Malaysian Duo Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei Stun World No. 2 to Reach Paris 2024 Olympic Quarter-Finals

Paris Olympic 2024 - Malaysian mixed doubles shuttlers Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei have defied the odds to storm into the Olympic Games quarter-finals as group champions.

(Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei. credit pic: nst)

On Monday (July 29), they achieved a notable victory in their final Group D match at Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle:

• Match Result: Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei defeated China's Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping with scores of 17-21, 21-15, 21-16.
• Significance: Huang Dongping, a gold medalist in the 2021 Tokyo Games, and her partner Yanzhe were heavily favored, but Tang Jie and Ee Wei delivered a stunning performance.

This victory marked the Malaysian pair's second win over Yanzhe and Dongping in four encounters and their first success this year. As group champions, they will avoid facing other group winners in the quarter-final draw, which could provide a smoother path to the semi-finals. They will face one of the runners-up from the other groups in the quarter-finals.

The Malaysians’ triumph at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is another highlight for their badminton squad. Their win took 70 minutes and captivated the 8,000-strong crowd at Porte de La Chapelle Arena.

Earlier in their campaign:

• Match 1: They defeated Singapore’s Terry Hee and Jessica Tan with scores of 23-21, 21-12.
• Match 2: They secured their place in the quarter-finals by beating Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai of the United States, 21-15, 24-22.

As they advance to the knockout stage, Tang Jie and Ee Wei will be closely watching the draw to determine their next opponents. The draw is expected to be made tomorrow after all the doubles group matches have concluded.

Singapore Airlines Reveals Major Boost in In-Flight Recycling After New Catering Data

Singapore Airlines Ltd. recently announced a significant increase in its in-flight waste recycling rate for the 2023/24 financial year. Initially, the airline reported recycling only 1.7% of its waste. However, after further investigation and receiving updated data from its local catering company, they revised this figure to an impressive 11%, which translates to 393 metric tons.

The correction came after Bloomberg News inquired about the airline’s recycling practices. Upon closer examination, Singapore Airlines discovered it had severely understated the amount of glass waste recycled—368.1 metric tons instead of the previously reported 29.6 metric tons. This adjustment brought the total recycling figure for the fiscal year up significantly.

Recycling and broader environmental initiatives have become increasingly crucial for airlines and their investors. As the aviation industry strives to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, the focus has turned to sustainable practices, including the use of cleaner fuels and more environmentally friendly aircraft. While measures like reducing single-use plastics and lightening planes by removing heavy items are essential, the most significant progress will come from adopting sustainable aviation fuel and greener jets.

Interestingly, Singapore Airlines also revised its recycling figures for previous years. For the 2019/20 fiscal year, the recycling volume was adjusted to 670 metric tons from 388 metric tons once glass waste data was included. Despite these improvements, the airline’s recycling rate still trails behind some of its competitors. United Airlines reported a recycling rate of about 16% in 2023, Korean Air Lines achieved around 68%, and Qantas Airways reported approximately 23%.

Singapore Airlines has faced criticism for its sustainability efforts before. A trial of paper boxes for economy-class meals on medium- and long-haul flights was not widely adopted after negative feedback on social media for appearing too cost-cutting. However, the airline continues to use paper boxes and bamboo cutlery for short-haul economy flights.

Recycling efforts and sustainable practices remain a significant focus for the airline as it works to enhance its environmental impact and meet industry goals.

Global Chaos: CrowdStrike Update Triggers Windows Crash and BSOD Epidemic!

Today, July 19, a single security update by CrowdStrike led to catastrophic consequences, causing Windows systems to crash and triggering BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) errors globally. Airport systems came to a halt, leading to flight delays, while banking systems faced significant disruptions. Factory machines went haywire, mall systems crashed, and numerous government systems were affected, illustrating the immense influence of computer systems on our daily lives.

As everything transitions to the cloud and remains online 24/7, such incidents are not only possible but can result in multimillion-dollar losses for businesses. This event underscores the risky dependency we have on these systems.

Particularly hard hit were systems using Microsoft's Azure cloud services. Major industries worldwide rely on these services, which means the impact was extensive and far-reaching.

In the global market, the top three cloud providers are AWS, Azure, and Google. Apple, for instance, relies on AWS (Amazon) for its cloud services.

The root of the problem lies in Microsoft's use of CrowdStrike services. This dependency caused significant issues for both Windows and Azure, highlighting the vulnerabilities inherent in our interconnected, cloud-dependent world.

CrowdStrike Fixes Bug Causing Global IT Outage Impacting Airports, Banks, and Media

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz announced that a bug causing worldwide IT outages, affecting airports, banks, and media, has been fixed as of Friday, July 19, according to AFP.

"CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts... The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed," Kurtz stated on the social media platform X.

The National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) is monitoring the global IT outage affecting Microsoft users and working to restore operations swiftly, according to Bernama. The disruption has significantly impacted sectors such as television channels, airports, and banks worldwide, including in Malaysia.

"In Malaysia, we have observed operational disruptions in key areas. For instance, operations at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 2 have been affected, leading to manual check-ins and extended waiting times. We want to clarify that this is not a cyber attack, but it is a significant cybersecurity issue,” Nacsa stated. The outage has caused delays and operational challenges across multiple sectors, impacting businesses and the public.

Nacsa advises affected parties to monitor updates from vendors and manage temporary solutions carefully. "Nacsa is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of our national cyber infrastructure. We will continue to provide support and guidance to affected organizations during this challenging time," the statement concluded.