The Health Ministry will be submitting a recommendation to the National Security Council to prolong school breaks for the education sector.

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The Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) has warned, the retail industry could witness a devastating decline amid reimplementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

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These recurring MCOs have not been kind to local F&B businesses. With shifting SOPs and guidelines, restaurants and outlets have had to stay on their toes for nearly a year now. With MCO 3.0 and the announcement to close for dine-ins yet again, F&B players are pleading with the government to reconsider their stance as it could cause irreparable damage to their business.

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Similar to Patreon, Twitter is testing a way to let followers help their favorite accounts by buying them a coffee… or a few dozen coffees. Twitter’s new “Tip Jar” is not without issues, but it comes at a time when creators and home-based entertainers may need all the help they can get.

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Khairy Jamaluddin, the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, has announced the launch of the Hotspot Identification by Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system; this AI system will be another pre-emptive measure to contain COVID-19, helping with risk assessment and early warning in order to hopefully prevent further clusters.

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A code of practice giving employees the ‘right to disconnect’ from work and not engage in electronic communications outside of their normal hours has come into effect in Ireland. How much longer until this code of practise is adopted elsewhere?

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Over the course of the past year, it feels like for influencers, instead of being known for  promoting brands, products, and even lifestyles, they’re more known for scandals and mishaps. From the fall of local figure YBB to the on-and-off scandals of Western influencers like David Dobrik and the Paul brothers, are influencers actually still influential, or have they crossed over into merely cannon fodder for tabloid reporting?

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Should AI be used to “resurrect” musicians who are no longer with us? What if it’s to shine a light on mental health? An organization called ‘Over The Bridge’ has used AI to create new songs for wildly popular artists who also happened to die young, and the results are strange, uncanny, and also quite beautiful. The effort hopes to raise awareness for mental health particularly in the arts, by focusing on what could have been had these artists gotten the help that they needed. 

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Disney+ Hotstar has finally announced a launch date here in Malaysia, and it comes bundled with a few very interesting strategies to capture the local market. They’ve also penned multi-year deals with major regional studios that will allow them to create an exclusive platform for local content and Asian content.

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Financial institutions have accelerated adopting digital services over the course of the pandemic; have their strategies been effective? Are these services consumer-friendly? And what should come next?

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