WASHINGTON, March ⁠4 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans backed President Donald Trump's ⁠military campaign against Iran on Wednesday, voting to block ‌a bipartisan resolution aiming to stop the air war and require that any hostilities against Iran be authorized by Congress. The latest effort by Democrats and ⁠a few Republicans to rein in President Donald ​Trump's repeated ‌foreign troop deployments, sponsors described the war powers resolution ⁠as a ​bid to take back Congress' responsibility to declare war, as spelled out in the U.S. Constitution. Opponents rejected this, insisting that Trump's ⁠action was legal and within his ​right as commander in chief to protect the United States by ordering limited strikes. This is going to end very quickly," Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech ​against the resolution. Trump's fellow Republicans hold slim majorities in ​both the Senate and House of ‌Representatives, and have blocked previous ​resolutions seeking to curb his war powers.

Power Root Bhd (KL:PWROOT), Top Glove Corp Bhd (KL:TOPGLOV), Wasco Bhd (KL:WASCO) and HSS Engineers Bhd (KL:HSSEB). It has already triggered surging oil prices, shipping disruptions, and rising inflation concerns. Despite these risks, CGS International believes the current geopolitical tensions are unlikely to impact Malaysian equities in the near term. Despite the potential risks, CGS International remains positive on Malaysia’s equity market outlook. For the fourth quarter of 2025 earnings season, CGS International noted that most companies reported results broadly in line with expectations.

PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik launched their All-England campaign in convincing fashion after defeating American duo Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith 21-17, 21-17 in 38 minutes. They will face compatriots Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King in the second round in Birmingham next. Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun also progressed comfortably after seeing off Taiwan’s Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-jen 21-17, 21-16. In the women’s doubles, Pearly Tan-M Thinaah exacted revenge on Japan’s Arisa Igarashi-Chiharu Shida to move into the second round with a 21-19, 21-13 win. 2 pair will next face South Korea’s Lee Seo-jin-Lee Yeon-woo for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Eight enforcement officers among 18 arrested in opsPUTRAJAYA: A “tonto” syndicate linked to illegal lorry operations, which included overloading, has been dismantled with the arrest of 18 people, including eight enforcement officers, in a major operation involving multiple agencies. “Tonto” refers to a network of paid informants and middlemen who monitor authorities, providing warnings to protect illicit operations. In this case, the “tonto” is working on behalf of illegal, overloaded and unregistered lorries to evade detection and roadblocks. “Our investigations showed these ‘tontos’ are used to bribe enforcement officers in exchange for action that benefit certain companies,” Azam told a press conference. A further RM4,692,280.19 from 59 bank accounts belonging to the “tonto” group, its members and companies have also been frozen.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor will contribute six new motorcycles to replace the trolley motorcycles destroyed when quick-thinking villagers used them to stop a runaway train whose brakes failed at Kampung Pangi. “On behalf of these youths, I extend my gratitude and appreciation to the Chief Minister for this contribution,” he said in a statement yesterday. “The positioning of the six motorcycles on the track helped slow down the train before the driver managed to regain control of the train fully,” he added. In the incident, the train with about 12 passengers, mostly primary school teachers of SK Pangi were unhurt but badly shaken after the train halted near the Kg Pangi rail station area. Meanwhile the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Malaysia (CILTM), Sabah Section, has voiced serious concern over the runaway train incident.

(March 4): The US Senate cleared the way for President Donald Trump to continue military attacks on Iran in a vote Wednesday that starkly demonstrated the nation’s deep divisions as it goes to war in a volatile region. The president and his advisers nonetheless express confidence that the war against Iran will be resolved quickly. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former majority leader, praised Trump for “a bold and tough decision” to go to war. The narrow Senate support for the Iran war contrasts with the 77-to-23 Senate vote in 2002 authorising then-president George W Bush to use military force against Iraq. Democrats criticised the Trump administration for shifting explanations on what it is trying to achieve in the war.

PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) are expected to extend their collaboration with professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia (pic) beyond preparations for the Thomas Cup in Horsens, Denmark, in April. He added that the plan is part of a longer term strategy leading up to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics to ensure Malaysia field their strongest possible line-up. However, BAM are still finalising Zii Jia’s participation in training at the Academy Badminton Malaysia in Bukit Kiara ahead of the Thomas Cup. “He did mention that he would try to join training earlier before the Thomas Cup, but there has been no confirmation yet,” he added. During the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, BAM also called up Zii Jia to strengthen the team event, but the national squad suffered a first round exit at the hands of South Korea.

