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.

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.

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.

(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.

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.

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.

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.

KUCHING: The High Court has ordered Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen to pay RM500,000 in damages and costs to Deputy Premier Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian over defamatory remarks involving Covid-19 food relief funds in 2020. In his ruling yesterday, Justice Alwi Abdul Wahab allowed Dr Sim’s claim that Chong’s Facebook posts on the matter were maliciously published and calculated to injure his reputation. He also found that Chong had failed to establish his defence and dismissed his counterclaim that Dr Sim’s related press statements were defamatory. Consequently, the court awarded RM350,000 in general and aggravated damages for defamation, RM50,000 in general damages for malicious falsehood and RM100,000 in total costs to Dr Sim. After the ruling, Dr Sim said justice had been done.

KUALA LUMPUR: Rapper Namewee was freed from a charge of using dangerous drugs but continues to face a charge of having ecstasy pills. Magistrate S. Arunjothy acquitted him after deputy public prosecutor Amritpreet Kaur Randhawa informed the court that the pathology results were negative and the prosecution had withdrawn the charge. “The court acquits and discharges the accused from the charge and the bail money (RM2,000) is returned,” said Arunjothy. Earlier, lawyer Joshua Tay representing Namewee said that since the pathology report was negative, there was no prospect of prosecuting the accused and his client should be discharged and acquitted of the charge, Bernama reported. However, the man still faces a charge of possessing drugs suspected to be ecstasy weighing approximately 5.12 grammes in a hotel room at Jalan Conlay here, at 4.30 pm, Oct 22.

JOHOR plans to expand its integrated complaint system to three other councils by the second quarter of 2026, says state executive councillor Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor. The housing and local government committee chairman said the system MyAduan Johor was in its second testing phase under Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) and had received close to 10,000 complaints in four months. Mohd Jafni said the second testing phase of the system, which began early this month, involved all 24 zones under MBJB. Mohd Jafni says existing systems like Sispaa will later be integrated into the MyAduan Johor system. Mohd Jafni said MyAduan Johor enabled two-way communication, allowing the public to be informed in real time about the progress of their complaints.

PLANS are in the pipeline to address severe parking woes especially in Taman Perling and Taman Bukit Indah, Johor Baru, caused by Singapore-bound Malay­­sian workers. Iskandar Puteri mayor Hasrin Kamal Hashim said land acquisition process for a multi-storey carpark at Taman Bukit Indah was completed. However, Hasrin said it was premature to announce the actual cost of the multi-storey carpark building located next to Granada Hotel in Taman Bukit Indah. “Upon completion, hopefully the issue of them hogging the parking spaces at the commercial areas of Taman Bukit Indah will be solved,” said Hasrin. “The temporary place, loca­ted at the carpark next to the Perling market and Dataran Niaga@Jalan Camar will start operating from Jan 1,” he said.

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JOHOR BARU: A personal shopper claimed to have lost thousands of ringgit after discovering payment receipts made by a regular customer were falsified. “After receiving screencaps of conversations shared by the social media user, I became concerned and immediately reviewed my own transaction records,” said the 28-year-old. Upon checking her bank statements, Nur Aisyah discovered that several proof-of-payment screencaps sent by the customer for past purchases were allegedly fake. “Many people assume online sellers are protected, but in reality, personal shoppers take on significant financial risk,” she said. Meanwhile, Johor Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry director Lilis Saslinda Pornomo said personal shoppers or traders who believe they have been cheated are encouraged to lodge complaints with relevant authorities.

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite being diagnosed with cancer, Juliana Razid did not give up on her dream of having children. “At that time, I was only 34 years old and had no family history of cancer. Juliana, who was a civil servant stationed overseas at the time, took medical leave and underwent surgery at the National Cancer Institute in January 2017. “Because I acted quickly, the doctor said chemotherapy was not mandatory as the cancer cells had been removed and had not spread. Throughout the pregnancy, Juliana chose to keep the news private, sharing it only within a small circle, while also strictly adhering to the prescribed treatment plan.

PUTRAJAYA: Hannah Yeoh has dismissed criticism of her appointment as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories), saying that she should be judged on her work rather than her ethnicity. “Race or skin colour has never defined or limited my work. Yeoh was responding to criticism by PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan on her appointment. Takiyuddin had said in a statement last week that the centralisation of strategic administration of cities, local government, housing and local authorities in the hands of leaders from one party and ethnicity can raise major, legitimate and unavoidable questions regarding issues of imbalance and excessive centralisation of power, as well as the true direction of national governance. But on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Yeoh’s appointment, along with that of Datuk Lo Su Fui as her deputy, will not undermine the Malay agenda in the Federal Territories.