KUALA LUMPUR: A family board game session turned into a life-changing moment for an e-commerce entrepreneur, who won RM12.73mil in the Toto 4D (Star Toto 6/50) Jackpot 1 draw. According to STM Lottery Sdn Bhd, the man placed a standard RM1 bet on numbers picked by his young daughter while they were playing a board game. We could barely sleep that night, trying to convince ourselves that we had really won the jackpot," he said. "I will also invest some of it for long-term financial security to support my daughter's education. "I am very grateful to have won the jackpot, as it has made our life so much easier, and our future better," he said.

NEW DELHI (Jan 16): Air India and Singapore Airlines have agreed a cooperation framework that could allow the two flag carriers to increase routes, reduce overlap and more broadly enhance collaboration, they said on Friday. Described by the two airlines as a "commercial cooperation framework agreement", it follows an airspace ban by Pakistan announced last April that forced Air India to discontinue some routes to the US from India. The airlines said the agreement could include expanding both carriers’ corporate travel programmes, a source of high-yield revenue for airlines. Air India already has a codesharing agreement in 20 countries and territories with Singapore Airlines, which owns a 25% stake in the company. Air India chief executive officer Campbell Wilson said in a statement that the pact will take the airline's relationship with Singapore Airlines to the "next level".

BANGKOK (Jan 16): Thailand's Transport Ministry on Friday ordered a 15-day construction halt on 14 contracts involving Italian-Thai Development PCL as well as other large-scale projects overseen by the ministry, as it conducts safety inspections after two fatal crane accidents in two days. The halt to the 14 projects would allow expert teams to conduct detailed inspections to ensure safety standards were being met, said Chirapong Theppithuck, deputy permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry. The two projects are an elevated highway near Bangkok and the building of concrete structures for a stretch of an elevated high-speed rail line in the northeast that will connect Thailand with China through Laos. Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy is in the middle of a massive infrastructure boom, building highways and high-speed rail lines across the country and expanding its elevated rail network in Bangkok. The government last year said the whole high-speed rail line from Bangkok to Nong Khai at the border with Laos would be finished by 2030.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia's rally is alive and well after better-than-expected earnings from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and major US banks helped to boost investor appetite for equities. The index picked up 2.47 points to 1,17.63 at the opening bell, representing a fresh seven-year high. Among the banking plays, Maybank rose six sen to RM11.16, RHB gained four sen to RM8.22 and AMMB added three sen to RM6.58. The rally comes ahead of Malaysia advance estimate of economic growth for the fourth quarter of 2025, which is scheduled for release later today. Other top actives included Velesto up 0.5 sen to 28 sen and NexG down two sen to 29.5 sen.

With just days to go before big banks reported results, Trump last Friday called on credit-card companies to cap interest rates at 10%, or roughly half the current average on outstanding balances, for one year. At the same time, some analysts doubted that the approval of a rate cap would find traction. “Our odds are less than 20% that credit card interest rates will be capped at 10% for any period of time,” Compass Point’s Ed Groshans wrote. US airlines are estimated to generate over US$30 billion per year from mileage sales to credit card partners, according to a note from Bernstein analysts led by Harshita Rawat. “A proposed cap on interest rates or the implementation of legislation such as the CCCA has profound implications for the airline investment thesis,” they said.

In line with the Malaysian Government’s festive travel initiatives, Malaysia Airlines and its sister airline Firefly are offering all-in one-way subsidised fares from Kuala Lumpur to selected destinations in Sabah and Sarawak. From Feb 13 to 16, during the Chinese New Year peak period, Malaysia Airlines will offer subsidised fares of up to RM569. The flight routes include Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Sandakan in Sabah, as well as Kuching, Miri, Sibu and Bintulu in Sarawak. Firefly’s subsidised fares of up to RM548 will include flights to KK, Tawau, Kuching and Sibu. Flights from KL to Kuching, Miri, Sibu and Bintulu are set at RM328 all-in one-way, while flights to KK, Tawau and Sandakan are set at RM398 all-in one-way.

PETALING JAYA: The 15-year-old male student accused of murdering his schoolmate at a school in Bandar Utama has been declared fit to stand trial, based on a psychiatric report. "The accused is able to stand trial and enter his defence. According to Foong, the court ordered the accused to attend counselling and therapy on a monthly basis. On Oct 22, 2025, the accused was charged at the Magistrate's Court with murdering a 16-year-old female schoolmate at a school in Bandar Utama. The accused was ordered by the court to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Perak.

