World

KUALA LUMPUR — Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin on Monday signed the condolence book at the Royal Thai Embassy here to convey Malaysia’s deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences over the passing of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother.

“Malaysia stands in solidarity with the royal family, the government, and the people of Thailand during this time of national mourning,” the Foreign Ministry posted on Facebook, Tuesday.

The ministry said Her Majesty will be remembered for her enduring grace, compassion, and lifelong dedication to the well-being of the Thai people.

Queen Sirikit passed away on Oct 24 at the age of 93. — BERNAMA

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BANGLADESH interim leader Muhammad Yunus (picture) discussed the Rohingya humanitarian crisis in a meeting with visiting Turkish lawmakers in Dhaka on Monday.

“The plight of the Rohingya community remains one of the most tragic humanitarian crises of our time. These people are suffering simply because they are Muslims, and their citizenship has been stripped away,” Yunus told the Turkish delegation, according to a Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency report.

Bangladesh hosts more than 1.3 million Rohingya refugees who have escaped a campaign of genocide and persecution in Myanmar.

They survive in harsh conditions in sprawling camps in the Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh while Myanmar remains mired in violent ethnic conflicts and bloodshed despite international efforts to resolve the crisis.

Atrocities against the Rohingya community led to an exodus of refugees from the Rakhine region in 2017.

“After eight years in camps, their children are growing up with limited access to education or opportunities for the future — a situation that could lead to frustration and instability,” Yunus said.

He said the Rohingya people have endured injustice for decades and the world must not forget their plight.

The five-member Turkish parliamentary team led by Mehmet Akif Yilmaz on Sunday visited Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar and saw first-hand the humanitarian work various Turkish groups are doing there.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), Turkish Red Crescent (Türk Kızılay) and Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) are among the Turkish organisations that have helped Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Yilmaz in a social media post on Monday said 1.2 million refugees are living in a narrow area that lacks the most basic human needs.

Turkish humanitarian teams are stepping up their efforts to create more health facilities, schools, homes for the Rohingya community, he said. — BERNAMA

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SOUTH KOREA will triple spending on artificial intelligence, developing infrastructure and encouraging adoption of the technology, President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday in his annual parliamentary budget speech.

Lee said 10.1 trillion won ($7 billion) would go towards “a major transformation aimed at propelling South Korea into the ranks of the world’s top three AI powers” with the United States and China.

“We will significantly expand investment to usher in the ‘AI era’,” Lee said, noting that the amount was more than three times the current year’s AI-related budget.

The proposal was made in a speech outlining his government’s spending plans for 2026.

Overall, the budget plan totals 728 trillion won — an 8.1 percent increase from this year.

Lee needs a majority vote in parliament to pass his budget proposal, which is likely given his party’s majority.

South Korea is home to two of the world’s leading memory chip makers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

The two tech giants manufacture chips essential for AI products and the power-hungry data centres that the fast-evolving industry relies on.

Both firms recently signed preliminary deals with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to provide chips and other equipment for its Stargate AI infrastructure project.

Lee said 2.6 trillion won of next year’s AI budget “will be invested in introducing AI across industry, daily life and the public sector, while 7.5 trillion won will go towards talent development and infrastructure building”.

Jensen Huang, the CEO of US chip titan Nvidia, announced last week plans to supply 260,000 of the firm’s most advanced chips to South Korea.

After the announcement on Friday, Huang described that goal as “ambitious”.

But, he said, “there’s no reason why Korea cannot achieve it — you have the technology, you have the software expertise and you also have a natural ability to build manufacturing plants”. — AFP

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CRYPTOCURRENCIES remained under pressure on Monday, with Bitcoin trading below $107,000 and altcoins struggling even more, three weeks after a historic liquidation event shook the asset class and wiped out billions of dollars in leveraged positions.

This comes as, for the first time in seven months, institutional demand for Bitcoin has also slipped below the rate at which new coins are being mined, according to Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments. While this move suggests that large buyers may be pulling back, other activity shows a risk-off attitude across the crypto market as a whole.

A MarketVector index tracking the bottom half of the largest 100 digital assets fell for a third consecutive trading session, dropping as much as 8.8% with some tokens retesting the lows seen during the October flash crash. The index is down around 60% this year. 

Bitcoin slipped as much as 4.3% on Monday to around $105,300, and is still about 14% higher since December. Even so, Bitcoin has lagged global equities in recent weeks as investors rotate toward risk assets more sensitive to macroeconomic developments, leaving crypto struggling to find its footing despite a broadly positive global backdrop. 

Elsewhere, Ton, a digital asset from a blockchain project that was initially linked to Telegram Messenger, fell around 10%. Last week, the digital asset treasury firm TON Strategy Inc. revealed that it received a warning from Nasdaq that it failed to comply with shareholder approval requirements. The DAT’s stock fell 4% on Monday, and is down 37% this year. 

The October event wiped out roughly $19 billion in long positions and market participants say rebuilding that capital base takes time. In this, experts say sentiment remains cautious as investors wait for confirmation that prices have found a low point.

