PETALING JAYA: Toll hikes for major highways have been postponed to 2022 to ease the burden of the people due to the rising cost of living, says Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. Read full story

PETALING JAYA: Maid agencies have applied to bring in new foreign maids since the government’s announcement allowing for new hires but so far no response has been received. Read full story

PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department has received zero applications for hiring of new foreign domestic helpers despite the go ahead for maid agencies to start the process while waiting for borders to reopen. Read full story

PETALING JAYA: There is no age limit or maximum age to becoming e-hailing drivers under government rules, says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong. Read full story

PUTRAJAYA: Covid-19 cases in the country continued its ascendancy, with daily figures for new cases staying past 3,000 for the third day in a row. Read full story

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad's ruling military council said on Friday that six of its soldiers had been killed in a battle near the northern town of Nokou that resulted in several hundred killed on the rebel side and 60 captured. Read full story

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The director of Chile’s health regulator said he sees no evidence of safety issues with Sputnik V, the COVID-19 vaccine developed in Russia, despite its rejection by the Brazilian health regulator this week over a lack of information about its safety. Read full story

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany said on Friday it rejected Russia's decision to bar eight officials from European Union countries from entering the country in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russian citizens by the EU. Read full story

Scams involving Sony's latest console are becoming more common than the constantly out of stock PlayStation 5 itself, causing headaches for gamers. Read full story

While smart devices are supposed to make the home more convenient, using different brands with different radio networks could make it a hassle instead. Read full story

SEATTLE (Reuters) - U.S. space agency NASA has told Elon Musk's SpaceX to halt work under a contract it won to develop a lunar spacecraft, pending the outcome of challenges by rival bidders at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the agency said on Friday. Read full story

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's second-highest court will rule on May 12 on Amazon.com Inc's appeal of an EU order to pay about 250 million euros ($300.5 million) in back taxes to Luxembourg. Read full story

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union aims to cut its dependency on Chinese and other foreign suppliers in six strategic areas including raw materials, pharmaceutical ingredients and semiconductors, under an industrial action plan to be announced next week. Read full story

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelans on Friday celebrated the beatification of Jose Gregorio Hernandez, a medic who became known as the "doctor of the poor" while treating the ill during the Spanish flu pandemic in the early 20th century. Read full story

GENEVA (Reuters) -Countries should share spare vaccine doses with Brazil to help the global fight against COVID-19 and meet the battered country's goal of inoculating all citizens by year-end, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said on Friday. Read full story

(Reuters) - Anthony Villarreal remembers waking up with what felt like an anvil pressing down on his chest. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of six Boeing-made P-8I patrol aircraft and related equipment to India for an estimated cost of $2.42 billion, the Pentagon said on Friday. Read full story

(Reuters) - Pope Francis ruled on Friday that bishops and cardinals who work in the Vatican will be judged by the same lay tribunal that hears other criminal cases and no longer by an elite panel of prelates. Read full story

LIVERPOOL (Reuters) - Thousands of young people partied at a nightclub in Liverpool on Friday, part of a government-backed trial to restart mass audience events as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes further in England. Read full story

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia will seek a $4 billion loan programme from the International Monetary Fund in talks starting next week, Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi told Reuters on Friday, saying politicians faced a "last opportunity" to save the economy. Read full story

CARACAS (Reuters) -A U.S.-backed effort to send aid to Venezuela in 2019 that ended in a violent standoff on the Colombian border was not planned in alignment with humanitarian principles, according to an audit by the Washington-based aid agency involved in the operation. Read full story

WARSAW (Reuters) - An ancient Egyptian mummy once believed to be the remains of a male priest is actually the embalmed body of a woman in the third trimester of pregnancy, Polish scientists said on Friday. Read full story

(Reuters) - Bitcoin rose 6.54% to $57,098.08 on Friday, adding $3,504.11 to its previous close. Read full story

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Around 15 people were killed in a crush at a religious bonfire festival in Israel on Friday, the top-rated Channel 12 TV news said, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a "heavy disaster". Read full story

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Far fewer protesters came out on Thursday for a second day of demonstrations against a tax reform proposed by the Colombian government, which among other things would expand items subject to value-added tax. Read full story

