Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

CYBERJAYA, Feb 10 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia will not build nuclear power plants until there is a safe way to dispose off the radioactive waste generated.

He pointed out that Malaysia did not have adequate knowledge in that field.

“If you have a nuclear power plant, you will accumulate nuclear waste which is radioactive and until now they do not know how to reverse the process. That is why we cannot use nuclear material because it stays on for millions of years. 

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The journey from Negeri Sembilan to Queensland, Australia can take a day if you travel by plane, but for Maha Sinnathamby, it has taken a lifetime.

The billionaire was born in the village of Rantau 80 years ago and never dreamed he would one day become one of Australia’s richest men, let alone the founder of one of the most successful master-planned cities in the world.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Feb 10 (NNN-TNA) – Two people were killed and more than 20 others injured, when two speedboats collided in Phuket, on Monday morning, police said.

One of the speedboats, carrying tourists, most of whom were Russians, was leaving a pier, near the Royal Phuket Marina, when it accidentally collided with another boat, with no passengers aboard.

Two young passengers, aged six and 12, were pronounced dead at the hospital, the police said.

The injured tourists were rushed to various hospitals.

SEOUL, Feb 10 (NNN-YONHAP) — Bong Joon-ho’s sensational black comedy “Parasite” has bagged four Oscar titles, including best picture and best director, to become the first non-English language film to achieve such a feat.

At the 92nd Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday (U.S. local time), Bong’s seventh feature film, a tale of class division, won the ceremony’s highest prize — best film.

It outclassed “The Irishman,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “Little Women,” “Joker,” “Marriage Story,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “1917.”

10 February 2020; AFP: The death toll from the novel coronavirus surged past 900 in mainland China on Monday, overtaking global fatalities in the 2002-03 SARS epidemic, even as the World Health Organization said the outbreak appeared to be stabilising.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia on Monday said it has yet to decide on launching a new search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing with 239 people on board nearly six years ago.

Malaysia’s ministry of transport said it has not received any new credible evidence to initiate a new search.

“However, the Ministry will review any new evidence that it officially receives,” the ministry said in a brief statement.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia’s economy is expected to expand by 4.5% this year, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday, down from the government’s initial estimate of 4.8%.

Mahathir cited “challenging times” for the revision to the government’s forecast, which was announced when the 2020 budget was tabled in November. He did not elaborate.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices edged down on Monday but held recent ranges as traders assessed China’s oil demand following the coronavirus outbreak and awaited a decision by major producers to cut output further to balance markets.

Oil is off more than 20% from peaks struck in January after a spreading virus hit demand in the world’s largest oil importer and fueled concerns of excess supplies.

Brent crude LCOc1 slipped to $53.63 a barrel in early Asian trade, the lowest since January 2019, before recovering to $54.37 by 0517 GMT, down 10 cents.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Britain takes U.S. concerns about its use of Huawei equipment seriously but is confident a trade deal with the United States will be among its first after leaving the European Union, its foreign secretary said on Monday.

U.S. officials have hinted future trade talks could be affected by Britain’s decision last month to grant Huawei a limited role in its 5G mobile network, frustrating a global bid by the United States to exclude the firm from the West’s next-generation communications systems.

BEIJING (AP) — Japan’s health ministry says about 60 more people on a quarantined cruise ship have tested positive for a new virus.

Health ministry officials said Monday they are double checking the results and could not immediately release the exact figure. They said further details are under way.

Health officials previously said 70 people had the virus among the 3,711 passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess, quarantined in the port of Yokohama, near Tokyo.

More than 3,600 people are still in a 14-day quarantine on board the ship.