Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by PhakFuhZai

US to livestream execution of death

PhakFuhZai — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 22:35:18 +0800

QUOTE

The public will be able to watch the execution of a former US Army major by firing squad, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.

A Defence Department official told the BBC the execution of Nidal Hasan, who shot dead 13 unarmed US soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, would be livestreamed.

It is believed it would be the first public execution in the US in almost a century. The decision to livestream it is "unprecedented in the modern era" and "on uncertain legal terrain," said John Mills, a lawyer who works with inmates sentenced to death.

"People need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things," said Hegseth.

The UN human rights office told AFP that livestreaming it would be "tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture".

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told CNN that the idea was "disgusting" and reminiscent of executions carried out by the Islamic State group.

The Pentagon announced earlier this week it would execute Hasan in the first military execution in more than 60 years.

Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist from Virginia, admitted fatally shooting 13 unarmed soldiers in a crowded medical building at Fort Hood.

Alonzo Lunsford, a former US Army sergeant who was shot seven times in the attack, told the BBC's Today programme that he supported the execution by firing squad, as a method "befitting" for what he did.

He does not believe everyone should be able to watch the livestream, concerned about the message it sends younger people, but says it is important that those affected by the shooting are given the opportunity.

"As far as the families of the fallen and the families of the survivors, and the survivors themselves, yes, I think we should be able to look at it uncensored."

Lunsford says he plans to attend the execution and before they pull the trigger he wants Hasan to look him in the eyes. "I want him to know he failed. I'm still here."

Hegseth said in an interview with conservative TV outlet Real America's Voice that Hasan is "gonna get a firing squad of soldiers. As it should be".

Asked if Hasan had made any final requests or reached out to President Donald Trump, Hegseth said: "Don't care. We'll see him on December 3rd."

A Pentagon spokesperson said on Monday that Trump had approved the defence secretary's recommendation. The BBC has asked the White House whether Trump supports a livestreamed public execution.

While there were more than 2,700 executions across 17 countries last year, only two countries carried them out publicly.

Eleven public executions were known to have been carried out in Iran in 2025, and another six in Afghanistan, according to Amnesty International.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmy0r96xygx6o

meanwhile, Malaysia has suspended execution of death sentence since 2018

And Madani currently still "Studying" whether to fully abolish or not

so who is more liberal, who is more progressive?

saw many netizens want to see the BU School stabber hung to death, macam mana

Huawei make car

PhakFuhZai — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 10:39:19 +0800

QUOTE

Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp (JAC, SSE: 600418) shares fell by the daily limit on Thursday after reported brake pedal bracket failures during tests of its Huawei-backed Maextro V800 luxury MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) became a trending topic on Chinese social media.

As of publication, JAC shares were at the daily lower limit, having ended the morning session at 24.72 yuan, down 10.01%. The decline reversed several consecutive days of gains.

Dongchedi, an Chinese automotive information platform, released a test video earlier on Thursday saying that all 3 Maextro V800s suffered brake pedal bracket failures during emergency braking tests from 100 km/h to a standstill.

The first vehicle's bracket broke during its third braking attempt, and the second vehicle's during its fourth. A third new vehicle purchased subsequently suffered the same failure during its second attempt.

According to the video, the failures prevented normal braking using the pedal, forcing testers to stop the vehicles using the emergency braking function activated through the Park control.

The descriptions of the failures come from the testing team, and no official investigation findings have been released. JAC and Huawei's HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) have yet to comment on the matter.

The video sparked debate over vehicle safety and the testing methods. Some social media users called on JAC to investigate, while others questioned whether repeated high-intensity braking met applicable standards and whether they accurately reflected real-world driving conditions.

Maextro, jointly developed by Huawei and JAC, sits at the top of HIMA's brand portfolio.

The V800 was launched on August 5 as a flagship MPV, with announced launch prices ranging from 766,000 yuan ($113,710) to 1,016,000 yuan. It targets the high-end business mobility market that includes the Toyota Alphard and Lexus LM.

JAC has repeatedly said it will concentrate its resources on ensuring Maextro's commercial success. Chairman Xiang Xingchu has also said the company will continue investing in the ultra-luxury market and expand the brand's product lineup.

The limit-down move followed a string of gains in JAC shares. In an announcement on the evening of September 30, the company said the cumulative deviation of its daily closing-price gains had exceeded 20% over the 3 consecutive trading days of September 28, 29 and 30.

In the announcement, JAC confirmed that it had discussed potential cooperation with Huawei and Stellantis. However, as of the announcement's publication, neither the scope nor the form of cooperation had been determined, and no legally binding formal agreement had been signed.

https://cnevpost.com/2026/10/08/maextro-v80...ac-shares-fall/

[YOUTUBE]_vxdzvgwlbw[/YOUTUBE]

apa pandangan kumaos

this is scary

much scarier than the rear axle of Omoda

Xi JinPing health concerns

PhakFuhZai — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 20:47:06 +0800

QUOTE

Xi Jinping unwell? Chinese officials sought unusual long bre ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/article..._campaign=cppst

Xi Jinping unwell? Chinese officials sought unusual long breaks during the US visit
Fresh questions have emerged over Chinese President Xi Jinping's health after unusual arrangements made for him to rest during his recent summit with US President Donald Trump, reported by Wall Street Journal.
People familiar with the planning told WSJ, Chinese officials asked the White House for a private room where Xi could rest between engagements and sought more downtime during his Washington visit.
Hold room
The most unusual detail was the request for a private “hold room” inside the White House's West Wing. According to the WSJ, Xi's wife Peng Liyuan was reportedly the only other person allowed inside the room, while even Cai Qi, a senior member of Xi's delegation and his chief of staff, was not permitted to use it.
The arrangement was described by a former US National Security Council official as unusual compared with previous visits by foreign leaders.
Chinese officials also turned down a planned working lunch between Xi and Trump on September 24, the only full day of his Washington visit, saying they wanted more time for Xi to rest. The decision created a roughly five-hour gap in the summit schedule.
Holding hands
At Joint Base Andrews, footage reviewed by the WSJ showed Xi holding Peng's hand while using the aircraft's railing as he descended the stairs.
Two days later, while climbing the National Archives steps alongside Trump and Melania Trump, Xi again held Peng's hand, with the WSJ reporting that he appeared to rely on her for support.
The unusual scheduling was also visible elsewhere in Xi's itinerary. No official engagements were planned for him on the evening of his arrival following a roughly 14-hour flight from Beijing, while his visit to the US National Archives the following day lasted only about 10 minutes, far shorter than initially planned, according to the WSJ.
BRICS summit
The latest report has also brought renewed attention to Xi's health during his recent visit to India for the BRICS summit.
During the opening session in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi briefly appeared to check on Xi, asking his interpreter, “Is it okay?” after the Chinese president appeared uncomfortable.
Xi later skipped a gala dinner hosted by Modi for BRICS leaders and other dignitaries after attending the first day of the summit and holding a bilateral meeting with Modi.
Taken together, the episodes have renewed questions over Xi's health, though no specific illness has been established. With Xi holding China's top political and military posts, any health concerns could have wider implications for Beijing.

