Philippines

Couple, helper charged with murder of Philippine cop, son

MANILA: The Quezon City police have filed murder charges against a car agent, her husband, and their helper for allegedly killing Police Senior Master Sgt Diane Marie Mollenido and her son, 8-year-old John Ysmael, over a car deal scam.

Nation

12 cops held over RM200,000 crypto theft

PETALING JAYA: Twelve police personnel, four of them from Bukit Aman headquarters, have been arrested for allegedly stealing about RM200,000 in cryptocurrency.

South Korea

South Korean court hands life term to ex‑President Yoon in insurrection trial (update)

SEOUL: A South Korean court ordered life in jail on Thursday (Feb 19) for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, after holding him guilty on charges of abuse of authority and masterminding an insurrection, stemming from his December 2024 attempt to impose martial law.

Nation

Michelle Yeoh immortalised in Hollywood Walk of Fame

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian-born actress Michelle Yeoh, who has made a name for herself in Hollywood, continues to bring pride to the nation.

Singapore

BTS fans targeted by scammers ahead of K-pop group’s world tour concerts

SINGAPORE: Scammers are targeting fans of BTS ahead of the K-pop group's highly anticipated Arirang World Tour.

Nation

Former Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid passes away

SHAH ALAM: Former chief justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad died at the age of 84 at the National University of Malaysia (HUKM) Hospital on Thursday (Feb 19).

Cambodia

Cambodian ministry calls for safe disposal of contaminated meat

PHNOM PENH: The Ministry of Environment has called for authorities to ensure that when contaminated or spoiled meat products are seized, they are disposed of in ways that will avoid any harm to public health or the environment.

Nation

115 tonnes of e-waste plastic powder seized from Senawang factory

SEREMBAN: The authorities have seized 115 tonnes of refined plastic powder, believed to have been processed from electronic waste, from a factory in Senawang, says state CPO Deputy Comm Datuk Alzafny Ahmad.

Technology

Indian professor's robot dog claim at AI summit sparks uproar

An Indian professor has sparked ridicule after falsely suggesting a Chinese-made robot dog displayed at a major AI summit in New Delhi was developed by her university.

China

Five children among victims of China fireworks shop explosion

BEIJING: 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 Thursday (Feb 19).

Nation

Pahang Customs seize e-waste in eight containers worth over RM2mil

PORT KLANG: The Customs Department has crippled an electronic waste (e-waste) smuggling syndicate with the seizure of eight containers valued at an estimated RM2.15mil in a raid at North Port on Feb 3.

India

Tech chiefs address India AI summit as Bill Gates cancels

NEW DELHI: Indian leader Narendra Modi and tech chiefs including OpenAI's Sam Altman will speak Thursday (Feb 19) on artificial intelligence's opportunities and threats at a summit in New Delhi, but Microsoft founder Bill Gates cancelled just hours before his speech.

Indonesia

Indonesia, US firms sign over US$7bil in trade, investment deals

WASHINGTON: Indonesian and US companies on Wednesday(Feb 18) signed deals valued at more than US$7 billion a day ahead of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's meeting with US President Donald Trump to sign a final trade pact, the US-Asean Business Council said.

Nation

Gov't to continue efforts to upgrade dilapidated military, police quarters, says Anwar

PUTRAJAYA: The government will continue to prioritise upgrading dilapidated military and police quarters to ensure the comfort and welfare of security personnel, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He said that under the plans currently being discussed, several improvements to the quarters have already been implemented.

Commodities

Oil prices extend gains on concerns of potential US-Iran conflict

TOKYO: Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Thursday as the U.S. and Iran attempted to ease a standoff in talks over Tehran's nuclear programme while both sides heightened military activity in the key oil-producing region.

Markets

Continued buying in financial heavyweights lifts Bursa Malaysia at midday

KUALA LUMPUR: Persistent buying interest in financial heavyweights continued to boost Bursa Malaysia at midday, further supported by the ringgit's steady performance against the US dollar.

Philippines

Fourth impeachment complaint filed against Philippine VP Sara Duterte

MANILA: Philippine Vice President and freshly declared presidential candidate Sara Duterte is facing a fourth impeachment case against her, documents seen by AFP on Thursday (Feb 19) show.

Brunei

Bank supports Brunei's renewable energy plans with second solar financing project

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Baiduri Bank has strengthened its role in Brunei Darussalam's renewable energy landscape by financing the development of a 12-megawatt peak (MWp) ground-mounted solar photovoltaic plant at Sungai Liang Industrial Park (SPARK).

AI

US tech giant Nvidia announces India deals at AI summit

US artificial intelligence chip titan Nvidia unveiled tie-ups with Indian computing firms on Wednesday as tech companies rushed to announce deals and investments at a global AI conference in New Delhi.

Technology

India's Tata signs up OpenAI as customer for data centre business

NEW DELHI, Feb ⁠19 (Reuters) - OpenAI will become the first ⁠customer of India's Tata Consultancy Services' data ‌centre business, beginning with 100 megawatts of capacity, part of the global AI infrastructure initiative Stargate, the ​companies said.