Latest news with #Mara
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
In London, DPM Zahid and UK environment minister discuss disaster management, climate change
LONDON, June 3 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi met with United Kingdom Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed yesterday, during which they discussed bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and the UK. Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister, said the meeting covered topics including disaster management, clean water, and the need for new technology to enhance the country's preparedness against global climate change. 'We know these issues directly impact human life, so comprehensive approaches must be taken to address how global warming and climate change affect people. 'While river pollution is a thing of the past here in the UK, it remains a problem in our country. Public awareness about this issue must be increased,' he told reporters after the dinner with Malaysian students sponsored by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) in the UK. Also present were Mara chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, 60 Mara-sponsored students, and 40 other guests. During the meeting, both leaders also discussed cooperation in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme and the global halal industry. 'I believe this meeting opens new avenues to elevate Malaysia-UK cooperation to a more strategic level, particularly in building an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future,' he said. Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid emphasised the importance of continuously fostering a sense of belonging among Mara-sponsored students abroad, encouraging them to return and contribute to the country. He added that although the average salary may be higher in the UK, students must remain mindful of their role in Malaysia's development, as it is essential for them to contribute to the country's progress. Ahmad Zahid is currently on a four-day working visit to the UK, concluding tomorrow. — Bernama
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
DPM Zahid sees silver lining in US visa issues, calls for stronger UK-Malaysia education ties
LONDON, June 3 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that policy and systemic changes in the United States (US), including in the education sector, should be viewed as opportunities to explore the advantages of education in other countries. Ahmad Zahid, who is also Minister of Rural and Regional Development, said this includes exploring new opportunities in the United Kingdom (UK), which has long established educational cooperation with Malaysia. 'We know that Mara (Majlis Amanah Rakyat) has decided to stop sending its sponsored students to the US. My approach is this: when there is a threat, there is always an opportunity. We have to look at the other side of the coin. 'In situations like this, I believe the UK education system, which we are familiar with, can be put to good use,' he said. Ahmad Zahid, who is also National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Committee chairman, said this during a press conference after chairing a meeting with the Malaysian delegation in conjunction with his four-day working visit to the UK starting yesterday. On Sunday, Mara chairman Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki announced that Mara will stop sending its sponsored students to the US starting this year, following the introduction of new policies and directives under President Donald Trump. Previously, the Trump administration issued an order to halt the processing of all foreign student visas and was reportedly considering screening new applicants based on their social media posts. Ahmad Zahid also said he would use his working visit to broaden cooperation in the field of TVET, particularly in exploring new areas such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, robotics and green energy in collaboration with UK universities. 'There are many new technology sectors, especially in green energy, that have already been implemented here and from which we can learn. We hope programmes like 'training the trainers' (ToT), for example, will bear fruit once they have undergone courses here,' he said. Among the key items on Ahmad Zahid's itinerary in the UK are meetings with representatives of leading institutions such as University College London, delivering a public lecture on Malaysia's TVET direction and engaging with Mara-sponsored students. — Bernama
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Zahid aims to send more Mara students to UK after US intake halt
Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said changes in the US higher education policy should be seen as an opportunity to explore higher education in other nations. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi aims to send more Mara scholarship students to the UK after the agency's decision to stop sending them to the US from this year. Zahid said Washington's changes in higher education policy, particularly involving the intake of foreign students, should be seen as an opportunity to explore higher education in other nations. The rural and regional development minister, whose ministry oversees Mara, said this includes exploring new opportunities in the UK, Bernama reported. 'We know that Mara has decided to stop sending its sponsored students to the US. My approach is this: when there's a threat, there's always an opportunity. We have to look at the other side of the coin. 'In situations like this, I believe the UK education system, which we are familiar with, can be put to good use,' said Zahid, who is on a five-day working trip to the UK until Wednesday. Yesterday, Mara chairman Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said sponsored students will not be sent to the US from this year in view of new policies and guidelines by US president Donald Trump. He said sending these students to countries like the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and even China would be cheaper than studying in the US. The Trump administration recently ordered a halt to visa processing for all foreign students and is considering steps to screen new applicants based on their social media posts.
