FIFA World Cup Struggles to Build Hype

Hours before the FIFA World Cup kickoff, the boost to travel and tourism expected from this year’s biggest sporting event has yet to materialize. 

For years, the tournament was expected to deliver a windfall for America's travel industry, now grappling with declining international visitors amid what rights groups describe as a climate of fear. 

The swarms of fans hotels had counted on are yet to arrive, forcing many to cut rates. Flight bookings have slumped as ticket prices have skyrocketed. Expensive match tickets have further stymied demand, and industry analysts say excitement has been muted compared with past World Cups. 

The weak start suggests the traditional World Cup travel playbook – typically dependent on international fans willing to travel long distances and spend heavily to follow their teams – is faltering. 

Instead, the costs, visa hurdles and the logistics of attending matches across 16 host cities in three countries have proved a deterrent.

And US travelers, in a country where 'soccer' is less popular than in Europe, are not filling the gap.

The football tournament is struggling to build its usual unstoppable momentum. The hype is clearly missing.

Blame it on the US for undermining the World Cup. 

[The first FIFA World Cup 2026 match will kick off in Malaysia on Friday, June 12 at 03:00 AM. This opening match features host Mexico taking on South Africa.

FYI, both RTM and Unifi TV are partnering to air all 104 matches of the tournament across television and digital streaming].

Malaysia Qualifies for Uber Cup 2026 QFs to End 16-year Wait

The Malaysian women's team wrapped up the Uber Cup 2026 Group B action on Monday when they went down 1-4 to six-time champions Japan in Horsens, Denmark. 

With both teams already through to the quarter-finals, the tie was effectively a battle for top spot, and Malaysia were quickly tested by a star-studded Japanese line-up. 

Japan surged into a commanding 3-0 lead through a series of clinical performances. 

Letshanaa Karupathevan fought bravely but fell 21-19, 21-17 to world No. 3 and three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi in the opening singles. Scratch pair Thinaah Muralitharan-Ong Xin Yee were outclassed 21-9, 21-9 by world No. 6 pair Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto in the first doubles. [Note: This makeshift arrangement was forced together after Pearly Tan suffered a recurring back injury]. Wong Ling Ching also battled gamely but went down 21-16, 21-13 to world No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki as Japan sealed the tie. 

But Malaysia refused to go quietly. Debutants Low Zi Yu-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan, aged just fifteen and eighteen respectively, produced the moment of the tie by stunning world No. 7 Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi 21-17, 12-21, 21-19 in a superb display of composure and belief. Trailing 19-16 in the decider, the young duo showed nerves of steel to reel off four straight points to snatch victory, a performance that belied their age and marked a breakthrough on the big stage. 

In the final match, Goh Jin Wei delivered a spirited performance, taking the opening game 21-19 against world No. 22 Riko Gunji before being forced to retire in the second game while trailing 4-3. This could prove a major blow for Malaysia, with Jin Wei's service in the third singles a key component of their line-up heading into the knockout stage. 

Despite the defeat, Malaysia can take encouragement from a brave showing against one of the tournament favourites.

On Sunday, Malaysia ended a 16-year drought to reach the quarter-finals after sweeping aside South Africa 5-0. [FYI, Malaysia has made the Uber Cup quarter-finals three times previously, in 2004, 2008 and 2010]. 

Letshanaa, Ling Ching, and Siti Zulaikha Azmi won their singles matches comfortably, while pairings Xin Yee-Carmen Ting and Chong Jie Yu-Zi Yu secured the doubles. 

[I assumed Thinaah was rested and a mixed line-up of younger players were featured instead].

And on Saturday, Malaysia edged Türkiye 3-2 in a tense opener. 

In the three singles, Letshanaa won 21-16, 12-21, 21-13;  Ling Ching lost 17-21, 21-15, 18-21; and Jin Wei bested her opponent 21-14, 21-13. 

The tie was neck-and-neck at 2-2 after Thinaah-Xin Yee fell to their battle-hardened rivals in a sixty-nine-minute thriller (22-20, 19-21, 19-21). 

