Anwar, Erdogan to discuss trade, security collaborations
ANKARA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, scheduled for Wednesday (Jan 7), will centre on efforts to strengthen collaboration in areas including trade, investment, diplomacy, education, security, culture and tourism. Erdogan had undertaken a two-day official visit to Malaysia in February, 2025. Anwar said his first official visit to Türkiye comes nearly three years into his tenure as Prime Minister and fulfils Erdogan's repeated invitations, urging him not to delay the visit. "However, I told him that even without an official visit, I had previously come to Türkiye twice, with the first visit taking place after the major earthquake that struck the country. Earlier, Anwar arrived at Esenboga International Airport here at 7.13 pm local time (12.13 am Malaysian time) to begin his official visit, which runs until Jan 8.
Source:The Star
January 07, 2026 12:40 UTC
Warner Bros rejects revised Paramount bid as risky leveraged buyout
LOS ANGELES (Jan 7): Warner Bros Discovery's board has unanimously turned down Paramount Skydance's latest attempt to acquire the studio, saying its revised US$108.4 billion (RM439.3 billion) hostile bid amounted to a risky leveraged buyout that investors should reject. In a letter to shareholders on Wednesday, Warner Bros' board said Paramount's offer hinges on "an extraordinary amount of debt financing" that heightens the risk of closing. Paramount and Netflix have been vying to win control of Warner Bros, and with it, its prized film and television studios and its extensive content library. The letter accompanied a 67-page amended merger filing where it laid out its case for rejecting Paramount's offer. Paramount offered "insufficient compensation" for the damage done to the studio's business, if the Paramount deal failed to close, Warner Bros said.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 07, 2026 12:33 UTC
Anwar arrives in Türkiye for three-day official visit
ANKARA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived here on Tuesday local time (Jan 6) for a three-day official visit to Türkiye to further strengthen the long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries. Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, was visiting the country until Jan 8 at the invitation of Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He was accompanied by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani. The Prime Minister was greeted upon arrival by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Malaysian Ambassador to Türkiye Sazali Mustafa Kamal, and Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Güler, who is also the Minister-in-Attendance. On Wednesday, among other engagements, the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with Erdogan and co-chair the Malaysia-Türkiye High-Level Strategic Council (HLSC) Meeting.
Source:The Star
January 07, 2026 12:25 UTC
Oriental Interest to buy 68-acre Bukit Raja land for RM80.8m
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): Property developer Oriental Interest Bhd (KL:OIB) is expanding its landbank in Selangor through a RM80.77 million cash acquisition of 68.12 acres in Bukit Raja. The deal was formalised on Dec 31, 2025, via a sale and purchase agreement between Oriental Interest's 70%-owned Myra Land Sdn Bhd and developer SJ Properties Sdn Bhd, according to the group's bourse filing. The remaining 30% in Myra Land is owned by Pesaka Saujana Properties Sdn Bhd, a related third party, Oriental Interest said. While portions of the land are currently occupied by tenants, Oriental Interest noted that these tenancies are expected to expire by the deal’s completion. The RM80.77 million purchase price was determined based on recent market prices for neighbouring properties and the site's development potential, Oriental Interest said.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 07, 2026 12:23 UTC
Cops issue fresh appeal for whereabouts of Muhammad Riduan
IPOH: Those with the latest information about Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, also known as K. Patmanathan, have been urged to come forward to the police. Muhammad Riduan took away Prasana Diksa when she was 11 months old in 2009 following a custody battle with his ex-wife M. Indira Gandhi. Indira was granted custody over Prasana Diksa and two other children in 2010. The High Court on May 30, 2014, ordered the police to recover Prasana Diksa and return her to Indira. The mandamus also compelled the police to arrest and commit Muhammad Riduan to prison.
Source:The Star
January 07, 2026 12:13 UTC
Paragon Union forms JV with Japan’s Asahi Seiren to tap recycled aluminium market
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): Paragon Union Bhd (KL:PARAGON) has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Japan’s largest secondary aluminium producer, Asahi Seiren Co Ltd, to establish Paragon Asahi Seiren Sdn Bhd. According to a bourse filing, the venture is formed between Paragon Union’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Paragon Metal Sdn Bhd, and Asahi Seiren. Paragon Metal will hold a 60% stake in the new entity, with the remaining 40% owned by Asahi Seiren. Paragon Union’s JV with Asahi Seiren combines local expertise and global recycling technology to tap into the growing recycled aluminium market in Southeast Asia, supplying low-carbon materials to automotive, construction, and sustainable packaging industries. Paragon Union added that the partnership will expand its earnings base while reinforcing its credentials as a forward-looking, ESG-compliant corporation.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 07, 2026 12:13 UTC
Five people-oriented key tenets to drive rural development goals
PUTRAJAYA: The Rural and Regional Development Ministry has identified five key focus areas as the foundation for the planning and implementation of rural development programmes to ensure sustainable, values-based and people-centric progress. He said under the focus on People, where social mobility is at its core, rural development efforts will begin with the empowerment of human capital. “Rural development must begin with people. He said the fourth focus, Prosperity, emphasises well-being while Prophetic is grounded in the leadership values of Prophet Muhammad as guidance in rural development. Ahmad Zahid said rural development must be managed with a corporate mindset to ensure every ringgit spent delivers value returns to the people.