DUBAI (Jan 16): Iran's deadly crackdown appears to have broadly quelled protests for now, according to a rights group and residents, as state media reported more arrests on Friday in the shadow of US threats to intervene if killing continues. Rights group reports heavy security deploymentsWith information flows from Iran obstructed by an internet blackout, several residents of Tehran said the capital had been quiet since Sunday. Iranian-Kurdish rights group Hengaw said that there had been no protest gatherings since Sunday, saying "the security environment remains highly restrictive". Hengaw reported that a female nurse was killed by direct gunfire from government forces during protests in Karaj, west of Iran. Also on Friday, state television broadcast the funerals of members of the security forces in Semnan, northern Iran, and Semirom, central Iran.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 16): Offshore support vessel provider Marine & General Bhd (KL:M&G) has formed a new joint venture (JV) company to undertake vessel maintenance, repair and docking-related services. The new JV will be incorporated under the name Jasa Merin Engineering Sdn Bhd (JME) and will provide vessel services, including maintenance, repair and operational support, as well as ancillary activities incidental to its core business. "In parallel, the joint venture allows Jasa Merin to participate in the maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) segment within the domestic marine and engineering industry," the group said. Marine & General, through two subsidiaries, will hold a 70% stake while the remaining 30% will be owned by Nautica Energy Services Sdn Bhd (NES). Marine & General said the new JV would improve maintenance planning and oversight, potentially enhancing vessel reliability and reducing unplanned downtime over time.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 16): MN Holdings Bhd (KL:MNHLDG) said it has secured four contracts worth a combined RM122.7 million to supply and install substation equipment for data centre projects in central and southern Peninsular Malaysia. MN Holdings, however, noted in its bourse filing that the customer is an industry‑leading consultant in the planning, design and construction of information technology facilities. Under said contracts, MN Utilities will undertake the supply, installation and commissioning of power transformers, along with related equipment and systems across multiple data centre facilities. "The awards further strengthen our order book and reinforce MN Holdings’ position in the data centre segment, where power reliability and execution capability are critical. Following the latest wins, MN Holdings’ order book has expanded to RM918.1 million, providing earnings visibility over the project period.

PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah stormed into the Indian Open semi-finals after cruising past Taiwan's world No. Pearly-Thinaah were in fine form and only needed 33 minutes to secure a commanding 21-16, 21-10 win over the Taiwanese duo at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi on Friday (Jan 16). The world No. 2 pair have made it into back-to-back semi-finals in India and will be out to reach the final for the first time when they take on Japan's world No. It was a welcome return to form for Pearly-Thinaah after crashing out in the Malaysian Open second round last week.

High-frequency traders locate servers as close as possible to exchange data centres to execute trades as quickly as possible to beat rivals. Officials have threatened to hike fees for high-frequency traders, although so far they haven’t done so. Metals prices had already steadied on Thursday after powerful gains at the start of 2026. Still, high metals prices risk putting off buyers, and there have already been signs of pushback in the key Chinese market, where physical demand has been relatively weak. The move to curtail high-frequency trading affects other platforms, including the Guangzhou Futures Exchange that hosts commodities including lithium, platinum and palladium.

KUALA LUMPUR: Binastra Corp Bhd ’s wholly owned subsidiary Binastra Green Energy Sdn Bhd (BGE) has entered into a tripartite agreement in relation to a RM305mil contract involving infrastructure and renewable energy works. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the group said BGE signed the agreement on Jan 15, 2026, with Bahru Stainless Sdn Bhd (BSSB) and Binastra Construction (M) Sdn Bhd (BCSB). “Under the agreement, BCSB has succeeded BSSB as the client for the contract, with all terms and conditions remaining unchanged,” it added. It said the contract, awarded via a letter of award dated Oct 7, 2025, covers the design and build of infrastructure works, including site clearance, earthworks, and civil and structural works, as well as a 65 megawatt-peak solar photovoltaic system and a 200 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system. Binastra said BCSB would assume the rights and obligations of the original client (BSSB) as the asset owner and financier for the contract.

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has reaffirmed the party's commitment to the unity government but warns that the party's patience is not without limits. "Instead, Umno has always held fast to the principle that loyalty must be repaid with respect, and consensus must be accompanied by sincerity and honesty. "Do not think of Umno as a 'curry leaf party', like curry leaves that are thrown into the pan when cooking, but pushed aside when the dish is served. "Let it be remembered, Umno is a central pillar of the nation’s stability," he said to loud applause from the floor. Ahmad Zahid added that the party does not seek any special treatment, but at the same time, it should not be regarded as mere window-dressing or an "accessory" in a coalition.

TOKYO (Jan 16): Japan said on Friday that it has become the latest country to probe X over Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence service Grok, stating that the government would consider every possible option to prevent the generation of inappropriate images. xAI said late on Wednesday it had implemented tweaks to prevent Grok users from editing "images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis." xAI also said it had blocked users based on their location from generating images of people in revealing clothing "where it's illegal", without identifying those jurisdictions. Onoda's remarks come after Britain and Canada said they were pushing forward with their own probes of Grok. Malaysia and Indonesia have both temporarily blocked access to Grok over the creation of explicit images.