MOSCOW/BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Russian developer of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said on Thursday it would sue the Brazilian health regulator Anvisa for defamation, prompting a stern rebuttal from the agency. Read full story

LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian front-running left-wing presidential candidate Pedro Castillo was rushed to a clinic in Lima on Thursday for "respiratory" illness, forcing him to suspend campaigning, the candidate's party said on social media. Read full story

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU countries and EU lawmakers agreed late Thursday evening to allow Facebook and Microsoft to scan and remove online child sexual abuse, potentially paving the way for a deal in the coming months on privacy rules targeting online platforms. Read full story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday released a photo that shows the British socialite accused of enabling Jeffrey Epstein's sex abuses with a bruise around her left eye, which the lawyer called a "black eye." Read full story

(Reuters) -Pfizer Inc's shipment of COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico this week includes doses made in its U.S. plant, the first of what are expected to be ongoing exports of its shots from the United States, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Read full story

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday postponed planned parliamentary elections amid a dispute over voting in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem and splits in his Fatah party. Read full story

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Three quarters of Chileans disapprove of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera's management of the country, according to a poll published on Thursday, just days after the center-right septuagenarian suffered a bruising defeat in his bid to hold back a fresh raid on the country's free market pensions system. Read full story

The People’s Republic is preparing to reinforce regulation of today’s Internet giants, which are particularly hungry for large quantities of data. The initiative may also provide Beijing with an opportunity to tighten its grip on Internet-related industries. Read full story

The value of the gaming industry has topped US$300bil (RM1.23 trillion) following a pandemic-fuelled surge, with some 2.7 billion players worldwide, a research report said on April 29. Read full story

In order for users to be better understood by its intelligent assistant, Google will soon deploy a new feature allowing it to “learn” to recognise certain people or certain unique or complicated names. Read full story

(Reuters) - Data analytics firm Palantir Technologies Inc's chief earned a billion dollars last year after taking the company he co-founded public, a regulatory filing showed on Thursday. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will not provide financial support for a constitutional referendum in Haiti, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Thursday, adding that the country should hold what he said were overdue elections. Read full story

PRAGUE (Reuters) - About 10,000 Czechs rallied against President Milos Zeman in central Prague on Thursday, calling for his removal from office for what they say are pro-Russian views that have no place in a European Union nation. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is deeply concerned by Ukraine's cabinet of ministers' actions to dismiss the supervisory board and replace the management of Ukraine's leading energy company, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. Read full story

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - For Intisar Altayib, who ekes out a living drawing henna tattoos in Khartoum, soaring prices in Sudan mean running up tabs at local stores and cutting back on evening feasts during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Read full story

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran on Thursday welcomed what it called a change of tone from Saudi Arabia and said it hoped they could work together to secure peace, amid moves to ease tensions between the regional rivals. Read full story

PARIS (Reuters) - As the bicentenary of Napoleon Bonaparte's death draws closer, an exhibition at Les Invalides in Paris sheds light on his death in exile and his efforts to save his legacy as military genius and visionary leader. Read full story

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's severe medical oxygen supply crisis is expected to ease by mid-May, a top industry executive told Reuters, with output rising by 25% and transport infrastructure ready to cope with a surge in demand caused by a dramatic rise in coronavirus cases. Read full story

(Reuters) -Twitter Inc shares sank 9% in postmarket trading on Thursday as it offered tepid revenue guidance for the second quarter and warned of rising costs and expenses and said user growth could slow in the coming quarters as the boost seen during the coronavirus pandemic fizzles. Read full story

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc on Thursday reported its biggest profit ever as consumers turned to the online retailer for their shopping needs and businesses paid it more to warehouse and advertise their products. Read full story

(Reuters) - For at least the third time since the beginning of this year, the U.S. government is investigating a hack against federal agencies that began during the Trump administration but was only recently discovered, according to senior U.S. officials and private sector cyber defenders. Read full story

PUTRAJAYA: The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will only be given to people who voluntarily want to receive it, says Khairy Jamaluddin. Read full story

PUTRAJAYA: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has urged enforcement agencies to adopt a more humane approach in ensuring people adhere to the Covid-19 standard operating procedure. Read full story

