KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar for a seventh straight trading day ahead of the high-stakes meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 14-15, 2026.

At 8 am, the local currency strengthened to 3.9265/9330 against the greenback from 3.9285/9325 at Wednesday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said traders were generally expecting positive outcomes from the meeting between the two leaders.

He added that higher fuel prices amid the war in West Asia had started to feed into inflation, potentially dampening hopes for an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

At the time of writing, Brent crude oil edged up 0.08 per cent to US$105.71 per barrel.

“However, the situation remains fluid. Growth could come under pressure and the Fed may shift its focus towards supporting the economy,” he told Bernama.

At the opening, the ringgit traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.

It appreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.4872/4914 from 2.4888/4916, but weakened against the British pound to 5.3110/3198 from 5.3105/3160, and slipped versus the euro to 4.6003/6079 from 4.5987/6034 at Wednesday’s close.

The local currency traded mostly higher against regional peers.

It gained against the Singapore dollar to 3.0859/0915 from 3.0872/0906 and strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 224.6/225.1 from 224.7/225.1.

The ringgit also edged up against the Philippine peso to 6.39/6.41 from 6.40/6.41, but eased against the Thai baht to 12.1469/1735 from 12.1419/1599 previously. — Bernama

LOS ANGELES, May 14 — A driver on California’s notoriously congested highways put a life-sized dummy in the passenger seat to trick his way into the faster carpool lane, only to get caught for forgetting one detail — the face.

High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) carriageways are an effort to reduce traffic by encouraging ride-sharing, often requiring there to be at least two people travelling in a vehicle.

Cops in Hayward, near San Francisco, became suspicious when they noticed the passenger in one vehicle — slumped over, wearing a blue hoodie and a sun hat — appeared to have no face.

“Reminder: HOV occupants need to be actual people, not your arts and crafts project,” California Highway Patrol in Haywood posted on their Facebook page on Tuesday.

Drivers who flout the rules can be fined US$490 (RM1,925), according to Caltrans, the body that operates the state’s freeways. — AFP 

KUANTAN, May 14 — Eight boys aged between four and 12 faced a terrifying ordeal today after being trapped by a water surge at Sungai Mensun in the Kampung Terisu Orang Asli settlement, Cameron Highlands.

Pahang Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Operations assistant director Mohd Salahuddin Isa said emergency services received a distress call at 5.10pm regarding the incident. 

Seven firefighters from the Cameron Highlands station rushed to the scene, arriving at the river half an hour later.

“The team launched a rescue operation, using ropes to cross the river and move all victims to safety from the rocks where they were stranded,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The children were successfully rescued by 7.58pm and handed over to their families, he added. — Bernama

NEW YORK, May 14 — The United States is working hard to create a supply chain for rare earths – metals needed to replenish its military arsenal amid the conflict in Iran – that does not depend on China, the sector’s global leader.

Just a few grams of these materials are needed to make a television or laptop computer, but hundreds of grams are required for each Tomahawk or Patriot missile.

The Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines estimates US forces have fired thousands of missiles at Iranian targets since late February.

“The Middle East conflict is exposing in real time which minerals are truly mission-critical and exactly where supply chains could break under pressure,” said Mahnaz Khan, a vice president of the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank.

“This could add another layer of stress to the nation’s ability to reconstitute the weapons,” Khan said, noting that rare earths are used in “everything from drones and interceptors to F-35s and precision-guided missiles.”

The Center for Strategic and International Studies, another think tank in Washington, said in late April that “restoring depleted stockpiles and then achieving the desired inventory levels will take many years.”

The most-used rare earths are neodymium and praseodymium. Both are vital in the manufacture of so-called “permanent” magnets, which are 10 times stronger than traditional magnets and used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and smartphones.

Samarium, another of the 17 rare earths, is used in magnets needed in the defense industry.

During Donald Trump’s first term as president, and then under his successor Joe Biden, the United States boosted its share of global rare earth production from three to 13 per cent, thanks to subsidies and tax incentives.

Until last year, there was only one major rare earths mine – at Mountain Pass in California, operated by MP Materials.

In July, Ramaco Resources opened the first new rare earths mine in more than 70 years – the Brook mine in Wyoming, but so far, nothing has been produced at the site.