Coin Geek
a day ago
- Business
- Coin Geek
Patent hoarder claims to own Bitcoin's Elliptical Curve Cryptography
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Digital asset miners are being sued by a company that claims to hold patents to the elliptical curve cryptography (ECC) that is fundamental to the operation of Bitcoin, in a move that could implicate the entire ecosystem. The lawsuits were filed earlier this year against two miners—Mara (NASDAQ: MARA) and Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ)— by an entity called Malikie. Both are accused of violating multiple patents owned by Malikie, which apply to Bitcoin's ECC. Malikie seeks damages and royalties. The patents A subsidiary of the much-more-directly-named Key Patent Innovations Limited, Malikie is what is charitably referred to as a 'patent monetization firm.' In other words, it either acquires patents from its original authors or makes an agreement whereby it will enforce them on the authors' behalf. Someone less inclined to charity might refer to them as 'patent trolls.' In 2023, Malikie acquired a suite of 32,000 'non-core' patents from BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BB) in a deal supposedly worth up to $900 million (BlackBerry was to receive an upfront payment of $170 million). The trove apparently included a number of patents relating to the fundamental technology underpinning Bitcoin, most prominently those to do with ECC. ECC is the algorithm used in Bitcoin to generate key pairs and create and verify digital signatures. Though not built for that purpose, it is strongly associated with the technology and its inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto. Nonetheless, Malikie says that ECC was developed and patented by BlackBerry and a company called Certicom—patents Malikie now owns (listed as the original co-inventors on the patents are Certicom researchers Dan Brown, Robert Gallant, Robert Lambert, and Scott Vanstone.) According to Malikie, by using ECC to process signatures (as occurs in the normal course of Bitcoin's operation), miners like Mara and Core Scientific (and potentially countless others) are infringing on their patents. '[The defendants], in turn, uses this patented technology to operate one of the largest bitcoin mining operations in the world, manage its proceeds, and engage in bitcoin transactions.' However, the truth about the Malikie litigation is that virtually anybody running BTC software could be targeted in the same way. For example, one of the patents Malikie is asserting is described as relating 'to computational techniques used in cryptographic algorithms, including elliptic curve algorithms for generating and verifying digital signatures' which enable Bitcoin's accelerated digital signature verification. The defendants are accused of infringing this patent by 'making, using, testing, selling, offering for sale, and/or importing hardware and/or software including devices and software that comply with the Bitcoin protocol….such as bitcoin mining equipment…and wallets.' It's common practice to shoot for the stars in the first draft of a lawsuit, but Malike is casting its net widely indeed. It more or less signals that Malikie feels their patents could be enforced against the entire Bitcoin ecosystem. How best to sue Bitcoin? Malikie's choice of defendants is also notable. It's alleged that BTC software and its use violate the ECC patents, but BTC considers itself a decentralized enterprise. This leaves would-be plaintiffs with axes to grind in a difficult position: should they pursue individual developers? Should they pursue those distributing BTC software? Or, as ended up happening, should they sue the miners who are, in practice, facilitating the operation of the entire ecosystem? It's certainly understandable why Malikie considered miners to be the best target: in addition to having comparatively deep pockets, they and the roles they play in BTC's operation are easily identifiable and thus easy to draft a lawsuit around. Another route would have been to challenge the assumption that BTC development is decentralized at all. Though not an IP case, this was the thrust of the much-publicized Tulip Trading case, which alleged that BTC's centralized development should mean that its developers owe users legal duties to act in their best interests. That argument received approval from the United Kingdom's Court of Appeal, which decided it was worthy of a trial (the case was eventually dropped). A more radical approach was recently attempted by Dr. Craig Wright in his crusade against BTC for 'passing off' their version of Bitcoin as the original. He conceptualized the entire ecosystem surrounding BTC, not just the developers but the miners and even the exchanges selling it, as a legal partnership. Though that case was also dropped before reaching trial, the merits of this argument make sense when considering a plaintiff in Malikie's shoes. In any case, lawsuits asserting any kind of ownership over Bitcoin generally are becoming more commonplace as the digital asset ecosystem becomes more lucrative and integrated into the financial mainstream. It's understandable: the influence of Bitcoin spans far indeed, with its derivatives accounting for an ever-increasing slice of the investor pie. The absence of a central figure taking credit for the technology is likely also going some way to making it an inviting target. Whether Malikie's claims stick is another question, but if they do, it would potentially mean that the entire Bitcoin ecosystem is guilty of a similar kind of IP infringement as Mara and Core Scientific. Watch | Bitcoin mining in 2025: Is it still worth it? title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
US policy shift an opportunity to explore education elsewhere
LONDON: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that policy and systemic changes in the United States (US), including in the education sector, should be viewed as opportunities to explore the advantages of education in other countries. Zahid, who is also Minister of Rural and Regional Development, said this includes exploring new opportunities in the United Kingdom (UK), which has long established educational cooperation with Malaysia. "We know that Mara (Majlis Amanah Rakyat) has decided to stop sending its sponsored students to the US. My approach is this: when there is a threat, there is always an opportunity. We have to look at the other side of the coin. "In situations like this, I believe the UK education system, which we are familiar with, can be put to good use," he said. Zahid, who is also National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Committee chairman, said this during a press conference after chairing a meeting with the Malaysian delegation in conjunction with his four-day working visit to the UK starting today. Yesterday, Mara chairman Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki announced that Mara will stop sending its sponsored students to the US starting this year, following the introduction of new policies and directives under President Donald Trump. Previously, the Trump administration issued an order to halt the processing of all foreign student visas and was reportedly considering screening new applicants based on their social media posts. Zahid also said he would use his working visit to broaden cooperation in the field of TVET, particularly in exploring new areas such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, robotics and green energy in collaboration with UK universities. "There are many new technology sectors, especially in green energy, that have already been implemented here and from which we can learn. We hope programmes like 'training the trainers' (ToT), for example, will bear fruit once they have undergone courses here," he said. Among the key items on Ahmad Zahid's itinerary in the UK are meetings with representatives of leading institutions such as University College London, delivering a public lecture on Malaysia's TVET direction and engaging with Mara-sponsored students.