“The market will have to first show that a convincing bottom in price is near before making a fresh attempt at breaking upwards,” said Jordi Alexander, CEO at crypto trading and market making firm Selini Capital. He added that the crypto market is in a “hangover phase” from October’s liquidation shock. While many point to October as an inflection point for crypto market volatility, others still see soft prices across the asset class as a mystery.

“I view this as somewhat of a puzzling correction,” said Matthew Kimmell, a digital asset analyst at CoinShares. While Kimmell believes that the crypto market is “still experiencing some reverberations” from the liquidation event, he highlighted indicators in Bitcoin supply through noting the movements of previously stagnant wallets in the coin’s open transaction records.

“Those coins have been moving, likely coming back onto the market, providing some sale pressure, investors taking profit,” Kimmell added. “That’s something I’m continuing to monitor.” 

This is why prices are trending lower, said Jake Hanley, a managing director at Teucrium ETFs, who noted that the current technical picture shows a bifurcated market. “Prices have been trending lower, topping out with Bitcoin since the summertime and certainly trending lower in XRP since mid-summer,” he said. “As that’s been happening, this price is just telling you that folks are taking profits.” –BLOOMBERG

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GRAB Holdings Ltd. raised its earnings forecast for the year after quarterly profit topped estimates, helped by novel offerings such as shared rides and deliveries that drew consumers during an economic downturn.

The Singapore-based company predicted $490 million to $500 million in adjusted full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, more than the as much as $480 million it had forecast earlier. Grab also narrowed its full-year sales forecast range, keeping the higher end unchanged at $3.4 billion.

New products such as group food orders and less-expensive shared rides are helping Grab fend off competition from Indonesia’s GoTo Group and smaller contenders throughout the Southeast Asian region of about 675 million people. Chief Executive Officer Anthony Tan is trying to convince investors of Grab’s money-making potential, even as the area’s sputtering economies leave consumers with limited spending power.

Revenue rose 22% to $873 million for the three months through September. Analysts were projecting $869 million on average, according to Bloomberg-compiled estimates. Adjusted Ebitda also beat estimates at $136 million.

While Grab and GoTo are both growing at a double-digit percentage clip, their margins have remained slim. The two industry leaders have been exploring a combination to alleviate cost and pricing pressures, with new entrants luring away users with promotions.

Shares of Grab were little changed in extended trading after advancing as much as 2.8%. They remain far below their initial price when it went public through a US blank-check firm in 2021. Still, they’ve gained more than 40% in the past 12 months as its profit increased, outperforming GoTo.

Grab, backed by Uber Technologies Inc., has seen growth slow dramatically from triple-digit rates in years past as it moves away from a frenetic expansion pace, focusing on profits after years of spending to grow its market share. Grab’s increased customer base has left it with less room for growth, leaving it to introduce more novel offerings to entice consumers who are less willing to hail a ride or get food delivered to their door in a challenging economy.

Like its US counterparts Uber and Lyft Inc., Grab is betting on autonomous vehicle technology to prepare for a future where driverless rides are a norm. Last month, it announced an investment in driverless technology developer May Mobility Inc., and in September it formed a pact with Chinese robotaxi operator WeRide to offer AVs for consumers in part of a neighborhood in Singapore.

The company is also betting on new initiatives in areas from digital finance to its core delivery services.

“We want to continue to sustain this growth momentum that we’re sending into Q4, into Q1, Q2, Q3 next year,” Chief Financial Officer Peter Oey said in an interview. “If we continue to deliver these product innovations that we’re doing, making our products affordable, we should be seeing a similar sustaining momentum in the growth of our business and that profit conversion.” –BLOOMBERG

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NEW YORK — US consumer goods giant Kimberly-Clark announced Monday a $48.7 billion deal to acquire the major health company Kenvue, whose Tylenol painkiller has faced Trump administration allegations of links to increased autism risks.

Texas-based Kimberly-Clark makes a wide range of paper and cloth products, with brands such as Huggies, Kleenex and Kotex.

Kenvue, in addition to Tylenol, owns a broad array of consumer health brands, from Neutrogena and Listerine, to Band-Aid.

“We are excited to bring together two iconic companies to create a global health and wellness leader,” Kimberly-Clark chief executive Mike Hsu said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, the companies said, with Hsu to become chairman and CEO of the combined group.

The companies expect the combined entity to create 2025 annual net revenues of $32 billion.

Kenvue has recently been in the spotlight after allegations by President Donald Trump and his administration that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, may be linked to increased risk of autism when used by pregnant women and newborns.

Medical groups have long cited acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol, as a safe option for reducing fever and pain during pregnancy.

Republican-led Texas filed suit against Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson last week over the allegations.

Kenvue was spun off from Johnson & Johnson’s consumer goods brand in 2023. — AFP

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GAZA/ISTANBUL — Gaza’s Health Ministry said Monday that it had received the remains of 45 Palestinians released by Israel via the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), raising the total number of bodies handed over to 270 under a ceasefire agreement.

The forensic teams have so far identified 78 bodies and are continuing examinations “in accordance with approved medical procedures and protocols” before the remains are documented and released to families, the ministry said in a statement, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.

