The affected materials would be the same seven elements that China restricted in April in response to the trade war launched by the US. Since 2010, when China banned rare earths supplies to Japan as part of a territorial dispute, Tokyo has made some progress in building up a supply chain outside China. In particular, the Japanese government and industry bankrolled the expansion of Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths Ltd, one of the few Western miners and processors of the minerals. In 2024, a former minister told Bloomberg that Japan’s dependence on China for the full suite of 17 rare earths had fallen to 60% from 80%-90%. The threat to expand restrictions to civil customers once again highlights how so-called heavy rare earths, used as essential ingredients in powerful magnets, remain a key pressure point.

In the following cases, the judges did not mince their words in highlighting the failure of the executive and police to act as duty-bound. The judge also granted RM4 million in general damages and RM250,000 in legal costs to Koh’s family. The High Court had also relied on the commission’s report in its judgments. The government subsequently filed a fresh application at the Court of Appeal, which was granted on Nov 18, 2025. Police subsequently opened an investigation under Section 505(c) of the Penal Code for making statements conducive to public mischief.

(Jan 7): US President Donald Trump is set to meet with energy executives at the White House within the next week as he seeks to enlist Western companies in rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry. The timing remains fluid, a White House official said. But some oil companies are wary of pouring tens of billions of dollars into the country over the next decade. Wright is separately expected to meet with executives from major oil companies during the Goldman Sachs Energy, Clean Tech & Utilities Conference on Wednesday in Miami, a White House official said. In the current environment, a gathering also could be seen as an endorsement of Trump’s plans to use Western oil companies to rebuild the Venezuelan oil sector.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): theedgemalaysia.com highlighted six stocks with momentum at Bursa Malaysia’s afternoon close on Wednesday. One showed positive momentum, while another five showed negative momentum. It merely tells you which stocks are seeing higher-than-normal volume and price movements. But the “+ve” (suggesting a rising price trend on volume) and “-ve” (suggesting a falling price trend on volume) indicators should give readers a better idea of what the market is buying and when to sell. However, each stock has an accompanying fundamental score and valuation score to help readers evaluate the attractiveness of the stocks if they want to ride the momentum.

SAN FRANCISCO: Wall Street ended higher on Tuesday, as chip stocks surged on renewed AI optimism, Moderna rallied and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record high. Moderna jumped almost 11% after BofA Global Research raised its price target on the drugmaker, helping lift the S&P 500 healthcare index 1.96%. Memory and storage technology stocks rallied after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, speaking at the Consumer Electronics ‌Show in Las Vegas, gave details about upcoming AI processors that include a new layer ⁠of storage technology. Advancing issues ‍outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a 3.1-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 62 new highs and 8 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded ⁠126 new highs and 42 new lows.

One factor weighing on decisions would be financial imbalances that build up from keeping rates low for a long time, the central bank said. The Monetary Policy Committee last month voted unanimously to cut the one-day repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%, the fifth cut in 14 months. The central bank has downgraded Thailand’s growth outlook for this year to 1.5%, from 1.6%, as consumption and exports slow. Solving Thailand’s economic and financial problems requires a combination of policy tools across multiple dimensions, the central bank said. The growth outlook is also clouded by forecasts of a hung parliament after elections next month.

Spot gold slipped 1.1% to US$4,449.38 per ounce, as of 0715 GMT. It touched a record high of US$4,549.71 last Monday. The dollar held near a more than two-week high, making greenback-priced assets more expensive for other currency holders. Elsewhere, spot silver lost 2.5% to US$79.27 per ounce, down from an all-time high of US$83.62 hit on Dec 29. Spot platinum dropped 6.2% to US$2,291.24 per ounce, receding from a record high US$2,478.50 touched last Monday.

PETALING JAYA: Men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia’s much anticipated return to the Malaysian Open ended early after he lost to India’s Ayush Shetty in the opening round on Tuesday (Jan 6). After a sluggish start, the world No. 144 Zii Jia put on a good fight in the second, but fell 12-21, 17-21 to Shetty at the Axiata Arena in 39 minutes. Zii Jia is making a return to the court after recovering from injuries, and is still in search of a win since he last won a match at the Orleans Masters last March.

