(July 24): Google has fired a software engineer who worked on the company's artificial intelligence (AI) development team over his public contention that he had conversations with a bot that had become "sentient". Google confirmed the firing in a statement, saying the claims from the engineer, Blake Lemoine, were "wholly unfounded" and that he had shared confidential company information with third parties. Lemoine made his claim in an interview with the Washington Post in June, saying that LaMDA, the AI bot he interacted with, was a person. Not long after, Google placed him on paid leave. Google said it has looked into the matter extensively, including 11 reviews of LaMDA.

It is seen as crucial to curbing soaring global food prices by allowing grain exports to be shipped from Black Sea ports including Odesa. "In the context of what is currently happening with Ukrainian grain, the strike was carried out exactly where the grain is," said Yuriy Ignat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force. The cruise missiles were fired from warships in the Black Sea near Crimea, he added. A global food crisis has pushed some 47 million people into "acute hunger," according to the World Food Programme. Moscow has denied responsibility for the food crisis, blaming Western sanctions for slowing its own food and fertiliser exports and Ukraine for mining the approaches to its Black Sea ports.

PETALING JAYA: Eligible Malaysians can now book appointments for their second Covid-19 booster shot via the MySejahtera application. MySejahtera announced this on July 23 via a tweet, adding that booking links for the second Covid-19 booster shot can be accessed via the app’s vaccination page. It also said that only Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are given for second booster doses at the moment. ALSO READ: Second booster availableEligible second booster shot recipients will have to update their MySejahtera app to the latest 2.0.3 version, and also their personal information such as date of birth on the app. As of Saturday (July 23), 16,174,395 Malaysians have received their first booster shot while 277,280 have received the second booster shot.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 23): Malaysia has been selected as a manufacturing hub for 5G telecom equipment in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, producing Ericsson's latest and most advanced 5G radios beginning from the third quarter of this year. Its president and chief executive officer (CEO) for Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh David Hägerbro said Malaysia will be the first in Southeast Asia to manufacture Ericsson's 5G equipment for domestic and regional markets. "Supporting the decision to make Malaysia a regional manufacturing hub are the availability of a skilled workforce and the strong infrastructure that Malaysia offers. "The collaboration is expected to reach up to 1,200 students in the first year and will enable UTM students to participate and contribute to the country’s digital economy and Industry 4.0 transformation. "In fact, Malaysia's first innovation centre to research and test 5G technology was set up by Ericsson at UTM in 2016," he said.

AS lifestyles and businesses become increasingly digital, there is one segment that needs support for its digital transformation journey. They are none other than micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). In an effort to support this segment, financial technology (fintech) firm Boost has lined up solutions that will aid MSMEs in achieving their digital goals and transformation journey.

DEMAND for cross-border taxi services between Malaysia and Singapore remains encouraging despite an increase in fares on the Singapore side. Another Singaporean taxi driver, Irmanshah Azir, 38, said the last fare hike for the Singapore-Johor Baru taxi service was some 10 years ago. “So far, the number of people taking cross-border taxis is still encouraging, especially among regulars,” he said. He said the association managed cross-border taxi services on the Malaysian side. The taxi fare from Ban San Street Taxi Terminal in Rochor, Singapore to Larkin Sentral Terminal was raised on July 11 from S$12 (RM38.40) to S$15 (RM48) per person.

This was followed by grand plans from various international industry heavyweights to produce green hydrogen on a commercial scale in Sarawak, powered by its massive hydropower resources. This project aims to produce 630,000 tonnes of green ammonia, 460,000 tonnes of green methanol and 7,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year. Similarly, the H2X-Thales-SEDC hydrogen export facility in Samalaju is expected to produce 970,000 tonnes of green ammonia and 170,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year, while the Sumimoto-ENEOS-SEDC hydrogen plant in Bintulu is projecting up to 10,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year. However, calculations show that the projects above require 560,000 tonnes of green hydrogen, which would require well over 4,000 MW. Using green energy to electrolyse water produces green hydrogen with zero carbon emissions.

