Gains by the far-right in voting for the European Parliament on Sunday prompted a bruised French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap national election and added uncertainty to Europe's future political direction.

Far-right advances in EU election, France calls snap national vote 

BERLIN (April 3): The VC pilots union is breaking off talks with Germany's Lufthansa over proposed cuts, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, increasing the likelihood of strikes by cockpit crew over the course of this year.

The airline is seeking union approval for cost reductio...

Pilots union breaks off talks over Lufthansa's staffing plans, sources say

MADRID (April 3): Japanese tyremaker Bridgestone said it plans to cut jobs at two factories in northern Spain in reaction to an adverse evolution of the European market and the rise of non-European products.

The company plans to cut 546 jobs at two factories making tyres for tractors, o...

Tyre maker Bridgestone to cut 546 jobs in Spain on uncertainty, competition

MILAN (April 3): Carmaker Stellantis has signed a deal with trade unions for 350 voluntary exits from its Pomigliano and Pratola Serra plants in southern Italy, the Fiom union said on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Stellantis said the layoffs involved employees close to retirement age ...

Stellantis agrees 350 job cuts in southern Italy with unions

US President Donald Trump has told members of his Cabinet and other close contacts that tech billionaire Elon Musk will soon step back from his cost-cutting government role, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing three people close to Trump.

Trump tells Cabinet, others that Musk will leave soon, reports Politico 

The Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) has issued an apology and retracted its earlier media statement on the gas pipeline inferno in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya.

CIDB issues apology, retracts statement on devastating gas pipeline inferno

Over 30 hours after the gas pipeline fire on Jalan Putra Harmoni, Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, which startled the nation on Tuesday morning, attention has now shifted to the investigation into the incident’s cause and the safety checks being conducted at the scene.

Gas pipeline fire: Cause of fire under investigation as safety checks continue

The European Union (EU) is preparing a package of potential emergency measures to support parts of its economy that could be hit the hardest by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, according to people familiar with the matter.

EU eyes emergency plans to shield economy from Trump tariffs — Bloomberg

When Geely listed Volvo Car AB in 2021, Li Shufu hailed the turnaround of the “tiger” that he’d bought 11 years earlier, and said the job now was to “give that tiger wings”.

Volvo’s billionaire owner Li faces pressure for new growth plan

Boeing Co chief executive officer Kelly Ortberg said the US planemaker has implemented sweeping changes to reduce the number of defects and hitches in its production line, as he faced questions from US senators about the company’s recovery from several high-profile accidents.

Boeing has made ‘drastic’ changes to root out defects, CEO says

The UK will be hit by the global impact of US tariffs even if ministers succeed in their mission to secure an exemption for British goods, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said.

Reeves says Trump’s tariffs will hurt UK even if Britain secures US deal

Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) has firmly denied any relation to the gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, on Tuesday.

Indah Water denies responsibility for Putra Heights gas pipeline fire

RHB Banking Group has announced a strategic organisational realignment, involving key leadership changes across five senior roles, as part of its new three-year corporate strategy (2025-2027), known as “PROGRESS27”.

RHB announces organisational realignment to drive growth

T7 Global Bhd (KL:T7GLOBAL) said on Thursday that to the best of its board’s knowledge there is no ongoing investigation into the company.

Responding to a query from Bursa Malaysia Securities regarding Tan Sri Tan Kean Soon’s sudden resignation as T7 Global's executive deputy chairman, the company said it had only received his resignation letter and that he had not informed the company of any investigation.

T7 Global: No ongoing investigation into company

A brief recap of some corporate announcements that made the news on Wednesday.

Petronas Gas, Gas Malaysia, IJM, Rohas Tecnic, T7 Global, ICT Zone Asia, Capital A, YNH Property, OCK Group

QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd, the operator of KFC restaurants across Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Cambodia, said there are "no sales process currently being pursued or planned" by the group, and that it has been seeing encouraging signs of recovery in the first quarter of 2025 (1Q2025).

KFC operator QSR Brands says no sales process being pursued or planned

The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has confirmed that no construction activities were taking place at the gas pipeline explosion site in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, at the time of the incident on Tuesday.

No construction work at gas pipeline fire site — CIDB

Malaysia is working towards expanding its flight connectivity to Europe, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

Malaysia to expand flight connectivity to Europe — Loke

President Donald Trump on Wednesday is set to announce the most expansive US trade restrictions in a century, at a stroke upending the postwar global trading system and posing difficult-to-predict economic risks.

Trump tariff rollout opens new era of risk for global economy

The Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) has issued an apology and retracted its earlier media statement on the gas pipeline inferno in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya.

US President Donald Trump's planned tariffs will be negative across the world, with the damage depending on how far they go, how long they last and whether they lead to successful negotiations, European Central Bank (ECB) head Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.

Trump's tariffs will be negative the world over, says ECB's Lagarde

US stock indices recovered from morning losses to trade modestly higher on Wednesday as investors awaited US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff announcements.

Wall Street steadies ahead of Trump's tariff plans

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has recorded the statements of two main administrators of a Facebook group being used to spread information and comments believed to incite racial and religious discord that can potentially cause public unrest.

MCMC summons Facebook group admins over racially inciting content

British Airways is partnering with Malaysia Airlines to expand its codeshare agreement, offering travellers more travel options to Europe.

British Airways, Malaysia Airlines expand codeshare, resuming Heathrow-KLIA services

US President Donald Trump has told members of his Cabinet and other close contacts that tech billionaire Elon Musk will soon step back from his cost-cutting government role, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing three people close to Trump.

President Donald Trump has launched an aggressive economic strategy reminiscent of the 1985 Plaza Accord, aiming to weaken the US dollar and rebalance global trade in America’s favour. Dubbed the Mar-a-Lago Accord, this initiative seeks to tackle what Trump sees as the overvaluation of the dollar — an issue he believes has contributed to America’s persistent trade deficits and weakened its manufacturing sector.

From the Plaza Accord to the Mar-a-Lago Accord: Trump’s high-stakes gamble to reshape global trade and currency markets

YNH Property Bhd (KL:YNHPROP) said the independent review of its joint venture (JV) and turnkey contracts is now expected to be ready by April 9.

The company told Bursa Malaysia on Thursday that its audit committee convened a meeting on March 25 to receive an update from Messrs UHY on the draft special independent review (SIR) report.

YNH Property expects independent review of contracts to be completed by April 9

China’s embassy in Bangkok urged a construction company to cooperate with Thai authorities in a probe into the crash of a skyscraper during an earthquake last week, which has now widened to the firm’s other business operations in the Southeast Asian country.

China urges firm to join widening Thai probe into crashed tower

Shipping companies have all-but stopped buying dry bulk commodity carriers that were built in China as the industry waits to see if President Trump will press ahead with historic port charges on vessels constructed in the Asian country.

Sales of China-built ships collapse as industry sweats over US ports plan

The major shareholders of ICT Zone Asia Bhd (KL:ICTZONE), which is seeking to transfer from the LEAP Market to the ACE Market, have completed their exit offer for shares they do not own in ICT Zone, which raised their joint shareholding to 65.28%, up from 64.57%.

ICT Zone Asia concludes exit offer with little change to joint offerors' stake

Manforce Group Bhd (KL:MFGROUP), which is seeking to transfer from the LEAP Market to the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia, has received approval from the exchange for a waiver on the requirement to extend an exit offer to shareholders.

Jan Strupczewski, Sudip Kar-Gupta & Ingrid Melander