even Bang Non who's older than Xi by a few years, appeared much more energetic

Taiwan butthurt over Trump remark

PhakFuhZai — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 22:53:31 +0800

QUOTE

TAIPEI: Taiwan is pushing back against what it sees as Beijing's efforts to rewrite the history of World War Two after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump highlighted the wartime alliance between their countries at a summit last week.

That has rattled Taipei, which is wary that Washington could be won over to Beijing's interpretation of history, potentially lessening support for the island from its most important arms supplier.

Democratically governed Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, says the version of events Beijing is promoting is distorted, given that the Republic of China was the government at the time, fighting alongside the Allies.

The Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists and retains the formal name to this day.

Beijing says that during the war, communist guerrilla forces acted as the "backbone" of the fighting in China, and its official history gives little mention of the Republican forces.

At their state dinner in Washington on Thursday, both Xi and Trump lauded how their countries fought together in the war.

A White House fact sheet following the summit said Trump and Xi recalled that the US and China "were allies in World War Two and fought side by side to win the war".

Shen Yu-chung, deputy head of Taiwan's China policy-making Mainland Affairs Council, said Xi is "continuously trying to guide the World War Two historical narrative to be led by the People's Republic of China".

Taiwan will continue to convey messages to the US so it "correctly understands that during the entire World War Two process, the Republic of China was America's steadfast ally", he added.

Neither the White House, US State Department nor China's Taiwan Affairs Office responded to requests for comment.

Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu said Beijing wanted to overwrite the "true history".

"China is trying to replace the Republic of China's role during World War Two," he said. "I think this is something we should feel very sad about."

'ENORMOUS PROPAGANDA RESOURCES'

Last year during the 80th anniversary of the war's end, the de facto US embassy in Taipei said China was spreading "false" World War Two narratives to pressure Taiwan.

Chen Fang-yu, an associate professor at Taipei's Soochow University, said Taiwan faced a problem of how to combat China's narratives to a US audience.

"We're facing the Chinese communists' enormous propaganda resources and their continuous attempts through various means to brainwash and influence US public opinion," he told a forum in Taipei on Sunday.

Even within Taiwan the war's legacy is contested, given the island itself was a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945 and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party traditionally champions Taiwan's separate identity and history from China.

Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), which was the Republic of China's ruling party during the war, said that while the government got its history right, it was lambasting Beijing merely for its own political expediency.

President Lai Ching-te's government refers only to pre-1949 Republic of China history when it is convenient, "bringing back the 1945 Republic of China when they need to confront Beijing and compete for the narrative rights", the KMT said.

https://international.astroawani.com/global...r-two-narrative

but Trump said that in the face of XJP

TW DPP is the one that wanted to get rid of its "ROC" label, and yet they butthurt when Trump praised China during WW2

kejap disassociate with ROC, kejap nak claim they are the "authentic" China

---

meanwhile, alot of Japs also butthurt on Trump's remarks

since when US are allies with China, they wondered

Apple's answer to.CCP app developers

PhakFuhZai — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:16:33 +0800

QUOTE

Apple is testing an iPhone setting for users in China that lets them add apps to a list that prevents them from accessing the device's motion sensors. Apple hasn't explicitly said what the setting is in response to, but Chinese apps sometimes show "shake-to-open" ads on launch, and they can be triggered by merely picking up an iPhone, walking, or going over a bump in a car, resulting in unwanted redirects.

Users in China speculate this is why iOS 27.2 beta 2 includes the new "Restrict Motion Data" option in Settings that blocks app access to accelerometer and gyroscope data. For now, the option appears tied to mainland China App Store accounts, and we don't expect it will be available to iPhone users more broadly when iOS 27.2 is released later this year.

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/09/23/iphone...on-sensing-ads/

its amusing yet effective

Apple has heard of chinese users predicament

how to spot counterfeit Airpods Pro 2/3

PhakFuhZai — Sat, 26 Sep 2026 22:20:31 +0800

its rampant everywhere in FB

what its capable of

they like to put up the price from RM500 - all for the same reason - gifted from a friend but i dont need it

they like to use the "legit" shop receipt especially from Machines, with the serial number on the receipt matches that of the box, and the iPhone Settings menu

took a close-up shot of the individual earpiece, left and right, both have different SN, and it matches that of displayed in Settings screen

how to spot

check the packaging box, slide with your finder on the wording Airpods Pro and Apple logo, the original one always feel smooth and flat, the fake one feel embossed

check with the settings on head gestures, the fake one can't do this

Find my feature - fake one always can't have precision location, you can't play sound to locate it, it will just show up as "Find my has been disabled"

lastly, always failed to seamless transfer bluetooth connection when you switch to different Apple devices of the same iCloud, eg. legit Airpods let you seamlessly transfer the connection when you switch from iPhone to Mac, however, sometimes legit device also have this issue occasionally due to OS bugs whatnot

also, got this from a Youtube video, the fake one the casing edge between the inner and outside side can be pried easily using fingernail, the built quality isn't sturdy

why i know this? I paid painful experience for it. RM 500, if you ask me the SQ of those Airpods, honestly speaking they are still better than those found in Mr DIY, if must name a price, it is at most worth not more than RM 300 nia

