expected to end anytime soon. 

[For background info, kindly refer to my earlier posts dated July 23 and 28, 2026]. 

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Monday, the first two deaths linked to a mass Cyclospora surge that is tied to contaminated iceberg lettuce. The multi-state outbreak of the intestinal parasite has affected at least 45 states, with cases originally detailed in reports from AP News.

C919's High-altitude and Stretched Variants

The high-altitude variant of COMAC’s C919 narrowbody has completed its first test flight at Shanghai’s Pudong international airport. 

The maiden sortie lasted one hour 59 minutes, and the test aircraft (registered B-002U) completed all “scheduled test items”. 

COMAC say the test flight marks “an important step” in the certification of the high-altitude variant, but do not disclose when they expect that to happen. 

Xizang Airlines (formerly Tibet Airlines) are the type’s launch customer, after signing for 40 aircraft at the 2024 Singapore air show. 

In fact, according to FlightGlobal on Wednesday, the airline are working closely with COMAC to jointly develop the high-altitude C919 variant. The high-altitude variant, officially named the C919-600, seats about 140 passengers, compared to the baseline model’s standard layout of 164 seats. 

[Note: China's Tibet Airlines have changed their English-language name to Xizang Airlines. "Xizang" is how the Mandarin Chinese name for the region is spelled using the Latin alphabet. The change took effect in February, when the former designation "Tibet Airlines" was replaced in official international registries]. 

Not resting on their laurels, COMAC are also developing a stretched variant of the C919, which can seat around 210 passengers. 

The C919’s stretched and high-altitude variants were first revealed at the 2023 Shanghai International Airshow, and COMAC also brought models of the variants to the Singapore and Farnborough air shows in 2024. 👏👏👏

Entering the BWF Super 300 tournament as the top seeds, Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan prevailed over Chinese Taipei’s Chen Yan-fei and Sun Liang-ching yesterday, recovering after dropping the first game to win 11-21, 21-12, 21-15 in 43 minutes. 

They carry Malaysia's primary hopes of breaking the country's title drought in this category.

Earlier, Low Zi Yu-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan booked their place in the quarter-finals after upsetting third seeds Hsu Yin-hui-Lin Jhih-yun 20-22, 21-13, 21-11 in 56 minutes. 

Ranked 67th in the world – 56 places below their experienced opponents – the Malaysian teenagers showed incredible composure! After letting a game point slip away in the opener, the unseeded young pair took complete control of the next two games to secure a massive upset win! 🇲🇾🏸

Malaysian Pride! A magnificent and heroic charge by our women’s doubles duos at the Taipei Open Badminton Championships!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏

Later, today:

The Scuba-Suit Cyborg Roach

Two decades after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a specialized research and development branch of the US Department of War, started fiddling around with cyborg insects in their ⁠Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (HI-MEMS) program, Singaporean researchers are showing off the latest accomplishment in the area. 

The productive researchers are proudly presenting their potent new 3D-printed variant: a remote-controlled, cyborg cockroach equipped with IR cameras that can breathe underwater for hours on end. 

Although that description sounds like the start of a sci-fi or horror movie, the team led by Hirotaka Sato (left) at Nanyang Technological University have been working with the much-hated pest for a good while, outfitting them with infrared cameras in a bid to help rescue operations by steering the roaches in disaster areas to find survivors. 

To be clear, as the release notes, Cyborg insects are living insects that have been retrofitted with technology. 

Sato's team had already demonstrated an orchestrated swarm of the little beasties in 2024, but reportedly weren't happy with the fact that they couldn't send them through water, and went back to the drawing board to fix that. 

The result is an upgraded form that went underwater for three hours in stages, at a depth of 20" (50 cm); enough for most puddles and lightly flooded areas. Quite interestingly, the roaches' speed was only lightly affected, going from 3.5" (8.75 cm) per second on land to 3.1" (7.84 cm) a second while submerged in water. 

Cockroaches don't swim per se, but they can paddle-float, and are fine navigating water bodies in general, and it's possible they can go deeper than in the test. 

