Indonesia

Lab tests reveal E. coli contamination in free meals that sickened 800 students in Central Java

JAKARTA: Laboratory tests have confirmed E. coli contamination in food and water served under the free nutritious meal programme that sickened more than 800 students in Grobogan, Central Java earlier this month.

Nation

Action against over 3,600 overloaded lorries shows concerning trend, says Loke

KUALA LUMPUR: Action was taken against 3,604 overloaded heavy vehicles between October and December last year, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

Laos

Lao Bullion Bank, Japan link Laos’ gold market to global bullion trade

VIENTIANE: The Lao Bullion Bank (LBB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Japan Bullion Market Association (JBMA) to support the development of Laos' gold market and strengthen links with international bullion trading

Nation

Businessman claims trial to cheating amounting to nearly RM40,000

IPOH: A businessman has been charged at the Magistrate's Court here for cheating a factory owner of about RM38,943.

True Or Not

QuickCheck: Did an e-scooter rider crash into a car on a main road in Penang?

A 31-SECOND video circulating on social media shows a dramatic collision at a road junction.

Nation

Misconduct by few should not undermine Armed Forces integrity, says Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: The recent cases of corruption and misuse of public funds involving several senior military officers must not undermine the overall integrity of the Armed Forces and other enforcement agencies, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Nation

Unesco World Heritage nominations for Chinese new villages made by NGO, says Nga

KUALA LUMPUR: The nomination of selected Chinese new villages for Unesco World Heritage status was made by the International Council of Monuments and Sites (Icomos) Malaysia and not directly by the Housing and Local Government Ministry, says its minister Nga Kor Ming.

Sabah & Sarawak

Online check-in among future AirBorneo services, says state minister

KUCHING: Sarawak-owned AirBorneo will provide online check-in services soon for better passenger convenience, says state Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin.

Singapore

US approves US$2.bil sale of aircraft, torpedoes to Singapore

WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday (Jan 20) announced the approval of a US$2.3 billion sale of P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, torpedoes and related equipment to Singapore.

South Korea

Mother climbs down wall of building to rescue kids from burning home in South Korea

GWANGYANG, South Korea: A woman in her 40s carried out a perilous rescue in South Korea's South Jeolla Province on Jan 19, climbing down the exterior wall of an apartment building to reach her three young children trapped inside their burning home.

Nation

Overhauled defence policies to benefit local industry, says Mohamed Khaled

KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Ministry will no longer allow original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to carry out maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work on defence assets once their warranty periods expire, under major policy reforms unveiled on Wednesday (Jan 21).

True Or Not

QuickCheck: Were four tigers caught on camera eating a cow in Tanjung Rambutan?

A 20-SECOND video showing four tigers feasting on a cow has been circulating on social media for the past two days.

Philippines

It’s city jail for former Philippine senator Revilla and six others in flood control project mess

MANILA: Seven years after his 2018 acquittal in a case arising from the pork barrel scam, former Sen Ramon Revilla Jr is back in jail, this time for graft and malversation charges over a flood control project in Bulacan.

Myanmar

Over 17,000 migratory waterbirds winter at Myanmar's largest freshwater lake

YANGON: More than 17,000 migratory waterbirds of 29 species are spending the winter at Indawgyi Lake, Myanmar's largest freshwater lake in Kachin state, an official said on Tuesday (Jan 20).

Brunei

Training enhances knowledge of traditional Malay massage in Brunei

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Some 15 participants completed the Traditional Malay Massage Course Levels 1 and 2, with a Certificate Presentation Ceremony held to mark the completion.

Nation

ART deal crucial to secure future of semiconductor industry, says Johari

KUALA LUMPUR: The Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) was crucial to secure the future of the Malaysian semiconductor industry, where the US is the largest export destination, says Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

AI

DeepSeek technique to improve AI’s ability to ‘read’ long texts questioned by new research

AI models face a critical limitation known as the long-context bottleneck, which restricts their ability to process lengthy documents.

Entertainment

David Beckham speaks out after son Brooklyn blasts him and Victoria

On Monday, Brooklyn told his 16.5 million followers, via his Instagram Story, that he did 'not want to reconcile with my family'.

India

India PM Modi's party elects youngest-ever president with eye to youth vote

MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chose a little-known legislator from India's poorest state as the party's youngest president on Tuesday (Jan 20), a generational shift in the effort to retain young voters.

Philippines

Philippines to restore access to Grok after developer commits to safety fixes

MANILA: The Philippines will restore access to Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok following commitments from its developer to remove image-manipulation tools that previously raised child safety concerns, its cybercrime investigation unit said on Wednesday (Jan 21).