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CNA spoke to Ravichandran Tharumalingam after his successful summit attempt on May 5. He described the achievement as a way to “conquer old demons”. The then-42-year-old was so keenly focused on summiting Mount Everest for the second time in two years that his euphoria distracted him from a slight tingling sensation in his fingers. He had successfully reached the mountain's peak for the first time in 2006. Ravichandran or Ravi as he prefers to be called, eventually reached the top of the world’s highest mountain once more, but this time at a cost. The tips of eight of his fingers...

Singapore is bracing for a shortage of its de-facto national dish, chicken rice, as major supplier, Malaysia halts all chicken exports from Wednesday (June 1). Restaurants and street stalls in the city-state are faced with hiking prices of the staple food or shutting down altogether as their supplies dwindle from neighbouring Malaysia, where production has been disrupted by a global feed shortage. Malaysia's export ban is the latest sign of growing global food shortages as countries, reeling from the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, extreme weather, and pandemic-related supply disruptions, scramble to shore up domestic supplies and tame food...

Tuesday was a jammed-packed day for food protectionism developments across Asia. India announced a sugar export ban, and Malaysia halted shipments of chicken. Like many others in the region, both countries suffer from high inflation. Each respective government and central bank seeks to suppress inflation, and what appears to be the move at the moment (besides raising interest rates) are protectionist measures. If inflation continues to run hot in these countries, the risk of socio-economic turmoil increases. Today’s events first began with India. Bloomberg reported earlier that sources expected a sugar export ban was imminent. The Indian government announced the...

The Singapore High Court has granted a stay of execution for Malaysian Datchinamurthy Kataiah, according to rights group Lawyers for Liberty. Datchinamurthy, 36, was supposed to be hanged tomorrow. “There will be no execution tomorrow morning. Datchinamurthy argued the case himself as no Singapore lawyer dared to represent him for fear of reprisal from the state,” LFL adviser N Surendran said in a Twitter post. Meanwhile, human rights lawyer M Ravi said the Singapore court granted the stay of execution pending the outcome of Datchinamurthy’s prison correspondence misconduct legal challenge. The matter will be heard by the court on May...

Singapore on Wednesday executed a mentally disabled Malaysian man condemned for a drug offense after a court dismissed a last-minute challenge from his mother and international pleas to spare him. Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, 34, had been on death row for over a decade after he was convicted of trafficking about one-and-a-half ounces of heroin into Singapore. The city-state's government has said its use of the death penalty for drug crimes is made clear at its borders. Nagaenthran's family and social activists confirmed the execution Wednesday. "On this score may I declare that Malaysia is far more humane," his sister Sarmila...

I see The Lord picking up a gem and brushing it off then he breathes into it and it comes alive as he laughs and smiles so many colors of light shine forth from it in all directions . He holds it up high and then let's go of it as it rises out of his hand pulsating with delightful colors of the rainbow . I hear him saying " Rise up oh well , Rise up even higher for The Voice of many waters is calling to you for His Glory ! And this Gem is you . Revelation...

A state assemblyman in Kelantan has been cheated of RM84,529 by a Macau scam syndicate, police said on Monday (April 11). Kelantan Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Asst Comm Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof said the 57-year-old assemblyman only realised that he was cheated after finding out on Sunday (April 10) that the amount had been withdrawn from his bank accounts. He said the victim had earlier received a telephone call from a man claiming to be an officer from the Melaka Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) who told him he had a case of RM52,900.78 in tax arrears. "The suspect claimed...

A pregnant Malaysian woman shared a video online in which she surprises her husband with a $650,000 Lamborghini in anticipation of his dedicated caretaking of her and their baby. Anes Ayuni Osman, 19, uploaded the video to TikTok on March 12, showing viewers how she surprised her husband by taking him into a car dealership blindfolded. In the video, her husband, 20-year-old Weldan Zulkefli, cries from happiness after seeing the turquoise Huracan Evo wrapped with a giant red bow. Osman is a cosmetics entrepreneur from Kelantan, Malaysia, where she plans to stay at her family’s home while recovering postpartum. She...

He made his name and built his fame as his alter ego Uncle Roger, poking fun of famous chefs and saying inappropriate things. But Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng is finding out there's a limit to how much political incorrectness the public can take from him. And despite a few days of brickbats from netizens, the 30-year-old — who's in the midst of his stand-up comedy world tour — hasn't apologised. On Feb 24, after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, Nigel posted a tweet saying: "Adding some Ukraine dates to my Haiyaa world tour! Stay tuned…" He also added the...