To achieve this, the creepy-crawlies wear a spiffy-looking bespoke 3D-printed scuba suit, complete with tubes that attach from the tank to their "nostrils", called spiracles. The tank has a sponge with both hydrogen peroxide and manganese dioxide, in a slow, carefully tuned reaction that outputs oxygen at a controlled rate. This choice was made to avoid the tricky task of providing a heavy, pressurized oxygen tank – though imagining a cockroach with a tiny tank backflipping into water from a tiny boat is amusing. 

The cockroach is pretty much the ideal platform for this type of endeavor, as their legs are easy to control with electrical impulses, and their locomotion characteristics let them navigate almost every type of terrain, oftentimes better than many miniature robots. 

Their biological batteries theoretically last for weeks on end, too. One roach needs food only every few weeks, a mission-critical feature given that scientists working with miniaturization of any sort keep butting their heads against energy limitations. The infrared cameras and wireless do use an actual mini battery pack, but the insects themselves can find sustenance on their own. 

In this particular case, they are leveraging the Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) due to their unique combination of physical traits and survival abilities: 

Large Size and Payload Capacity

• Heavy lifters – Fully grown adults reach about 6 cm in length and weigh around 5 grams.
• Equipment ready – Their large size and strong musculoskeletal structure allow them to easily carry a 5.5-gram electronic "backpack" (containing microcomputers, sensors, batteries, and infrared cameras) without disrupting their natural movement.

Wingless Anatomy

• Less obstruction – Unlike many other cockroach species, Madagascar hissing cockroaches do not have wings.
• Easy mounting – The absence of wings gives scientists a flat, unobstructed surface on their thorax to securely glue the electronic hardware and flexible solar cell films. 

Incredible Physical Resilience 

• Indestructible nature – They can survive crushed environments, low-oxygen spaces, and harsh terrains that would destroy or immobilize a traditional wheeled robot. 
• Amphibious potential – They are robust enough to wear newly developed ⁠NTU 3D-printed miniature "diving suits".

Low Speed and High Agility

• Easy to steer – Their natural crawling speed is slow enough for a human operator or an AI automated system to safely steer them in real-time.
• Self-righting – If they get flipped upside down by shifting rubble, they have the innate ability to right themselves and keep moving.

Beyond search-and-rescue, the Singaporean researchers and global bio-robotics teams are targeting other potential applications for cyborg cockroach technology:

Future Space Exploration 

• Extra-planetary scouting – Because cockroaches can survive low-oxygen environments and extreme temperatures, scientists are looking toward using them to explore the surface of Mars.
• Tested testing – The ⁠NTU 3D-printed diving suits are being considered as a stepping stone toward designing miniature, oxygen-regulated "space suits" for insect swarms. 

Defence and Security 

• Covert reconnaissance – Defense startups, like Germany’s ⁠SWARM Biotactics, utilize cyborg insects for silent, undercover surveillance in high-risk zones.
• Critical infrastructure protection – Swarms can map out heavily contaminated, hazardous, or radioactive military zones too dangerous for human agents

Industrial Infrastructure Inspection – The insects can navigate tightly confined, hazardous industrial spaces. They are being tested to crawl through narrow, toxic, or flooded pipelines and structural foundations to inspect for cracks, gas leaks, or blockages without requiring expensive human or mechanical teardowns. 

Environmental Surveillance & Monitoring – These bio-hybrids can carry specialized temperature, chemical, or radiation sensors. They can be deployed into highly sensitive or dangerous ecosystems to track pollution, chemical spills, or radiation levels in real-time without causing the environmental disruption that larger, heavier robots would create.

Now you know, roaches are useful!

Bittersweet Bliss: My Epic Durian Feast

I am savouring every single bite of the Musang King! 😋😋😋

My stomach is riding the "durian tsunami" and for sure, I am happily wiping out on every creamy, bittersweet bite! 😋😋😋

For sure, the durian is dangerously addictive. It's beyond divine. And don't let its tough exterior fool you: durian pairs an unmatched flavour with incredible health benefits.