PETALING JAYA: A sundry shop owner in Kelantan who was issued a RM50,000 compound for allegedly violating the movement control order says he only has his shop to offer as payment. Read full story

KUALA LUMPUR: The RM50,000 compound imposed on two sellers in Kota Baru for operating beyond 10pm is not a “death penalty”, says Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador. Read full story

PETALING JAYA: The number of daily Covid-19 cases has once again breached the 3,000 mark with 3,142 new cases reported yesterday – a worrying tally not seen since the beginning of this year. Read full story

KUANTAN (Bernama): There will be no clash between Barisan Nasional (BN) and PAS for Pahang state seats in the 15th General Election (GE15) - a decision made based on the spirit of Muafakat Nasional (MN). Read full story

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Protesting health workers who erected roadblocks over the last three weeks at the sprawling Vaca Muerta shale oil deposit in Argentina said on Wednesday that they shifted the protests to other parts of Patagonia. Read full story

BERLIN (Reuters) - Police arrested a 51-year-old woman after four people were found dead and another seriously injured at a hospital near Berlin on Wednesday evening, multiple German media reported. Read full story

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Some 1,600 former FARC guerrillas will have been murdered by the end of 2024 if current levels of targeted killings continue, Colombia's transitional justice tribunal said on Wednesday. Read full story

GENEVA (Reuters) - The Turkish Cypriot delegation to U.N.-sponsored talks proposed a two-state solution for Cyprus on Wednesday to end the conflict with Greek Cypriots and put the island's two communities on an equal footing, but it was swiftly rejected by the Greek Cypriot side. Read full story

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Wednesday that eight soldiers were killed in combat amid continuing clashes between the armed forces and illegal armed groups along the border with Colombia. Read full story

KYIV (Reuters) - The Ukrainian parliament is on track to pass legislation by June 1 to unlock loans from the International Monetary Fund under a $5 billion programme, the parliamentary faction chief of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's party told Reuters on Wednesday. Read full story

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters answered calls from Colombia's biggest unions to fill streets across the country to demonstrate on Wednesday against a controversial government tax reform. Read full story

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's stalled soy harvest is set for a boost from a period of expected dry weather, meteorologists and grains analysts said, after recent heavy rains in key farming areas had slowed down farmers gathering in their crops. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Turkey and all U.S. allies on Wednesday should refrain from making further purchases of Russian weaponry, threatening the possibility of more sanctions. Read full story

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will buy 60 million more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, health minister Matt Hancock said, in a deal that more than doubles the country's supply of the shot ahead of a booster programme later this year. Read full story

LONDON (Reuters) - Uber aims to sign up an additional 20,000 more drivers in Britain as the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions boosts demand, the ride-hailing app said on Thursday. Read full story

Videoconferencing software Zoom is introducing a new feature called “immersive view”, to make your meetings more realistic. Read full story

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Government and industry officials confronting an epidemic of ransomware, where hackers freeze the computers of a target and demand a payoff, are zeroing in on cryptocurrency regulation as the key to combating the scourge, sources familiar with the work of a public-private task force said. Read full story

(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc is exploring a sale of its media assets, including Yahoo and AOL, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Read full story

(Reuters) -Apple Inc on Wednesday posted sales and profits far ahead of Wall Street expectations as customers upgraded to 5G iPhones but warned that a global chip shortage would cost it billions in revenue in the current quarter, hitting Macs and iPads. Read full story

(Reuters) -EBay Inc's second-quarter profit forecast came in below market expectations as it faces fierce competition from bigger rivals including Amazon.com Inc for a slice of the pandemic-led online shopping boom, sending its shares down 6%. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Evidence submitted by a retail union that raised objections to Amazon.com Inc's conduct at this month's union election in Alabama "could be grounds for overturning the vote", the National Labor Relations Board said on Wednesday. Read full story

LONDON (Reuters) - The UK government on Wednesday became the first country to announce it will regulate the use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds on motorways, with the first such cars possibly appearing on public roads as soon as this year. Read full story

Bad news for music fans with Spotify subscriptions. The Swedish music streaming giant has announced new price hikes for its subscription plans, both in Europe and the US. Read full story