Zi Yu-Noraqilah Maisarah came to the rescue when they clinched victory by winning the decisive second doubles match against their Turkish challengers, 21-18, 21-19 in forty-four minutes.

The Malaysian men's team also qualified for the 2026 Thomas Cup quarter-finals, after securing wins against England (3-2) and Finland (4-1) in Group B.

Israeli Flag with Swastika

A Polish lawmaker on Tuesday displayed a paper Israeli flag emblazoned with a swastika in parliament, accusing the country of "genocide" in the Middle East.

"Israel is in the process of committing a genocide of exceptional cruelty before our very eyes," Konrad Berkowicz told lawmakers, comparing the country to a "new Third Reich". 

Berkowicz, a member of the far-right nationalist Konfederacja (Confederation) opposition party, then brandished the paper flag, with the Nazi symbol replacing the Star of David at its centre. 

Berkowicz also accused the Israeli army of using white phosphorous bombs in the Middle East, describing in detail the severe injuries, suffering, and deaths of "tens of thousands of women and children" by such weapons. 

Human Rights Watch too have accused Israel of "illegally" using white phosphorous in southern Lebanon after launching an offensive against Hezbollah. 

The genocidal Zionist regime got recognition even in Poland!

Malaysian women’s doubles shuttler Pearly Tan (right) has pulled out of next week’s Uber Cup in Denmark due to a recurring back injury. 

Pearly, who forms the world No 2 partnership with Thinaah Muralitharan, sustained the injury during last week’s Badminton Asia Championships 2026 in Ningbo, China, where the pair were eliminated in the quarter-finals. 

Pearly’s absence means Malaysia will be without their top women’s doubles pair at the Uber Cup to be played from April 24 to May 03. 

Thinaah is likely be paired with another player. 

“I’m truly disappointed about this. It breaks my heart to say that I won’t be able to join the Uber Cup team this time”, Pearly said in a Facebook post. “There’s nothing I wanted more than to be on court, fighting for every point and standing with my team. But because of my back injury, I have to step back for now”. 

Her absence from the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s official team photograph on Tuesday raised concerns over her fitness. Pearly stated that she missed the session to undergo an MRI scan to assess the injury she sustained in China.

“Anyone who knows me understands that I would never walk away from the court. I would fight until the very last point, every single time. But this time… my body is telling me to stop, and I have to listen”. 

BAM have confirmed that Pearly will not be part of the squad for the Uber Cup, with national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky stating that the decision was made following a late assessment of her condition.

Malaysia has been drawn in Group B with Japan, Türkiye and South Africa.

Pop Music's Bias Towards English is Diminishing

English language music is losing its stranglehold on the charts, according to new data from music streaming giant Spotify. 

The company say songs in 16 different languages, including Spanish, Korean, Portuguese, Turkish, Indonesian and Arabic, appeared in their Global Top 50 last year. That's more than double the figure from 2020. 

Bad Bunny, who sings exclusively in Spanish, was the most-streamed artist in the world. And Brit Award winner Rosalía sings in 14 dialects on her latest album, Lux. 

Spotify said Brazilian Funk was the fastest-growing genre in the world, with audiences up by 36%. K-Pop saw a 31% increase, and Trap Latino was up by 29%. 

All of those genres earned more than $100m in royalties from Spotify last year, the company said. English still dominates the charts, with 14 of last year's Top 20 best-selling albums sung exclusively in the language, according to the music industry body the IFPI. 

But South Korean bands such as Stray Kids, Enhypen and Seventeen all featured in the list, as did Japanese rock group Mrs Green Apple, as fans increasingly explore music outside the typical paradigms of rock and pop. 

According to a 2021 analysis of listening behaviour published in the journal Nature, this trend has been accelerating since 2017. Not coincidentally, that's the same year that streaming overtook CDs and vinyl as the music industry's biggest source of income.