In fact, I came across an AsiaOne report on June 30 that dietitians at Singapore's Changi General Hospital certify that durian has good monounsaturated fats, otherwise known as "good" fats, that can help lower harmful cholesterol levels and moderate high blood pressure. 

And the principal dietitian at Raffles Medical Group affirms that these can help reduce risks of heart disease and stroke. 

Durian brings other health benefits which include improving muscle strength and skin health, regulating bowel movements, supporting the nervous and immune systems, and enhancing red blood cell formation as it is rich in potassium, dietary fibre, iron, vitamin C and vitamin B complex. 

The fruit belonging to the genus Durio also has polyphenols such as flavonoids and carotenoids – anti-oxidative compounds that may help decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes, contends dietitians from Mount Alvernia Hospital. 

Even more interesting, the claim that eating durians can put you in a great mood is not unfounded. 

Durians contain tryptophan, a food-derived amino acid involved in the production of serotonin – the "feel good" hormone associated with mood regulation. 

"During digestion, tryptophan gets converted into serotonin, which may induce feelings of relaxation and improved mood", a doctor at Raffles Diabetes and Endocrine Centre explains. "Tryptophan is also converted to melatonin, a hormone that controls your sleep cycle and may help you fall asleep easier". 

You should know that I explored this natural mood booster in Chapter 15, "The Happy Hormones", of my public speaking book, "The Pearls of Your Speech" (2025). It's a social chemical that "makes you feel good about yourself, stoking confidence and spurring self-esteem, and nurturing a sense of common bond that stems from status, respect, and loyalty" (page 157). 

Therefore, eating durian absolutely makes sense for a public speaker like me! 😁😁😁

Resignation Letter on Toilet Paper

A headhunter in Singapore has gone viral after posting an employee's resignation letter, which was written on a sheet of toilet paper. 

In a LinkedIn post published last week, Angela Yeoh shared that the employee resigned using this method to reflect the treatment they received at the organisation. Neither the employee nor the employer was named in the post. 

"I have chosen this type of paper (toilet paper) for my resignation as a symbol of how this company has treated me. I quit", read the letter. 

Speaking to Yeoh, the employee explained that they felt disposable as an employee, saying, "I felt like toilet paper: used when needed, then discarded without a second thought". 

Yeoh said the employee's words struck a chord with her, emphasising the importance of fostering a culture of appreciation within an organisation. 

She remarked, "Make your employees feel so genuinely appreciated that even when they choose to leave, they part ways with gratitude instead of resentment. Such an experience doesn't reflect a lack of loyalty but speaks volumes about the company's culture". 

She stressed that appreciation is more than just a retention tool – it is a reflection of how much an individual is valued, not only for their contributions but for who they are as a person.

Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain hosted Liverpool in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg yesterday.

The latter went into the game many expect them to lose. And they did not disappoint. 

PSG won 2-0, seizing a clear advantage to take to Anfield for next week’s return.

FYI, Arne Slot's boys ended the game without a shot on target; in fact, they were very fortunate to escape only two goals behind.

The Reds were pitiful, period.

China’s Tourists Turn Away From Japan to Southeast Asia

Ren Zihan, a resident of the northern Chinese city of Dalian, feels as if all her friends are vacationing in Southeast Asia lately. Pictures of durians and hawker food have filled her social media feed, the 32-year-old tells The Business Times. 

“It seems as if everyone is in Malaysia and Singapore at the moment”. 

Beyond the usual phenomenon of travellers seeking warmer destinations during the winter months, a new factor is pushing Chinese tourists south. Southeast Asia has been a popular destination for some time, but Chinese travellers are now flocking to the region in greater numbers. 

This follows the diplomatic spat last November between China and Japan. 

“There’s a dramatic shift under way”, notes Mayur Patel, commercial and industry affairs leader for the Asia-Pacific at aviation analytics firm OAG. “Aircraft freed from suspended Japan routes are being redeployed to Southeast Asian leisure destinations, where Chinese demand is holding up”.

