‘YYDS’, ‘lying flat’, ‘metaverse’, ‘awakening era’: China’s 10 2021 buzzwords

The following top 10 buzzwords of the year have been released this week by the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Centre, an institution administered by the country’s Ministry of Education, after checking billions of posts on Chinese social media for trending terms. 1: YYDS or “forever God” The four English letters are the initials of yong...

Canada and Britain join diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics, amid human rights concerns

Canada and Britain have announced diplomatic boycotts of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, joining the US and Australia in taking such action amid allegations of human rights abuses in China. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday (Dec 8) said his government was "deeply troubled" by Chinese rights violations. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly cited concerns about the treatment of...

Indonesia’s Mount Semeru Volcano Erupts Once Again! Rescue Efforts Unable to Continue

On Saturday (4 December) Mount Semeru, a volcano located on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java suddenly erupted and spewed gigantic columns of ash of more than 12 kilometres into the sky as well as sending searing gas and lava flowing down its slopes. Reports stated that the death toll stood at 13 with at least 98...

16yo Malaysian Passes Away At A ‘Haunted House’ In Bentong

Recently, 1 December, a 16-year-old Malaysian passed away from a heart attack after visiting a ‘haunted house’ attraction in Bentong. According to Utusan Malaysia, the teenager was at a resort with his family for a holiday. While he was in the ‘haunted house’ experience at the resort, he suddenly fell and lost consciousness due to shock. Source: Utusan Malaysia A 3-minute...

‘Ashamed’: Pakistan grapples with fallout from mob killing

People light oil lamps next to laid roses to express their condolences to the people of Sri Lanka, following the lynching of the Sri Lankan manager of a garment factory after an attack on the factory, in Karachi, Pakistan on Dec 5, 2021.Reuters A shocking and deadly mob attack on a Sri Lankan factory manager accused...

CEO sacks 900 employees via Zoom call right before holiday season

Screengrab from Tiktok/wanderellaco Imagine this — it's almost Christmas, you're working from home and you're invited to a Zoom call from your boss with your colleagues. Instead of an early holiday greeting, though, you get the boot. 900 employees faced this scenario when digital mortgage company Better.com's chief executive announced the sack in a three-minute call which has now gone viral. “I do...

Singapore Has Reported 2 Imported Omicron Cases

The Singaporean Ministry of Health has reported two imported Covid-19 cases of the Omicron variant following preliminary testing. Based on a report by The Straits Times, both patients were aboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ479, arriving from Johannesburg on Wednesday (1 December). “They have undergone a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival in Singapore and were immediately conveyed...

BREAKING: First Case of Omicron Detected in Malaysia

An Omicron variant case has been detected in Malaysia as of yesterday, 2 December 2021. Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, shared the worrisome news in a statement. “The Institute for Medical Research (IMR) has conducted PCR Genotyping Assay tests to over 74 Covid-19 positive samples detected at KLIA from 11 November to 28 November.” “As a result of the PCR...

48 Countries & Territories Banned From Langkawi Tourism Bubble Over Omicron Fears

The Omicron variant has spread to all corners of the globe at a rapid rate with seemingly no end in sight. Yesterday, our neighbours reported their first cases. Meanwhile, just today, Malaysia reported its first cases of the “variant of concern“. This has prompted the Health Ministry to restrict and discourage any outbound overseas travel for Malaysians as well as inbound for international tourists...

With appeal court verdict looming, Malaysia’s Najib seeks entry of new 1MDB evidence ‘for justice to be done’

Malaysia’s former leader Najib Razak has sought to introduce fresh evidence in one of the criminal cases linking him to the 1MDB financial scandal , days before an appellate court was to rule on whether to uphold a guilty verdict that sentenced him to a 12-year jail term. The development ahead of the Dec 8 Court...