Last week, Spotify's most-played chart included songs from Bad Bunny and Rauw Alejandro (Puerto Rico), Nadhif Basalamah (Indonesia), Tyla (South Africa), Tems (Nigeria), Ryan Castro (Colombia), El Bogueto, Peso Pluma, Neton Vega and Fuerza Regida (Mexico), Blackpink, Jung Kook and Jin (South Korea). 

Spotify's data was revealed as they announced their annual Loud And Clear report, which breaks down the global streaming economy. The streaming giant said they had paid $11bn in royalties to the music industry last year, up from $10bn in 2024. The figure makes it the highest-paying retailer globally, the company claimed. 

It is worth noting, however, that royalties distributed by Spotify don't necessarily go directly to musicians, with record labels, distributors, publishers, managers and songwriters often taking a cut.

At the Squash Australian Open semi-final yesterday, Sivasangari Subramaniam got the better of world No. 12 Nele Gilis, beating her 3-0: 11-8, 13-11, 11-4. 

And Malaysia's world No. 6 is just one match away from ending a 13-month title drought after storming into the final! 

Massive Bird Nests That Look Like Dr. Seuss Art

The weaver (Family: Ploceidae) is celebrated for their extraordinary nest-building skills. 

While not all members of this family are technically called weavers, most of them do construct elaborate nests and breed together in sizable colonies. These intricately woven nests are some of the most amazing constructions in the entire avian world.

Sociable weaver birds (Scientific name: Philetairus socius) in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa have adapted to the scarcity of trees by building their massive communal nests on telephone poles instead. Some of these nests appear to be as large as a truck. 

"These small birds are known for their impressive communal nests", writes Lostfoundartny. "These nests can contain multiple bird species and can be home to as many as a hundred birds".

Also, some birds, such as whydahs and indigobirds – these small, finch-like passerine birds belong to the genus Vidua within the family Viduidae – are brood parasites that lay their eggs in the nests of weavers, tricking the weaver parents into raising their chicks. 

These photos from Lostfoundartny on Instagram look like something out of a Dr. Seuss illustration.

South African Men's Liberation from Colonial Naming Values

South African husbands are now legally entitled to adopt their wives’ surnames – a right previously denied under civil registration laws – the country’s Constitutional Court have found, in a ruling described as "historic" in local media. 

In the decision issued on Thursday, Justice Leona Theron (left) found that the prevailing legal framework imposed outdated colonial values and reinforced patriarchal assumptions. 

According the Citizen outlet, Justice Theron stated that the tradition of women taking their husbands’ surnames stems from a “a colonial import rooted in patriarchal norms where women were seen as legally inferior to their husbands and expected to assume their identity”. 

In her decision, Theron noted that the law’s failure to offer men the same right constituted unfair gender-based discrimination. The court suspended the declaration for 24 months, granting Parliament time to amend the legislation or introduce a new framework. 

The court’s judgment followed a legal challenge brought earlier this year by two South African couples: Jana Jordaan and Henry Van Der Merwe, and Jess Donnelly-Bornman and Andreas Nicolas Bornman. 

According to reporting by News24, applicant Henry Van Der Merwe had been entirely blocked from assuming the surname of his wife, Jana Jordaan, despite the couple mutually agreeing on the change prior to their marriage. In a similar case, Andreas Bornman was denied permission by the Department of Home Affairs to hyphenate his surname to include that of his wife, Jess Donnelly. 

There are generally no prohibitions preventing husbands from taking their wives’ surnames across Africa. For example, in Kenya, the law allows any adult to change their name for any reason through a gender-neutral process involving a deed poll. In Nigeria, name changes are also done via deed poll. In Zimbabwe, a notarial deed of change of name and gazette publication is required. 

The exception is North Africa, where countries like Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt do not provide for surname changes through marriage at all, spouses must retain their birth names, and any alteration requires a separate judicial or administrative procedure.

At the $366,000 Egyptian Open in Giza on Saturday, world No. 8 Sivasangari Subramaniam, who received a first-round bye, opened her campaign in the second round against Egypt's world No. 45.   

