Political and tech leaders gather in Paris for a summit on AI, co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is coming amidst the US and China's battle to dominate the space, and questions around where Europe and other countries fit in the tech race. We hear insights from Khalil Nooh, CEO and co-founder of Mesolitica.

• Mall shooting spurs safety concerns: A shooting incident at a mall in Setia Alam, Selangor, has caught headlines, with one janitor injured while the suspect escapes via stolen car. This has triggered calls for better public safety measures in public spaces like shopping malls. We reached out to crime analyst Kamal Affandi Hashim for his thoughts on the case, and safety measures we can look to.

• RM5 Million lost in vending machine scam: Fifty-four victims reported losses of over RM5 million after investing in a fraudulent vending machine scheme. Wong Siew Jiuan, Secretary-General of the Malaysian Association of Certified Fraud Examiners identifies red flags and explains the mistakes to avoid when making future investments.

• US shuts down Anti-Corruption Unit: Investigative journalist Bradley Hope reports that the US Department of Justice has shut down its Kleptocracy Initiative, which prosecuted major financial crimes, including seizing over $1 billion from 1MDB in 2016. Cynthia Gabriel, Founding Director & Senior Advisor of the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism weighs in on the impact of this move.

• Clean Thaipusam tackles festival waste: As the Hindu festival Thaipusam approaches, people are celebrating by performing prayers and intense acts of faith like kavadi bearers. But since temple sites are visited by over a million visitors, it also leaves behind significant waste. Clean Thaipusam is a local NGO that is working to change that. It's co-founder, T. Sathiyavarmaan, speaks to us about the work that they are doing.

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

Produced by: Alia Zefri, Sneha Harikannan, Dashran Yohan, Juliet Jacobs

Presented by: Sharaad Kuttan

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Categories:  politics,  government,  international,  Law/Activism,  controversies,  education,  environment,  corruption

Tags:  ai action summit,  setia alam shooting,  gun safety,  mall shooting,  vending machine scam,  investment scams,  anti corruption unit,  clean thaipusam,  batu caves cleanup,  emmanuel macron,  online scams,  department of justice,  1mdb,  thaipusam,  waste management,