FYI, Japan was a major destination for Chinese tourists – prior to Beijing unleashing a diplomatic and economic offensive against the country, freezing bilateral travel – these travellers made up a significant share of the arrivals in the country. From the start of 2025 to October, 8.2 million visitors – nearly one-quarter of Japan’s total arrivals – were from mainland China, based on OAG data. 

All that has changed. In January and February 2026, after the flight cancellations, one-way seat capacity from China to Japan fell by between 47 and 50 percent compared with the year-ago period. And flights from China to Southeast Asia experienced a significant increase in seat capacity – in the first two months of 2026, it rose about 15 to 20 percent year on year, indicates Alton Aviation data. 

In the wake of Beijing’s travel advisories, South Korea, Europe and Australia have also overtaken Japan as preferred destinations among the Chinese, based on survey data from China Trading Desk. 

But Southeast Asia’s combination of value, variety and accessibility makes the region particularly attractive to them, notes Edmund Ong, senior regional director for Southeast Asia at online travel agency Trip.com. 

Shorter flight times mean easier connectivity to the region, he adds. There is also a seasonal boost, as Southeast Asia’s warm climate is especially appealing during the colder Spring Festival period in China. 

Eric Zhu, Asia aviation and defence analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, agrees. “We do expect Chinese travellers to be budget-conscious this year, which favours the lower-cost, short-haul options found within Southeast Asia”. 

Within the region, some countries have received a stronger boost than others. In February 2026, the greatest year-on-year increases for flight bookings from China were to Vietnam (41 percent) and Malaysia (38 percent), according to OAG. 

Singapore’s and Malaysia’s popularity could also grow further, says China Trading Desk, whose survey found that the two countries have overtaken even South Korea in the list of destinations most respondents plan to visit. 

Interestingly, demand for regional travel has also diversified, with greater flight connectivity between Southeast Asian destinations allowing tourists to hop between cities or countries. Chinese tourists in the region have increasingly been drawn to what Trip.com calls “second-tier destinations”, the likes of which include Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia and Phu Quoc island in Vietnam. 

“They are taking longer trips and spreading their travel across multiple destinations, such as visiting Singapore and Malaysia in a single trip”, says Ong. 

And Vietnam is a key beneficiary, Patel of OAG observes. The country now boasts 51 route connections – including from secondary cities such as Danang and Phu Quoc – to other Southeast Asian destinations, up from 45 in 2019. 

For Japan, the economic consequences are considerable. Tourism accounted for 7.5 percent of Japan’s gross domestic product in 2024, or about 44.6 trillion yen, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). 

With China making up about 23 percent of all tourists to Japan in 2025, prior to November, a pullback from this major source will hurt overall GDP substantially. China Trading Desk’s Bhatt predicts that Japan will lose between $9 billion and $10.5 billion in revenue this year, compared with a scenario in which the diplomatic spat never happened. As for Southeast Asia, WTTC estimates that the tourism sector contributed $374 billion to the region’s combined GDP in 2024, or around 9.4 percent. 

Diverted Chinese demand could amplify this further. Bhatt believes that overall Chinese tourist spending may grow by 10.2 percent in 2026 to $280 billion, with about $35 billion of this spent within Southeast Asia. 

The region’s hospitality and tourism sector has been courting Chinese travellers for a while. On Trip.com – which originated as a travel agency for Chinese tourists – hotels can be filtered by “Chinese-friendly” offerings such as Mandarin-speaking service staff. Global hotel chain Hilton has integrated Chinese platforms into its booking processes. WeChat is offered as a payment option, and rooms are listed on Alibaba’s travel platform, Fliggy. 

“Mandarin-speaking team members in key gateway destinations also help to make stays more familiar and comfortable”, says Sebastien Kaeuffer, vice-president for Southeast Asia at Hilton. 

Let's hope the expanding interest in Southeast Asia stays because the region benefits economically. Especially Malaysia.

Chinese Varsities Dominate Global AI Rankings

Asian universities dominate global artificial intelligence (AI) rankings, with 18 of the world's top 20 institutions for AI education, according to the latest CS Rankings (essentially a data-driven assessment of the world’s leading computer science universities). 