She beat Nour Heikal 13-11, 11-9, 11-5 in 29 minutes. 

In fact, she's Malaysia’s sole representative to advance to the third round, following the elimination of three other Malaysian players including Rachel Arnold, Aira Azman, and national men’s number one Ng Eain Yow.

Donald Trump’s New Tariffs

We're seeing another TACO moment! 

United States President Donald Trump on Monday extended a pause on his sweeping reciprocal tariffs to August 01, while also sending “tariff letters” to fourteen countries, warning they would be subject to the new tariff rates if they failed to reach a trade deal with the US by the new deadline. 

As he spelt out in the letters, the rates could be modified "upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country". I'm not even sure anymore what he actually means. 

[Note: The term TACO – Trump Always Chickens Out – was coined by Financial Times commentator Robert Armstrong to describe what he says is the president's tiresome pattern of announcing heavy tariffs on countries causing economic shock, panic and stock market hits and then later reversing course with pauses or reductions that create a market rebound]. 

For South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia, these tariff rates are identical to what Trump had announced on April 02. Malaysia and Japan saw a 1 percent increase and the other eight countries – Kazakhstan, Laos, Myanmar, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bangladesh, Serbia and Cambodia – will now encounter lower tariffs than they did on "Liberation Day". 

FYI, during the 90-day pause, the US only managed to broker two "deals" (if you can call them deals!) with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. 

The first deal was secured on May 08, between the US and the UK, setting a 10 percent tariff on UK exports to the US. The deal states that the first 100,000 vehicles imported into the US from the UK each year will face a 10 percent tariff, down from the 27.5 percent imposed earlier. Additional vehicles imported each year will face a 25 percent tariff. 

On July 02, Trump announced that he had secured a deal with Vietnam, which now faces a minimum 20 percent tariff in exchange for opening its market up to the US. Transshipments from third countries through Vietnam will face a 40 percent levy, while US products will not face any tariff in Vietnam. Specific details for this deal are unclear. On April 02, Trump had announced a 46 percent tariff on Vietnam. 

Meanwhile, US stocks, based on the three major indices, fell on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.94 percent; S&P 500, which tracks the stock performance of 500 leading US companies, fell by 0.79 percent; and the Nasdaq Composite saw a 0.92 percent drop.

Rewilding Base for South China Tigers

The South China tiger (Scientific name: Panthera tigris amoyensis) is China's only native tiger subspecies and one of the most endangered in the world, with just around 250 animals left nationwide. 

[FYI, China is the only country to have had four subspecies of tigers within its borders: the now extinct Caspian tiger (Scientific name: Panthera tigris virgata), the endangered Amur tiger (Scientific name: Panthera tigris altaica), the endangered Indochinese tiger (Scientific name: Panthera tigris corbetti) and the South China Tiger].  

According to endangeredtigers.org, the South China tiger is the most recent tiger subspecies to go extinct in the wild since the Javan tiger disappeared in the 1970s. Today, this tiger subspecies survives only in captivity, mostly in Chinese Zoos. 

Based on the last count in November 2018, the captive population was said to number 177 tigers (88 females, 89 males) distributed across 15 zoos in China and 1 private reserve in South Africa. These tigers are the genetic reservoir for their subspecies and all that now stands between the South China tiger and extinction.

And the country's largest rewilding training base for the species has officially begun operations in Meihua Mountain in Fujian Province. Last week, two adult tigers were moved into a semi-wild adaptation zone – a key step in helping them develop survival instincts. 

Check out the video below:

 

White South Africans Arrive in US As Refugees

A US-funded flight carrying 59 white South Africans who are to be granted refugee status has arrived in the US on Monday. 

US President Donald Trump has said the refugee applications for the country's Afrikaner minority had been expedited as they were victims of "racial discrimination".  This is likely the first batch and I have no doubt there will be more of them accepting the "refugee" deal – the president of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the United States (SACCUSA) already making the claim that 67,042 Afrikaners have expressed interest (as per the africareport.com, published March 28, 2025).

