Ryanair hit by €256 mil fine in Italy travel agency spat
(Dec 23): Ryanair Holdings plc was fined nearly €256 million (RM1.23 billion) by Italy’s antitrust watchdog for allegedly using an “abusive strategy” to thwart customers who booked through travel agencies. Ryanair also pressured agencies into restrictive contracts, stymied bundling with other services, and publicly attacked non-partners, the Italian watchdog added. The relationship with Dublin-based Ryanair and Italian authorities has been strained in recent years. Tensions mounted in the summer of 2023, when the government issued a decree capping tickets for domestic airline tickets to Italian island destinations. Online travel agency group eu travel tech welcomed the Italian fine, saying Ryanair’s practices “pursued one single goal: preventing consumers from easily comparing and combining travel options on online platforms”.
Source:The Edge Markets
December 23, 2025 11:33 UTC
UK’s richest woman Denise Coates earns £287 million from Bet365 empire
(Dec 23): Bet365 Group Ltd founder Denise Coates was paid roughly £287 million (US$388 million) in 2025, retaining her title as one of the world’s best-paid executives even as her gambling empire’s earnings slumped. A representative for the 58-year-old, who is the UK’s richest woman, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. She had a net worth before her latest pay details of about US$7.3 billion, making her the world’s 498th richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Coates trained as an accountant and took over a small chain of betting shops her father owned on the side. She became managing director of the business at the age of 22, and expanded the number of shops before deciding to move the business online.
Source:The Edge Markets
December 23, 2025 10:57 UTC
Apex Healthcare takeover becomes unconditional
PETALING JAYA: Pharmora Investment Holdings Pte Ltd’s takeover offer in Apex Healthcare Bhd (AHB) has become unconditional as the former currently holds more than 90% of Apex Healthcare shares. In a notice issued by UOB Kay Hian (M) Sdn Bhd on behalf of the offeror, Pharmora has accumulated 671.77 million shares or a 92.98% stake in AHB. Last month, AHB received a conditional voluntary take-over offer from Pharmora to buy all outstanding shares in the former at RM2.64 a share. Pharmora Investment is a special purpose vehicle through which is held by joint ultimate offerors, Quadria Capital Fund III Holdings Pte Ltd (Quadria CFIII) and Dr Kee Kirk Chin who is a major shareholder, chairman and chief executive officer of AHB. The offerers do not intend to maintain the listing status of AHB on Bursa Malaysia.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 10:15 UTC
Badminton: Season to savour
Former world champions Aaron-Wooi Yik enjoyed a strong start to the year, winning three titles and reaching six finals. Separated at the start of the year, the pair reunited and went on to win Malaysia’s first-ever mixed doubles world title. 1 An Se-young capped her season in style by winning the World Tour Finals, becoming the most successful women’s singles player of the year and equalling Kento Momota’s record of 11 World Tour titles in a single season. “I want to keep going for more records,” she said in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Mixed doubles: Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) 21-12, 21-17.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 10:15 UTC
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Bursa Malaysia to close on Christmas, New Year's Day
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): Bursa Malaysia Bhd (KL:BURSA) and its subsidiaries will be closed on Dec 25, 2025, in conjunction with Christmas Day and Jan 1, 2026, for the New Year’s Day holiday. In a statement on Tuesday, the exchange said operations will resume on the day after each of these public holidays. However, Bursa Gold Dinar (BGD) primary marketplace and Bursa Suq Al-Sila (BSAS) will remain open for trading throughout the public holidays, it added.
Source:The Edge Markets
December 23, 2025 10:12 UTC
Student cracks school safe using chalk dust
Compiled by C. ARUNO, OON JUN-YANG and R. ARAVINTHANINSPIRED by the plot in a detective novel, a student in China managed to break into a safe at school using only chalk dust to trace fingerprints on the number pad, reported Sin Chew Daily. The incident took place at a high school in Shenzhen on Nov 14 when a student decided to crack the password combination on the safe in his classroom. Having taken inspiration from a detective novel, the student applied chalk dust on the number pad and managed to identify the numbers which had been pressed. Five days later, a fourth student opened the safe and stole all the phones stored inside. In one of the videos, the husband opened their bedroom wardrobe which revealed packs of tissue paper stacked as high as the ceiling.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 10:10 UTC
Road users reminded to be cautious, stay safe and alert
KUALA LUMPUR: It’s the sort of advice that road users would often hear, but it’s worth repeating especially in view of the wet weather during the current holiday season. Drivers must make sure they have proper rest before beginning their journey so they can stay alert,” he said when contacted. In view of the rainy season, Comm Mohd Yusri said road users must be extra cautious. “Dashcams, CCTV, and police apps such as the VSP enable the public to monitor their homes and report suspicious activity to the police. Stay vigilant always and be a good and concerned citizen.”Ayub also advised the public to be aware of flood and landslide hotspots.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 09:50 UTC
A time for reflection and merrymaking
KUALA LUMPUR: From midnight Mass to long-awaited family reunions, Malaysians celebrating Christmas are marking the occasion as a season of togetherness, reflection and renewed bonds. For medical device sales executive Aaron Xavier, the Christmas eve midnight Mass is a must for his family. For retired English teacher Oon Sok Imm, 67, she would not miss attending the midnight mass each year. Its message can be easily overlooked due to the grand decorations so we need to reflect on how Christmas came to be,” she said. Many of the parishioners came after working hours to help decorate the manger,” said a parish staff member.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 09:50 UTC