Other mine projects are in development in Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska.

The United States is also counting on recycling to help fuel its supply chains.

Trump’s administration is looking abroad as well. It recently facilitated the acquisition of Brazilian producer Serra Verde by startup USA Rare Earth, in which the US government took a 10 per cent stake in January.

‘Leapfrog’ China 

But extraction is only the first phase of a process that also includes refining and separation (in order to isolate the various elements) before processing.

The separation stage is what has helped China dominate the sector. As of last year, it controlled 91 per cent of global separation by volume, according to the International Energy Agency.

Authorities in China have used rare earths as a bargaining chip. Last year, Beijing restricted exports of certain rare earths before later lifting the measure.

India, Japan and France are also working hard to unlock China’s stranglehold on the industry.

And the subject will be on the agenda for Trump’s talks in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.

James Litinsky, the CEO of MP Materials – in which the government has a 15 per cent stake, to launch separation operations – said separation activities will begin “imminently” at the Mountain Pass site.

In January, US firm Energy Fuels – which also produces uranium –  took control of Australia’s ASM and is planning to build a new site in the United States, which will handle separation.

USA Rare Earth has invested in French rare earths specialist Carester, and they are together working on perfecting the separation process.

As for the end of the supply chain, startups Vulcan Elements and eVAC Magnetics started making permanent magnets last year. MP Materials should join that group shortly.

“We’re not just selling magnets,” Vulcan Elements CEO John Maslin told AFP.

“We’re offering a secure, China-independent supply chain. Our priority is ensuring that the United States and its allies can access the magnets they’ll need for national security and economic resilience.”

For Roderick Eggert, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines, it will take time for competitors to grow big enough to “significantly reduce the market shares of the Chinese producers.”

To hedge its bets, the United States has in recent months reached deals with producer nations including Australia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Thailand.

Maslin said the idea of the United States being completely autonomous in terms of rare earths, from extraction to selling permanent magnets, is not far-fetched.

“The industry has to innovate and leapfrog, and not just copy and paste China,” he said. — AFP

GENEVA, May 14 — “Ocean Dream,” the largest blue-green diamond ever recorded, sold for US$17 million (RM66.75 million) Wednesday, Christie’s auction house said.

The 5.5 carat diamond was extracted from a mine in Central Africa in the 1990s and has been named by the Smithsonian Institution as one of the world’s eight rarest diamonds, Christie’s said in a statement announcing the sale.

“A stone of this colour and size is extremely scarce, and adding to its rarity the diamond is type Ia, amongst the purest of natural gems,” it said.

“It’s very rare to find green diamonds, even over one carat,” said Max Fawcett, global head of Christie’s Jewellery.

“To find something in five carat of this quality and this colour is truly remarkable.”

The fancy vivid blue-green diamond is triangular in shape and “the size of the nail on your smallest finger” according to Fawcett.

It was sold for 13.6 million Swiss francs, a new record for a blue-green diamond at auction, it said.

“We sold the stone in 2014 for eight and a half million dollars. It was bought by a private Asian collector who enjoyed it. She wore it,” Fawcett said.

Wednesday’s auction saw three clients from different parts of the world bidding on the gem. The winner had chosen to remain anonymous, Fawcett said.

The gem was first extracted from a rough stone weighing 11.70 carats, Christie’s said.

It was cut and exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC in 2003 as part of a Splendor of Diamonds exhibit.

The show featured red, orange, yellow, pink, blue, blue-green and white diamonds, ranging from 5.11 carats of the Moussaieff Red to 203.04 carats of the De Beers Millennium Star.  — AFP 

KUCHING, May 14 — The state government has been called on to disclose the structure behind the Sarawak Foreign Workers’ Transformation Approach (FWTA), which has been implemented since Jan 15, 2025.

When participating in the motion of appreciation on the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak’s address during the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting on Wednesday, Violet Yong (DAP-Pending) claimed there is no clear explanation on how FWTA is embedded within the state government system.

“We understand its stated role is to manage foreign worker recruitment and that it is carried out through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Since its implementation, employers are required to pay RM1,854 per foreign worker, amounting to RM2,002.32 after SST.

