Daily Archives: October 18, 2009

A Malaysian netizen's confession about being torn between staying in Kuala Lumpur or returning to their hometown for a simpler life has gone viral online as his experiences resonate with others working in the capital city burdened with high rent and cost of living.

China denied asking companies to hand over overseas data amid mounting calls for a TikTok ban in the US. The app's CEO faced questioning from US lawmakers over concerns about ties to China and dangers to teenagers. TikTok is facing an existential threat as it seeks to either split from its Chinese ownership or be banned in the US. The app has become a cultural powerhouse, with 150 million monthly users in the country. TikTok hopes to appease authorities with Project Texas, a plan to ring-fence US data into a US-run division, but lawmakers doubt its ability to address national security concerns.

South Korea will seek the extradition of fugitive crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon, prosecutors told AFP Friday, after the Terraform founder was arrested in Montenegro and hit with US fraud charges.

Non-constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai has updated his Facebook post, which was the subject of a heated exchange in Parliament with Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam. The post questioned the government's alleged double standards and the characterization of Lee Hsien Yang and Mrs. Lee Suet Fern as "absconders." Mr Shanmugam accused Leong of violating parliamentary procedures and demanded him to delete his post and to apologise. In his amended post on Friday, Mr Leong admitted his mistake in suggesting the guilt of the Keppel Offshore & Marine corruption case executives and has amended his post on Monday accordingly. However, he declined to delete the entire post, stating that other points were valid and not objected by members of the House.

Sembcorp Marine Ltd has issued an announcement on Singapore Stock Exchange informing its investors that the company has come to its knowledge that the...

Chinese authorities have detained five employees of US due diligence firm Mintz Group's Beijing office and closed its operations there. Mintz has retained legal counsel and requested the authorities release its employees, stating it operates transparently and ethically, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations in China. The firm specializes in conducting investigations into fraud, corruption and workplace misconduct allegations, as well as background checks.

New genetic evidence of raccoon dogs present at the Wuhan market has reignited debate over the origin of COVID-19. The researchers who found the genetic data say it supports the theory that the virus may have originated in animals and then jumped to humans at the market. However, this is still uncertain, and the virus's origin continues to be a divisive issue for the scientific community. Some believe it leaked from a Wuhan lab, while others argue it likely originated in animals. The WHO has called for more data to shed light on the start of the pandemic.