(Reuters) -Advanced Micro Devices Inc raised its annual revenue forecast on Tuesday, betting on strong demand for its chips used in data centers and personal computers as its chief executive said she was confident the company could source the chips despite a global supply shortage. Read full story

The latest iOS update introduces a very useful feature to help users prevent their activity from being tracked in order to combat the onslaught of targeted ads. From now on, each app will have to ask permission from its users in order to continue “tracking” them. Read full story

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A global semiconductor chip shortage, which has hurt Mexico's auto industry, could improve but still not be fully resolved by the end of the year, said the head of Intel Corp's Mexico unit, Santiago Cardona. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee sent a letter to Google on Tuesday saying they were "deeply troubled" by what they called a possible attempt to influence witness testimony following a statement at a congressional hearing by a Match executive. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Israeli officials meeting in Washington on Tuesday discussed their "serious concerns" about advancements in Iran's nuclear program and agreed on the "significant threat" posed by Iran's behavior in the Middle East, the White House said on Tuesday. Read full story

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemalan civil society leaders say they will implore the United States to sanction more people linked to corruption and to promote the independence of the judicial system when they meet with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is helping the Kabul government find contractors to replace American contractors who must leave Afghanistan under the 2020 U.S.-Taliban agreement, U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said on Tuesday. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. military ship fired warning shots after three vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came close to it and another American patrol boat in the Gulf, the United States military said on Tuesday. Read full story

NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday rejected Ghislaine Maxwell's latest request for bail, after her lawyer said guards in her Brooklyn jail were keeping her awake at night to ensure she wouldn't commit suicide like the financier Jeffrey Epstein. Read full story

GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana's president will miss a Southern African regional meeting he had been due to chair on Thursday to discuss recent attacks on Mozambique after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, prompting him to self-quarantine, his office said on Tuesday. Read full story

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Talks between the five parties in Finland's centre left ruling coalition on how to restart the economy will move into a second week on Wednesday, avoiding for now the risk that the government would face imminent collapse. Read full story

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party called on Tuesday for an investigation into whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson's press secretary "knowingly misled" journalists over the refurbishment of his official Downing Street flat. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to slap more sanctions on the military junta in Myanmar, including choking revenues to a state energy company, in response to its coup and violent crackdown on protesters. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington is dispatching its Special Envoy for Iran for indirect talks aimed at reviving the 2015 Iranian Nuclear deal, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday. Read full story

(Reuters) - Texas Instruments Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue on Tuesday, thanks to strong demand for its chips used in personal electronic gadgets such as televisions and PCs. Read full story

(Reuters) -Microsoft Corp on Tuesday met analysts' expectations for its quarterly sales and beat profit estimates, but shares fell slightly as investors looked for signs of a stronger economic recovery and stellar performance as its market value has soared. Read full story

(Reuters) - Pinterest Inc forecast current-quarter revenue above estimates on Tuesday, betting on robust user growth and higher ad spending from businesses looking to cash in on the pandemic-driven online shopping boom. Read full story

(Reuters) -Google parent Alphabet Inc on Tuesday beat quarterly revenue estimates and announced a $50 billion share buyback as the recovering economy and surging use of online services combined to accelerate its advertising and cloud businesses. Read full story

(Reuters) -Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday the company will build new features for content creators to earn money from recommending products on the app and a marketplace to help connect brands with influencers. Read full story

(Reuters) -Ethereum , the world's second largest crypto currency after Bitcoin, on Tuesday rose to a record high of $2,683.65 on the Bitstamp Exchange. Read full story

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are set to charge iPhone maker Apple this week with blocking rivals on its App Store following a complaint by music streaming service Spotify, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in a virtual meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday, announced an additional $310 million in U.S. government support for humanitarian relief and to address food insecurity in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, the White House said. Read full story

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's socialist-held National Assembly will ratify a law passed last year by a separate legislative body that let the government confidentially sign deals with private firms because of U.S. sanctions, congressional chief Jorge Rodriguez said on Monday. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists said on Monday they have detected a large gap, equal to about what the United States emits annually, between the amount of climate-warming emissions that countries report and the amount that independent models say reaches the atmosphere. Read full story

OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Four people including three foreigners are missing after an armed ambush on an anti-poaching patrol in eastern Burkina Faso on Monday, four local security sources said. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Monday the Moldovan parliament's vote to sack the head of the constitutional court was a "blatant attack on Moldova’s democratic norms and its constitutional order." Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Monday lowered its travel advisory rating for Israel to "Level 3: Reconsider Travel" - just days after it had raised it. Read full story

What if you could earn money from tweeting? The dream may soon become a reality for the many users of Twitter now that the social network is experimenting with a function to enable them to receive tips via their profiles. Read full story

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Max Polyakov, an ultra-wealthy entrepreneur with ambitions of building a space transportation empire, has acquired South African satellite maker Dragonfly Aerospace, he told Reuters. Read full story

For years, Facebook and Instagram accounts have been items of interest to pirates surfing the dark web, but this black market is always evolving. Read full story

(Reuters) - Blue Origin, the space rocket company backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is formally challenging the $2.9 billion moon lander contract awarded by NASA to rival Elon Musk's SpaceX. Read full story

In a tie-up of tech titans, Facebook and Spotify worked together to bake a Spotify “mini-player” into the social giant’s namesake app to let users listen to music and podcasts directly within Facebook’s apps for mobile devices. Read full story

(Reuters) - Tesla's quarterly report on Monday hit targets qualifying Chief Executive Elon Musk for two options payouts worth a combined $11 billion. Read full story

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary is set to pass legislation on Tuesday setting up foundations to take over the running of universities and cultural institutions in a move critics say extends the ideological imprint of the ruling right-wing government. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Kamala Harris, after meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday, said the United States wants to increase aid to the region and manage migration in a secure and humane way as she looks for ways to defuse a migrant crisis at the U.S. border with Mexico. Read full story

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday defended a vote by Mexico's congress to extend the term of the Supreme Court chief justice, saying the judge needed more time to oversee reform of a compromised judiciary. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Barack Obama, who championed engagement with Myanmar's military while in office to promote democratic change, said on Monday he was "appalled by heartbreaking violence" it had used against civilians after retaking power in a coup. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some U.S. lawmakers and wealthy technology executives have joined forces to boost aid to India as it grapples with a severe spike in coronavirus infections, with a focus on ensuring aid is equally distributed across the country, a Congress member said. Read full story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An agreement between the United States and three of its closest Indo-Pacific partners to produce up to a billion coronavirus vaccine doses in India by the end of 2022 to supply other Asian countries is "still on track," senior U.S. officials said on Monday, despite a surge of COVID-19 in India. Read full story

PARIS (Reuters) - France will supply India with "substantial medical aid" to help the country tackle a huge wave of new coronavirus infections that are overwhelming its hospitals, the Elysee presidential palace said on Monday. Read full story

RAMBOUILLET, France (Reuters) - Hundreds of people including Muslim imams paid tribute on Monday to a female French police official stabbed to death last week by a French resident of Tunisian origin who shouted "Allahu Akbar", or "God is greatest". Read full story

(Reuters) - Lyft Inc will sell its self-driving technology unit to Toyota Motor Corp in a $550 million deal, the companies said on Monday, allowing the ride-hail company to hit its profitability target one quarter earlier. Read full story

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter revenue and profit on Monday boosted by record deliveries, robust demand from China and environmental credit sales. Read full story

(Reuters) - The impact of Apple Inc's new privacy controls over digital advertising tracking is likely to depend greatly on how app developers implement a new pop-up notification, Apple's user privacy chief told Reuters. Read full story

A new website that records the lives and evictions of slum dwellers in the Indian city of Delhi will help address the chronic shortage in affordable and adequate housing across the country, urban experts said on April 23. Read full story

It’s an impressive figure. A study has demonstrated the exceptional growth of social media in the world: in one year, more than half a billion users joined a social platform or network over the 12-month period. Read full story

PETALING JAYA: The call for Asean countries to take a more active role to resolve the Myanmar crisis must be put into action and not remain just words, says Representative of Malaysia to the Asean Intergovernmental Com­mission on Human Rights (AICHR) Eric Paulsen. Read full story