(Jan 7): Iron ore hit the highest price since February, buoyed by the outlook for macro-economic support in China and pre-holiday restocking. Futures rose for a fourth day, topping US$108 (RM437) a ton in Singapore. Prices were also supported by restocking before next month’s Lunar New Year break, according to Liz Gao, iron ore analyst at CRU. “Supply is robust now, but there are risks of disruptions for iron ore in the next few weeks due to seasonal weather. Iron ore gained as much as 1.7% to US$108.40 a ton in Singapore, and traded at US$108.35 at 12:07pm local time, while Dalian contracts were up 2.8%.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): The Royal Malaysian Police has received 45 reports to date in connection with alleged document forgery involving seven heritage players of the Harimau Malaya national football squad. Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said statements have been recorded from eight individuals to assist in the investigation. On Sept 26, FIFA, in an official statement, confirmed that FAM and the seven players were found to have breached Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC). FIFA found that FAM had submitted documents believed to have been forged to verify the eligibility of the players. The national football governing body was fined about 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.8 million), while each player was fined about RM11,000, and the seven players were suspended from all football-related activities for 12 months.

BEIJING (Jan 7): China's top diplomat began his annual New Year tour of Africa on Wednesday, with a focus on the strategically important east, as the world's No.2 economy seeks to reinforce its influence on the continent. Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho on this year's trip. Further south, Tanzania is central to Beijing's push to secure access to Africa's vast copper deposits. Li Qiang made a landmark trip to Zambia in November, the first visit by a Chinese premier in 28 years. By visiting the southern African kingdom of Lesotho, Wang aims to highlight Beijing's push to position itself as a champion of free trade.

KUALA LUMPUR: South Korean sensation An Se-young is refusing to let fatigue stop her as she chases more badminton records this year. This year, Se-young said that she aimed to finish the season unbeaten which will be an unprecedented feat. Keep the smile: South Korea women’s singles shuttler An Se-young reacts after winning over Canada’s Michelle Li at Malaysian Open. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The StarAnd she showed her hunger for more by clearing the first round of the Malaysian Open at the Axiata Arena on Tuesday (Jan 6). Despite the difficult challenge ahead, Se-young is keen to capture her third consecutive Malaysian Open title.

ANKARA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be conferred the Order of the Republic during the Prime Minister’s three-day official visit to Turkiye. Malaysian ambassador to Turkiye Sazali Mustafa Kamal said the award is Turkiye’s ­highest honour conferred on foreign leaders for strengthening Malaysia-Turkiye diplomatic relations. Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, is visiting Turkiye as part of Malaysia’s efforts to ­further strengthen the long-standing bilateral relations between the two countries. Sazali said the meeting, co-­chaired by Anwar and Erdogan, would serve as the main platform to discuss strategic cooperation across various sectors. Anwar was accompanied by his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as well as Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, and senior government officials.

The Zurich-based firm is set to begin another set of job cuts in mid-January, according to people familiar with the matter. That will be followed by another round later in 2026 as UBS switches off computer systems it acquired from Credit Suisse, people familiar said last month. He formerly ran teams that trade currencies, bonds, interest-rate products and credit instruments across Asia. Naohiro Kuroda, the country’s global markets co-head, stepped down months after the veteran of structured investments touted his team’s expansion, people familiar said in July. UBS is entering the final year of its integration of Credit Suisse, which it bought in an emergency government-brokered deal in 2023.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mixed doubles shuttlers Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie survived a scare against Taiwan’s Wu Guan-xun-Lee Chia-hsin to book their spot in the Malaysian Open second round. Soon Huat-Shevon dropped the first game 15-21 against the world No. 38 Taiwanese duo but managed to stage a fightback to win the next two games 21-19, 21-14 at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Wednesday (Jan 7). 9 independent pair will next play world No. 32 Americans Presley Smith-Jennie Gai for a place in the quarter-finals.