BANGKOK, Feb 22 — Myanmar handed over more than 100 Chinese scam centre workers to be repatriated through Thailand today, the third batch in a major crackdown on the illegal operations. Hundreds of foreigners are expected to be sent home from scam compounds in Myanmar over the coming weeks, with the first two batches already flown out on Thursday and yesterday. The compounds are run by criminal gangs and staffed by foreigners, many of whom say they were trafficked and forced to swindle people around the world in protracted internet scams. Myanmar’s junta said in a statement that a third group of 111 Chinese nationals was handed over today via the Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge 2 at the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Live footage on Thai media outlet The Reporters showed people disembarking from two double-decker coaches and boarding a Southern China Airlines plane, a scene similar to that...

PARIS, Feb 21 — This campaign started in such promising fashion for Monaco, but the principality club’s midweek Champions League exit means they are left trying to rescue their season by securing qualification for the next edition of Europe’s elite club competition. After eight games, Monaco was unbeaten and level on 20 points with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1. They also took 10 points from the first 12 available in the Champions League, including beating Barcelona, setting them up for direct qualification for the last 16. However, a fine beginning has given way to a long run of inconsistent results, with Adi Huetter’s team losing six of their last 14 in Ligue 1 to find themselves now in fourth place. They are a huge 16 points behind leaders PSG, and just two ahead of Lille, the team they face this weekend. The top three in Ligue 1...

KEPALA BATAS, Feb 21 — A 10-year-old boy who died after choking on gummy candy was laid to rest this afternoon at the Masjid Jamek Permatang Binjai Muslim cemetery in Penaga at around 3.20 pm. The funeral prayer was performed at 2.45 pm, and more than 150 mourners, including his family members, teachers, friends, and locals, accompanied Mohammad Fahmi Hafiz Mohammad Fakhruddin, the eldest of two siblings, to his final resting place. Earlier, the boy’s body, which had been brought back from the Forensic Department of Penang Hospital, arrived at the home of his paternal grandmother, Siti Amin Ismail, at around 2.20 pm. Speaking after the burial, Mohammad Fakhruddin Mohamad Fikri, 35, said his son had never purchased or consumed gummy candy before the incident. Despite their grief, the family chose not to assign blame to anyone, including the candy vendor and accepted the tragic loss as fate. “He had...

SHANGHAI, Feb 21 — Six Little Dragons, Seven Sisters and the Terrific Ten. These are some of the nicknames being bestowed on China’s cast of home-grown heroes as they take on the US tech goliaths, known as the Magnificent Seven. In a rivalry of comic-book proportions, a surge in Chinese tech stocks has inspired brokerages to dream up catchy monikers to fire the imagination of retail investors. Technology stocks are soaring in Hong Kong thanks to buzz around AI startup DeepSeek and a meeting between President Xi Jinping and tech business leaders including Alibaba founder Jack Ma, which has been seen as a sign of implicit state support. The rally has vaulted the Hang Seng index near to the top of the best performing major markets this year and put leading stocks under the spotlight alongside the “Magnificent Seven” US giants. “Seven Sisters are waiting to step out of the...

PARIS, Feb 20 — There is a very small chance that an asteroid capable of taking out an entire city could strike Earth in less than eight years. But even if this asteroid is hurtling our way, humanity is now able to defend itself against such a threat, experts say. The odds that the recently discovered asteroid will hit Earth on December 22, 2032 have now risen to 3.1 per cent, NASA said on Tuesday, the highest probability for an impact by such a large space rock in modern forecasting. “Don’t panic,” Richard Moissl, head of the European Space Agency’s planetary defence office, told AFP. As astronomers gather more data, the odds of a direct hit are widely expected to edge upwards before rapidly dropping down to zero. However, even in the unlikely event that the probability does keep rising up to 100 per cent, “we are not defenceless”, Moissl...

DUBAI, Feb 20 — Iga Swiatek on Wednesday praised the WTA’s “solid” action after a fearful Emma Raducanu broke down in tears at the sight of a “fixated” fan in Dubai while teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva admitted she regularly receives “hateful messages” whenever she loses. The WTA said it had banned a man who “exhibited fixated behaviour” towards 2021 US Open champion Raducanu during the Briton’s straight-sets defeat to Karolina Muchova on Tuesday. Raducanu appeared to be crying as she approached the umpire’s chair at 2-0 in the first set of their rain-delayed second-round match. The match was halted while the Briton spoke with the umpire, who quickly contacted tournament organisers. The 22-year-old stood behind the official’s chair as the spectator was escorted away, with Muchova rushing to comfort her before play resumed. In a statement released on Wednesday, the tour revealed that the same man who was removed from...

LONDON, Feb 19 — Formula One teams have discussed the governing body’s clampdown on swearing after mixed responses to incidents in other series at the weekend. Racing Bulls’ chief executive Peter Bayer told reporters ahead of an unprecedented 10-team launch in London that the subject had been a topic at a Formula One commission meeting on Tuesday and saw progress. The FIA published amendments to the sporting code in January to set out stiff sanctions for drivers who break the rules concerning conduct, including bad language. A first offence in F1 now triggers a 40,000 euro (RM185,893) fine, rising to 80,000 for the second and 120,000 with a one month suspension and deduction of championship points for a third breach. “I think we all agree we want to keep those emotions alive,” Bayer said of drivers expressing themselves in colourful language over the radio. “We do have the beeping already...

SIK, Feb 19 — Police seized 102 tons of various drugs and toxic substances, estimated to be worth RM1.67 billion, in nationwide operations and raids conducted from March 2024 until Feb 16 this year. Bukit Aman Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Khaw Kok Chin said the largest seizure involved methamphetamine at 39,397 kg. Other confiscated substances were cannabis (3,203 kg), ecstasy (2,513 kg), ketamine (946 kg), yaba pills (786 kg), Erimin 5 pills (758 kg), heroin (596 kg), cocaine (89 kg), ketum (53,879 kg) and 301 kg of other drugs. “During the same period, 219 syndicates were dismantled, leading to 675 arrests,” he told reporters after opening the Sik District Police Headquarters here today. Also present was Kedah police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh. He added that 12 illegal drug laboratories were also exposed resulting in 47 arrests, including four chemists. “A total of 248,885 individuals were detained for...

PARIS, Feb 18 — The last year of war in Ukraine — a conflict about to enter its fourth year — was marked by billions in aid, Ukraine seizing Russian territory and Moscow using a new hypersonic missile. On February 16, US president Donald Trump said he could meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “very soon” to discuss ending the fighting, raising fears in Kyiv and Europe that they are being sidelined. Here are some key facts and figures that have marked this past year of war — the third since the fully fledged Russian invasion of February 24, 2022. A Ukrainian serviceman patrols a street next to buildings damaged during recent fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the Ukrainian-controlled town of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region, August 16, 2024. — Reuters pic Kursk Ukraine has gained control of hundreds of square kilometres of western Russian territory since launching a...

RENNES, Feb 18 — A French surgeon to stand trial over raping or sexually assaulting almost 300 patients, mostly children, practised for decades right up until his retirement despite a conviction for owning abusive images of children and colleagues sounding the alarm, an AFP investigation shows. Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, is already in jail after a court in 2020 found him guilty of abusing four children, including two of his nieces. In a separate four-month trial to start on February 24, he faces allegations that he also assaulted or raped 299 patients, most while they were under general anaesthetic at a dozen hospitals between 1989 and 2014. In total, 256 of the 299 victims were under 15, with the youngest aged one and the oldest aged 70. The surgeon was never investigated during his career despite a 2005 sentence for owning sexually abusive images of children. Investigators only uncovered his...