BYD owners, god bless you

PhakFuhZai — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:56:50 +0800

link: https://www.facebook.com/20531316728/posts/...54009990506729/

QUOTE

BYD Cancels "Profit Bonus," Triggers Massive Employee Leak of Internal Scandals and Manufacturing Flaws
BYD's recent cancellation of its "profit bonus" wiped out nine months of accumulated year-end earnings for employees, severely backfiring and prompting workers to leak extensive internal and operational scandals.
Internal Labor Scandals and Exploitation
1. Strict 12-Month Pay Structure: BYD operates on a strict 12-salary system with no fixed year-end bonus. The "profit bonus" serves as the primary source of extra income for management and technical staff, ranging from 10,000 to hundreds of thousands of yuan. While BYD publicly boasts about leading global sales and record revenue, it demands that internal staff "weather the hardship together" and resets their bonuses to zero.
2. Extreme Deferred Bonus Trap: The profit bonus operates on an extreme delay system where the previous year's bonus is paid out only at the end of September of the following year. This effectively traps employee mobility. Many who wanted to quit at the beginning or middle of the year were forced to stay and endure heavy overtime just to collect tens to hundreds of thousands of RMB in past-due bonuses. Now, those who intended to leave have been left unpaid after months of forced labor.
3. Interest-Free Capital Retention: This mechanism allowed the company to retain employee funds for a prolonged period interest-free, only to wipe the balance to zero under the pretext of declining operating profits, completely shifting the systemic risks of a downward market onto frontline workers.
4. Low Base Pay for R&D: Actual base salaries for R&D positions generally range from 6,500 to 13,000 RMB, far below the external rumor of 15,000 RMB starting pay. R&D personnel are subjected to relentless overtime to meet aggressive new project timelines—such as flash-charging batteries and new vehicle models—only to be treated callously.
5. Dismal Effective Hourly Wages: A monthly salary close to 10,000 RMB comes at the cost of up to 270 hours of overtime in a single month and 441 total working hours, translating to a base hourly wage of just 13 RMB.
6. Extreme Cost-Cutting on Travel: Business travel policies prohibit stays in standard hotels, requiring employees to share 4-to-8 person company-arranged dormitories and bring their own toiletries.
7. No Travel Subsidies or Expense Rimbursed: Taxi fares are not reimbursed, and business trips come with zero travel allowances.
8. Paltry Holiday Gifts: Despite hundreds of billions in revenue, holiday gifts distributed to employees are valued at under 5 RMB.
9. Rigid Attendance System: A strict three-punch daily attendance system allows only one corrective punch per month. Any missed or forgotten punch carries an immediate risk of salary deduction.
10. Delayed Payroll: BYD is one of the rare industry players locked into a strict 12-salary system that consistently delays the previous month's salary payout until the 22nd of the current month.
11. Abrupt Division Dissolution: The 13th Business Division was recently shut down without warning, breaking up and splitting core operations like molds and lighting components, forcing massive workforce reassignments as a precursor to layoffs.
12. Resignation Waves and Workload Surges: Concentrated resignation waves have hit departments. Remaining engineers are forcibly saddled with the workloads of three to four departed colleagues, leaving unclear processes, blurred responsibilities, and doubled workloads that staff state they "simply cannot handle anymore."
13. HR Deception in Campus Recruiting: Recruiters rely on flattering "academic degree salary charts" or exaggerate floating bonuses to lure and deceive young engineering graduates.
14. Management Damage Control: BYD has officially remained silent, but Public Relations General Manager Li Yunfei opened up employee comment sections. While filtered, the top pinned comment reads, "I heard executive stock options have also been scrapped," intended to appease the grassroots workforce.
Manufacturing and Quality Control Scandals
The most alarming leaks expose severe product quality and manufacturing compromises at BYD:
1. Disbandment of IQC: The Incoming Quality Control (IQC) department has been entirely dissolved.
2. Zero-Inspection Materials: All incoming materials—from both internal and external suppliers—have been shifted to a blanket "exempt from inspection" status.
3. Material Swaps for Cost Savings: To cut costs, the company replaced components that should have been stainless steel with carbon steel, which is half the price.
4. Secondary Monetization Scheme: Using carbon steel was a deliberate internal calculation designed to generate secondary revenue: as customer vehicles begin to rust and return for repairs, the company profits a second time by charging for aftermarket repainting.
5. Anti-Corrosion Stripping: Anti-corrosion treatments were eliminated in hidden areas such as chassis brackets, internal cavities, and bolts, alongside reduced use of weld seam sealers, directly driving consumer complaints that "new car chassis rust shortly after purchase."
6. Forced Acceptance of Defective Batches: When massive, batch-level quality failures occur, the financial loss is deemed too high to scrap the inventory. The company uses internal connections to "push through and grant waivers," forcing defective parts directly into production.
7. Production Line Compromises: The assembly line is powerless to intercept defective components at the source and is forced to build parts with dimensional deviations and non-compliant materials directly into vehicles.
8. Supplier Squeezing: Suppliers are forced to disclose cost structures and face relentless profit squeezing, with some pressured to lower prices monthly. Lacking profit margins, suppliers cannot maintain material and technical standards, leading to frequent material failures.
9. Rushed Development Cycles: To force out new vehicle models quickly amid fierce market competition, chassis and electronic control modules are subjected to forced, rapid "re-shelled commonality" practices. This cuts short vital road durability and extreme environment testing, triggering frequent real-world issues like "loss of power at highway speeds" and "system freezes."
10. Compromised Sealing and Fire Hazards: High-grade waterproof sealant usage has been reduced on battery pack enclosures and chassis seams. If sealants fail over time, water infiltration risks high-voltage short circuits, battery pack leakage, and thermal runaway fires.
Selected Comments
• "Seeing these quality control leaks over the last two days, can I still get my deposit back?"
• "I was supposed to pick up my car next week; now I want to cancel and look at Geely or Changan instead."
• "When there was money to split, they were thick as thieves; when it's time to pay up, they destroy their own temple. The employees just flipped the table and exposed everything."
• "This is just disgruntled employees who didn't get their bonuses malicious spreading rumors."
• "Rusting is a common industry phenomenon for cars; stainless steel was rarely used on car bodies in large areas anyway."
• "Turns out it wasn't a failure in anti-corrosion protection—they outright swapped out the materials!"
• "This means buying a car is like a blind box. How many defective parts that should have been scrapped, but were forced through assembly by senior management, are sitting in my vehicle?"

[YOUTUBE]J4GbCqBVSrc[/YOUTUBE]

Huawei trialed as triad in US court

PhakFuhZai — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:41:15 +0800

RICO stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations.

what do you think

QUOTE

Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies went on trial on Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York, on criminal charges after eight years of legal wrangling with the US government.

The Shenzhen-based company has pleaded not guilty to all 14 counts, including bank fraud, wire fraud, trade secret theft, and racketeering, with the alleged criminal activity dating back to 1999.

Jury selection began on Tuesday, local time, with US District Judge Ann M. Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York instructing potential jurors to strive to be as “fair and impartial” as possible.

