"Wicked: For Good" and its leading ladies may be coming to the end of the (yellow brick) road. This year, "Wicked: For Good" stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were snubbed in the lead and supporting actress categories, respectively. Supporting actress contenders were Elle Fanning ("Sentimental Value"), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas ("Sentimental Value"), Amy Madigan ("Weapons"), Wunmi Mosaku ("Sinners") and Teyana Taylor ("One Battle After Another"). "Wicked" and "Wicked: For Good" also spurred on possibly the most enthusiastic theater-going wave since "Barbenheimer," with some viewers showing up in full costume. Universal Pictures has even suggested it is keeping an open mind about follow-up projects, though nothing has been confirmed yet.

(Jan 23): Copper climbed towards US$13,000 (RM52,164) a tonne, rising along with other metals on dollar weakness and a broad investor rotation away from currencies and sovereign bonds. The industrial metal advanced as much as 1.4% on the London Metal Exchange, while nickel and tin jumped. President Donald Trump’s shakeup of the geopolitical order and renewed attacks on the Federal Reserve are spurring a flight to safety. While that would normally only benefit gold and silver, the impact has recently been spilling over into base metals. Copper rose 1.1% to US$12,890.50 a tonne on the LME as of 11:27am Shanghai time.

KUALA LUMPUR: The RM42mil deposited into Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal bank accounts was not related to any Saudi donation, the former prime minister has conceded. “At that particular time, I thought it was a Saudi donation,” said Najib. Kwan: The truth in your mind – if I can use those words – at this moment, is that the RM42mil has nothing to do with the Saudi donation? Earlier, Kwan asked Najib to acknowledge that his “Saudi donation” defence had been comprehensively dismissed by the courts in criminal proceedings. Najib: Yes, but I have to clarify because I didn’t have the opportunity to do a full explanation at the Federal Court.

KOTA BHARU: A personnel shortage, excessive workloads, and the absence of round-the-clock CCTV surveillance have been identified as potential weaknesses enabling security breaches at national entry points. "Indirectly, this situation could create vulnerabilities for security breaches if not managed effectively. Beyond staffing, uninterrupted 24-hour CCTV monitoring has also been flagged as a critical mechanism for prevention, surveillance and quality control, especially at high-risk locations. It ensures that national security and sovereignty remain protected," he added. He added that using BWCs in line with established protocols would help increase accountability, transparency, and public trust in the immigration service.

Hong Kong filmmaker Tiffany Chen recently revealed that she has finalised her will and is intentionally excluding her two sons – Jacky and Jonathan – from inheritance. In a video posted on her online channel, Chen, 66, said her assets will go to her grandchildren – a decision fully backed by her husband, film tycoon Charles Heung. According to news portal Dimsum Daily, Chen previously criticised her sons for lacking business acumen, stating she has no plans to hand over the family empire to them. Chen and Heung currently hold the positions of vice chairman and chairman, respectively, at their production company China Star Entertainment Group. The aforementioned agency has produced hit films such as Wu Yuen (2001), Love On A Diet (2001) and La Brassiere (2001), among others.

DayOne is also considering a dual listing in the US and Singapore as an option, some of the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions on valuation, timing and the dual listing have been made, the people added. DayOne, previously known as GDS International or GDSI, closed a more than US$2 billion Series C funding round earlier this month to support its international expansion. Hundreds of billions of dollars are expected to be spent on data centre leases as companies seek computing power to build out AI models. DayOne runs data centres in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Finland, its website shows.

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TANGKAK: A leak at a pig farm in Kampung Teratai here has reportedly caused pollution in a nearby tributary in Felda Sri Jaya, Bukit Serampang. The Tangkak district office said an inspection at the farm found a leak in its sewage pond. On water safety, the district office said the DOE was conducting continuous water quality monitoring through the automatic river water quality monitoring station at Sungai Muar to ensure public water supply remains safe. "Bakaj is testing raw water samples to ensure compliance with the National Drinking Water Quality Standards issued by the Health Ministry, while Ranhill SAJ is carrying out treated water quality tests every two to four hours at the Bukit Serampang water treatment plant. The district office said it views the pollution seriously and will continue monitoring to safeguard environmental safety and the well-being of the local community.