A bizarre presupposition because it is the Afrikaners who occupied the whole country in the 17th century, displacing and oppressing the Indigenous inhabitants. Eventually, their concept of white supremacy developed into a formal state policy, apartheid. The UN classified this as a crime against humanity. 

Today, South Africa is been a thriving democracy and open society ever since the formal end of apartheid in 1994. But more than three decades after white minority rule ended, South Africa remains hugely unequal. White people typically have 20 times the wealth of black people, according to an article in the Review of Political Economy. The black South African unemployment rate is 46.1%, compared with 9.2% for white people.  

And immigrant rights activists have criticised the fast-track refugee initiative, describing it as unfair for the "most vulnerable". The Trump administration have halted almost all refugee admissions including those coming from countries at war. In fact, the processing of refugees in the US often takes months, even years, but this group has been fast tracked. UNHCR – the United Nations refugee agency – confirmed to the BBC they weren't involved in the vetting, as is usually the case. 

Asked directly on the same day why the Afrikaners' refugee applications had been processed faster than other groups, Trump said a "genocide" was taking place and that "white farmers" specifically were being targeted. 

"Farmers are being killed, they happen to be white, but whether they're white or black makes no difference to me". 

The US has criticised domestic South African policy, accusing the government of seizing land from white farmers without any compensation. In January, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a controversial law allowing the government to seize privately owned land without compensation in certain circumstances, when it is deemed "equitable and in the public interest". But the government say no land has yet been seized under the act. 

There has been frustration in South Africa over the slow pace of land reform in the three decades since the end of the racist apartheid system. While black South Africans make up more than 90% of the population, they only hold 4% of all privately owned land, according to a 2017 report. 

One of Trump's closest advisers, South African-born Elon Musk, has previously said there was a "genocide of white people" in South Africa and accused the government of passing "racist ownership laws". 

BBC News even cited figures from the South African police showing that in 2024, forty-four murders were recorded on farms and smaller plots of agricultural land, with eight of those killed being farmers. South Africa does not report on crime statistics broken down by race but a majority of the country's farmers are white, while other people living on farms, such as workers, are mostly black. 

Still, the claims of a genocide of white people have been widely discredited. And Trump's openness to accepting Afrikaner refugees comes as the US has engaged in a wider crackdown on migrants and asylum seekers from other countries.

And in case you didn't know, South Africa is ruled by a government of national unity, a coalition between the ANC and the white-led Democratic Alliance, whom Ramaphosa, chose to partner with instead of the two black nationalist parties, the MK and the Economic Freedom Fighters. The former leader of the predominantly Afrikaner party, the Freedom Front Plus, Pieter Groenewald, is one of several white members of Ramaphosa’s cabinet. Genocide? Victims? 😆😆😆

Donald "Forrest" Trump's Tariff Threats Apply To All Countries

President Donald Trump said on March 31 the tariffs he plans to impose in the coming days would include “all countries”, not just those with the largest trade imbalances with the United States. 

Trump has promised a “Liberation Day” on April 02, when he is set to unveil reciprocal levies to aggressively address trade practices that his government deem unfair. 

But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had highlighted that the upcoming tariff salvo is to target the 15 percent of partners – he labeled them the “Dirty 15” – that have persistent trade imbalances with the United States.

While the official list remains unpublished, the targeted nations are likely to align with those mentioned in last month's Federal Register notice from the US trade representative, the Wall Street Journal suggested. 

The largest goods trade deficits with the United States in the previous year, ranked from highest to lowest, were China, EU, Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, India, Thailand, Switzerland, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and South Africa. 

Whatever the case may be, Trump is insisting that “the tariffs will be far more generous than those countries were to us, meaning they will be kinder than those countries were to the United States of America over the decades”. 

He defends the levies as a way to raise government revenue and revitalize US industry. "We’re going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking jobs, taking our wealth, taking so much out of our country", he had declared.  