“Industries such as construction, manufacturing, plantations, oil and gas, timber, and services have voiced strong dissatisfaction over this additional burden although the state government appears reluctant to acknowledge it,” she claimed.

According to her, more than a year on, the FWTA programme “remains far from transparent”.

Yong claimed that beyond the claim of a PPP structure, the public and industry still do not know which private entity is involved.

“Out of the RM1,854 collected, may we know how much goes to the state government and how much goes to the private party? Why is this basic financial breakdown not disclosed? Is there anything to hide?

“What is even more concerning is that payments are not paid to Kerajaan Negeri Sarawak, but routed through BILLPLZ Sdn Bhd. Employers were neither properly informed nor given justification for this arrangement.

“Based on official figures, from January to December 2025, 106,242 approvals were issued. This translates to nearly RM200 million collected in a single year and this figure will continue to grow,” she claimed.

She pointed out that under the previous system, approvals, licences, and visa-related processes were free of charge.

According to her, Sarawak is the only state in Malaysia and region imposing such fees, including RM324 per foreign worker ID.

“We have effectively become the first to do so: Sarawak Boleh, where even routine processes are turned into chargeable items. System upgrading is understandable, but it must not become a justification for imposing excessive financial burden.

“The key question remains ie which company ultimately receives these payments and what is the final share or return to the Sarawak Government under this PPP model? What is the proportion? Is it 20–80, 30–70, or 40–60 shares between the state and private company? Not a single one from the Sarawak Government administration dares to clearly explain this,” she claimed.

She cited a Kuching-based entity involved in collection and credit-related activities, which coincidentally shares the same acronym as the programme.

“This company appears highly secretive, with its financial details shielded from public scrutiny.

“Is this coincidence or is there a direct link to the PPP arrangement? This company reportedly has only one director and shareholder. Yet it is connected by name to a programme collecting hundreds of millions annually. The state government cannot expect the public not to ask questions,” she said.

Yong stressed that when over RM200 million annually is involved, “transparency is not optional but it is in fact an obligation”.

“This lack of clarity only deepens public suspicion. We do not want yet another kantow scheme created to benefit those sitting in the corridors of power while ordinary Sarawakians are left paying the price,” she added. — The Borneo Post

MAY 14 — Something I have noticed over the years of teaching mathematics at the foundation level is that some of my most careful, most persistent students are women. Not because I went looking for a pattern (I did not) but because it became hard to ignore. They check their working twice. They come to consultation hours with specific questions, not vague ones. When they get something wrong, they want to understand exactly where the reasoning broke down, not just copy the correct answer.

This is not a generalization about all students, or all women. It is simply what I have observed, in my own classroom, over time. And it made me think about what mathematics actually rewards, and whether we are communicating that clearly enough to the people who are already doing it well.

The qualities that lead to genuine mastery in mathematics are not speed or loudness. They are precision, the willingness to revisit assumptions, patience with a problem that does not open immediately, and the honesty to say "I do not understand this yet" rather than pretending otherwise. In my research in chaos theory and cryptography, these are the qualities that matter most.

A chaotic system does not yield to impatience. An encryption proof does not care how confident you sound; it either holds, or it does not. You have to be willing to sit with the problem, turn it over, and try again. These are qualities I see regularly in my students, and I see them often in women who are sometimes, quietly, not entirely sure they are supposed to be good at this.

What I try to do, practically, is make the classroom a place where working through something carefully is visibly valued, even more than arriving at the answer quickly. — Unsplash pic

I have had students: bright, capable students, who would solve a problem correctly, then lower their voice when they gave the answer, as if hedging against being wrong. This happened not because they were uncertain about the mathematics, but because somewhere along the way they had learned to be uncertain about themselves in a mathematics context.

What I try to do, practically, is make the classroom a place where working through something carefully is visibly valued, even more than arriving at the answer quickly. When a student explains her reasoning step by step, and the reasoning is sound, that matters more than whether she got there in two minutes or ten.

Over time, something shifts. The voice gets a little steadier. The answer comes without the hedge. That is not a special intervention; it is just good mathematics teaching. But it has a particular effect on students who came in believing, on some level, that confidence in mathematics was not available to them.

