The Malaysian Insider

SEOUL, Nov 22 — Apple’s iPhone will go on sale in South Korea this week, offered by the country’s No 2 mobile carrier KT Corp, KT said today.

South Korea, a market for 47 million mobile users, is home turf for the world’s No 2 and 3 mobile phone makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which are stepping up efforts to catch up on smartphones.

It is also one of the world’s most saturated mobile markets, where telecom carriers and application providers hope the iPhone could boost mobile data usage and help change the business model.

NEW YORK, Nov 22 — Get this: Goldman Sachs will be taking out the garbage at Thanksgiving.

The giant United States investment bank is better known for raking in the profits, but in the past few weeks, its chief executive Lloyd Blankfein has been trying hard to stem rising public anger.

Goldman, which received US$10 billion (RM34 billion) in bailout money, made a record US$3 billion profit in the third quarter of this year and set aside nearly US$40 billion in compensation and bonuses ? the biggest employee payout in the firm’s 140-year history. It also became one of the most vilified financial firms on Wall Street.

Last Friday came news that 300 Goldman employees have volunteered for garbage duty at a charity Thanksgiving dinner for thousands of hungry New Yorkers. The Salvation Army plans to serve 10,000 free dinners across the city this Thursday. The number of meals is 10 times the amount last year as more Americans struggle to put food on the table.

ST PETERSBURG, Nov 21 – Vladimir Putin pledged on Saturday to widen Russia’s anti-crisis aid package with a car scrappage scheme and mortgage support to jolt the economy out of the worst recession in 15 years.

Putin, who now serves as Russia’s prime minister after eight years as Kremlin chief, vowed to restore boom-time levels of economic growth after an 8.0-8.5 per cent decline in gross domestic product this year.

Speaking to members of his United Russia party at a congress in St Petersburg, Putin said he saw a rise in cargo turnover and electricity demand in 2010, two key indicators of economic activity. He did not mention taxation policy or interest rates.

“The decline in GDP by the end of the year will not be as big as we thought – the figure of 10 per cent or even more was calculated – it will be less: about 8 or 8.5, but that is still a great deal,” Putin said in a speech lasting more than an hour.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 – AirAsia  has sold 28,000 seats to date for the Kuala Lumpur and Kolkata sector.

Open for sale on Oct 15, the airline said the new route would unlock the potential of international air travel from Kuala Lumpur to eastern India and its surrounding areas.

“It's a significant achievement for this market. We are very committed to expanding and providing excellent opportunities for travellers to enjoy our unbelievable low fares and world class service,” Regional Head of Commercial Kathleen Tan said in a statement today.

PETALING JAYA, Nov 21 – The Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) expects to accrue RM380 million from the sale of properties next year, said its Deputy General Manager (Administration and development) Md Nasir Md Arshad.

He said the corporation hopes to sell RM342 million in properties this year as demand from the upper middle class was growing.

“PKNS will continue to engage with potential customers on new projects to be launched next year through a comprehensive awareness campaign,” he told Bernama after the official sale of Kasturi Idaman apartments here today.