GEORGE TOWN: Police have detained nine teenagers in connection with two fights that took place in a secondary school in Butterworth here. Penang police chief Comm Datuk Khaw Kok Chin said the suspects, all minors, were detained on Friday (May 19). He said eight suspects were students of the school while another was a dropout. He was commenting on a recent viral video of a bullying incident. Many who commented on the video urged police to detain those responsible.

CANNES, France (AP) — Appearing at the Cannes Film Festival the day after premiering his first film in three years, Johnny Depp said Wednesday that he has “no further need” for Hollywood. “I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood, because I don’t think about Hollywood. If you want to live that life, I wish you the best.”“Jeanne du Barry” opened Tuesday in French cinemas. The “Jeanne du Barry” press conference was among the most circus-like in recent years at Cannes. But I didn’t go nowhere.”___Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP___For more coverage of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festivalRead more about:SHARE:

JOHOR BARU: A 28-year-old man wanting to get a loan ended up losing more than RM50,000 after allegedly being duped by a bogus financial offer. Seri Alam OCPD Supt Mohd Sohaimi Ishak said the victim, a businessman, claimed he had been cheated by a syndicate offering loans. He was then instructed to contact another person about the loan process,” he said here on Wednesday (May 17). Supt Mohd Suhaimi said the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. Supt Mohd Suhaimi also reminded the public to always be vigilant especially when they were offered financial loans on social media.

A MAN in Tamil Nadu, India, who impregnated his teenage girlfriend, killed her and buried her body to avoid getting caught, Malaysia Nanban reported. The murder came to light when workers clearing an empty land near Villupuram district for a drainage project discovered the remains. It was also discovered that she was about three months’ pregnant at the time of death. The police investigation led to the body being identified as a 17-year-old student from a nearby town. He went into hiding in Chennai around the same time the girl went missing and was arrested following a manhunt.

MELAKA: A man has been sentenced to 263 years in prison and 20 lashes after pleading guilty at the Ayer Keroh Sessions Court to 32 charges of committing sexual crimes against his now 16-year-old stepdaughter. The court ordered the sentence against the 36-year-old accused to run concurrently for 35 years starting from the time of his arrest on April 8. The accused pleaded guilty to raping his stepdaughter involving 11 charges under Section 376(2)(D) of the Penal Code which provides for a prison sentence of up to 30 years and whipping. All the offences were committed between January 2020 and March 14, 2023, at their home in a housing estate in Jasin. The prosecution was handled separately by the Deputy Public Prosecutor N. Siva Shangari and Muhammad Nazrin Ali Rahim while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.

In the last year or so, virologists have been watching a deadly pandemic spread around the world, killing tens of millions. Her father tested positive for H5N1, but reassuringly, no one else did, and no human-to-human spread occurred, experts say. Some scientists question the theory that all the sea lions ate infected birds. That’s what happened in the worst pandemic in modern history, the 1918 influenza pandemic which killed as many as 50 million people; it was caused by avian flu, H1N1. Experts have long been preparing for a flu pandemic (rather than a coronavirus pandemic) – it’s a question of when, as WHO says.

THE best way to deal with the ludicrous call by PAS to cancel top British rock band Coldplay’s concert in Kuala Lumpur this November is this – simply ignore it. Give them the cold shoulder. How on earth could the concert promote hedonism and perverse culture, as claimed by a PAS politician? This is beyond logic. Hedonism basically means the pursuit of pleasure and sensual self-indulgence.

We had to fly for over 30 hours from Kuala Lumpur to Ushuaia in Argentina, just to board our cruise ship and set sail for Antarctica. Antarctica is twice the size of Australia and we were greeted with awesome glaciers and ice mountains when we arrived. But even with all that ice, the place is still a very dry place – drier than the Sahara Desert, in fact. We set out from the cruise ship in groups of 10 on a zodiac or small boat. The sheer isolation and lack of humans – except for the over 200 people in the cruise ship – turned us into a closely knit family for the duration of the cruise.