Supervising postgraduate students has given me a different vantage point. The women I have supervised in research, working on problems in cryptography, chaos synchronization, and secure communication, have shown me what it looks like when that early uncertainty is replaced by something more durable.

One of my students, working on secure healthcare data transmission, spent weeks on a proof that kept collapsing at the same point. She did not abandon the approach. She mapped out exactly where it was failing, went back to the foundational theory, and rebuilt from there. The paper was eventually published in a Scopus-indexed journal. That kind of persistence, the kind that does not require external validation at every step, is what research demands. And it is something that can be cultivated, in any student, if the environment makes it possible.

I did not set out to be a role model for women in mathematics. I set out to understand chaotic systems and build better cryptographic methods. The research is genuinely interesting to me: the kind of interesting that makes you stay with a problem longer than is probably sensible. But I have come to understand that doing the work visibly, and talking about it in plain language, matters beyond the research itself.

When I write about mathematics in the newspaper, or speak at a public forum about cryptography, I am also (without making it the point) showing that this kind of work is something a Malaysian woman does. Not as an exception, but just as a fact.

And perhaps that is the most honest thing I can offer to any young woman thinking about mathematics: not a grand statement about what she should do, but simply the evidence that it is being done carefully, seriously, and with genuine enjoyment.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.  

PARIS, May 14 — The Japanese film industry, fresh from a record box office year in 2025, is carrying its domestic momentum into the Cannes Film Festival where it made its debut Wednesday with Koji Fukada’s latest movie.

Fukada’s quiet portrait of solitude and thwarted love in rural Japan with his Nagi Notes is one of three Japanese movies in the 22-strong main competition in Cannes, the world’s biggest film festival.

All of a Sudden, the first French-language film from Ryusuke Hamaguchi — who got two Oscar nominations for Drive My Car — and the widely tipped tech-themed Sheep in the Box by art-house favourite Hirokazu Kore-eda of Shoplifters fame complete the line-up.

Japan is also the country of honour in the Cannes film market, a vast annual gathering of industry executives where projects and rights are acquired by producers and distributors from around the world.

“It’s very gratifying that so many Japanese films are submitted and evaluated (at the festival),” Fukada told AFP in an interview on Wednesday.

“But I don’t think that necessarily indicates the health of Japanese films in Japanese society.”

Fukada, whose previous films include Harmonium and last year’s Love on Trial about J-pop stars, counters that record revenue figures for the Japanese box office last year disguise struggles for independent auteurs like him.

The biggest-grossing films in Japan in 2025 — blockbuster Demon Slayer, period drama Kokuho which debuted in Cannes last year, and anime hit Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback — helped push box office revenues beyond their previous pre-Covid record high in 2019.

Exploring loneliness 

“Japan is a country where cultural budgets are extremely limited, and public-sector support for film is modest,” Fukada said.

Nagi Notes, starring Takako Matsu and Shizuka Ishibashi, explores the overlapping lives of a cast of characters in rural Okayama Prefecture, each lonely in their own way.

The theme of forbidden gay and lesbian love runs throughout.

“Loneliness isn’t limited to people who live in the countryside. Whether you live in the countryside or in the city, the very act of living is lonely and difficult,” Fukada, a Cannes regular since his 2016 break-out hit Harmonium, added.

Loneliness “is like an illness you’re born with and can’t cure”, he said.

“This film features both heterosexuals and sexual minorities, but for lesbians or gays, one of the major ways they can forget their loneliness is to get married and live with a partner, which is very difficult,” he added.

“It’s difficult because in Japan, same-sex marriage is not yet recognised legally.”

Cannes runs until May 23 when the prestigious Palme d’Or will be handed out for best film. — AFP 

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — The Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) dismantled a drug distribution syndicate in Pulau Langkawi with the arrest of 191 individuals, including several ‘key figures’ in Op Langka.

Bukit Aman NCID director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the special operation was launched on April 10 following intelligence gathering and detailed investigations since January this year into drug trafficking activities on the island. 

He said 231 raids were carried out in Pulau Langkawi and the Klang Valley, involving various offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. 

“In this special operation, NCID successfully detained several ‘key figures’, with charges already filed and more to follow. 

