World

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman pleaded not guilty to criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of funds belonging to his former party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu). He was charged on Thursday (Jul 22) at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur with criminal breach of trust involving RM1 million (US$236,000) from Bersatu, and dishonestly misappropriating RM120,000 in donations for the 14th general election campaign. For the first charge, Syed Saddiq, who was then chief of Bersatu's youth wing Armada, was accused of criminal breach of trust for withdrawing RM1 million through a cheque without the approval of Bersatu's supreme council. He was alleged to have committed the act on Mar 6, 2020. The charge under Section 405 of the Penal Code carri...

TOKYO: Reigning world champion Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines defeated Italian Irma Testa in the featherweight boxing semi-final on Saturday to keep her in the contest for what could be her country's second-ever gold medal in the Olympics. The diminutive 29-year-old lost the first round against a much-taller Testa but won the second and was on the front foot throughout the third, chasing her opponent with lightning-quick steps and rapid-fire punches. In an arena that gave Petecio a home-crowd feel thanks to roaring cheers from team mates, officials and Filipino journalists, Petecio grabbed the win in a split decision, crying and falling to her knees as her name was announced. "This means so much to me as not only is it my dream, it is my father's dream," said Petecio, whose father ta...

BERLIN: BioNTech wants to build on its success in COVID-19 by developing the first vaccine for malaria based on mRNA technology and aims to start clinical testing by the end on 2022, in an attempt to eradicate the mosquito-borne illness. The Mainz, Germany-based company, which developed a COVID-19 vaccine with its partner Pfizer, said on Monday (Jul 26) it is also exploring vaccine production in Africa as part of efforts to expand manufacturing capacity and increase global access. "The response to the pandemic has shown that science and innovation can transform people's lives when all key stakeholders work together towards a common goal," said BioNTech's chief executive and co-founder Ugur Sahin. Scientists around the world have been working for decades to develop a vaccine to prevent m...

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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will become the first member of President Joe Biden’s cabinet to visit Southeast Asia this week, seeking to emphasize the importance Washington places on fortifying ties in the region while pushing back against China. The United States has put countering China at the heart of its national security policy for years and the Biden administration has called rivalry with Beijing “the biggest geopolitical test” of this century. Six months into his presidency, however, Southeast Asian countries are still looking for details of Biden’s strategy as well as his specific plans for economic, trade and military engagement with the Indo-Pacific. “You’ll hear me talk a lot about partnerships and the value of partnerships,” Austin told reporters en route to Alaska. ...

NEW YORK : The U.S. dollar advanced against a basket of currencies on Thursday, after data showed producer prices posted their largest annual increase in more than a decade in the 12 months through July, suggesting inflation pressures remain strong. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six rivals, was 0.1per cent higher at 93.019. U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in July, a Labor Department report showed on Thursday, suggesting inflation could remain high as strong demand fuelled by the recovery continues to hurt supply chains. The producer price index (PPI) for final demand increased 1.0per cent last month after rising 1.0per cent in June. In the 12 months through July, the PPI jumped 7.8per cent, a record high since the measure was introd...

The United States and Japan expressed concerns over the situation in the South China Sea, where Beijing has been aggressively pushing its territorial claims, and took up China’s nuclear arms issue during talks with ASEAN and partner nations Friday. Speaking at the foreign ministerial meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum, one of the few international security dialogue frameworks in which North Korea participates, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined other countries in calling for Pyongyang’s denuclearization while urging ARF members to press Myanmar’s junta to end its violence against the people, according to the State Department. The meeting of the 27-member ARF, which also includes countries such as China and South Korea, was held as part of this week’s series of virtual gatheri...

NEW YORK :The U.S. dollar fell to a one-week low against a basket of currencies on Friday, after a survey showed U.S. consumer sentiment dropped sharply in early August, raising worries of a dent in economic activity. The University of Michigan said its preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 70.2 in the first half of this month from a final reading of 81.2 in July. That was the lowest level since 2011 and one of the six largest drops in the past 50 years of the survey. Investors this week have been treated to a mixed bag of data. While U.S. producer prices data out Thursday showed surging prices, bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve removing some of its stimulus, it followed U.S. consumer price data on Wednesday, which indicated inflation may be peaking, potentially giving t...

"I think next month we could see something completely different based on what's happening right now," she says, while emphasizing that "it will be interesting to see what happens with parents" as the school year starts back up. "I think this was a blockbuster month, having nearly one million jobs added," Jasmine Tucker, NWLC's director of research, tells CNBC Make It. While it's good to "celebrate all those gains," Tucker says she's unsure about whether we will see similar growth in the coming months due to mask mandates and other restrictions being reinstated because of the delta variant. Of the 943,000 jobs added, 68.8% went to women, marking the largest one-month increase in women's job growth since August 2020, reports the National Women's Law Center . With women disproportionately i...

Mr Erywan has been tasked with ending violence in Myanmar, opening dialogue between the military rulers and their opponents in the crisis-torn country, according to a communique released after meetings on Monday and Wednesday by foreign ministers of ASEAN. Mr Erywan will begin his work in Myanmar to “build trust and confidence with full access to all parties concerned", according to a joint statement. However, Dr Balakrishnan said the "paramount test" is whether Mr Erywan will be able to gain access to all the stakeholders in the Myanmar political system and entity. "And to the extent that he can act as an honest broker and hopefully encourage, facilitate (and) enable, ultimately, direct, constructive and hopefully positive negotiations and dialogue within Myanmar," he added. Dr Balakr...