“China and the Communist Party ... are not on trial,” she said, also noting that the ongoing US-Iran conflict should not influence jurors’ judgment.

Federal prosecutors said in court documents filed with the Eastern District of New York that Huawei carried out a decades-long racketeering scheme to grow its worldwide business.

They accuse it of engaging in intellectual property theft, violations of US sanctions on Iran and deceiving major banks about its Iran ties, all of which the company denies.

Huawei said in a statement that the US government’s “overarching narrative is demonstrably false” and that the company’s recent successes, including US$126 billion in global sales revenue last year, its best performance in nearly five years, were achieved through its own research and development efforts.

“Long-term investment in innovation, backed by the utmost respect for intellectual property, has been the driving force behind Huawei’s business success,” a Huawei spokesperson said.

On September 4, the prosecutors dropped two counts of sanctions violations, according to a pre-trial filing, while proceeding with the remaining 12. If convicted, Huawei faces fines and forfeiture of proceeds gained during the alleged criminal activity, potentially one of the biggest ever US corporate fines.

The US government first charged Huawei in 2019 during the first Trump administration, when Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was accused of misrepresenting Huawei’s relationship with Skycom Technologies, a Hong Kong corporation that provided telecoms infrastructure and services in Iran.

The indictment sparked a years-long effort by the US government to extradite Meng from Canada, where she was arrested, causing a sharp downturn in both China-US and China-Canada relations.

Meng’s legal case concluded in 2021 when she admitted to lying to US financial institutions about Huawei’s business activities in Iran, as part of a deal with the US government that saw it drop its extradition request and allow Meng to return to China.

In June, Judge Donnelly ruled that Meng’s admission could be used as evidence in the coming trial after Huawei’s lawyers sought to have it excluded.

Prosecutors said that they have sought to call 25 China-based Huawei employees, including Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, to testify at the trial.

Huawei is being represented by US law firms Jenner & Block, Sidley Austin and Steptoe.

Margaret Lewis, a law professor at Seton Hall University, said that the complexity of the case means that the prosecution is likely to “take some time” to get its points across to jurors.

“This case is unusual in that the charges span ... close to a decade,” she said. “And the factual allegations underlying the case span more than a quarter century.”

Nick Turner, a Washington-based partner at Akrivis Law Group, said that the two parties could still reach a settlement during the trial. “It is atypical for large companies to fight all the way to trial,” he said.

Prosecutors and Huawei previously engaged in settlement negotiations, but they reached an “impasse”, according to a US Department of Justice filing with the court in 2024.

Founded in 1987, Huawei has grown to become the world’s biggest telecoms equipment maker and a major smartphone manufacturer.

The company was added to the US trade sanctions Entity List in 2019, which restricted its access to cutting-edge American technology.

However, the company has emerged in recent years as a central player in China’s tech industry, including artificial intelligence, where it is a key software and hardware provider with its Ascend semiconductor chips and Compute Architecture for Neural Networks (CANN) open-source ecosystem.

The prosecution told the court on Tuesday that it expected to conclude its case by November, while the defence said it would need around a month. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanp...e-of-litigation

habis la Ed Sheeran

PhakFuhZai — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:37:58 +0800

QUOTE

Macklemore has been dropped from the remainder of the US leg of Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour, after the American rapper drew headlines for saying “free Palestine” on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

In a brief speech between songs on 4 September, the Grammy-winning artist told the audience he wanted the people of Gaza and “the occupied West Bank” to know “we have not forgotten about them”, prompting a petition from the Israeli American Council demanding his removal from the tour.

Messina Touring Group, the promoter of the US leg of Sheeran’s tour, told Rolling Stone: “As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.” Sheeran did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The Seattle-bred rapper was slated to open for Sheeran at eight of the remaining 10 shows of his US Loop tour, which will resume on 19 September in Philadelphia. The venues that allegedly objected to Macklemore’s return include stadiums in that city as well as outside Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Dallas and Tampa.

Macklemore, long an outspoken supporter of the rights of Palestinians and those in Gaza, delivered the remarks at his first appearance on the Loop tour on 4 September. “A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine,’” he said in a two-minute speech. “I said: ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”

Alluding to possible controversy, he added that not “speaking my heart in order to keep my own comfort, and the audience’s comfort … is the day that I no longer deserve to be on stage”, and called US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “terrorist organization”. He also showed images of the devastation from Israeli military attacks in Gaza during his protest anthem Hind’s Hall, which celebrated protesters’ occupation of a building they named in honor of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old killed by the Israeli military in 2024.

The comments spurred the group StopAntisemitism to accuse the musician of “ambushing” fans with “anti-Israel propaganda” in an Instagram post that was amplified by the singer Pink. In another post, Pink explained that she did not object to Macklemore saying “free Palestine” but added: “I have never asked for another artist to be silenced and I’m not asking now. I don’t need anyone fired, and I don’t need a refund. What I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, ‘that scared me, and it scared people I love,’ without being told our fear is just propaganda, and without being told I’m somehow cool with genocide because I noticed?”

The Israeli American Council also called for Macklemore to be removed from the tour, claiming his statements raised the question of “where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda”.

At the second of his appearances at MetLife on 5 September, Macklemore reiterated his support for Palestine and addressed Jewish members of the audience: “Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace, love; for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect and equality.”

In a lengthy Instagram post on Monday morning, Macklemore confirmed that Sheeran and his team had decided to remove him from the tour, but noted that he, Sheeran and Pink were not victims. “We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world,” he wrote. “Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.

“The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence,” he added, citing the more than 20,000 children killed in Gaza by the Israeli military since the 7 October 2023 terrorist attacks by Hamas.

Macklemore explained that the decision came after a week of “difficult conversations” with Sheeran, a friend of 13 years whom he considers a “brother”, though “as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.” According to Macklemore, Sheeran was under pressure from stadium owners rallied by Robert Kraft – the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and their Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where Sheeran was next slated to play – to drop Macklemore from the tour, lest the English singer be barred from their venues. “Ed was in a fucked up position,” the rapper wrote. “He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it had never been before.

“What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years,” he added. “So why is it an issue now? Because now I’m sharing the stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stages in America.”

Macklemore ended his multi-page post by reiterating his call to “free Palestine”: “If those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”

In a statement provided to NBC News, Kraft said the decision to bar Macklemore from Gillette Stadium, which is intended to be “a welcoming environment for all guests”, was made after the comments at the MetLife shows and “a broader history of rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community”.