In fact, the world's top 10 universities in AI are all based in Asia, with China taking eight places and Singapore and South Korea, one each. 

Within the top 20, Asian universities continue to outperform other regions, accounting for eight institutions ranked from 11th to 20th. The United States contributes only two universities to the top 20. 

The world’s top 20 universities for AI education as of January 31, 2026 are:

*PUB Publications

Unlike rankings such as Times Higher Education or QS, which rely heavily on reputation surveys and peer assessments, CSRankings evaluates institutions based on the volume of academic papers published and the number of faculty members contributing to top-tier conferences and journals. 

The publications counted span key sub-fields including artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, and web and information retrieval. 

The latest 2026 CSRankings evaluates more than 600 institutions worldwide across computer science and AI categories.

AI-generated Fake News on Food Lockers

A "well-meaning" fake news is in everyone’s feed. 

A social media post – I saw it on both Facebook and X – on a too-good-to-be-true food locker concept in Singapore has gone viral. It claims that “a quiet revolution in food security and sustainability is taking place” through mobile, temperature-controlled lockers stocked with rescued meals. 

The caption describes these lockers as open 24/7 and available to anyone in need, with food donated by hotels, restaurants, and catering services. 

Upon closer inspection, the image is AI-generated, not a real photo of any existing program. While Singapore does have initiatives like The Food Bank Singapore that distribute rescued meals, there is currently no evidence of food lockers matching the description in the post, nor is there evidence that hotels and restaurants donate their excess food to such a notable cause. 

This case highlights how AI-generated images can make real issues, like food security, look more advanced or widespread than they actually are. 

Sharing such images without clarification can unintentionally mislead the public. Social media users are encouraged to check sources and verify images before sharing. AI-generated content should always be labeled clearly to prevent misinformation, even when the story behind it is based on real efforts.

World No. 2 Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan moved a step closer to their first title of the year after advancing into the semi-finals of the Indonesia Masters on Friday. 

The top seeds defeated South Korea's Kim Yu Jung-Lee Yu Lim in 21-15, 21-9 to move within one win of reaching a second successive final at the Super 500 tournament.

Are You Dead?’ App Tops China’s Charts

Tapping into a deep-seated fear among China’s millions of solo dwellers – dying alone and unnoticed – a morbidly named new app called “Are You Dead?” (死了么 Si Le Mi) has become a viral sensation, climbing to the top of the country’s paid app charts. 

The concept is simple: users must check in every two days by clicking a large button to confirm they are alive, BBC reported. 

If they fail to do so, the app automatically notifies a pre-appointed emergency contact that they may be in trouble. 

Launched with little fanfare last year, the app has recently exploded in popularity as it resonates with a growing demographic of young people who live alone, a group projected to reach 200 million by 2030. 

“There is a fear that people living alone might die unnoticed, with no one to call for help. I sometimes wonder, if I died alone, who would collect my body?” one user wrote on social media, echoing a common sentiment. 

Despite its success, the app’s morbid name – a wordplay on a popular Chinese food delivery app – has drawn criticism, with some users saying it might bring bad luck. 

A user surnamed Zhao from Sichuan in southwest China said he would pay to download the app if it were renamed "Are You Alive". 

The company behind the app, Moonscape Technologies, have acknowledged the feedback and is considering a name change. Listed internationally as Demumu, the app has also climbed the charts in the US, Singapore, and Australia. 

What started as a project that cost just 1,000 yuan ($143/RM581) to build has now grown into a valuable company, with the founders reportedly seeking to raise funds at a 10 million yuan valuation. Also, they are exploring a new product specifically designed for the elderly, another large and vulnerable demographic in China.

Legal Actions Against 1MDB-involved Global Financial Institutions Stepped Up

Malaysia is focusing on global financial institutions accused of facilitating misappropriation of funds linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd. 

The government are requesting courts in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong to set early hearing dates in 2026 to “fast-track” existing suits against the financial firms, said Johari Abdul Ghani, who chairs a task force set up to recover assets of the state-owned company also known as 1MDB. 

