KYIV, Jan 22 (Reuters) - President ‌Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised Europe on Thursday as a "fragmented ‌kaleidoscope of small and middle powers" lacking courage ‌to act decisively and facing a dark future unless it stood up to U.S. and Russian power. In some of his toughest remarks ‍to key allies of Kyiv, Zelenskiy urged ‍Europe not to "degrade" itself ‌by failing to stand up to Russian aggression and ‍U.S. "Europe can and must be a global force," he told ⁠global leaders at the World Economic Forum ‌in Davos as Russia's war in Ukraine neared its four-year mark. He spoke after meeting Trump in Davos for talks on ending the war which both leaders described as positive. But he urged European leaders to be more robust in defending democratic values in their region, ‌as U.S. attention turns away.

The bill proposes allocating public funding to parties based on the number of votes obtained by eligible political parties in elections. The bill introduces a key element of sturdy political financing regulation: fair allocation of public funding to reduce political party dependency on private donors. Understanding public fundingGlobal benchmarks show that equitable public funding can help reduce these resource disparities and support a healthier, more inclusive democratic system. Across many democracies, public funding is used to support political parties and candidates in ways that promote level playing fields. Public funding for political parties is not a cure-all for corruption — there is no proof of that.

PETALING JAYA: It was not the result professional men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia was hoping for after his campaign at the Indonesian Masters came to an end yesterday. However, there were still plenty of positives for Zii Jia to draw on as he looks ahead to a long and demanding tournament calendar this year. Zii Jia bowed out after losing to Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul 21-15, 17-21, 8-21 in a 57-minute match at the Istora Senayan. “A lot of positives to take from Indonesian Masters. The Indonesian Masters was Zii Jia’s third tournament of the year, and he will next turn his attention to the Thailand Masters starting on Tuesday.

Istora Senayan may hold no fear for Wei Chong-Kai Wun, who lifted the title here last year and finished runners-up at the Indonesian Open the year before. Wei Chong-Kai Wun reached the quarter-finals after defeating Hariharan Amsakarunan-M.R. World champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei are through to the last eight but will face a unique challenge against Indonesia-Singapore pairing of Terry Hee-Gloria Widjaja. The biggest surprise for the national camp came from women’s singles shuttler K. Letshanaa, who sent world No. Letshanaa last faced Yu-shun three years ago at the Indonesian Masters, with the encounter going the way of the Taiwanese player.

Vampire thriller "Sinners” (pic) stormed into Oscars history on Thursday with a record 16 nominations, positioning the Warner Bros film as the frontrunner for best picture and pitting star Michael B. Jordan against Timothee Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio as rivals for best actor. The Warner Bros film also earned nominations for director Ryan Coogler, supporting actor Delroy Lindo, supporting actress Wunmi Mosaku and cinematography, costume design, original screenplay and visual effects. Netflix has never won best picture despite nominations for "Roma," "Emilia Perez" and "The Irishman." The movie has collected $16 million at global box offices, compared with $368 million for "Sinners" and $206 million for "One Battle After Another." The highest-grossing best picture nominee is Brad Pitt racing drama "F1," with nearly $632 million in worldwide ticket sales.

“At its core, the project is about bringing food systems back into urban housing,” he explains. Tang would like to build resilient food systems within urban housing communities. Instead of focusing only on one-time output, the food forest is designed as a regenerative urban system. With years of experience rehabilitating urban gardens and farmland, Chua is tasked with shaping how the food forest will look, function and grow. This is a climate adaptation that people can see, touch and benefit from daily.”Chua foresees at least 200 species in the food forest.

KULAI: The Johor Road Transport Department (JPJ) has taken action against 459 foreigners as part of a special operation targeting illegal foreign drivers. State JPJ director Zulkarnain Yasin said the department carried out the Ops Khas Pemandu Warga Asing (Pewa) between Jan 1 and 23 to curb traffic offences involving foreign motorists amid a rise in public complaints. “Under Ops Pewa, the department inspected 1,109 vehicles and issued 459 notices for various offences, with 235 vehicles seized. Zulkarnain said the most common offences detected were driving without a licence (325 individuals), expired motor vehicle licences or road tax (202) and lack of insurance coverage (185). He added other offences, including those involving vocational licences, which made up another 184 cases.

"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.