“This includes a charge under Section 39C of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 against a suspect with 10 prior records, five under Section 12(2), four under Section 15(1)(a) of the same Act, and one under Section 160 of the Penal Code,” he said in a statement yesterday. 

Raids were also conducted at a house hosting ‘private parties’, where police arrested three local men and seven Thai women, and seized 82 grammes of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) powder, 12.5 grammes of ecstasy pills, 12.5 grammes of Erimin 5 pills, and four grammes of ketamine. 

“Another raid in the Klang Valley led to the arrest of seven individuals, including foreigners from Singapore and the Philippines. 

“In that raid, police seized 170 kilogrammes of cannabis buds and seven kilogrammes of cannabis, with the total value of drugs seized and assets confiscated reaching RM14.1 million,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Hussein said based on investigations and police operations, NCID believes there is involvement of police personnel in drug distribution activities in Pulau Langkawi. 

“As such, aggressive action will be taken under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985, and the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma),” he said. 

He added that a report by a local newspaper referring to a ‘Pablo Escobar’ linked to drug trafficking activities in Pulau Langkawi was inaccurate, as intelligence findings showed the group did not operate on a large scale and had no international network or extraordinary assets. 

On Tuesday, a local newspaper reported the existence of a drug syndicate in Langkawi, allegedly led by a police officer known as ‘Mr A’, assisted by other syndicate members, including women, raising concerns among local residents. — Bernama

MAY 14 — The arrival of the Lockheed Martin Typhon missile system in the Indo-Pacific is not merely another chapter in the modernization of military hardware. 

It is a strategic signal that the region has entered a far more compressed era of geopolitical competition, where deterrence, long-range strike capability, and alliance interoperability are increasingly fused into one integrated military architecture.

The Typhon system, capable of launching both the Tomahawk missile and SM-6 missile, represents a profound shift in the military balance of the Indo-Pacific. Unlike conventional defensive missile systems designed solely for interception, Typhon is dual-capable in strategic logic. 

It can conduct deep precision strikes while also strengthening layered air and missile defense. In effect, it compresses offensive reach and defensive resilience into a mobile land-based platform.

Its dispatch to the Philippines, Australia, and Japan reveals how rapidly the Indo-Pacific security landscape is evolving under the pressure of multiple simultaneous crises. 

The war in West Asia, tensions in the Taiwan Strait, continued militarization in the South China Sea, and the race for AI-enabled warfare are no longer isolated theatres. 

They are converging into one interconnected strategic ecosystem.

The Indo-Pacific is therefore witnessing the rise of what can be termed “distributed deterrence.”

Rather than relying on a handful of massive American bases concentrated in Northeast Asia, the United States and its allies are increasingly dispersing military capabilities across allied territories. 

Typhon is perfectly suited for this doctrine because it is mobile, difficult to target and capable of operating from multiple dispersed locations.

This development carries enormous implications for Asean.

For decades, Southeast Asia largely benefited from strategic ambiguity. Asean states could deepen economic engagement with China while simultaneously maintaining security ties with the United States and its allies. 

Yet the arrival of systems like Typhon suggests that ambiguity itself is shrinking.

The Philippines has already moved furthest in embracing closer security integration with Washington. 

Under increasingly intense maritime pressure in the South China Sea, Manila now views advanced deterrence systems as essential to national survival. 

The deployment of Typhon on Philippine territory therefore, symbolizes not simply alliance maintenance but alliance transformation.

Japan, meanwhile, has undergone one of the most remarkable strategic shifts since the end of the Second World War. 

Tokyo’s gradual reinterpretation of its security posture, especially after unlocking broader defense export capabilities and enhancing counterstrike doctrines, reflects the recognition that the regional environment has fundamentally changed.

When Japan modernizes, the ripple effects are inevitably felt across the Indo-Pacific, especially in Southeast Asia.

Australia too has accelerated defense modernization at a pace unseen in decades. 

Yet Canberra’s strategic emphasis increasingly revolves around deeper operational coordination with regional partners through the Reciprocal Access Agreement framework with Japan and expanded interoperability with the United States. 

The RAA is steadily evolving into a practical mechanism that allows faster deployment, military exercises, logistical coordination and strategic synchronization between two of America’s closest Indo-Pacific partners.