The ministry had previously said that many of the bodies handed over by Israel showed signs of abuse, including beatings, bound hands, blindfolds and facial disfigurement and were returned without names.

The handover is part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct 10.

The deal includes the exchange of prisoners and bodies between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Turkiye, Egypt, and Qatar, with US oversight.

Families have been identifying the remains of their relatives, returned from Israel without names, by physical markings or clothing, as forensic facilities in Gaza remain out of service due to a years-long Israeli blockade and the destruction of laboratories.

Before the ceasefire, Israel held 735 Palestinian bodies in so-called “cemeteries of numbers,” according to the Palestinian National Campaign to Retrieve Martyrs’ Bodies.

Israel has killed more than 68,800 people, mostly women and children and injured over 170,600 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023. — BERNAMA-ANADOLU

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LONDON — The only survivor of June’s Air India crash has told UK media of the mental and physical anguish he has endured since surviving the deadly disaster in the Indian city of Ahmedabad.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said in the interviews aired and published Monday that the months following the crash, which killed 241 passengers on the London-bound plane and another 19 people on the ground, had been “very difficult”.

The British citizen, who lives Leicester, central England, walked away from the plane wreckage, in what he has called “a miracle”, but lost his brother.

“God gave me life but took all my happiness, and from my family,” the 39-year-old told Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency.

“It completely brought down my family… it’s very difficult for me and my family.”

He added that his brother, Ajay, “was my strength” and “my everything”.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad in western India on June 12, smashing into a medical college.

A preliminary investigation report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said fuel to the jet’s engines was cut off moments before impact.

It did not offer any other firm conclusions or apportion blame for the disaster.

It emerged last month that the father of one of the pilots has asked India’s top court for an independent investigation, arguing the official probe was unfairly blaming the crew.

In the interviews, which included several to British broadcasters, Ramesh was reluctant to talk about the crash, saying it was still “very painful”.

“I get flashbacks all the time. I just stay awake, I sleep maybe three to four hours,” he told PA.

Ramesh told the BBC he suffers pain in his leg, shoulder, knee and back, and has not been able to work or drive since the tragedy.

“When I walk, not walk properly, slowly, slowly, my wife help,” he added.

His advisers told the British broadcaster he was diagnosed with PTSD while he was being treated in hospital in India but that he has not received any medical treatment since being back in the UK. — AFP

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OSLO — Airbus-led defence firm NHIndustries (NHI) has agreed to pay Norway 305 million euros ($351 million) to settle a dispute over a cancelled order for long-delayed military helicopters, the government said Monday.

Norway ordered 14 NH90 helicopters in 2001 to equip its navy frigates and coast guard by the end of 2008.

But the program was plagued by long delays, prompting the Norwegian government to tear up the contract in 2022 after receiving only eight aircraft.

Oslo then sued NHI — a consortium comprised of Airbus Helicopters, Italian defence firm Leonardo and Dutch counterpart Fokker — seeking nearly 2.9 billion euros in reimbursement and damages.

The two sides ended up reaching a settlement that ends all legal proceedings, the Norwegian defence ministry said in a statement.

In 2023, Norway ordered six Seahawk helicopters from US manufacturer Sikorsky to replace the NH90 aircraft it gave up on. — AFP

 

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MANILA — Thousands were evacuated in coastal provinces of the Philippines on Monday, ahead of a typhoon due to make landfall in a region hit by some of the country’s deadliest storms.

Typhoon Kalmaegi is on a collision course with Leyte island, bringing 120-kilometre (75-mile) per hour winds and gusts of up to 150 kph, according to the national weather service.

“Evacuations are ongoing in Palo and Tanauan,” said Leyte disaster official Roel Montesa, naming two of the towns hardest hit by storm surges in 2013, when Super Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,000 people.

Thousands of residents have also been evacuated since Sunday on neighbouring Samar island, where three-metre (10-foot) surges are predicted, according to civil defence official Randy Nicart.

“Some local governments are resorting to forced evacuations, including Guiuan town, where the storm is likely to make landfall,” he said.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, routinely striking disaster-prone areas where millions live in poverty.

With Kalmaegi, the archipelago country has already reached that average, state weather service specialist Charmaine Varilla told AFP, adding that at least “three to five more” storms could be expected by December’s end.

Just south of Leyte, in Dinagat Islands province, governor Nilo Demerey said 10,000 to 15,000 people had been pre-emptively moved to safer areas.

“We have been implementing preemptive evacuations for the past two days, while there is time,” he told AFP.

Disaster official Joy Conales said residents of Dinagat’s Loreto town were told to evacuate to higher ground.

The town has a one-storey-tall “wave breaker” dike intended to protect its centre from big waves.

Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful due to human-driven climate change.

Varilla said Tuesday that higher numbers of cyclones typically accompany La Nina, a naturally occurring climate pattern that cools surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

The Philippines was hit by two major storms in September, including Super Typhoon Ragasa, which toppled trees and tore the roofs off buildings, and killed 14 people in neighbouring Taiwan. — AFP

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