PETALING JAYA: Field visits by the Education Ministry have shown that students from Dual Language Programme (DLP) schools did not achieve a basic level of proficiency in Bahasa Melayu (BM) and their mother tongue. Therefore, schools that have agreed to DLP implementation must ensure the fulfilment of all criteria including …

TOKYO: Oil prices fell on Thursday as concerns over low demand following a surprise U.S. crude inventory build outweighed jitters over global trade disruptions due to tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures fell 3 cents to $79.67 a barrel by 0753 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude …

BANGKOK (Reuters) – The Thai parliament is set to begin deliberating four draft bills on same-sex marriage, moving the country closer towards its legalisation with the first vote on the bills expected later on Thursday. The deliberation comes after parliament last year debated similar draft laws and the previous government’s …

KOTA KINABALU: Gold mining activities in Tawau have not caused any poisoning contrary to claims by some quarters, says the Sabah Health Department. Its director Datuk Dr Asits Sanna said a probe conducted following reports of villagers falling ill due to alleged toxin inhalation near the Bukit Mantri mining site …

Emerging Asian stocks and currencies were largely mixed on Thursday, as the rally fuelled by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s dovish turn came to a stall, while Indonesia’s rupiah maintained its losses after its central bank kept rates steady. The rupiah was last down 0.1%, slipping for a second straight day. …

KUALA LUMPUR: The administrative status of the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra), whether it remains under the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM) or otherwise, will be announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim soon, says Datuk R. Ramanan. The Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister R. Ramanan said he would …

WARSAW (Reuters) – The new Polish government led by Donald Tusk is implementing reforms of state media that amount to “anarchy”, the president said on Thursday, amid rising tensions between the head of state and a new pro-European Union administration. The swearing-in of a government led former European Council President …

PUTRAJAYA: Options remain open for Malaysia to have legislation in place to deal with transboundary haze but the law must help in tackling the issue, says Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister said it was important for Malaysia to have “meaningful legislation” to deal with …

TOKYO: Sales of Sony’s PlayStation 5 have crossed 50 million units, the Japanese electronics giant said, pointing to “strong momentum” this year for its flagship gaming console. The PS5 was launched in November 2020, with the world in the grip of the Covid pandemic, and its sales initially suffered because …

KUALA LUMPUR: Port Klang Authority and Westports Holdings Bhd will evaluate the ramifications of prohibiting Israeli cargo shipping operator Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd vessels from docking in Port Klang following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s directive yesterday. Port Klang Authority general manager K. Subramanian said the authority is …