Professional doubles coach Teo Kok Siang and Malaysia’s mixed doubles player Goh Soon Huat sat behind them, offering advice as they took on the Chinese duo. Terry explained that they sought help from Kok Siang and Soon Huat after their coach Paulus Firman was unable to travel to Birmingham due to unavoidable reasons. Throughout the match, Terry-Gloria gained fresh insights from the duo and came close to pulling off a major upset. “We are good friends off court and we are happy that Kok Siang and Soon Huat could help us today because our coach could not be here due to unavoidable matters,” Terry told Badminton Indonesia. Speaking on their preparation for the All-England, Terry-Gloria had trained separately before regrouping in Birmingham.

Soliman vows to help other stateless people secure citizenshipPETALING JAYA: At 52 years of age, Soliman Wan has lived his entire life in Malaysia but without citizenship. He finally got his citizenship approved on Jan 19 after a three-decade attempt to officially call Malaysia his home. “I was devastated as the whole reason I was studying was to help my family improve their status. Even his Malaysian children could not apply for scholarships due to him being stateless. But having finally received his Malaysian citizenship, Soliman said he would now use his status to help other stateless people the best he can through non-governmental organisations.

Autism has long existed, even back when we were children, but autistic children were then often mislabelled and mistreated. For example, if you have a ­sibling or twin with autism, you are more likely to have autism too. When the baby is born extremely premature or with very low birth weight, there is also a higher risk of autism. Likely, it is a combination of genetic and environmental ­factors that can lead to a higher risk of autism. Educational therapies Children with autism respond well when they are enrolled in specialised educational programmes in specialised schools.

SAN FRANCISCO (March 4): Amazon on Tuesday confirmed it laid off staff across its robotics unit, with at least ​100 white-collar jobs affected, two people familiar with ‌the matter told Reuters. This comes after a January cut of about 16,000 jobs with the company at the time hinting layoffs would continue. The ‌layoffs ⁠represented nearly 10% of white-collar workers, though the bulk of Amazon's 1.5 million workers are hourly staff, particularly in warehouses known as fulfillment centers. The latest job cuts come after Amazon in ​January halted development ​of a ⁠robotic arm known as Blue Jay that it demonstrated at an event in October. In addition to the broader cuts in October and January, Amazon ⁠over ​the past year has pared a ​smaller number of jobs in its devices and services, books, podcasts and public ​relations units, among others.

PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie had little trouble securing their place in the second round of the All-England after defeating home representatives Callum Hemming-Estelle Van Leeuwen. In the opening round match at the Utilita Arena Birmingham, the world No. 11 pair needed just 39 minutes to seal a 21-14, 21-12 victory. Soon Huat-Shevon will next face China’s Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin in the second round. Meanwhile, men’s doubles pair Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub saw their campaign end early after going down 18-21, 14-21 to Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi-lin.

Singapore, on the other hand, has six scanners for lorries entering the island republic. He explained that the present scanners at the land checkpoint of the Second Link were operating around the clock to prevent cross-border smuggling activities. Mohamad Fazli, who is the state works, transportation, infrastructure and communications committee chairman, said the scanning of lorries had been conducted since the start of the Second Link in 1998. On Feb 13, The Star reported that some 3,000 lorries face traffic snarl each day, sometimes up to six hours, just to pass through the Second Link. According to Mohamad Fazli, not all lorries were required to park at the holding bay.

KUALA LUMPUR: No Malaysians have been reported affected by the security developments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) so far, says Malaysia's ambassador to the UAE, Datuk Tengku Sirajuzzaman Tengku Mohamed Ariffin. He said that approximately 8,500 Malaysians are currently in the UAE, including residents, transit passengers, or those stranded due to flight disruptions, and all who have contacted the Malaysian mission have been reported safe. It is important for families back in Malaysia to know that Malaysians in the UAE are not alone. "For stranded passengers, the UAE government has taken the initiative to accommodate them in hotels while waiting for their next flights, in addition to providing food vouchers," he said. Sirajuzzaman also emphasised that all Malaysian diplomatic missions in the UAE are operating 24 hours to provide assistance to stranded Malaysians, with priority given to urgent cases and vulnerable groups.

Datuk Jalaluddin Hassan, who turned 72 on Feb 18, says he continues to welcome Ramadan with the same enthusiasm, regardless of age. “What I’ve discovered is that I still feel enthusiastic about fasting no matter how busy my schedule is,” he shares. says he has grown even more appreciative of Ramadan now that he gets to witness his grandchildren fasting. “I actually prefer watching my grandchildren break their fast rather than focusing on myself,” says Jalaluddin, a father of 12 and grandfather to 32. This Ramadan, Jalaluddin appears on Dapur Bapak Bapak on Astro Prima (Ch 105) alongside Chef Wan and music maestro Ramli MS, better known as Tok Ram.