And, on March 26, he announced 25% tariffs on all cars shipped to the United States, a significant escalation in a global trade war. According to USA Today, it would go into effect on Wednesday, April 02 and begin to be collected on Thursday, April 03. 

As Trump’s top trade aide Peter Navarro said the tax on auto imports could raise $100 billion a year. 

“And in addition, the other tariffs are going to raise about $600 billion a year, about $6 trillion over a 10-year period”, Navarro told Fox News on Sunday.

On Monday, Asian shares followed US futures in falling because of the riskiness over what the upcoming tariffs could be. Stock markets in Japan and South Korea, whose carmakers are likely to be disproportionately affected by the US measures, were hit especially hard.

Sad to say, Trump is only deluding himself. The tariffs will boomerang back at him, for sure. You wait and see!

South Africa in the Crosshairs of Donald Trump

The US has declared South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool (right) a persona non grata in the United States. 

In a social media post on Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Rasool was “no longer welcome in our great country”. 

Rubio had linked his remarks to an article by the right-wing media outlet Breitbart, wherein Rasool is quoted as saying Trump mobilised a “supremacist instinct” and “white victimhood” as a “dog whistle” during the 2024 elections. 

But South African political analyst Sandile Swana told Al Jazeera that the “core of the dispute” was Pretoria’s decision to form a genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Israel, a staunch US ally, over its war on Gaza. 

In February, Rasool, an anti-apartheid campaigner, told the Zeteo news site that what South Africans experienced during apartheid rule “is on steroids in Palestine”. Moreover, Swana explained that in the fight against apartheid, the US “supported the apartheid regime”. 

“[So] Rasool continues to point out the behavior of the United States, even now is to support apartheid and genocide”, he added. 

On Saturday, South Africa’s presidency issued a statement stating that the decision was “regrettable” – but added that the country “remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America”. Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, posted on X that the government “will engage through the diplomatic channel”. 

FYI, South Africa is governed by the African National Congress (ANC), a party that emerged out of the anti-apartheid struggle that ended white minority rule in that country. But the government have been a target of particular ire for the Donald Trump administration and allies like right-wing billionaire Elon Musk, who is of South African origin. 

Already, Trump’s government have accused the ANC government of discriminating against their white population. Trump has even nixed aid to South Africa and, in February – at a time when the White House had almost entirely shuttered refugee admissions for people fleeing violence and repression around the world – Trump offered expedited citizenship for white Afrikaners “escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination”. 

The announcement was a response to a land distribution law meant to address inequalities that have continued since the apartheid era. The South African government say that Trump is misinformed about the law, which has not been used to confiscate any land. 

Vincent Magwenya, a spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, told the Reuters news agency that his country was “not going to partake in a counterproductive megaphone diplomacy” – referring to Trump’s propensity for issuing missives about South Africa on social media. 

Despite Trump’s portrayal of Afrikaners as a besieged minority, South African authorities say that the economic legacy of apartheid, during which white South Africans exercised near-total control over the economy, persists in continued levels of economic inequality between Black and white residents. 

A 2017 government audit found that while Black people make up 80 percent of the population of South Africa, they own just 4 percent of privately held farmland. The white Afrikaners who own the vast majority of South Africa’s farmland comprise a mere 8 percent of the population. 

Rasool and his family were themselves expelled from their home in Cape Town during the apartheid period, when Black people were forcibly relocated to designated non-white areas with almost no resources or economic opportunities.

Chinese Drones Bring Monkey King To Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A total of 2,024 drones brought the legendary #MonkeyKing, or Sun Wukong, to life in a dazzling sky display over Qionglai City in Sichuan Province, southwest China on Monday. As per Facebook.

Two male cheetahs, Agni and Vayu, were released into the wild at Kuno National Park in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh, India on International Cheetah Day on Wednesday. 

 

The release took place in the Palpur East area, located across the Kuno River, marking a significant milestone in India’s ambitious cheetah reintroduction project. These efforts aim to restore the cheetah population, which has been extinct in the country for nearly 70 years, and to enhance the biodiversity of the region. 