Singer Barry Manilow reveals lung cancer diagnosis
US singer-songwriter Barry Manilow (pic) announced Monday he has been diagnosed with lung cancer, with plans to surgically treat the disease. "It's pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early," he added. Manilow continued by saying he was planning to undergo surgery to remove the cancer, cancelling shows scheduled for the rest of December and January as a result. "The doctors do not believe it has spread and I'm taking tests to confirm their diagnosis," Manilow said. "I'm counting the days until I return to my home away from home at the Westgate Las Vegas for our Valentine's weekend concerts on February 12-13-14," he said in his statement.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 09:50 UTC
Talent beyond labels at workplace
NEURODIVERGENT talent, encompassing individuals with conditions such as autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia, offers a spectrum of unique and valuable strengths to the corporate workforce. Beyond social responsibility, embracing neurodiversity offers profound workplace benefits that directly enhance a company’s performance and competitive edge. Furthermore, successful neurodiversity hiring initiatives consistently boast retention rates exceeding 90% and positively impact employee morale and overall workplace culture. In Malaysia, this talent pool represents a significant, yet largely untapped, resource; with 736,607 registered Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in 2023, including 265,503 individuals in the learning disabilities category, the available talent is substantial. programme was created to democratise leadership learning and accelerate readiness across all levels.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 09:42 UTC
Fifth straight week of buying by local institutions
KUALA LUMPUR: Local institutions extended their buying streak for a fifth consecutive week with net inflows of RM508.6mil, while local retailers recorded a third consecutive week of net outflows of RM145.3mil. MBSB Investment Bank Bhd’s (MBSB) Fund Flow Report for the week ended Dec 19, 2025, reported that foreign investors on Bursa Malaysia recorded net outflows for the second consecutive week, with net selling totalling RM363.3mil. MBSB noted that average daily trading volume saw a broad-based increase: local retailers by 2%, local institutions by 4.5% and foreign investors by 5.1%. “This was followed by South Korea, which saw net foreign outflows of US$2.51bil after two weeks of net buying. The Philippines also recorded net foreign outflows of US$32.7mil, marking its fourth consecutive week of net selling,” it added.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 09:35 UTC
Lenders ask India's central bank to rein in surging hedging costs, Bloomberg says
(Dec 23): Some lenders have asked India’s central bank to step in to curb a sharp rise in hedging costs, according to people familiar with the matter. It also highlights the central bank’s challenge in supporting the currency while minimising the fallout of those measures on the economy. If the central bank were to take the opposite side of these swaps, it may ease pressure by reducing the supply of dollars, the people said. Under central bank rules, banks must limit their dollar exposure. Foreign lenders, in particular, often swap surplus dollars into rupees to meet these requirements, especially towards the year end.
Source:The Edge Markets
December 23, 2025 09:33 UTC
Temple explains viral food offering incident
In a video which quickly went viral, a man claiming to be with the temple is seen arguing with a woman and removing food she had brought. Temple committee deputy president Logeswaran Muniandy claimed the woman has repeatedly broken temple rules and interfered in temple matters for years. The temple had instituted a rule that no outside food is allowed and there are large signboards announcing this. Logeswaran said since the day of the incident was a ‘pradosham’ (auspicious day), food had been prepared for devotees, but he claimed the woman was undeterred in trying to bring outside food into the temple. When temple president Magarathan Duraisamy spoke to her, the woman argued back which resulted in the matter escalating, Logeswaran claimed.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 09:15 UTC
Paramotor operator survives 30m fall to ground
MELAKA: A paramotor operator fell from a height of 30m after hitting an electricity cable while operating the vehicle at a padi field in KampungKu Sayang Bukit Baru here. Melaka Tengah district OCPD Asst Comm Christopher Patit said the incident occurred at about 8.40am on Sunday and is believed caused by a technical paramotor problem during the Duyong International Cultural Run 2025. The paramotor operator suffered minor injuries to his face and there was minor damage to the vehicle. “While operating their vehicle, one of the paramotors experienced technical problems before falling from a height of 30m onto the rice fields near the stadium,” ACP Christopher said in a statement, Bernama reported. A team from Tenaga Nasional Bhd later inspected the electricity cable the paramotor had hit and found that there was no damage.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 09:15 UTC
Three hurt after bus hits parked lorry in JB
JOHOR BARU: Three passengers, including two senior citizens, were hurt after a bus crashed into a parked lorry here. "A 64-year-old man was driving the bus with passengers from Skudai towards the city centre when he failed to notice a lorry parked by the roadside and crashed into the right side of the vehicle's rear. "As a result of the collision, the lorry, which had no driver, spun and mounted the left road shoulder," he said in a statement on Tuesday (Dec 23). He added that three bus passengers aged 45, 63 and 73 sustained minor injuries, while the bus driver was unharmed. ACP Raub urged witnesses to contact the district police headquarters traffic department or investigating officer Insp Hafiz Jaafar Mad Ariff at 014-7159957.
Source:The Star
December 23, 2025 09:14 UTC