Source:The Star
January 07, 2026 12:10 UTC
Birth-rate push runs out of steam
A decade since China scrapped its stringent one-child policy and implemented a two-child policy in January 2016, the nation is dealing with a looming demographic crisis. More young people like Grace, who refers to herself and her husband as DINKs – or “dual income no kids” – have either sworn against having children at all or are putting it off for the next few years. Changing attitudesChinese authorities have rolled out pronatalist incentives after ending its one-child policy – which had been in place for more than three decades to address poverty and overpopulation. “The one-child policy fundamentally reshaped family norms and also people’s lifestyles, because many people, especially the one-child generation, were used to and often prefer smaller family sizes,” Wang said. “People have been excessively busy with work... for some, it’s difficult even to find the time to think about (starting a family),” Wang said.
Source:The Star
January 07, 2026 11:48 UTC
Zii Jia in race against time to regain best form ahead of Thomas Cup
“For me, I’m always ready to play for my country if I’m needed, but my expectations of myself are higher,” said Zii Jia. “To be honest, if I’m playing in third singles, it won’t be an advantage,” said Zii Jia. 45) are currently all ahead of Zii Jia in the rankings, which makes it difficult for him to play in either first or second singles. Zii Jia is next looking to perform better in the Indian Open, which starts next Tuesday (Jan 13) in New Delhi. Zii Jia has also registered to compete in the Indonesian Masters (Jan 20-25) in Jakarta and the Thailand Masters (Jan 27-Feb 1) in Patum Wan.
Source:The Star
January 07, 2026 11:44 UTC
Norway's Equinor dismisses any plan to return to Venezuela
OSLO (Jan 7): Equinor does not plan a return to Venezuela, after leaving the country in the early part of this decade, the Norwegian oil and gas company's CEO told Reuters on Wednesday. "At the moment, that's not on the table," Anders Opedal said on the sidelines of a business conference. "We pulled out of Venezuela because we wanted to reallocate capital." Equinor entered Venezuela's oil and gas industry in the mid-1990s, investing billions of dollars onshore and offshore and identifying the country as a core part of its operation, but ultimately pulled out after some 25 years. Equinor's Opedal said rebuilding Venezuela's oil industry to extract more of the country's heavy oil will demand huge investment.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 07, 2026 11:27 UTC
Cops open probe into fatal shooting in Klang
KLANG: Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man in Taman Wangsa. Selangor deputy police chief Deputy Comm Mohd Zaini Abu Hassan said the police were notified of the incident at around 12.30am on Wednesday (Jan 7). "Investigations showed that two suspects had approached the 43-year-old victim on a motorcycle before firing two shots and fleeing the area. “The body has been sent to Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) for a postmortem," he said in a statement. The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
Source:The Star
January 07, 2026 11:05 UTC
Fired-up Jun Hao beats China's Wang to keep hopes alive
KUALA LUMPUR: Men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao made a good start in the Malaysian Open by beating China’s Wang Zhengxing. 28 Jun Hao rose to the occasion in front of the home fans, claiming an impressive 21-17, 21-17 win over world No. 29 Zhengxing in 48 minutes at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Wednesday (Jan 7). Leong Jun Hao. -MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The StarIt was the first meeting between the Malaysian and the 23-year-old Zhengying.
Source:The Star
January 07, 2026 10:34 UTC
Yap-Arif get their revenge, easy win for Pearly-Thinaah
17 Roy King-Wan Arif took 38 minutes to get past the world No. The previous encounter between both pairs was at last year’s Australian Open, with V Shem-Sol gyu winning their second round match then. Roy King-Wan Arif will now meet third seed Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty after they defeated Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-heui-Yang Po-hsuan 21-13, 21-15. Second seeds Pearly-Thinaah only took 30 minutes to win 21-11, 21-9 at the Axiata Arena in the opening round of the Super 1000 tournament. Pearly-Thinaah will now face Indonesia’s Febriana Kusuma-Meilysa Puspitasari in the second round.
Source:The Star
January 07, 2026 10:25 UTC
BlueScope board rejects US$8.8 bil Steel Dynamics, SGH bid
(Jan 7): BlueScope Steel Ltd rejected an US$8.8 billion (RM35.68 billion) takeover bid by US steelmaker Steel Dynamics Inc and Australian conglomerate SGH Ltd. The company’s board unanimously decided the offer “very significantly” undervalued BlueScope, it said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 7). Steel Dynamics and SGH — controlled by billionaire Kerry Stokes — offered A$30 (RM82) per share for the Australian steelmaker. The US buyer would have taken over the North American facilities and SGH would have retained the remainder if the takeover proposal had been accepted. The company owns a steel mill in Ohio, about 80 miles from a Steel Dynamics-owned operation, as well as a building products business.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 07, 2026 10:23 UTC
Govt will not reduce quota based on income class — treasury sec-gen
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): The government will not burden the people by reducing the Budi Madani Ron95 (Budi95) quota based on income classification to avoid additional constraints for household expenditure, said Treasury Secretary-General Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican. He said the government's main concern right now is to analyse the data gathered from the beginning of the Budi95 programme to see the success of the implementation. "Let's first analyse the data to look for potential unusual utilisation before we look at changing the parameters. In terms of the 300-litre quota for Budi95, Johan Mahmood said government data showed that the average consumption is about 83 litres per month, and 90% of people eligible for Budi95 used less than 200 litres per month. Explaining further, Johan Mahmood also emphasised that the government currently will not be implementing a more targeted subsidy programme based on income class despite some proposal for a more precise mechanism.
Source:The Edge Markets
January 07, 2026 09:58 UTC