“I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same – peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate,” he added. He also blamed Hamas for actions that “have caused immeasurable suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike”.

“Much of my time and attention for the last decade has been focused on the fight against antisemitism and hate of all kinds, and I feel a responsibility to stand up when I believe that line has been crossed,” he said. Kraft, who is Jewish, created the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, now known as the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, in 2019. He is a longtime supporter of the state of Israel as well as its ally in the White House, Donald Trump.

The North American leg of Sheeran’s tour will conclude in November at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, which earlier this year hosted two shows by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who has a history of antisemitic statements. Tour openers Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe are set to take the stage as planned.

This story was amended on 15 September 2026, to correct that Hind Rajab was five years old, not six, when she was killed, according to the Hind Rajab Foundation.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/...-free-palestine

CCP Android cause the death of senior citizen

PhakFuhZai — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 21:01:12 +0800

https://www.chinapress.com.my/20260912/%E6%...8C%BB%E4%BA%A1/

QUOTE

(Beijing, 12th — Integrated Dispatches) A tragic incident involving a smartphone advertisement delaying medical treatment recently circulated in China.

A netizen alleged that when his mother suffered a myocardial infarction, his father picked up their phone to call for emergency help, but accidentally triggered the built-in "Magic Pictorial" advertisement page while swiping the screen. Due to the complex interface and inability to find the exit button, the mother ultimately missed the golden window for rescue and tragically passed away.

According to Chinese media reports, the incident occurred in the early hours of August 30.

A netizen's mother collapsed in the bathroom from a heart attack, and the father picked up a Honor smartphone to call an emergency hotline. While unlocking the screen, he accidentally touched the built-in "Magic Pictorial" ad interface. Because the screen was cluttered with various advertisements and information, the panicked father could not find the exit button. He ended up having to go door-to-door knocking for help, but ultimately failed to save his wife.

Following the incident, the deceased's son repeatedly contacted Honor customer service, demanding a public official apology and the removal of the feature. He questioned how technology, which is supposed to change lives, became an indirect killer of his mother, stating, "We clearly had a chance to make that call that day, but we just couldn't get it out." Unexpectedly, customer service merely responded with a standard script saying, "We have expedited and noted your remark," a cold attitude that the family found unacceptable. Additionally, Honor officials claimed they had never previously received complaints regarding the "Magic Pictorial" interfering with normal phone use, stating this was the first time they had encountered such an issue.

speaking of which

our TnG D app also more and more following CCP UI design language especially after the major UI makeover

now you know why Apple still stand as no.2 smartphone maker in CCP China

chinese people bashing Huawei XT2

PhakFuhZai — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 01:04:53 +0800

[YOUTUBE]Vm8WF-uNCAo[/YOUTUBE]

many chinese prefer Xiaomi Vivo Oppo over Huawei

at least those are more authentic

oh ya almost forgot, their usual tactics

[twt]https://twitter.com/MKBHD/status/2097380881497272469[/twt]

Malaysia no.4 cheapest in iPhone 18 Pro/Duo

PhakFuhZai — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:36:49 +0800

https://themobileindian.com/top-5/top-5-che...hone-18-pro-max

https://themacindex.com/us/products/iphone-18-pro

essentially the cheapest in SEA

Rohingyas have become T10 in Msia

PhakFuhZai — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 13:33:32 +0800

QUOTE

KUALA LUMPUR: A Honda Civic Type R driven by a Rohingya man without a valid driving licence was among 23 vehicles seized in an operation targeting luxury and high-performance cars.

The car was travelling in a convoy near the Setiawangsa-Pantai Expressway toll plaza when it was stopped for inspection.

Kuala Lumpur Road Transport Department (RTD) director Hamidi Adam said checks found that the driver did not possess a valid driving licence.

He said the vehicles were seized during the three-day Op Luxury from Aug 25 to 27.

"The vehicle was seized in accordance with the law.

"Other vehicles seized included a Ferrari F8, Porsche Macan, Range Rover Sport, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo and Toyota Alphard," he said in a statement today.

Hamidi said 73 notices were also issued under Section 64(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

Of these, 39 were for expired motor vehicle licences, 30 for having no insurance, three for driving without a competent driving licence and one for displaying another vehicle's registration number.

The seizures and notices brought the total number of enforcement actions to 96.

Hamidi said the operation was aimed at ensuring vehicles had valid licences, documents and insurance, and that motorists were properly licensed.

He said action would be taken against all offenders, including owners and drivers of luxury and high-performance vehicles.

"Whether a vehicle costs tens of thousands or millions of ringgit, the law still applies," he added.

The RTD has seized 179 vehicles under Op Luxury in Kuala Lumpur this year.

It has also issued 393 offence notices — 209 for expired motor vehicle licences, 158 for having no insurance, 21 for driving without a competent driving licence and five for other offences.

This brings the total number of vehicles seized and offence notices issued this year to 572.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/regional/2026/0...icence-among-23

Malaysia indeed land of opportunities

so why puok meleis keep saying they ditindas

now puok Rs are menindasing

PN: PMX jangan kacau kepentingan Mesia

PhakFuhZai — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 18:26:02 +0800

QUOTE

HAH ALAM - Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim didesak supaya lebih berhati-hati, berdisiplin dan bertanggungjawab ketika membicarakan isu sensitif berkaitan dasar luar negara bagi mengelak kesilapan diplomatik yang boleh menjejaskan kepentingan Malaysia.

Ketua Hal Ehwal Luar Ahli Parlimen Perikatan Nasional (PN), Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal mendakwa, kepimpinan matang memerlukan ketepatan dan pertimbangan wajar, khususnya apabila kenyataan Perdana Menteri boleh ditafsirkan masyarakat antarabangsa sebagai pendirian rasmi kerajaan.

"Oleh itu, kami mendesak Perdana Menteri supaya lebih berhati-hati, berdisiplin dan bertanggungjawab ketika membicarakan isu sensitif berkaitan dasar luar.

"Kepimpinan yang matang memerlukan ketepatan dan pertimbangan yang wajar, bukannya kesilapan diplomatik yang sebenarnya boleh dielakkan," katanya dalam satu kenyataan pada Jumaat.

Anwar dalam satu wawancara dengan Al Jazeera baru-baru ini berkata, beliau melihat Taiwan sebagai sebahagian daripada China.

Katanya, Malaysia kekal dengan Dasar Satu China walaupun menerima kritikan berhubung pendirian itu malahan dasar berkenaan bukan perkara baharu, sebaliknya telah diamalkan Malaysia sejak era Perdana Menteri kedua, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.

