Thailand

Conditions for a red–blue coalition government deal in Thailand

Post-election maths points to a Pheu Thai–Bhumjaithai coalition. Key conditions include reconciling old disputes and pending high-profile cases.

Nation

Johor and S'pore reaffirm bilateral ties

JOHOR BARU: Johor and Singapore have reaffirmed bilateral ties following a meeting between the state's Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and the island republic's Home Minister K. Shanmugam here.

Markets

Stocks, dollar take tariff hit; gold gets safety bid

SYDNEY: Stock markets slid in Asia on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap extra tariffs on eight European nations until the U.S. was allowed to buy Greenland, pushing the dollar down against the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc.

Nation

Thai van driver charged over fatal crash in Napoh

JITRA: A Thai van driver was charged at the Magistrate's Court here on a charge of dangerous driving that resulted in the death of a girl in Napoh, last Thursday (Jan 15).

Cambodia

Cambodian UN ambassador reiterates Kingdom’s commitment to international law

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia remains committed to international law and upholding the UN Charter, although it has observed that violations of state sovereignty, encroachment on and occupation of territorial integrity, remain unabated.

South Korea

Former PM Yoon administration staff linked to alleged North Korea drone intrusion

SEOUL: Two civilians suspected of involvement in sending a drone into North Korea were found to have previously worked at the presidential office under the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

Corporate News

Malaysian economy to stay resilient in 2026 on FDI, robust infrastructure investment- HSBC 

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's economy is expected to remain resilient this year, driven by the ongoing foreign direct investment (FDI) and robust infrastructure investment, said HSBC chief Asia economist Frederic Neumann.

Metro News

Rapid On-Demand expands: 53 new zones and 300 electric vans planned

PRASARANA Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) will be adding 53 new zones to its Rapid On-Demand service, which is currently available in the Klang Valley and Penang.

AseanPlus News

Australian woman wakes up to find 2.5m python on her chest

CANBERRA: When an Australian woman woke up from her sleep in the middle of the night with a weight on her body, she thought it was one of her pet dogs. To her shock, it was a 2.5m python.

Tennis

Tennis-Tennis Australia defends prize money amid player complaints

MELBOURNE, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Governing ‌body Tennis Australia (TA) has defended the amount of prize money on offer at ‌the Australian Open as twice Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff warned that players ‌would raise the pressure if their demands were not met.

Nation

Education, people's well-being are vital focuses of 13MP, King decrees

KUALA LUMPUR: Education, housing, healthcare and public transport must be given priority in the implementation of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), which begins this year, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, has decreed.

Nation

Johor records RM102bil in approved investments for 2025, highest among states

PASIR GUDANG: Johor is confident of achieving the highest annual approved investment inflow recorded by any Malaysian state in 2025, with an estimate of RM102bil.

India

Engineer in India drowns after waiting nearly two hours for rescue as car falls into pit at mall site

NEW DELHI: In a tragic incident that exposed the serious administrative failure, a 27-year-old software engineer died after his car plunged into a flooded pit dug for a commercial mall in Sector 150 of Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Sabah & Sarawak

Four nabbed in separate Tawau threat cases

KOTA KINABALU: Four men were arrested in separate operations for allegedly threatening to hurt people in the Tawau district.

Nation

Man who allegedly beat a child with a chair granted bail

PETALING JAYA: A 38-year-old man who allegedly beat a child with a chair has been granted police bail.

Myanmar

Myanmar's solar market grows with Chinese innovation

YANGON: Under the bright lights of Yangon's exhibition halls, rows of solar panels, inverters, and energy storage systems glint with promise, reflecting China's growing role in Myanmar's quest for reliable electricity.

AI

OpenAI introducing ads to ChatGPT

OpenAI announced on Jan 16 it will begin testing advertisements on ChatGPT in the coming weeks, as the wildly popular artificial intelligence chatbot seeks to increase revenue to cover its soaring costs.

Nation

Nadia Kesuma laid to rest in Jeddah after subuh prayer

GEORGE TOWN: The late actress Nadia Kesuma was buried in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after the subuh (dawn) prayer at 5.44 am local time on Monday (Jan 20).

Nation

Rapper Namewee claims trial for possessing ED drug, meth

KUALA LUMPUR: Controversial rapper Namewee is on trial at the Magistrate's Court here for alleged drug possession at a hotel last October.

Markets

FBM KLCI slips as traders turn cautious on growing geopolitical tension

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI remained slightly negative at midday as traders held off on buying equities amid the escalating geopolitical tension between the US and EU over the weekend.