Indonesia

Indonesia ends search for Spanish boy missing since boat sinking

Indonesian authorities ended the search on Friday for the final passenger missing from a tourist boat that sank in rough seas two weeks ago, officials said.

AseanPlus News

Vietnam shrugs off Trump tariffs as US exports surge to whopping numbers

Over the whine of buzzsaws and the steady whir of sanders, hundreds of Vietnamese workers in a factory outside Ho Chi Minh City hustle to fill orders for high-end furniture.

Corporate News

Meta Bright acquires Damai Suites shoplot for RM3.5mil

PETALING JAYA: Property firm Meta Bright Group Bhd has proposed to acquire a shoplot unit for RM3.5mil located in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in a related party transaction between the company's wholly owned subsidiary, FBO Land, and its 70%-owned indirect subsidiary, CCF Development.

Philippines

One dead and dozens of people missing after Philippine dump site collapse

Rescue workers searched on Friday for dozens of people buried under a mountain of garbage that collapsed at a landfill in the central Philippines, killing at least one.

World

Widespread power cuts, travel disrupted as Storm Goretti hammers northern Europe

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World

Meloni urges Europe to talk to Russia, sees no swift return to G8

ROME, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Europe should reopen ‌dialogue with Russia, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday, adding that ‌it was far too soon to discuss welcoming Moscow back into the Group ‌of Eight leading nations.

Wellness

Microplastics weaken biological barrier that protects brain 

These minuscule bits of plastic cause the blood-brain barrier to become leaky.

Cambodia

Cambodia pushes back on Thai scam strikes, seeks to cool the border issues

Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol said his country wants to "lower the temperature" in its dispute with Thailand to protect a fragile ceasefire.

Technology

Musk's AI bot Grok limits image generation on X to paid users after backlash

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's startup ‌xAI has restricted the image generation function on its Grok chatbot ‌on social media platform X to paid subscribers, after the tool's use ‌of AI to create sexualized images sparked a widespread backlash.

World

Women bearing the brunt of Sudan's acute hunger crisis, UN says

GENEVA, Jan ‌9 (Reuters) - Women are bearing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis ‌in Sudan, with the majority of female-headed households not having enough ‌food to eat, the U.N. said on Friday.

AseanPlus News

Tokyo police investigating deadly stabbing of audio equipment company president as murder case

A man was found collapsed and bleeding inside a locked apartment in Ota Ward, Tokyo, at about 10.40am local time on Jan 8, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Arts

Weekend for the arts: 'Amadeus Live', 'Rupa' exhibition, 'Kelah Buku'

A list of arts and culture events to check out in the Klang Valley this weekend and beyond

World

Munich Security conference head defends inviting German far-right party

BERLIN, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The head ‌of the Munich Security Conference defended a decision to invite the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to this ‌year's meeting in February after repeated U.S accusations that European states and institutions were suppressing free speech.

Business

PETRONAS Lubricants International launches engine products at Tokyo Auto Show

KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Lubricants International (PLI) has launched two engine lubricants at the Tokyo Auto Salon car show, reinforcing PLI's commitment to delivering advanced, high-performance solutions specifically tailored for the Japanese market.

Japan

Japan insecticide firm holds memorial service to honour bugs killed during product testing

Unusual 40-year-old tradition sees monk chant and employees pray for dead cockroaches, mites and fleas; critics find ceremony 'ironic'

Technology

EU considers making WhatsApp more responsible for tackling harmful content, spokesperson says

BRUSSELS, Jan ‌9 (Reuters) - The European ‌Commission is considering recategorizing ‌Meta's WhatsApp messaging service to make it more responsible ‍for tackling illegal ‍and harmful ‌content, a spokesperson for the ‍commission ​said on Friday.

World

Meloni rules out U.S. military move on Greenland, urges strong NATO Arctic presence

ROME, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Italian ‌Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday she did not ‌believe the United States would use military force to ‌seize Greenland, warning that such a move would have grave consequences for NATO.

World

Kurdish groups reject Aleppo withdrawal as US pushes to end fighting

ALEPPO, Syria, Jan 9 (Reuters) - ‌Kurdish groups in Aleppo vowed to defend their neighbourhoods from government forces on Friday, rejecting ceasefire terms declared by ‌Damascus that demand Kurdish fighters withdraw from the Syrian city where clashes have raged this week.

World

Trump's Venezuela focus frustrates top aides worried about midterm elections

WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's focus on the brazen U.S. capture of ‌Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is frustrating some White House aides and Republican lawmakers, who want him to address economic and healthcare concerns in an election year, according to three people familiar with the matter.

World

Before fatal ICE shooting, Minnesota had become Trump target

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Months before a U.S. immigration agent fatally shot a ‌motorist in Minnesota on Wednesday, President Donald Trump had fixated on the state, repeatedly criticizing its Democratic leaders and the large Somali-American community there.