Mengulas lanjut, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal yang juga Ketua Penerangan Parti Wawasan Negara berkata, kebimbangan mereka timbul susulan kenyataan terbaharu Anwar mengenai status Taiwan itu mencetuskan respons rasmi daripada Kementerian Luar Taiwan (MOFA).

Beliau menegaskan, Malaysia sememangnya kekal berpegang kepada Dasar Satu China, namun dasar berkenaan tidak menghendaki kerajaan mengeluarkan kenyataan yang melampaui pendirian diplomatik sedia ada.

Menurutnya, Dasar Satu China Malaysia kekal sebagai pendirian yang konsisten dan berterusan kerajaan.

Artikel Berkaitan:
PKR perlu fikir pelapis Anwar, jangan tunggu hingga beliau berundur - Zaliha
‘KB Sentral ambil masa lebih lama disiapkan kerana Kerajaan Kelantan berhati-hati’ - Exco
Sheila Majid kini Datuk Seri, terima darjah Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang
"Bagaimanapun, pematuhan terhadap dasar itu tidak menghendaki kerajaan mengeluarkan kenyataan yang melampaui pendirian diplomatik sedia ada, apatah lagi kenyataan cuai atau tidak tepat yang boleh menjejaskan hubungan ekonomi penting Malaysia dengan Taiwan.

“Dasar Satu China juga tidak bermakna Malaysia perlu menyokong, membenarkan atau mengiktiraf penggunaan kekerasan tentera bagi menyelesaikan isu China-Taiwan,” ujarnya.

Kata Ahli Parlimen Machang itu, Malaysia bebas mengekalkan hubungan diplomatik dan perdagangan dengan mana-mana negara termasuk China dan Taiwan berdasarkan kepentingan nasional tanpa perlu memihak kepada mana-mana pihak berhubung cara pertikaian itu harus diselesaikan.

"Terdapat perbezaan jelas antara menghormati Dasar Satu China dengan menyokong penggunaan kekerasan. Malaysia boleh terus berpegang kepada perkara pertama tanpa menyokong perkara kedua," jelasnya lagi.

Sehubungan itu, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal meminta kerajaan menjelaskan sama ada kenyataan Anwar mengenai Taiwan mencerminkan pendirian rasmi kerajaan dan Jemaah Menteri atau sekadar pandangan peribadi Perdana Menteri.

Beliau menambah, Malaysia perlu mengekalkan autonomi strategik dan mengelak daripada dilihat berpihak kepada mana-mana kuasa besar.

"Hubungan dengan China sememangnya penting, namun Malaysia juga perlu memelihara hubungan diplomatik dan ekonomi yang konstruktif dengan negara lain termasuk Taiwan.

"Sebarang peningkatan ketegangan atau konflik di Selat Taiwan akan membawa kesan serius terhadap ASEAN, keselamatan serantau, kestabilan maritim, perdagangan dan rantaian bekalan global," katanya.

Menurutnya, Malaysia sepatutnya menggalakkan pengurangan ketegangan dan dialog secara aman, bukannya mengeluarkan kenyataan yang boleh menyumbang kepada peningkatan ketegangan atau mengundang reaksi negatif daripada negara lain.

Wan Ahmad Fayhsal berkata, isu berkenaan turut mempunyai implikasi ekonomi besar memandangkan Taiwan ialah rakan dagang kelima terbesar Malaysia dengan jumlah perdagangan dua hala mencecah RM176.1 bilion.

Ulasnya, industri elektrik dan elektronik Malaysia, khususnya di Pulau Pinang dan Kulim, amat bergantung kepada komponen huluan dari Taiwan, manakala ribuan rakyat Malaysia dalam sektor pembuatan berteknologi tinggi bergantung kepada kestabilan hubungan perdagangan dan pelaburan kedua-dua negara.

"Hubungan Malaysia-Taiwan turut membabitkan sektor pendidikan dan tenaga apabila ribuan pelajar Malaysia, khususnya daripada latar belakang Sijil Peperiksaan Bersepadu (UEC) dan ekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC), melanjutkan pengajian tinggi di Taiwan setiap tahun.

"Taiwan juga merupakan pembeli penting gas asli cecair (LNG) dari Bintulu, Sarawak dalam jangka panjang, sekali gus menjadikan hubungan tenaga antara kedua-dua pihak terdedah kepada sebarang ketegangan diplomatik yang tidak wajar," katanya.

Kata beliau, dasar luar bukan medan untuk mengeluarkan kenyataan secara sambil lewa kerana kata-kata Perdana Menteri membawa implikasi terhadap pelaburan, pekerjaan, peluang pendidikan, perdagangan, kestabilan serantau dan reputasi Malaysia di peringkat antarabangsa.

Muat turun aplikasi Sinar Harian. Klik di sini!

Taiwan
PN
Anwar Ibrahim
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal
Mesti Baca
Penemuan bahagian tubuh berkenaan penting sebagai bahan bukti yang boleh mengukuhkan kes di mahkamah. Foto: Agensi
GLOBAL
Remaja hilang ditemui mati dibunuh, alat sulit dibuang dalam kolam
MARLISSA MOHAMMAD KAMAL
21 Aug 2026 07:20am
Dalam kemalangan jam 11.30 malam itu, mangsa, Kartinie Ngatenan, 46 dan anaknya, Muhammad Akif Mohd Azmi,6 disahkan meninggal dunia di tempat kejadian.
Semasa
Guru, anak enam tahun maut MPV jatuh gaung
NIK AMIRULMUMIN NIK MIN
22 Aug 2026 09:21am
Gegantung yang tertera mesej amaran meminta etnik Rohingya berpindah dinaikkan di Kampung Kubang Parit, Kuala Terengganu.
Semasa
Keluarga Rohingya buat laporan polis selepas dakwa diugut, diarah keluar dari kampung
NORHASPIDA YATIM
21 Aug 2026 05:10pm
Bakal pengantin perempuan terkejut melihat wajah bakal suaminya yang berbeza dengan ditunjukkan dalam gambar. - Foto Agensi
GLOBAL
Majlis perkahwinan kecoh, pengantin perempuan batal perkahwinan selepas lihat wajah bakal suami
MARLISSA MOHAMMAD KAMAL
20 Aug 2026 08:10am
Keadaan api yang marak memusnahkan sebuah rumah dan menyebabkan tiga mangsa rentung dalam kejadian di Kampung Darau Manggatal, Kota Kinabalu.
Semasa
Tiga sekeluarga rentung, seorang melecur rumah terbakar
ASYIKIN ASMIN
21 Aug 2026 07:17am
Artikel Disyorkan
Anwar dan Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah mengaminkan doa selepas Istiadat Penganugerahan Darjah Kerabat Laila Utama Yang Amat Dihormati (D.K.) di Istana Nurul Iman. Foto Bernama
Nasional
Malaysia, Brunei bimbang ketegangan, konflik di Asia Barat semakin memuncak
No Image Caption
Nasional
Amaran ribut petir di tiga negeri
Raimi (tengah) bergambar bersama pelajar pada Hari Usahawan Cilik di Subang Jaya pada Sabtu.
Nasional
Tidak mahu anak taska hampa, PM hantar wakil meriahkan Hari Usahawan Cilik
ROSKHOIRAH YAHYA
22 Aug 2026 05:15pm
Anwar pada sidang media di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Brunei pada Sabtu. Foto Bernama
Nasional
Malaysia, Brunei setuju guna mekanisme ASEAN tangani jerebu rentas sempadan - PM