 

After spending time in large enclosures at Kuno National Park, the cheetahs were ready for their release into the open forest, where they will be free to roam, hunt, and utilize their renowned speed and agility. 

 

Following the release of Agni and Vayu, additional cheetahs will be introduced gradually over the coming months. The park officials will closely monitor their progress to ensure the cheetahs adapt well to the wild. 

 

Kuno National Park has been fully prepared to support the cheetahs in their new habitat, with the area secured to protect them from potential threats. The release also offers a unique opportunity for tourists to see these majestic creatures in their natural surroundings. Unlike previous releases, where cheetahs were only visible from a distance, the open forest setting at Kuno will provide closer, yet controlled, encounters, enhancing the experience for wildlife enthusiasts. 

 

Currently, Kuno National Park is home to 12 adult cheetahs and 12 cubs, bringing the total cheetah population to 24. This is a promising step forward in the cheetah reintroduction program, which began ith the translocation of cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa, supported by the Indian government ad wildlife experts.

A Sign of the Times 2

The G20 took their group photo on Monday – but without the President of the United States. When they finished and tried to get the leaders back in place to wait for Joe Biden, they all just walked off the stage. 

 

Frustrated US officials blamed “logistical issues” for the blunder which meant that Biden missed out on the shot, along with the Canadian and Italian prime ministers.

 

Reporters could be heard calling out for Biden and only after the photo was taken when one cameraman spotted him behind a nearby palm tree. Methinks, he'd wandered there to have a pee.

 

The movers and shakers like China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa and Türkiye's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were the ones captured in the front row.

  on Tuesday

Whether you'll admit it or not, it reflects the increasingly sidelined status of the lame-duck leader as Donald Trump's comeback looms.

 

In a way, it is kinda sad nobody gives a hoot about Biden!  😁😁😁😁

Note: The G20 or Group of 20, an intergovernmental forum for economic cooperation among the world's 19 largest economies, along with the European Union, and as of 2023, the African Union. This year, it was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on November 18-19.

Postscript: A take two with Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau and Giorgia Meloni who were no-shows the first time around, made it for the G20 leaders' photo on Tuesday.

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.

Worst Cities For Rush Hour Traffic Worldwide

Traffic congestion costs drivers hours of lost time and economic productivity. Right away, I can visualise jam-packed roads in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. And not to mention, the same with Bangkok in Thailand, Jakarta in Indonesia and Manila in Philippines.

 

Traffic can serve as an economic indicator, as the flow of people, goods, and services drives the demand for road travel, reflecting underlying economic activity. But when this demand surpasses the available road capacity, it leads to congestion, time lost in traffic, and often rising frustration.

 

The chart below shows the 15 worst cities around the world for traffic congestion in 2023, ranked by the average number of hours lost to traffic congestion per driver when driving during peak commute hours compared to driving during off-peak hours in 2023. Data comes from the INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard 2023.

 

And I am pleasantly surprised that the above-mentioned Southeast Asian cities are not even listed! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to INRIX, drivers in New York had it the worst. On average, drivers in The Big Apple lost 101 hours to traffic jams in 2023, costing more than $1,700 in lost time and productivity.

 

In the U.S., traffic delays cost the typical driver more than $733 in lost time, or $70 billion nationwide in 2023.

Boeing's Travails Aren't Over

Boeing's travails are by no means over and they have definitely not gone away!

 

On April 24, Air France flight #AF291 from Osaka, Japan to Paris, France was diverted to Baku's Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Azerbaijan, following the appearance of a heat smell in the cabin. 

 

The passengers on the Boeing 777-200ER plane safely disembarked and technical checks are being carried out. Due to difficulties in obtaining visas, they are obliged to remain in the transit zone where they are able to have meals. 

 

A new plane has been put in place by Air France departing from Paris to enable passengers to be re-routed as quickly as possible, in liaison with the local airport authorities.

