PUTRAJAYA: To reduce data leakage risks, the Central Database Hub (Padu) was placed under the purview of civil servants instead of third-party vendors, says Rafizi Ramli. According to the Economy Ministry, data leakages had previously happened when third-party vendors were contracted to develop government data applications. ALSO READ: Padu: Govt …

WAJIMA, Japan (Reuters) – Kohei Kirimoto, an 8th-generation lacquerware artisan, walked through the ruins of his century-old workshop in the Japanese coastal town of Wajima on Thursday, concerned only for his missing cats. The workship, renowned worldwide for its traditional lacquerware, lay in a smouldering heap following the New Year’s …

PUTRAJAYA: Swiss healthcare giant Roche Pharmaceuticals has picked Malaysia’s Sarawak General Hospital as its global First-in-Human (FIH) clinical trial site. Malaysia will be the seventh country included by Roche for the study and the first within the Asia Pacific region. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said Roche becomes …

LONDON (Reuters) – England coach Steve Borthwick has added New Zealander Andrew Strawbridge to his coaching team as a consultant for the first four weeks of the Six Nations championship, the RFU said on Thursday. The 59-year-old was a skills consultant with the All Blacks, helping them to the final …

TOKYO (Reuters) – A Coast Guard plane was making its third emergency trip to an earthquake zone within 24 hours when it collided with a passenger jet at a very busy Haneda airport, a Coast Guard official told Reuters. The official declined to be named due to an ongoing investigation …

KOTA KINABALU: The electricity tariff hike in Sabah will create a domino effect with the people being the most impacted, says a Parti Warisan representative. Although Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor had said that 99% of commercial users in Labuan and the state would not be affected by Tenaga …

MELAKA: The Melaka Government has ordered a flood mitigation project at Bukit Katil here to be temporarily halted following the death of a 20-year-old and the injury of two others after their motorcycles plunged into an under-construction drain. Melaka works, infrastructure, public amenities and transport committee chairman Datuk Hameed Mytheen …

DHAKA (Reuters) – Utility poles across Bangladesh are festooned with campaign flyers carrying pictures of general election candidates, most of them from the ruling party, as an opposition boycott looks set to usher Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to a fourth straight term. Rights groups warn the country of 170 million …

BRISBANE (Reuters) -U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff cruised past fellow teen Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-3 6-0 at the Auckland Classic on Thursday, setting up a quarter-final against Varvara Gracheva in the Australian Open warm-up event. Emma Raducanu, playing her first tournament following an eight-month injury layoff, was unable to claim a …

KUALA LUMPUR: A four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle theft syndicate was busted following the arrest of two men, in Subang Jaya and Ampang, on Dec 27. Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Ahmad Sukarno Mohd Zahari said the two suspects, aged 40 and 35, were arrested following a report lodged by a victim …