Condom sales declined precipitously during the pandemic, the world's largest manufacturer of the contraceptive, which saw sales falling as much as 40% in the past two years, told Nikkei. While one could assume that people would have nothing to do "but have sex" indoors because of movement restrictions, that didn't appear to be the situation, Goh Miah Kiat, Karex's CEO, told the media outlet. The Malaysian contraceptive company produces about 5.5 billion condoms a year and is a supplier to brands such as Durex and ONE Condoms. It also produces its own condom brands.

Amajor squash tournament in Malaysia has been cancelled, the sport's governing body said, after the Muslim-majority country sparked anger by refusing to grant visas for Israeli players. It is the latest instance of the Southeast Asian nation, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, barring the country's athletes. The World Team Championship for men had been due to take place in Kuala Lumpur on December 7-12 with 26 squads participating. But the World Squash Federation (WSF) and Malaysia's squash body said that it had been axed ...

Singapore and Malaysia want "more open borders" even if the new Omicron coronavirus variant disrupts plans to expand the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) between both countries, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday (Nov 29). Mr Lee and his Malaysian counterpart Ismail Sabri Yaakob were giving speeches at the Istana on the first day of the land and air VTL between Singapore and Malaysia. Mr Ismail Sabri is on his first official visit to Singapore. Mr Lee said the aim is to expand the land VTL to include general travellers from the middle of December, taking into account...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Islamist ambitions seem to be seeking an international role in post-U.S. Afghanistan in alliance with the Taliban, Qatar, Pakistan and Malaysia. The trouble is, Turkey, among the new sharia alliance in the making, is the only country with institutional ties to the Western world. Biden has weakened himself and his country so badly that the superpower was reduced to the point of being blackmailed by NATO's only Islamist member. Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has made it clear: "If the U.S. is to be in the Middle East, it must cooperate with Turkey." Afghanistan is...

An engineer claims he’s used a computer program to discover flight MH370 was put into a 20-minute holding pattern before vanishing. The doomed jet was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014 when it disappeared with 239 passengers on board, sparking one of the greatest aviation mysteries ever. Richard Godfrey has been tracking the Boeing 777’s flight path using WSPRnet – which uses radio signals – and claims to have made a major breakthrough. He says the plane was put into a holding pattern for around 22 minutes near the coastline of Sumatra, an Indonesian island, reports AirlineRatings.

The execution of a Malaysian drug trafficker was stayed on Tuesday (Nov 9) by the Court of Appeal, after he tested positive for COVID-19. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, who has been on death row for 11 years, was ushered in briefly into the dock for a last-bid attempt against his death sentence. However, he was later taken away, and a judge informed the court that Nagaenthran had tested positive for COVID-19.

MAY/JUNE 2013 Historical Fiction: China’s South China Sea Claims Mohan Malik The Spratly Islands—not so long ago known primarily as a rich fishing ground—have turned into an international flashpoint as Chinese leaders insist with increasing truculence that the islands, rocks, and reefs have been, in the words of Premier Wen Jiabao, “China’s historical territory since ancient times.” Normally, the overlapping territorial claims to sovereignty and maritime boundaries ought to be resolved through a combination of customary international law, adjudication before the International Court of Justice or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, or arbitration under Annex VII...

Malaysian government didn't want Achmed in the show, so he brought his brother Jacque Merde, a French terrorist (Achmed with a beret and a mustache, and a fake accent).

State health officials have seized a total of RM8,240 in unregistered Ivermectin products in seven raids on clinics, pharmacies and online sellers. State executive councillor for health, Rahmad Mariman, said the sale of products not registered with the health ministry was in violation of drug control regulations. He urged members of the public to report any sale of Ivermectin on e-commerce sites or social media. “They should inform the Pharmacy Enforcement Division so that appropriate action can be taken to curb the sale of unregistered Ivermectin products,” he said. Rahmad said no Ivermectin product had been approved for registration for...

The tussle between the US and China seeks a formal garb after the AUKUS was formed, and now the US wants more micro engagements in the region The United States is fully engaged in shifting its unsuccessful strategic workshop from Afghanistan to the East. That is what Joe Biden implied in his justification behind the withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan during the first week of this month. Followed by this statement, Vice President Kamala Harris visited Southeast Asia, an indication that the US was now permanently seeking serious engagement in the East against rapidly increasing Chinese belligerence. The...

Fresh off of renewed questions about a grant given to a health organization that worked with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the National Institutes of Health is in the spotlight for giving grants to a man charged with illegally supplying high-tech medical equipment to Iran.According to a Justice Department news release, Dr. Mohammad Faghihi was charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit money laundering, unlawful exports of goods to Iran, smuggling goods out of and into the U.S., wire fraud and making false statements.Faghihi, a former associate professor at the University of Miami who was born in Iran, was charged in...