KUALA LUMPUR: Amendments to the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) will only be done after careful scrutiny of the law, says Deputy Home Minister Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman (pic). “The Home Ministry is in the process of carrying out a detailed study on the draconian aspects of the law or provisions that we
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Monday said President Donald Trump had spoken to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and asked for an immediate ceasefire in Syria. “The United States of America did not give a green light for Turkey to invade Syria,” Pence said to reporters in front of the White House.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian politicians and academics cheered the Nobel economics prize awarded on Monday to Indian-born American Abhijit Banerjee, whose proud mother told visitors crowding into her apartment that he came from “a family of economists”. Nirmala Banerjee showed journalists a copy of her son’s book “Poor Economics” as bouquets arrived at her
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday he does not think any problems will emerge in Syria’s Kobani after a Syrian army deployment is executed along the border, adding that Russia’s Vladimir Putin had shown a “positive approach.” Earlier on Monday, Syrian army troops entered the town of Tel Tamer in northeastern
KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ordered Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to enter his defence on a charge of accepting a RM2mil bribe from a businessman in 2016. High Court judge Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan ruled on Monday (Oct 14) that the prosecution had proven a prima facie case against the
BEIRUT/QAMISHLI, Syria, (Reuters) – The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been holding negotiations at a Russian airbase in Syria, a Syrian Kurdish politician told Reuters on Sunday, expressing hope for a deal that would halt a Turkish attack. Ahmed Suleiman, a senior member of the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party in Syria,
LIPIS (Bernama): Four of six victims in the balloon explosion incident at Dataran Putrajaya on Saturday (Oct 12) are expected to be discharged from the Putrajaya Hospital. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (pic) said the four comprised three adults and a girl. “Two other victims are still being warded. Their condition is stable,
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s prime minister plans to visit Japan next week in what would be the highest-level trip since Japan imposed export curbs in a deepening trade and diplomatic row, the Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday. Lee Nak-yon, whose trip is scheduled for Oct. 22-24, will attend Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement ceremony
TAPACHULA, Mexico (Reuters) – Several hundred migrants from Africa, the Caribbean and Central America set off from southern Mexico on Saturday in a caravan headed to the United States, according to a Reuters witness and local media. The migrants assembled and departed before dawn from Tapachula in the southern state of Chiapas near Guatemala despite
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran is prepared to hold talks with regional rival Saudi Arabia, with or without the help of a mediator, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, ahead of a visit by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. Asked about reports that Khan, due to arrive in Iran at the weekend, may try to
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysians@Work initiative under Budget 2020 will create 350,000 jobs and the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) will be in charge, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng (pic). “The purpose of the government is to try to create more jobs for the unemployed, especially unemployed graduates. After years in universities, they are still unable
PARIS (Reuters) – France and the United States have agreed to remain in close contact over Turkey’s escalating campaign in northern Syria, French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said, adding that he had stressed the need to try to end the offensive in a phone call with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump late on Friday. “France
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadians began voting on Friday in advance polls ahead of the Oct. 21 federal election as party leaders set out on the final stretch of the campaign with polls showing the two largest parties locked in a dead heat. Voters can cast a ballot from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Monday,
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A senior Australian government minister said on Friday China was behaving in a way that was inconsistent with Australian values by targeting political parties and universities in Australia, drawing a sharp rebuke from China’s embassy. Relations between the important trading partners have deteriorated in recent years amid accusations that China is meddling
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A fierce wildfire that erupted in southern California on Thursday destroyed homes and structures and caused “numerous medical emergencies” at a Riverside County mobile home park, fire officials said. No further details were immediately available on how many mobile homes had been burned or the nature of the medical emergencies. The
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday he had never met arrested businessmen Lev Parnas or Igor Fruman, who have been helping President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer investigate political rival Joe Biden. They were arrested in the United States on charges of funnelling foreign money to U.S. political candidates and a pro-Trump
JOHOR BARU (Bernama): A Kosmo journalist has been driving Grab since May after his employer, Utusan Melayu, faced a prolonged financial crisis and delayed paying salaries for several months. Upon receiving an internal memo that the nation’s oldest Malay language newspaper would cease operation on Wednesday (Oct 9), Mohd Izuan Roseli made the decision to
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Iran has freed a Russian journalist, Yulia Yuzik, who had been detained last week, the Russian embassy in Tehran said on social media on Thursday. “As a result of joint efforts of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in Tehran, the Iranian side made a decision on the release of
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a television interview on Wednesday that China’s treatment of Muslims, including the Uighurs, in western China was an “enormous human rights violation” and Washington will continue to raise the issue. “This is not only an enormous human rights violation, but we don’t think it’s
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes mounted air strikes against positions 50 km deep inside Syria in Ain Issa on Wednesday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said. Twenty five jets were flying over the border region in northeast Syria, the SDF said. (Reporting by Ellen Francis; Editing by Chris Reese) Stay tuned for a new
SEREMBAN: The Negri Sembilan Pakatan Harapan government will fulfil the pledge it made in its manifesto before the last general election to relocate the Kualiti Alam waste management centre in Bukit Nanas which last week caught fire for the second time in four years. Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun (pic) said his team had
KANGAR (Bernama): The Customs Department has foiled an attempt to smuggle liquor worth more than RM3.2mil into the country. Perlis Customs director Wan Nor Wan Mamat said that at about 3.30pm on Wednesday his officers stopped two container lorries at the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security Complex (ICQS) at Padang Besar which was purportedly carrying
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis gave the green light on Tuesday for the creation of the country’s first national Holocaust museum in Bucharest, more than seven decades after the end of World War Two. An international commission headed by Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel concluded in 2004 that between 280,000 and 380,000 Romanian and
JOHOR BARU: Three Malaysians were nabbed by the police in Kota Tinggi for suspected human trafficking offences. The locals, believed to be a boat skipper (tekong) and his crew, were caught Monday (Oct 7) night together with two Indonesian immigrants. According to a press release from Kota Tinggi OCPD Supt Ashmon Bajah, all five suspects
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The government has been urged to review the implementation of visa-on-arrival (VoA) for Chinese and Indian tourists in the 2020 Budget to increase the arrival of visitors in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2020. President of the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association, Uzaidi Udanis, said that while the VoA visa fee was
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Jews, Muslims and Christians pass daily through the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City, on their way to and from prayers or simply to go about their everyday business in one of the most politically sensitive spots on earth. There are eight gates – seven are open and one is sealed – along
KUCHING: Sarawak is seeking administrative autonomy and more funding in healthcare from the Federal Government in order to serve the people better and meet local needs. State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian said administrative autonomy meant Sarawak would be able to make decisions on health-related matters such as where to
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey is determined to clear its border with Syria of militants and assure the security of the country, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday, after the White House said Ankara will soon launch an offensive into northern Syria. On Sunday, the White House press secretary said Turkey will soon move forward
QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuadorean authorities began arresting shopkeepers for raising food prices as indigenous groups clashed with security forces on Sunday in a fourth day of protests against President Lenin Moreno’s austerity measures. One man died in central Azuay province when roadblocks blocked an ambulance from reaching him after he was hit by a car,
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia is working on removing Sudan from the United States’ list of state sponsors of terrorism, a foreign ministry tweet said on Sunday. The tweet comes following a visit to Riyadh by the head of Sudan’s transitional sovereign council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, during which they met