“We are also reviewing other banks and financial intermediaries involved in the flow of funds from 1MDB”, he was quoted as saying. Malaysia has filed lawsuits at home and abroad against Deutsche Bank AG, Standard Chartered plc, Julius Baer Group Ltd, and RBS Coutts. 

As well as specialised corporate management Amicorp and law firm White & Case. 

1MDB had earlier dropped suits against Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Coutts and Co after the firms agreed to pay billions of dollars as settlement. Malaysia, nevertheless, is open to settlement negotiations, Johari was reported as saying. 

On October 14, the Finance Ministry reported that more than RM20 billion had been reclaimed through settlements with several financial institutions involved in the scandal. 

Separately, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission had recovered about RM8 billion in cash and assets, which were already returned to the government’s consolidated fund under the Finance Ministry. 

The Malaysia Open jinx continued to haunt Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan after the second seeds crashed out in the second round on Thursday. 

The Malaysian pair went down 26-24, 21-17 to Indonesia's world No. 60 pair Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma–Meilysa Trias Puspitasari. 

It meant Pearly-Thinaah have now failed to progress beyond the second round in all five of their Malaysia Open appearances. They exited in the second round on debut in 2022, before suffering first-round defeats in the next three editions.

Mixue Expands Footprint in US

A second Chinese beverage brand – the first was Luckin Coffee – expands its footprint in the United States.  

Mixue, known for serving ice cream, pure tea, fruit tea, milk tea, and freshly brewed coffee, opened its first store in Los Angeles, California on December 19. 

“Mixue is actively advancing its global strategy. Given the substantial market potential in the United States, the first store serves as a starting point”, the company said in a statement. 

Located at 6922 Hollywood Blvd Suite 107, menu pricing lists the brand’s signature ice cream at $1.19, iced lemonade at $1.99, lattes at $2.99, and bubble tea starting at $3.99, with most items priced between $1.19 and $4.99. 

Mixue has expanded internationally over several years since opening its first overseas store in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2018. There are approximately 45,000 stores across mainland China and 4,700 stores across 13 other countries, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Its parent company, MIXUE Group, were included this year in Time magazine’s list of the “100 Most Influential Companies in the World", where they were the only restaurant chain recognized. 

“(They're) the biggest fast food chain you’ve likely never heard of – at least, if you live in the Western hemisphere", Time wrote. 

It was no "new year, new me" for Liverpool yesterday as they played out a dire 0-0 draw with relegation candidates Leeds United to kick off 2026 – with the same problems on show. 

Reds saw 66 percent of possession in a dominant first half, with nine shots on goal to Whites‘ two and 1.55xG, but their clinical edge was again lacking against a deep-sitting side determined to frustrate them.

Nothing consequential happened in the second half either; in fact, the English champs' performance went from bad to worse. Even the desperate introduction of two more attackers in Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoha in the 79th and 84th minutes respectively did little to improve the Reds’ run of play.

And sure, there might have been boos at Anfield at full time but a point means Liverpool still sit fourth in the Premier League table.

Russia Bans Roblox over LGBT Propaganda and Extremist Content

US gaming platform Roblox has officially been banned in Russia after the country’s media watchdog said they had identified “mass and repeated distribution” of illegal materials, including extremist content and LGBTQ propaganda. 

Roblox is an online gaming platform with more than 150 million daily active users, marketed largely toward children, where players create their own games, join worlds built by others, and interact across a shared virtual environment. 

On Wednesday, Russia’s Roskomnadzor announced that they would be blocking access to Roblox servers, stating that the platform’s content may harm the “spiritual and moral development of children”. 

The watchdog cited the presence of sexually explicit interactions, harassment, and attempts by adults to contact minors inside Roblox’s chat features. Additionally, the regulator said Roblox has hosted material “promoting and justifying extremist and terrorist activity, calls for violent crimes, and LGBT propaganda”. 

Russian legislators had previously warned that the platform is popular among predators who approach minors in-game before attempting to move conversations offline, pointing to multiple reports of sexual harassment and solicitation. 

