Author: News Desk

Central bank says Southeast Asian economy on track for robust investment, exports and household spending going forward.Malaysia’s economy grew 5.1 percent in 2024, as strong domestic demand and investment offset a downturn in the commodities sector, according to the Southeast Asian country’s central bank. Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 5 percent in the October-December quarter, Bank Negara Malaysia said on Friday, down from 5.3 percent growth in the third quarter but ahead of an advance estimate of 4.8 percent. The year on year performance marked a significant jump from GDP growth of 3.7 percent in 2023. “Going forward, while the…

Helping firms navigate the future of work Background: Providing work-based solutions and AI-driven services assisting organisations to adapt to the changing world of work.Kevin Empey’s work involves creating tailored and future-fit workforce solutions designed to attract and retain talent, and maintain employee engagement and productivity, while also helping to build adaptive organisation and employment models for the future. “My role in Lockton is to support our clients address the key people challenges they face in a rapidly changing workplace,” he explains. “All our work is about improving cost-effectiveness and resolving immediate people challenges today while also ensuring any solutions are helping…

Syria’s quest for national unity seems simple enough on paper, principles of diversity & inclusivity almost perfect. But the reality is significantly different where you have 10 years of prisoners having to sit across their captives and persecutors. Syria’s quest for national unity The Paris conference to chart Syria’s political future will include all segments of Syrian society except for the Kurdish-led administration in the northeast and loyalists of the repressive former government of Bashar Assad. Interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa has promised to launch an inclusive political process to set up a new constitution and representative government for all Syrians.…

Danielle Sassoon, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, handed her resignation on Thursday after acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a former Trump lawyer, ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors to throw out the corruption charges filed against New York Mayor Eric Adams. Top prosecutor resigns over New York mayor corruption case dismissal

French President Emmanuel Macron described Donald Trump’s return to the White House as an “electroshock” that should force Europe to secure its own future as well as Ukraine’s, in an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday. The French president warned against peace in Ukraine that would amount to “capitulation”. Macron: 'Peace that is a capitulation' in Ukraine would be 'bad news' for all

At least 28 injured after attack in Munich after a car has driven into a group of people in Munich, Germany, local police confirmed on Thursday. At least 28 people are said to be injured, some who are in critical condition. Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder has said the incident is a “suspected attack.” Find the latest updates below. Facts we know from the Munich attack Afghan asylum seeker The man has been identified as a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker drove at a group of people in Munich, Germany police say, injuring at least 28 Just before 11:00 on Thursday morning, a man…

There’s an important deadline for the people who live in the municipality of Madrid. Vulnerable people will not pay the garbage rate in Madrid. The deadline to apply for those reduction is Feb 28. It is available for large families, vulnerable people receiving the low incomes or government support (IMV) and owners of empty or unused housing owners can request this reduction, which will be 100% in the case of the most disadvantaged. Madrid’s municipal spokeswoman, Inma Sanz, explained at the press conference after the Governing Board that large families will benefit from a reduction similar to that in the…

Up to 1,400 killed in Bangladesh protests crackdown. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Wednesday that officials from Bangladesh’s former government systematically committed serious human rights violations as they tried to suppress anti-government protesters that ultimately toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government last year.  Bangladesh protesters struggle to recover from injuries Presenting results from a fact-finding mission, Turk also told reporters in Geneva that crimes against humanity may have been carried out. The report included testimony from senior Bangladesh officials and other evidence showing an official policy to attack and violently repress anti-government protesters and sympathizers. What…

A grenade thrown into bar in olympic village injures more than 10 people who were seriously wounded, after a grenade was thrown into a bar during happy hour in the city of Grenoble, France. Grenade thrown into bar in olympic village The incident occurred shortly after 8:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) at the bar in the Olympic Village neighbourhood, built when the city hosted the 1968 Winter Olympics. “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the criminal act of unprecedented violence that took place in a shop in the Olympic Village district, which caused more than 10 injuries, several of them…

As the African Union (AU) is preparing to elect its next commission chairperson in February. Three key contenders are now in the spotlight to fill Africa’s top diplomatic seat so who can fix Africa’s problems? There’s a few key issues that any leader must contend with; unity between AU member states and managing the relationship with super powers, whilst ensuring the capitalist structure does not rape every resource from Africa’s continent. whilst finding a path so Africa must break free from foreign aid dependence. One is Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, a seasoned diplomat who is used to navigating…