IT starts small: A smartphone bought on an instalment scheme, or a few online purchases split into easy payments, and maybe a short-term loan to get through the month.

THERE has been such a whirlpool of opinions about the Cabinet reshuffle and almost everyone had something to say about it because it was such a sweeping shake-up.

I grew up in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur. My family moved there in the late 1980s, when the name "Sentul" meant very different things from what it does today.

Friedrich Merz did not mince words. Speaking to his party faithful in Munich at the Christian Democratic Union party conference last week, Germany's chancellor declared that Pax Americana, as Europe had known it, was over.

FIRST impressions count. In a five-star hotel, customer experience is paramount especially at the front office – the first point of contact if you want your clients to be repeat customers.

THE Prussian field marshal, Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, renowned for having laid the groundwork for modern warfare, is said to have observed that no plan survives first contact with the enemy.

FROM LIONG KAM CHONG Seremban

THE Impact Arena in Nonthaburi is primarily a trade and exhibition centre.

YOUTH and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh sent off the Malaysian athletes to the SEA Games in Thailand. But they will be welcomed back by a new minister when the biennial event concludes on Sunday.

IT'S been two weeks since a special task force from Bukit Aman took over the probe into the fatal shooting of three men in Durian Tunggal, Melaka, the outcome of which would be crucial for police credibility.

AFTER a tumultuous week for Arne Slot, the noise died down slightly on Saturday as Liverpool returned to winning ways following two consecutive Premier League draws.

IN my second year as a member of Universiti Kebangsaan Malay­sia's (UKM) board of governors, I remember whispering to a fellow member that I had never in my entire life attended so many dance performances before I was appointed to the post.