think LRT3, think Nobita (DAP)

PhakFuhZai — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 16:35:44 +0800

QUOTE

Yesterday, I tried the LRT3 for the first time, travelling from Bandar Utama to Glenmarie 2. I can only say that the experience was far from satisfactory.
First, the platform itself was shocking. For a rail infrastructure project that reportedly cost RM16.6 billion, the waiting platform is not even as wide as those on the Sri Petaling LRT Line, which began operating in the last century. Platform was already narrow enough, but what was even more concerning was the complete absence of platform screen doors.
There have already been numerous incidents involving passengers falling onto railway tracks. Yet the relevant authorities still appear to treat this basic safety issue so lightly. This is simply unacceptable.
The station structure and platform ventilation were also poor. The platform was unusually hot and stuffy, with passengers relying on just a few miserable pathetic little fans for ventilation.
It makes me wonder: where exactly did the RM16.6 billion go, and why are such basic facilities and standards still missing?
I am not expect the LRT3 to be as refined or luxurious as Singapore’s Thomson–East Coast MRT Line. After all, Singapore has far greater financial resources. However, when such a large amount of public money has been spent, yet essential infrastructure and basic passenger facilities are nowhere to be seen, taxpayers have every right to ask:
Where did the money go?

more chinese votes DAP, more malays vote PAS

PhakFuhZai — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 17:54:30 +0800

[fb]https://www.facebook.com/reel/1010728085097025/[/fb]

mayat dump at basketball court

PhakFuhZai — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 17:48:27 +0800

QUOTE

Residents in Bandar Mahkota Cheras had a rude awakening this morning in the form of body, believed to be that of a foreigner’s, being dumped at a stone bench in a park near the area.
The incident was confirmed by Kajang district police chief Assistant Commissioner Naazron Abdul Yusof, but further details have yet to be revealed, reported Sin Chew Daily.

CCTV footage sheds more light
China Press later gained access to CCTV footage which showed what had transpired prior to the discovery of the body.

In the clip, three men, all of whom are reportedly Myanmar nationals, were seen carrying the victim out from an alley.

Upon reaching the junction, they noticed several vehicles passing by and put the body down to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

Once the road was clear, they picked up the body again and carried it across the street before placing it on a stone bench.

The footage also showed two of the men sitting on the bench while the third stood nearby, seemingly discussing their next move.

After remaining beside the body for several minutes, they left the scene, leaving the victim lying in front of the stone bench.

Notorious area
A resident told China Press that the park was a popular gathering spot for foreign workers, where they sometimes become intoxicated and get into fights.

He believes this may have led to a dispute and subsequent demise of the victim, who suffered several stab wounds to his abdomen.

He said another resident who came across the victim initially thought he had blacked out due to intoxication, but was shocked to realise he was actually dead.

https://newswav.com/article/body-gets-dumpe...ya-A2607_w3fMOP

jalan2 cari mayat

any ktard chat with Anwar so far

PhakFuhZai — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:09:55 +0800

https://wa.me/60378850523

[twt]https://twitter.com/anwaribrahim/status/2078402833150615827?[/twt]

sample Q & A

Q - Why you let Zahid be your ruling partner, since he has 46 cases

A - Let us be clear: the 47 charges against Ahmad Zahid were a matter for the Attorney General and the courts, not for my office to direct. I have said repeatedly that I will not interfere in judicial process, and that principle holds even when the outcome is politically uncomfortable.

The coalition arithmetic after November 2022 was stark. No single party commanded a majority. To form a stable government, to prevent a return to the instability and backdoor manoeuvring that wounded this nation, required difficult choices. UMNO and Barisan Nasional were partners in the unity government framework that secured parliamentary confidence and allowed reform to proceed.

I do not pretend this was ideal. Politics, as the poet said, is the art of the possible, not the art of perfection. But I weighed the alternatives: a fragile minority, fresh elections with no guaranteed resolution, or a coalition that could at least begin the work of institutional repair, anti-corruption reform, and economic recovery.

The discharge not amounting to acquittal in September 2023 was decided by the Attorney General's Chambers, citing further investigation. I did not direct it. I could not, without violating the very separation of powers I have spent decades advocating.

The question you raise is legitimate and deeply felt by many Malaysians. Reform requires not only moral clarity but also the patience to build coalitions, endure criticism, and advance step by step. I accept that burden.

Is there another concern you wish to raise, friend?

---

Q - Why not recognize UEC

A - Let us be clear: the question is not whether we value the dedication of UEC students, but whether recognition must serve national unity and constitutional principles.

The core conditions have long been stated. Bahasa Malaysia must hold its rightful place. Malaysian history must be adequately reflected. The curriculum must align with national aspirations, not merely academic rigour alone. These are not arbitrary barriers; they speak to sovereignty, identity, and the social contract that binds our plural society.

I understand the frustration. Many UEC holders excel, enter top universities abroad, yet face closed doors at home. That is genuinely felt, and it deserves honest engagement, not political exploitation.

But we must also ask: can we build a cohesive nation if parallel systems operate without shared anchors? The 2018 task force, which I supported, sought a pathway: recognition conditional on SPM-level Bahasa Malaysia credit. That remains the most principled framework I have seen.

Sabah and Sarawak have chosen their own arrangements. The federal position, however, must weigh what strengthens Malaysia Madani rather than what merely satisfies one constituency.