MELAKA: A 19-year-old has claimed trial to four charges at the Sessions and Magistrate's Court here for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl as well as possessing a video of the act. The accused was charged before Sessions Court Judge Dharmafikri Abu Adam here on Friday (May 12) with three counts of rape. The accused had allegedly raped the 15-year-old girl between September 2022 to May this year in Taman Limbongan Permai in the Melaka Tengah district. The charges were framed under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction. The accused was represented by counsel Goh Chin HanHe was granted bail totalling RM14,000 by both courts.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): A federal grand jury has indicted Mo Shuyi, a citizen of China, for fraud by wire and conspiracy to commit offence to defraud the US. In a statement last week, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said a joint investigation between CBP San Juan Field Operations and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Juan Global Trade Investigations Group (GTIG) revealed an illegal transshipment of merchandise from China through Malaysia imported into the US. San Juan Field Operations director Roberto Vaquero said CBP remains vigilant on products produced in certain countries that are transshipped through third countries to evade detection and elude duties. The fraud scheme involved US-based entities that were importing Chinese ceramic tile transshipped through Malaysia into the US and misclassifying the merchandise to circumvent anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD). CBP said Mo was arrested on April 29 by HSI San Juan in coordination with HSI San Francisco prior to his departure to China via the San Francisco International Airport.

(May 12): China’s unpredictable policy making is deterring foreign investment that the country’s cash-strapped cities are desperate to entice. Appetite for investment has been further weakened by a clampdown on foreign consultancy firms relied upon by global investors and multinational firms to help understand China. Global investors have lost interest in Chinese equities, with the MSCI China Index dropping about 50% from its 2021 peak. In response, the Politburo — the top decision making body of the Communist Party — last month called on local governments to boost foreign investment amid weak domestic demand and a difficult recovery. Singapore has seen delegations from Chinese cities almost every week this year, according to an official who asked not to be named as they weren’t authorised to speak publicly.

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have urged the person who was allegedly sexually harassed on the MRT to lodge a report immediately. A 31-second video clip making the rounds on social media shows a man wearing a face mask, cap, collared T-shirt and jeans holding a mobile phone. The accompanying caption alleges that the man in the clip had been recording the victim before she noticed and shouted at him. "The video clip alleges that (the incident took place) on the MRT from Cheras headed to Pusat Bandaraya, near a shopping mall. He advised the individual to come forward and lodge a report so that investigations can begin.

Turnover increased to 3.39 billion units valued at RM1.62 billion, from 2.78 billion units valued at RM1.65 billion on Wednesday. Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.08 points to 168.47, the Energy Index eased 1.50 points to 831.81, and the Financial Services Index weakened 9.73 points to 15,588.22. The Main Market volume went up to 2.13 billion units valued at RM1.36 billion, from 1.87 billion units valued at RM1.44 billion on Wednesday. Warrant turnover strengthened to 313.53 million units worth RM47.96 million, against 278.69 million units worth RM40.22 million a day earlier. The ACE Market volume soared to 955.12 million shares valued at RM215.66 million, versus 638.24 million shares valued at RM166.15 million previously.

A representative for the Adani Group didn’t to comment on the fundraising details. An analysis by Bloomberg of exchange filings shows Adani Enterprises and Adani Transmission have sought board approval for fundraising every year in April or May since at least 2019. But the current round of fundraising, once finalised, will be the first for Adani companies after the Hindenburg attack and the ensuing market rout. The stock meltdown earlier this year also cooled Adani companies’ heated valuations. Adani Transmission hasn’t announced the March quarter earnings yet.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin has filed for divorce jointly with her husband of three years Markus Raikkonen, they said on Instagram on Wednesday. Marin and Raikkonen, who until recently worked at a venture capital firm, share a 5-year-old daughter. They married in 2020 while Marin was in office dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Marin and her Social Democratic Party lost Finland's election for parliament last month, trailing the right-wing National Coalition Party as well as the nationalist Finns Party. Marin, 37, the world's youngest prime minister when she took office in 2019, is considered by fans around the globe as a millennial role model for progressive new leaders, even as voters at home opted for a new government.