True Or Not

QuickCheck: Was tea once used as a form of currency?

For millions of people today, tea is simply a comforting drink — brewed at breakfast, poured at meetings or shared during festive gatherings.

Technology

Amazon can be sued over suicides linked to sodium nitrite, Washington Supreme Court rules

Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Washington ⁠Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday that Amazon.com must face lawsuits by families ⁠that lost relatives who died by suicide after consuming sodium nitrite they bought from ‌outside vendors on the retailer's website.

Technology

Southern Co raises spending plan by 7% as data center power demand swells

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Southern Co ⁠raised its five-year spending plan by roughly 7% on Thursday as the major electric and gas utility ⁠in the U.S. South sells more electricity to data centers and industrial manufacturers.

Hockey

Olympics-Ice hockey-Captain Knight bows out on a high as US win gold

MILAN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Hilary Knight had the ⁠perfect ending to her fifth and final Olympics, with the U.S. captain scoring the late goal that sent the ⁠championship game to overtime before her side beat Canada to take the women's ice hockey gold medal on Thursday.

Hockey

Olympics-Ice hockey-Poulin urges team to take pride despite silver

MILAN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin leaves Milan with an injured knee ⁠but her pride intact, praising her teammates for a well-fought overtime effort ‌that came up short against the United States 2-1 in the Olympic women's ice hockey final.

Corporate News

Trading ideas: Nestle, MISC, IHH, Atlan, FBG, Bina Puri, Jentayu, Cape EMS

KUALA LUMPUR: Here is a recap of the announcements that made headlines in Corporate Malaysia.

Technology

Apple TV partners with EverPass Media to bring sports lineup to bars, hotels

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Apple TV ⁠has signed a distribution agreement with EverPass ⁠Media to bring the streamer's live sports content to ‌businesses such as bars, restaurants, hotels and gyms, the commercial sports content provider said on Thursday.

Commodities

Oil prices rise 2% on US-Iran conflict worries

Oil prices rose around 2% on Thursday to settle at their highest level in six months, as traders worried about escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, which have stepped up military activity in the oil-producing Middle East.

Technology

AMD to backstop $300 million Crusoe loan, The Information reports

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Advanced Micro ⁠Devices is set to provide a $300 million loan guarantee for ⁠cloud computing startup Crusoe to buy and deploy its ‌AI chips, The Information reported on Thursday, following in the footsteps of rival AI giant Nvidia .

Markets

Wall St ends down as private equity stocks sink

Wall Street ended lower on Thursday, with losses in private equity companies and weakness in Walmart and Apple, while earnings-driven gains in industrials limited losses.

Technology

Amazon can be sued over suicides linked to sodium nitrite, court rules

Feb 19 (Reuters) - ⁠The Washington Supreme Court ruled ⁠unanimously on Thursday that Amazon.com must ‌face lawsuits brought by families with relatives who took their own lives by ​consuming sodium nitrite they bought ⁠on the ⁠online retailer's platform.

Technology

Exclusive-Netflix has ample room to increase its offer in battle for Warner Bros, sources say

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Netflix has ⁠ample cash and could bump up its offer for HBO Max owner Warner Bros Discovery if competing bidder Paramount Skydance increases its ⁠own offer, two people with knowledge of the matter said. 

World

North Korea's Kim opens 9th Party Congress citing economic achievements

SEOUL, Feb ⁠20 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his reclusive country had overcome recession and accomplished major ⁠economic goals over the past five years as he opened the Ninth Party Congress, state media KCNA ‌reported on Friday.

Technology

New York Governor Hochul pulls robotaxi expansion proposal

Feb 19 (Reuters) - New York ⁠Governor Kathy Hochul has pulled her proposal to allow commercial ⁠robotaxi services in smaller cities outside New York, a spokesperson ‌for the governor said on Thursday.

World

1st LD Writethru: U.S. trade deficit in goods hits record high in 2025

NEW YORK, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The United States posted a record 1.24 trillion U.S. dollar trade deficit in goods in 2025, up 2.1 percent from the previous year, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

World

Share of cashless payments in Russia hits 88 pct in 2025

MOSCOW, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The share of cashless payments in Russia reached 88 percent at the end of 2025, Bank of Russia's director of the National Payment System Department Alla Bakina said Thursday.

Hockey

Olympics-Ice hockey-United States earn gold, revenge in OT win over Canada

MILAN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The United States tasted revenge ⁠sweeter than maple syrup as they came from behind to beat defending champions Canada 2-1 to win gold in an overtime thriller in women's ice hockey at the Milano ⁠Cortina Olympics on Thursday.

China

Fireworks blast kills 12, including five kids

Five children were among the 12 people killed in an explosion at a general store selling fireworks in China during the Lunar New Year holiday, state media said.

Indonesia

Operations halt after nickel hub landslide kills one

A landslide has hit a mine waste zone at a nickel processing hub managed by PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) on the island of Sulawesi, IMIP's spokesperson Dedy Kurniawan said, killing one worker and halting operations.

Nation

KLIA receives 8,000 visitors in two hours

SIBU: Kuala Lumpur Internatio­nal Airport (KLIA) handled 8,000 visitor arrivals in just two hours on the first day of the Chinese New Year.