As arguably the most consequential exercises in democracy on the planet, they are always closely followed by government officials in Beijing.

But as potential reminders of just how little choice 1.4 billion people are given over their own political future, media coverage in China is tightly controlled.

This time round though, in a US election defined by a still spiralling pandemic, a shattered economic landscape and deep political polarisation, China senses that something has changed.

It is not Chinese authoritarianism but western democracy that suddenly seems to be facing a crisis of legitimacy.

The world's freest and wealthiest economy, once thought to be so much better placed to fight the virus with its tools of transparency and accountability, has fallen well short.

While China, despite an initial cover-up thought to expose its inherent weaknesses, has gone on to use the sweeping powers of a unitary, surveillance state to test and quarantine people at will, en masse and to great effect.

Factories, shops, restaurants, schools and universities are all open, passenger numbers on public transport are just a little below average, and it is the only major economy expected to grow, rather than shrink this year.

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PETALING JAYA: Subang Jaya has been officially declared a city after receiving the consent from the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) will be known as the Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) from today.

He also announced that MPSJ president Noraini Roslan has been appointed the mayor of Subang Jaya effective immediately.
“May the sustainable development of Subang Jaya and its surrounding localities continue to be enhanced through its world-class service delivery system.


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• Intel has agreed to sell its NAND memory chip business to SK Hynix for $9 billion in an all-cash deal that would propel the South Korean chipmaker to second in the global rankings.
  
• The deal will allow SK Hynix to overtake Japan’s Kioxia in the NAND memory market, and narrow the gap with market leader Samsung Electronics as the shift to work-from-home boosts demand for chips used in tablets and servers.
  
• SK Hynix said Intel would sell all of its NAND business including its solid-state drive business, NAND product and wafer business, and its factory in Dalian, China. Intel would keep its Optane business, its advanced memory technology.
  

PETALING JAYA: The late Anthony Bourdain once said: “You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese.”

That would pretty much sum-up the love affair Dexter Lim has with cheese, willing as he was to give up a 12-year career as a property investor to plunge headlong into cheesemaking.

FMT recently met up with Lim, 40, the founder of D’ Artisan Handmade Cheese, in his double-story Desa Park City home studio, where he churns out 49 different types of cheeses on a regular basis

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" ... plans for the construction of a 27-storey service apartment building on a 0.2ha land adjacent to the field"

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2...heir-homes

Any information about this development? This is gonna tower over the residential houses around the area. Ipoh Garden won't be the same again 

Chinese tech giant Alibaba will take control of leading hypermarket and supermarket chain Sun Art Retailing.

The tech titan is looking to boost its offline shopping services and gain further ground in China's booming retail market.

Alibaba is already China's biggest e-commerce player and owns Taobao, the world's largest online marketplace.

Sun Art is currently controlled by a unit of Mulliez family investments - one of the richest families in France.

Alibaba will pay HK$28bn (US$3.6bn, £2.bn) to raise its stake in the Hong Kong-listed Sun Art from 21% to 72% according to a company statement.

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