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.

PETALING JAYA (Jan 16): The Magistrate’s Court here was on Friday told that the teenage boy charged with the murder of a 16-year-old female schoolmate in a secondary school toilet in Bandar Utama is fit to stand trial. Lawyer Kitson Foong, representing the 15-year-old boy, said the report prepared by a psychiatrist from Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Perak, found that his client was capable of understanding the court proceedings. “The boy is fit to be brought to court for trial and can defend himself,” he said. He told the media this after the proceeding, which was held in camera, before Magistrate Amira Sariaty Zainal. The boy was charged on Oct 22 last year with murdering his schoolmate at a secondary school in Bandar Utama between 9.20am and 9.35am on Oct 14, 2025.

(Jan 16): Records in South Korea and Taiwan pushed emerging Asian market equities to an all-time high on Friday, as TSMC's robust earnings and annual forecast boosted optimism around AI, with a trade deal between the US and Taiwan also helping. The MSCI gauge of EM Asia equities climbed around 0.7% each to notch an all-time high. The index tracking EM Asia tech stocks jumped more than 2% to a record peak. Stocks in Taiwan finished at a record closing level of 31,408.70 points, and above the 31,000-mark for the first time ever. In Southeast Asia, Singapore stocks traded a few points shy of their record high of 4,846.680 points, up for a sixth straight session.

Traders at First Garden morning market hope Ipoh City Council (MBI) will legalise their business, as enforcement actions are disrupting their livelihoods. There are about 40 unlicensed traders operating on Lorong Taman 10 and Lorong Taman 11 in First Garden, near the commercial centre. Cheah: Approval never given to trade at Lorong Taman 10 and Lorong Taman 11. “This is a commercial zone and it should be attractive to shoppers and tourists.”There are plans to move First Garden morning market traders to a nearby food court. She said that following a review, the city council was unable to issue licences to the hawkers because they were trading on parking bays.

Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) will stop issuing licences for new snooker centres, following a directive from the state government aimed at safeguarding community well-being. In a separate matter, Mohd Haffiz reminded business owners, particularly F&B operators, to ensure toilets in their premises were kept clean. This, he elaborated, was now a requirement for business licence renewal. He said the “Bersih, Menawan dan Wangi”, or “Clean, Attractive and Fragrant” initiative had been incorporated into MBJB’s business licensing guidelines. “Only premises that achieve a minimum four-star rating and above will be considered eligible for annual business licence renewal,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Kinabatangan MP, the late Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, has been acquitted by the Sessions Court here of three graft charges involving RM2.8mil linked to a Felcra investment. "According to Section 254 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the prosecution has decided not to continue the case against the first accused (Bung Moktar). ALSO READ: Zizie Izette seeks to have RM2.8mil graft charges droppedHowever, the trial against Bung Moktar's widow, Zizie Izette A. Samad, for abetting her husband in relation to the same offences, will proceed in March. Bung Moktar was also charged with receiving RM337,500 in cash from Unit Amanah consultant, Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar, under the name of Zizie Izette for the same reason and place on June 19, 2015. Bung passed away due to kidney failure and lung infection at 1.46am on Dec 5, last year.

TOKYO (Jan 16): A railway power outage in Tokyo disrupted the morning commute for roughly 673,000 passengers on Friday, as two main lines servicing some of the world's busiest stations were halted. Trains on East Japan Railway's (JR East) Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines were halted for up to nine hours on Friday, the railway operator said. JR East said a failure to restore power after overnight maintenance work at Tokyo's Tamachi Station left both lines without electricity early Friday. Passengers were seen disembarking from a Keihin-Tohoku train stranded between stations and walking along the tracks to evacuate, assisted by firefighters and railway staff. The Yamanote Line passes through stations including Shinjuku, which handles about 3.5 million passengers daily.