The day's essential Malaysian news, briefed.
Japan's Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has called for national debate on nuclear weapons, citing a deteriorating security environment and shifts in European nuclear policy as justification for reconsidering long-held principles.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan on Thursday morning, rattling the region with tremors felt hundreds of miles away in Tokyo. Despite the considerable strength of the quake, authorities reported no deaths or major damage.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi faced heated opposition at a World War II memorial ceremony, with protesters demonstrating against Tokyo's accelerating military rearmament and departure from its longstanding pacifist principles.
Lenovo is launching a US$2 billion convertible bond sale, its first in four years, to refinance existing obligations and fund share buyback programmes as stabilising global financial markets create favourable conditions for major technology issuers.