Yet to many, board evaluations remain a formality — a box to tick rather than a lever for transformation and evolution. Done well, board evaluations are not merely reflections of the past. Use evaluations to recalibrate board focusWhen board meetings become overly operational, a review can help redirect the agenda towards strategic foresight. Strategic evaluations can be used to feed directly into board refreshment and performance. We must have the courage and will to move board evaluations from symbolic rituals to strategic inflection points.

SEREMBAN: A man has claimed trial to a charge of giving an Environment Department officer a RM50,000 bribe to prevent action being taken against an electronic waste (e-waste) facility. Soon Kein Chong, 40, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him before Sessions judge N. Kanageswari here on Friday (Jan 23). The alleged bribe was said to be an inducement to the 45-year-old officer not to act against the facility for flouting several provisions under the Environmental Quality Act 1974. Offenders can be jailed for up to 20 years and fined at least five times the bribe value or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction. Judge Kanageswari then set bail at RM20,000 with one surety and ordered the accused to report to the MACC once a month.

TOKYO (Jan 23): The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept interest rates steady on Friday and raised its economic and inflation forecasts, signalling its confidence a moderate recovery would justify raising still-low borrowing costs further. The central bank also maintained its pledge to keep raising rates if economic and price developments move in line with its projections. The BOJ has been tapering bond buying since 2024 under a pre-set, moderate pace. Ueda has repeatedly said while bond yields should be set by markets, the BOJ will step in if they make "exceptional, unusual moves". The BOJ changed direction in 2024, raising its policy rate several times and tapering bond purchases on the view Japan was on the cusp of durably achieving the bank's 2% inflation target.

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 240,000 requests to remove harmful online content were made by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission from 2022 to 2025, says the Communications Ministry. This comprised 4,259 applications to remove deepfake content, 59,487 for false content, and 176,786 for scams. Of the numbers, 93% of the reported deepfake content was removed, compared with 87% of the reported false content. The Online Safety Act, the ministry said, was also drafted to improve safety in the online space. The act further compels licensed online service providers to manage harmful content.

PETALING JAYA: A 21-year-old man was arrested after the car he was driving crashed into a bollard pole and a barrier gate at Gate 2 of Istana Negara in the early hours of Friday (Jan 23). Kuala Lumpur Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief Asst Comm Mohd Zamzuri Mohd Isa said the incident occurred at about 3.30am when the man, who was driving from Bukit Damansara, was travelling along Jalan Changkat Semantan. “Initial investigations found that the vehicle rammed into the bollard pole and barrier gate at Gate 2 of Istana Negara,” he said. The suspect was arrested, and the investigation paper was referred to the Deputy Public Prosecutor’s Office on the same day. The driver was expected to be brought before the Magistrate’s Court in Jalan Duta at about 11am on Friday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Some 3,200 complaints have been received by the Financial Markets Ombudsman Service since its inception a year ago, the Dewan Rakyat was told. Complaints related to health insurance products meanwhile reached 112 as of the third quarter of last year, accounting for 3.4% of the total complaints received. Here, 83 complaints or 74% of cases involving health insurance products were resolved. Explaining further, the ministry said the FMOS serves as a conflict-resolution centre for consumers and financial investors nationwide. He also asked about the number of cases related to health insurance products.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysians say medical insurance is essential, and the upcoming Base Medical and Health Insurance/Takaful (MHIT) plan could help, but rising costs and premiums remain a concern. “At RM1,300 a month, I did not want to increase my children’s burden, so I stopped the medical insurance. Tan welcomed the move to improve medical insurance ­coverage but stressed that governance and operators matter. The MHIT White Paper, released by Bank Negara Malaysia, yesterday, outlined two options: the Standard Plan and the lower-cost Standard Plus Plan. While the scheme aims to make healthcare affordable, some remain concerned about rising premiums and medical costs.