 

On April 23, a Lufthansa flight #LH456 from Frankfurt, Germany performed a dramatic touch and go at Los Angeles, United States. 

 

The Boeing 747-8 bounced on the runway while making a landing attempt at Los Angeles LAX. Anyway, it landed safely on the same runway about 15 minutes later.

 

On April 21, a FlySafair Boeing 737 which was operating flight FA212 from South Africa's Johannesburg to Cape Town lost a wheel. 

 

During takeoff from the former's OR Tambo International Airport, the aircraft’s left outer main gear wheel decided to divorce. 

 

Following the separation of the wheel, the crew discontinued their climb at 22,000 feet and entered a holding pattern to burn fuel. After roughly 190 minutes airborne, air traffic control visually confirmed the missing wheel. 

 

The pilots then executed a safe emergency landing back at OR Tambo International Airport. Unfortunately, the landing resulted in further damage to the rim of the remaining wheel assembly.

 

Thankfully, there were no injuries reported among the passengers or crew on board. The incident did, however, cause delays at the airport as crews worked to clear the runway. 

 

As per the above 3 incidents, Boeing continue to experience issues with their planes. 

 

Not only that but the company must pay $443 million in compensation to airlines for the Max 9 grounding even as losses and problems mount. 

 

FYI, Boeing reported a core operating loss of $388 million in 1Q24, a slightly smaller loss compared to $440 million for the same period a year ago.

Cannibals Ate Joe Biden's Uncle

US politicians make damn good storytellers!

 

The most "famous" is Joe Biden. His latest story was spun on Wednesday during a visit to a war memorial in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania where he made the surprising suggestion that his uncle, Second Lieutenant Ambrose J Finnegan Jr, who he said had flown reconnaissance flights over New Guinea – an island in the western Pacific Ocean, north of Australia – may have been eaten by cannibals after being shot down during World War II. 

 

Hours later, at a meeting with United Steelworkers union members in Pittsburgh, Biden repeated the yarn. 

 

According to the Pentagon’s agency for prisoners of war and missing in action (POW-MIA), Finnegan was never shot down. Nor was it on a reconnaissance mission, as Biden claimed. The A-20 Havoc light bomber was on a “courier run” from the Los Negros Island when its engines failed at low altitude, per the official account of the incident. The plane dropped into the sea off the north coast of New Guinea and two out of three crew members never made it out of the sinking wreck, which was never found. The one man who survived was rescued by a passing boat. 

 

Biden (right) has told many fictitious tales about his life over a 50-year career in politics, most famously about getting arrested while trying to visit Nelson Mandela in a South African prison during the 1970s. [The New York Times could not find any mention of an arrest in a review of news accounts, and a former United States ambassador to the United Nations, who had joined Biden on that trip, rebutted Biden’s account to the newspaper].  

 

And he has kept rehashing one anecdote – at least 13 times since taking office – involving a late Amtrak conductor named Angelo Negri who supposedly exclaimed “Joey, baby!” while extolling Biden’s lifetime rail ridership. [The account was rated “False” in 2021 by CNN, which noted that Biden didn’t reach one million miles aboard Air Force Two until September 2015, well after Negri’s retirement from Amtrak in 1993 and death in May 2014].

 

The cannibal claim about Uncle Ambrose, however, served as a springboard for attacking his predecessor – and presumptive challenger – Donald Trump (right). 

 

He narrated the yarn about how Trump allegedly refused to honor fallen US soldiers buried in France, calling them “suckers” and “losers”. [The story first appeared in The Atlantic magazine in September 2020, referring to events in November 2018, at the centenary of the WWI armistice. Trump denied the accusation, calling it “more made up fake news given by disgusting and jealous failures in a disgraceful attempt to influence the 2020 election!” Documents debunking the Atlantic’s claim surfaced within days, but that has not stopped Trump's opponents from repeatedly bringing it up as if true].

 

Storytelling can certainly help any public speaker deliver a more memorable message, but here's a word of caution: don't be like Biden and overdo it!

 

Unless, it's a Tall Tale contest!