Before and after: Ng Tze Yong has changed his hairstyle ahead of the Commonwealth Games. I want to try something new and hopefully this gives me some luck,” said Tze Yong. Tze Yong is out to embrace any good fortune that comes his way as he bids to shine in the quadrennial Games. “I am happy with my preparations and feel that I am ready,” added Tze Yong. “I will discuss with my coaches and possibly come up with a new strategy if I am drawn to face him,” said Tze Yong.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 22): ACE Market-listed Artroniq Bhd has proposed the full acquisition of Paklin Venture Capital Sdn Bhd for RM1.6 million in cash as it spots growth prospects of the lending market in Malaysia. Just a week ago, Artroniq Bhd had proposed to acquire a 60% stake in Penang-based Fujim Digital Sdn Bhd (FDSB) for RM12 million to diversify and include precision engineering and machinery parts manufacturing in its business. It added that the latest desired venture was considered after taking into consideration the growth prospects particularly of the alternative lending market, due to the strict lending requirements imposed by licensed financial institutions. Artroniq’s share price closed unchanged at 47 sen on Friday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM147.79 million. Read also: Artroniq proposes diversification into precision engineering business

KUALA LUMPUR (July 22): Bursa Malaysia ended the week on a firmer note, with the FBM KLCI breaking its resistance in the process on Friday (July 22), thanks to continuous buying support from local institutions and foreign funds, dealers said. At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 15.48 points, or 1.07%, to 1,465.8 from Thursday’s close of 1,450.32. However, total turnover declined to 2.05 billion units worth RM1.55 billion from 2.13 billion units valued at RM1.38 billion on Thursday. "We expect the FBM KLCI to continue its uptrend in the near term. "We expect the FBM KLCI to continue its uptrend in the near term.

BANGKOK: Malaysia and Thailand will set up "strong villages" along the border with the aim of strengthening border security cooperation as well as boosting the local population’s socio-economic development. Gen Zamrose is currently on a five-day working visit to Thailand starting Wednesday (July 21) until July 24, which aims to strengthen the defence diplomacy between Malaysia and Thailand. Also, Gen Zamrose received the "Highest Achievement Award" from the National Defence Studies Institute here. The award was presented by the Commanding General of National Defence Studies Institute, General Siravuth Wongkantee, at a ceremony Wednesday. In fact, the Thai side will also build two posts as (a mark of) support and cooperation,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 22): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session higher, thanks to continued buying activities among selected heavyweights, taking its cue from the uptrend in global stock markets, a dealer said. At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 8.76 points to 1,459.08 from Thursday’s close of 1,450.32. The benchmark index opened 0.77 points higher at 1,451.09. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 55.03 points to 10,356.94, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 13.39 points to 10,423.14, the FBM 70 was 53.89 points higher at 12,437.98, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 56.77 points to 10,115.87 and the FBM ACE improved 30.18 points to 4,773.27. Sector-wise, the Energy Index was 1.37 points higher at 638.21 and the Financial Services Index surged 169.53 points to 16,385.95, while the Plantation Index narrowed 52.16 points to 6,846.37 and the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.44 of-a-point to 176.54.

A TOTAL of 12,733 Rumah Keluarga Malaysia Angkatan Tentera (RKMAT) housing units will be built in five phases from 2023 to 2030 for veterans, said Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. “The aspect of improving housing for defence staff has never stopped,” he said during the question and answer session. Hishammuddin was responding to a question from Kesavan Subramaniam (PH-Sungai Siput) on housing for veterans and the status of the housing blueprint. Separately, there were 1,242 accidents involving food delivery drivers (p-hailing drivers) between 2018 and May this year. According to the Transport Ministry, the figure comprised 1,048 light injuries, 82 serious injuries, and 112 deaths involving p-hailing drivers.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 21): Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Thursday (July 21), driven by buying mainly in industrial products and services, as well as technology and plantations counters, amid mixed sentiments in the regional markets, a dealer said. However, total turnover shrank to 2.13 billion units worth RM1.38 billion from 2.47 billion units valued at RM1.41 billion on Wednesday. Sector-wise, the Plantation Index added 109.27 points to 6,898.53, the Financial Services Index gained 149.56 points to 16,216.42, the Energy Index was 5.05 points higher at 636.84, and the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 3.11 points to 176.98. Main Market volume declined to 1.22 billion shares worth RM1.2 billion against 1.65 billion shares worth RM1.2 billion on Wednesday. ACE Market volume swelled to 607.1 million shares worth RM118.95 million from 483.39 million shares worth RM131.05 million previously.

BANGKOK (July 21): Malaysia and Thailand will set up ‘strong villages’ along the border with the aim of strengthening border security cooperation as well as boosting the local population’s socio-economic development. Zamrose is currently on a five-day working visit to Thailand starting on Wednesday until July 24, which aims to strengthen the defence diplomacy between Malaysia and Thailand. Also, Zamrose received the 'Highest Achievement Award' from the National Defence Studies Institute here. The award was presented by the Commanding General of National Defence Studies Institute, General Siravuth Wongkantee, at a ceremony on Thursday. In fact, the Thai side will also build two posts as (a mark of) support and cooperation,” he said.