The cumulative effect is unmistakable: the Indo-Pacific is entering an era of integrated missile deterrence.

Yet this transformation is not occurring in a vacuum. It is unfolding amidst profound uncertainty in the global order itself. 

The rules-based order that many states relied upon after 1945 is increasingly under strain. Major powers now openly compete across trade, technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities, and maritime access. 

Military modernization is thus no longer confined to tanks and fighter jets alone. It now encompasses algorithmic warfare, satellite integration, autonomous systems, and precision missile ecosystems.

Typhon sits precisely at the intersection of these changes.

The system’s ability to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles introduces the prospect of conventional long-range precision strike capability from land bases deep within allied territory. 

Its compatibility with SM-6 missiles further enables anti-air, anti-ship, and even limited ballistic missile defense functions. 

A Chinese navy ship with bow number 525 monitors a Philippine navy ship, Andres Bonifacio, near the Philippine-occupied island of Thitu during a maritime patrol in the disputed South China Sea on June 6, 2025. — AFP pic

Such flexibility gives commanders substantial operational adaptability in crisis scenarios.

But with greater deterrence also comes greater risk.

China will almost certainly interpret the proliferation of systems like Typhon as part of a wider encirclement architecture. Beijing has long opposed the deployment of intermediate-range missile systems near its strategic periphery, especially after the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces framework. 

From China’s perspective, mobile launch systems distributed across allied territories complicate its military calculations and potentially reduce warning times during crises.

This dynamic risks intensifying the classic security dilemma, which Malaysia must avoid.  

One side modernizes for deterrence; the other perceives encirclement and responds with further military buildup. The cycle then reinforces itself.

Asean must therefore tread carefully.

Southeast Asia cannot afford to become merely a passive theatre for major power rivalry. Nor can it remain strategically stagnant while the military balance around it changes at extraordinary speed

Asean states will increasingly need to modernize selectively, strengthen maritime domain awareness, enhance cyber resilience, and improve interoperability in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations without necessarily sliding into rigid bloc politics.

Defense modernization in Southeast Asia must thus remain calibrated rather than reactionary.

The lesson from the Typhon deployment is not that every Asean state should pursue offensive missile capabilities. Rather, the deeper lesson is that strategic preparedness can no longer be postponed. 

The region is entering an age where technological superiority, rapid deployment capability and networked deterrence will shape geopolitical outcomes far more than sheer numerical force alone.

At the same time, Asean’s greatest strength remains diplomacy.

Military modernization without diplomatic architecture creates instability. 

This is why mechanisms such as the Asean Regional Forum, the East Asia Summit, and the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus remain indispensable.

Even amid intensifying rivalry, channels for dialogue, confidence-building measures, and crisis management must continue to expand.

The Indo-Pacific does not need a new Cold War. But neither can it escape the realities of intensifying strategic competition.

The arrival of Typhon ultimately symbolizes something larger than a missile system. 

It marks the acceleration of a new geopolitical era where the boundaries between deterrence, technology, and alliance politics are becoming increasingly blurred. 

The geopolitical storm gathering across the Indo-Pacific is therefore not solely about war. 

It is about who can adapt fastest to a rapidly changing strategic environment without allowing competition to spiral into catastrophe.

In this new era, rapid defense modernization may be unavoidable. 

The true challenge, however, lies in ensuring that modernization strengthens stability rather than undermines it.

* Phar Kim Beng is a professor of Asean Studies and director of the Institute of Internationalisation and Asean Studies, International Islamic University of Malaysia. 

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.  

CANNES, May 14 — The Lord of the Rings maestro Peter Jackson revealed Wednesday that he is taking on another cult classic — Tintin.

The New Zealand director said that he has been working on a script for a film about the boy reporter created by the Belgian cartoonist Herge nearly a century ago.

Jackson said his film would be a sequel to Steven Spielberg’s animated film The Adventures of Tintin in 2011, which he co-produced.

“The deal was that Steven directs one and I direct another,” he said at the Cannes Film Festival, where he received an honorary Palme d’Or lifetime’s achievement award Tuesday.

“So Steven did his film, then for 15 years I haven’t made mine. I feel very awkward about that,” he said.

But he hasn’t been wasting any time while at Cannes.

