World

China donates medical supplies to Burundi

BUJUMBURA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Burundi on Thursday donated medical supplies to the Burundian government to help the East African nation achieve sustainable development goals as well as its development vision.

World

2nd LD Writethru: Explosion, fire in Utrecht injures at least four

THE HAGUE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were injured in an explosion and major fire in the Dutch city of Utrecht on Thursday afternoon, local authorities said.

World

Macron says France now providing two thirds of intelligence to Ukraine

PARIS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - ‌President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France was now providing two-thirds ‌of intelligence information to Ukraine, largely replacing the United States, which until ‌last year had delivered the bulk of those services.

World

Trump sees Iranian crackdown easing, Tehran denies man to be executed

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he ‌had been told that killings in Iran's crackdown on protests were easing and that he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions, adopting a wait‑and‑see posture after earlier threatening intervention.

Basketball

US charges 26 people with rigging college, Chinese basketball games

NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Pennsylvania ‌federal prosecutors on Thursday announced charges against 26 people for allegedly rigging bets on college and ‌Chinese professional basketball games, the latest case to accuse athletes of cheating at legalized sports betting ‌that has exploded in popularity in the U.S. 

World

Gas leak blast demolishes houses in Dutch town of Utrecht, no deaths reported

UTRECHT, Netherlands, ‌Jan 15 (Reuters) - A gas leak triggered ‌a powerful explosion that destroyed several ‌houses in the central Dutch city of Utrecht on Thursday, injuring four people, local ‍authorities said.

World

UK GDP edges up 0.1 percent in September-November period: ONS

LONDON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Britain's economy expanded marginally during the period from September to November 2025, with real gross domestic product (GDP) rising by 0.1 percent compared with the three months to August, estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Thursday.

World

1st LD Writethru: Explosion and fire broke out in Dutch city Utrecht

THE HAGUE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- An explosion and subsequent fire broke out in Utrecht, the Netherlands on Thursday afternoon, local media reported.

World

IMF needs voting majority of members to recognize Venezuela government to restore ties

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - ‌The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday ‌that any re-engagement with Venezuela following ‌the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro would depend on member governments representing a majority of IMF voting ‍power recognizing a successor regime.

World

Russia destroys large energy facility in Kharkiv, mayor says

KYIV, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Russian ‌forces have destroyed a large energy facility in Ukraine's ‌second-biggest city Kharkiv, the mayor said on Thursday, the latest ‌target of a winter air campaign by Moscow that has plunged millions of Ukrainians into darkness and cold.

Other Sports

Rallying-Ekstrom wins Dakar stage 11 as Al-Attiyah stays on top

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Nasser Al-Attiyah remained on ‌course for a sixth career Dakar Rally win in the top car category after last year's ‌runner-up Henk Lategan hit more trouble in the Saudi Arabian desert on Thursday.

World

Putin says the world is getting more dangerous but is silent on Maduro and Iran

MOSCOW, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Russian ‌President Vladimir said on Thursday that the international ‌situation had deteriorated and that the world was getting ‌more dangerous but he was silent on the situation in Venezuela and Iran.

Technology

Canada privacy watchdog expands probe into X, cites Grok deepfakes

Jan ‌15 (Reuters) - Canada's ‌privacy watchdog said ‌on Thursday it was expanding an ‍existing probe ‍into X ‌following reports that ‍the ​social media ⁠platform's Grok AI chatbot ‌was making non-consensual ⁠sexually ‍explicit deepfakes.

World

US imposes sanctions on Iran over crackdown on protesters

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The ‌United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Iranian officials it accused of ‌being behind the crackdown on protests and warned it was tracking Iranian ‌leaders' funds being wired to banks around the world, as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration increases pressure on Tehran.

Technology

Verizon offers $20 credit to customers affected by massive wireless outage

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Verizon ‌Communications said on Thursday it is offering a $20 credit to hundreds of ‌thousands of customers impacted by its 10-hour outage on Wednesday that ‌the U.S. wireless company said was caused by a software issue.

AseanPlus News

Asean News Headlines at 10pm on Thursday (Jan 15, 2026)

Here's a look at the news highlights from Asean countries in the Star-AseanPlus section for Thursday (Jan 15, 2026)

Malaysia

Subsidised fares for flights to Sabah, Sarawak for Chinese New Year

Local airlines introduce promotional prices to support festive season travel within Malaysia.

Nation

FMT journalist apologises for question posed at lecture

PETALING JAYA: The journalist whose question posed a lecture here caused a controversy has issued a full apology.

Football

Soccer-Chelsea working to contain illness in squad ahead of Brentford clash, says Rosenior

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Chelsea are working to ‌ensure that more players are not affected by an illness that has sidelined Liam Delap ‌and Jamie Gittens as well as some staff members ahead of their Premier League ‌meeting with Brentford, head coach Liam Rosenior said on Thursday.

Other Sports

Alpine skiing-Vonn launches social media search mission after ski pole goes missing

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Lindsey ‌Vonn may be dominating World Cup downhills at ‌41, but even the U.S. speed queen ‌is not immune to missing equipment.