Insurance

LIAM appoints Pauline Teoh as new president

KUALA LUMPUR: The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) has appointed Zurich Life Insurance Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer (CEO), Pauline Teoh, as its new president.

AseanPlus News

Australians cancel Easter travel as worries mount over fuel crisis

SYDNEY: Every Easter, Sydney retiree Elsa Ulcak is one of the millions of Australians that hit the road to travel during the four-day-long weekend.

Football

Soccer-Portugal to finish World Cup preparations with Nigeria friendly

April 3 (Reuters) - Portugal ⁠will complete their World Cup preparations ⁠with a friendly against Nigeria on ‌June 10, the Portuguese Football Federation said.

Sabah & Sarawak

'Targeted fuel relief policy can ease travel costs'

KOTA KINABALU: The government plans to introduce targeted measures to cushion the impact of rising fuel surcharges on the travel sector, cautioning that outbound tour package prices could climb by 10% to 30% in the coming months.

Markets

Malaysian pharmacy group Big Caring files IPO draft prospectus

KUALA LUMPUR: The operator of Malaysia's largest pharmacy chain, Big Caring Group, is planning an initial public offering, a preliminary prospectus filed with the securities regulator showed.

Nation

Family seeks help to find missing mother

PETALING JAYA: A 75-year-old woman with dementia has been reported missing after she wandered off from a care centre on Thursday evening.

Nation

Mother and three others charged with murdering eight-year-old girl in Taiping

TAIPING: A mother, along with three other relatives of the victim, have been charged in the Magistrate's Court here with murdering an eight-year-old girl.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh cuts working hours to save energy amid Middle East crisis

DHAKA: Bangladesh has launched fresh measures to curb energy consumption, cutting office hours and trimming public spending as conflict in the Middle East disrupts global fuel markets and strains power supply in the South Asian nation.

Cybersecurity

A US$280mil crypto hack exposes a human weak link in DeFi

Drift, a decentralised finance project built on the Solana blockchain, was hit by a hack that drained nearly US$300mil (RM1.21bil) in digital assets from the protocol, ranking it among the largest exploits in the history of crypto.

Economy

New forces reshape how China buys

CHINA's move to cultivate new quality productive forces will help boost domestic demand, encouraging a shift from mass consumption to "personalised, high-quality" consumption, analysts say.

South Korea

South Korea's Lee urges US visa reforms, raises defence role in talks with senators

SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday (April 2) urged visiting US lawmakers to improve visa policies for Korean workers to prevent a recurrence of last year's detentions of Korean nationals in a raid at a Hyundai Motor facility in the state of Georgia.

India

India's 'Mounjaro brides': weight-loss injections become part of pre-wedding preparation

HYDERABAD, India: Soon-to-be brides and grooms seeking shortcuts to shed pounds before the big day have become the latest consumer target for weight-loss drugs in India.

Nation

Low impact to RTS Link from Middle East conflict, says Loke

JOHOR BARU: The global geopolitical situation and conflict in the Middle East have a minimal impact on the progress of the ongoing Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) project connecting Johor Baru and Singapore by rail.

Brunei

Six apprentices start Brunei aviation journey

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) yesterday marked a significant milestone in its talent development journey with the Engineering Apprentice Intake 30 Signing Ceremony at the RB Campus.

Entertainment

Singaporean singer Shazza is a ‘kinder, better person’ because of her family cat Rayyan

Rayyan, a 12-year-old former stray, has taught the singer to be more patient, responsible and deeply present in her own life.

AI

Doctors couldn’t help them. They rolled the dice with AI.

Some women with complex chronic illnesses are using chatbots to search for diagnoses or relief from their symptoms.

Laos

Laos promotes mine awareness with focus on youth participation

VIENTIANE: Laos observed the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, highlighting the role of youth and global partnerships in efforts to address unexploded ordnance.

Nation

Proposed RTS Link fare to be presented to M'sia, S'pore govts in Q3, says Loke

JOHOR BARU: The proposed fare for the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) is expected to be presented to both the Malaysian and Singapore governments in the third quarter of this year, says Anthony Loke.

Aviation

MAG to expand mainline fleet to 116 aircraft, serving 106 destinations by 2035

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) plans to expand its mainline fleet to 116 aircraft, serving 106 destinations by 2035, said its president and group chief executive officer (CEO), Captain Nasaruddin A Bakar.

Myanmar

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing elected president by pro-military parliament

YANGON: Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing (pic) won a parliamentary vote on Friday (April 3) to become the country's president, formalising his grip on political power in the war-torn nation five years after he ousted an elected government.