In between galas and picking up his prize, “I’ve been working with Fran (Walsh, his partner) on another Tintin script.

“I’m in the hotel room down the road writing the script and sending pages to New Zealand,” he told AFP.

While he refused to say which of the Tintin albums he was drawing on, he hinted strongly that it will begin where Spielberg’s film finished, with Red Rackham’s Treasure.

“It’s not the way that it carries on, but it begins exactly where the last film ends,” he told AFP.

‘Old fat rebel’ 

Jackson said he makes “films that I really want to see myself”, and the Tintin movie will be no different.

“When we get a draft done we will send it to Steven (Spielberg)... and he might say that he doesn’t like it, and maybe we should do it with different books. But I don’t think he will.”

Jackson, who turned JRR Tolkien’s trilogy into one of the biggest box office franchises ever, said he loved Tintin, whose adventurous japes in comics like Tintin in Tibet and The Blue Lotus have been a staple of European children’s bookshelves since the 1930s.

Jackson, who owns Weta FX, one of the world’s most important special effects companies, which has worked on Avatar as well as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, also weighed into the debate on artificial intelligence that has been raging at Cannes.

He said that while he thought AI is “going to destroy the world”, when it comes to its use in film, “I don’t dislike it at all.”

“I mean, to me, it’s just a special effect. It’s no different from other special effects.”

While he later played down his remarks “about the robots taking over”, he said he could not see AI going much further than the “cowboyland” of short videos on Instagram and YouTube.

“To make feature films the rights have all to be authorised and lawyers have to go through things with a toothcomb,” something that would limit AI’s use.

Jackson, 64, said he still sees himself as the rebel who was kicked out of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes for wearing shorts when he premiered his debut film, Bad Taste in 1987, but was now a “old fat rebel”.

And he said he still hopes to make a movie inspired by the British Dambusters raid on the Ruhr dams in Germany during World War II if “I live long enough”. — AFP 

MANCHESTER, May 14 — Manchester City’s second string eased past Crystal Palace 3-0 on Wednesday to climb just two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal with two games remaining of a captivating title race.

Pep Guardiola made six changes from the side that beat Brentford 3-0 at the weekend, with Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku among those on the bench, while Palace boss Oliver Glasner also made tweaks.

First-half goals from Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush put City in control at a damp Etihad and a late strike from Savinho added gloss to the scoreline.

The tide appeared to have turned in City’s favour in the title race over recent weeks but last week’s costly 3-3 draw at Everton put Arsenal firmly back in the box seat.

The City players experienced the agony of seeing a stoppage-time equaliser for West Ham against Arsenal ruled out following a VAR check on Sunday as the Gunners battled to a 1-0 win.

Guardiola’s men dominated the ball in the early minutes on Wednesday but Palace, with Ismaila Sarr and Adam Wharton on the bench, posed a threat on the break.

City opened the scoring in style in the 32nd minute after Foden produced an exquisite back pass to set up Semenyo, who finished coolly past Dean Henderson into the far corner of the goal.

They doubled their lead eight minutes later, with Foden again the provider, touching the ball to Marmoush, who celebrated his third Premier League goal of the season.

John Stones, departing at the end of the season, came on as a substitute towards the end of a forgettable second period to a rousing reception from the City fans.

Minutes later Rayan Cherki ran with the ball from his own half before setting up Savinho, who swept the ball past Henderson.

The three-goal win takes City to 77 points, two behind Arsenal. City now have a superior goal difference of plus one and have scored seven more goals.

City take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, gunning for a domestic cup double after lifting the League Cup earlier this season.

Before kick-off on Wednesday, Guardiola explained his multiple changes, saying: “When the schedule is so tight, everybody is fit, everybody needs to help.”

Despite the narrow gap, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal remain overwhelming favourites to win their first Premier League title since 2004.

City next face a tricky match at Bournemouth, who are chasing Champions League qualification, and finish their campaign against Aston Villa.

Arsenal host relegated Burnley next week before travelling to Palace for the final day of the season.

Palace, who beat City in last season’s FA Cup final, are 15th in the table.

But their focus now is on the UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig on May 27 -- Glasner’s final match in charge of the south London club. — AFP