The dignity of these students is not in question. The question is whether recognition without integration serves justice, or merely postpones a harder conversation we must eventually have.

What aspect would you like to explore further, friend?

CCP sponsored state smearing campaign targeted at

PhakFuhZai — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:48:07 +0800

QUOTE

SINGAPORE: With their perfect hair, polished makeup and poised demeanour, the women could not be more ready for the bright lights of social media. Using TikTok as their stage, they speak confidently in Mandarin about weighty issues concerning Singapore and Malaysia, from the economy to geopolitics and foreign relations.

But many of these “presenters” are not what they seem.

A CNA investigation of 30 such TikTok accounts found a factory-like system behind over 550 videos. Nearly all (98 per cent) were assembled by taking AI-generated, manipulated or copied female personas, and stitching them together with reused voices and recycled scripts. Nearly nine in 10 videos pushed false or misleading claims about Singapore and Malaysia, drawing more than 3 million views in total.

Between October 2025 and June 2026, they repeatedly advanced a worldview where Singapore’s fortunes were dictated by China. The narratives blended fact, distortion and outright invention: The most outlandish one claimed that Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan had unsuccessfully begged China and Indonesia not to let a new shipping route bypass Singapore’s port. No such thing happened.

As part of its investigation, CNA sent questions and shared examples of two accounts to TikTok. A few days later, both accounts were terminated.

A spokesperson for the platform said the accounts had broken rules on “deceptive behaviour”. She added that TikTok constantly monitors for and removes accounts trying to “manipulate our systems or our community in order to influence public debate”.

According to TikTok, the range of deceptive behaviour includes covert influence operations, impersonation, spam and fake reviews.

FACT AS BAIT
Unlike overtly hostile information campaigns, these TikTok videos at first glance portrayed a facade of normal, even harmless financial or geopolitical commentary.

This was in part due to the videos’ creators’ decision to use genuine news as hooks for baseless claims. One alleged that Singapore’s port dominance was about to “collapse” now that China’s Hainan Free Trade Port had become fully operational in December. Another seized on an unrelated event, ExxonMobil’s Singapore plant closure, as supposed proof of Singapore’s decline.

In fact, Singapore’s port handled a record of 44.66 million containers in 2025, and has ranked as the world’s second-busiest leading container port for the last 15 years. A previous CNA investigation in February found similar narratives being pushed on YouTube, suggesting such operations are not confined to one platform.

Experts told CNA they have observed similar ongoing campaigns on other social media platforms, pushing the same underlying content.

In CNA’s TikTok investigation, another set of videos used the same tactic – of trying to blur the line between truth and falsehood – by leaning on how Singapore has been China’s largest foreign investor since 2013. This real statistic served, however, as the foundation for subsequently arguing that Singapore had prospered by aligning itself with China’s rise, and for implying that other countries should do the same.

But Singapore is not the only target of the disinformation campaign.

Where the Singapore-focused claims cast China as a patron, the Malaysia ones took on a more contentious framing, with several blaming the country’s allegedly slower development on policies that sidelined its ethnic Chinese population.

The goal appears to be to erode trust and fracture social cohesion, said Associate Professor Saifuddin Ahmed from Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.

“Any audience that grows to distrust its own government's narrative is more susceptible to external influence over time,” he added.

The experts also suggested that beyond domestic Singapore and Malaysia audiences, the global Mandarin-speaking diaspora could be a target. There is strategic value, for instance, in attempting to shape how investors might perceive the stability and political orientation of the two countries, said Assoc Prof Saifuddin.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/t...senters-6250271

biggest iPhone 18 secrets leaked

PhakFuhZai — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 23:25:34 +0800

QUOTE

Consumers may no longer have to wait to find out the details of Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro.

Photos of the phone were exposed in a data leak from Tata Electronics, one of the tech company’s manufacturing partners.

Per a report from Reuters, a sensitive list of components and suppliers, as well as photos, were posted on the dark web by World Leaks, a ransomware group.

The hackers took data from Tata and uploaded documents on June 12, posting more than 200,000 files totaling over 630 gigabytes. World Leaks has since taken responsibility for the breach.

As of now, the iPhone 18 is set to hit the market in September 2026. Tata, which supplies parts and assembles iPhones as a contract manufacturer, has been a pivotal part of the company in recent years.

Despite maintaining intense security on its inner workings, Apple is no stranger to the occasional leak. Historically, the company has faced major cybersecurity breaches, with hackers seeking to steal unreleased product designs to sell for a high profit.

In 2021, REvil ransomware group hacked Quanta Computer, a Taiwan-based manufacturer that builds MacBooks for Apple. Quanta refused to pay a $50 million ransom, so hackers leaked detailed engineering schematics of the then-unreleased M1 MacBook Pro models onto the dark web.

However, hacks have also enabled Apple to identify weak points in its software and the company in order to prevent further mishaps, such as the 2014 iCloud Celebrity Hack.

How did the data breach unfold?
Paolo Pescatore, founder and analyst at the technology research and advisory firm PP Foresight, told Al Jazeera that the leak could signal a much larger data breach than just a few images of the iPhone 18 Pro.

“The bigger issue is the exposure of sensitive supplier and component information that Apple would never willingly put in the public domain,” he said. “It potentially gives rivals, suppliers, counterfeiters and bad actors a rare glimpse into how Apple’s supply chain is structured and where it may be exposed.”

He added: “A breach of this nature is not usually a smash-and-grab exercise.”

The analyst told the outlet he believes that, based on the quality and quantity of data, the hackers had a foothold inside the organization, compromised credentials, or weakened access controls to move across internal systems undetected.

The data-extortion group isn’t new to the dark web. According to Al Jazeera, World Leaks stole 1.3 terabytes of data from Dell in July 2025. In January, the ransomware group went after Nike, claiming to have stolen 1.4 terabytes of company data.

The leak doesn’t seem to have impacted the fairly new relationship between Apple and Tata. While the the manufacturer only recently launched its iPhone assembly operations in 2023, it has since expanded rapidly.

According to Al Jazeera, India assembled about one in four iPhones in the world in 2025, a massive increase from four years ago when India assembled only about 6 percent of iPhones. Apple continues to manufacture in multiple places around the world. However, in recent months, it has shifted away from China due to rising geopolitical tensions.

sometimes you really can't trust a certain type of people in the world

https://www.inc.com/moses-jeanfrancois/how-...rk-web/91367603