Rugby

Rugby-Springboks not sure what to make of World Cup showdown with All Blacks

CAPE TOWN, Dec 4 (Reuters) - South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus is uncertain about what to make of potentially facing arch rivals New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the next World Cup after the top two ranked teams were drawn in the same pathway for the 2027 tournament in Australia.

Nation

RM25bil committed to improving nation's water supply, Dewan Rakyat told

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Government has committed about RM25bil to ongoing water projects nationwide to improve supply from the source right up to treatment facilities, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

World

Putin authorised 2018 Novichok poisoning of ex-Russian spy Skripal, UK inquiry says

LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin must have ordered the Novichok nerve agent attack on Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in 2018, in a "reckless" display of power that led to the death of an innocent woman, a UK public inquiry concluded on Thursday.     

True Or Not

QuickCheck: Was a KLIA bomb hoax just a student's prank?

A BOMB scare was triggered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Tuesday (Dec 2), causing a flight to be delayed.

True Or Not

QuickCheck: Has Tabung Haji authorised anyone to offer 'haj by proxy' services?

AN advertisement circulating on social media is offering badal haji (haj by proxy) services for a fee.

Nation

Student from China killed in accident near JB

JOHOR BARU: A teenager was killed after his motorcycle grazed the rear tyre of a moving lorry.

Technology

Russia blocks Apple's FaceTime in mounting push against foreign tech platforms

Dec 4 (Reuters) - Russia has blocked Apple's video-calling app FaceTime, the state communications watchdog said on Thursday, as part of an accelerating clampdown on foreign tech platforms that authorities allege are being used for criminal activity.

Sabah & Sarawak

Sabah tourism minister, assistant pledge united push for industry growth

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's newly appointed Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin and his assistant minister Dr Andi Md Shamsureezal have pledged to work as a team to strengthen and expand the state's tourism industry.

Gadgets

Logitech CEO says AI devices are solutions looking for problems

Logitech International SA's chief executive officer said the computer accessory maker is done for now with price hikes, while dismissing other hardware makers' rush to build artificial intelligence-centric gadgets.

China

Magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes China's Xinjiang region

BEIJING: China reported on Thursday (Dec 4) a magnitude 6.0 earthquake in Xinjiang, a region in the country's northwest that shares a border with Kyrgyzstan, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said.

World

Putin says Russia will take all of Ukraine's Donbas region militarily or otherwise

MOSCOW, Dec 4 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published on Thursday that Russia would take full control of Ukraine's Donbas region by force unless Ukrainian forces withdraw, something Kyiv has flatly rejected.

World

Aid workers stand trial in Greece on migrant smuggling charges

ATHENS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Two dozen aid workers went on trial in Greece on Thursday on charges including migrant smuggling, in a case that rights groups have dismissed as a baseless attempt to outlaw aid for refugees heading to Europe. 

Indonesia

Rain forecasts raise fears in flood-hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka

SIBOLGA, (Indonesia): Rain forecasts on Thursday (Dec 4) raised fears of more damage in flood-hit Indonesia and Sri Lanka, after earlier deluges killed more than 1,500 people in four countries.

World

South Africa vows not to bend to US pressure after G20 snub

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 4 (Reuters) - South Africa will not bow to U.S. pressure to change its policies on race, Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said on Thursday, after Washington confirmed that Pretoria would be excluded from the G20 under its presidency.

South Korea

Seoul says six nationals held in North Korea, vows to help them

SEOUL: South Korea's presidential office confirmed Thursday (Dec 4) that six of its citizens have been captive in North Korea for years, after President Lee Jae Myung appeared unaware of their plight during a briefing with foreign media.

Commodities

Gold slips as investors turn cautious ahead of Fed meeting

GOLD dipped on Thursday as investors booked profits and turned cautious ahead of next week's U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, awaiting data for clearer cues on the central bank's interest rate outlook.

Brunei

Brunei Sultan receives in audience Indonesian army special forces commander

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on Thursday (Dec 4) received in audience Commander of the Indonesian National Army Special Forces Command (KOPASSUS TNI-AD) Lieutenant General TNI Djon Afriandi, S.I.P., MS.DA.

Technology

Apple design executive Alan Dye poached by Meta in major coup

Dye's exit is a major loss for Apple, which was already coping with some critical departures in recent weeks.

Sabah & Sarawak

Zara Qairina inquest: Discipline teacher denies she is protecting anyone

KOTA KINABALU: A discipline teacher at SMK Agama Tun Datu Mustapha has told the Coroner's Court here that she had no ill intentions and was not attempting to "protect" any party in relation to the death of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir.

Cambodia

Cambodian-Thai working groups plant 44 out of 277 temporary border posts between markers 42 and 43

PHNOM PENH: A Cambodia-Thailand working group planted 44 of 277 temporary border posts between border posts 42 and 43, a process that took place from November 28 to December 3, 2025.