Roskomnadzor noted that they have repeatedly notified Roblox since 2019 about prohibited material and concluded that its internal moderation systems have been unable to ensure full safety on the platform. 

The ban comes as Roblox has faced wider scrutiny internationally. Last month, in the US, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit accusing the company of “flagrantly ignoring” safety laws and “deceiving parents”, calling Roblox a “breeding ground for predators” and alleging it puts “pixel paedophiles and corporate profit” over child safety. Kentucky and Louisiana have launched similar suits. 

The platform has similarly been banned in Iraq and Türkiye over concerns about exploitation and inappropriate content. Roblox also came under scrutiny in Singapore in 2023 after regulators said a self-radicalised teenager had joined ISIS-themed servers on the platform. 

Roblox has said it is “disappointed” to be sued based on “misrepresentations and sensationalized claims”, insisting it has a “deep commitment to safety” and uses extensive monitoring systems, text filtering and age-verification measures. 

A day later, Russia blocked Apple's video-calling app FaceTime. The state communications watchdog had alleged it is being used for criminal activity. And Snapchat too. Roskomnadzor said they took action on October 10, even though they only reported the move on Thursday.

The West's Broken Democracy

Western democracy doesn't work in the eyes of its people, a new study revealed Saturday. 

A September survey of Western countries showed that satisfaction with the electoral model was below 50% in most of them. This contrasts with separate studies of Asian nations such as China and Singapore, where citizens are enthusiastic about their model of democracy, with 80 to 93% approval. 

Ipsos, a European survey firm, questioned 9,800 voters in the US, UK, Croatia, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden. In all except Poland and Sweden, there were deep concerns about the western electoral model. 

Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK politics at Ipsos, told Politico that “there is widespread concern about the way democracy is working, with people feeling unrepresented particularly by their national governments. In most countries, there is a desire for radical change”. 

Only a minority of respondents said they felt satisfied with how democracy was working in their country – 18% in Croatia, 19% in France, 20% in the US, 26% in the UK, 27% in Spain and 29% in Italy. Majorities in all countries except Sweden expected things to be worse in five years. 

A good case in point is the US itself, which has always prided itself a leading and influential democracy. Even so, Donald Trump in his first ten months has purged career civil servants viewed as disloyal, publicly urged his attorney general to prosecute political opponents, deployed troops to US cities, attacked judges who ruled against him, threatened universities because of the pro-Palestinian protests on campuses, and expanded his use of executive power through unilateral decrees and emergency authorities. 

In October, Trump’s justice department indicted Letitia James, the New York attorney general who successfully sued him for fraud, and separately charged the former FBI director James Comey, a longtime political adversary. He has also called for jailing the Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, and the Chicago mayor, Brandon Johnson, both Democrats who opposed his deployment of federal troops there.

Malaysian Durians Conquer Global Markets

Malaysian durians are gaining worldwide recognition, from China to Europe and the US, as exports have surged in recent years, driven by rising demand. 

From 2020 to 2024, durian exports from Malaysia to Europe increased by 162%, while those to North America and the Middle East grew by 5.2% and 8.8% respectively, according to Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu, as reported by The Star. 

This expansion, he explained, resulted from concerted initiatives to broaden export markets and highlight Malaysia’s premium durian varieties, especially Musang King, which continues to enjoy strong global demand. 

China continues to be the main export destination, with shipment valued at RM1.19 billion ($284 million), followed by Hong Kong (RM101 million) and Singapore (RM76 million). 

Malaysian durians are now shipped to over 40 countries, including Canada, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain. 

Malaysian women's doubles Pearly Tan–Thinaah Muralitharan reached their seventh final of the year after beating local hopes Yuki Fukushima–Mayu Matsumoto 24-22, 23-21 in the Kumamoto Masters last four in Japan today. 

The Japanese pair saved seven match points in the second game when trailing 20-13 to draw level, but world No. 2 Pearly-Thinaah held their nerve to prevail. 

The victory extended Pearly-Thinaah's head-to-head record to 5-1 against Yuki-Mayu.