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Anora sweeps Oscars with five awards

UK push for stronger laws on forced labour LONDON: Britain must strengthen its safeguards against forced labour in supply chains to avoid the country becoming a dumping ground for products banned in other markets, lawmakers said in a report yesterday. Lawmakers on the cross-party Business and Trade Committee called on ministers to update Britain’s modern slavery legislation, penalise companies that fail to publish modern slavery statements, and consider creating a criminal offence around forced labour in supply chains. “The UK is at serious risk of becoming a ‘dumping ground’for products made with forced labour if it does not keep up with our global partners on legislative reforms to tackle modern slavery,” the report said. The United States has forced labour legislation in place banning products made in China’s Xinjiang region, and European Union forced labour regulation will come into effect in December 2027. The US government and non-governmental organisations accuse China of forced labour and human rights abuses targeting Uyghur people in Xinjiang, allegations Beijing denies. Lawmakers interviewed representatives from online fast-fashion retailer Shein, which aims to list in London this year, and online marketplace Temu as part of their inquiry, as both platforms face allegations their products contain cotton from Xinjiang. Shein’s general counsel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Yinan Zhu, dodged lawmakers’ questions in January about the source of cotton in products shipped to the UK, and this refusal to reply was “a source of extreme concern”, the report said. In subsequent written replies to the committee’s questions, Zhu said Shein does not allow Chinese cotton in products sold in the US, and that there is no legal restriction in Britain on the origin of cotton, but in practice there is overlap between the products Shein sells in both countries. Shein, which sells in 150 markets worldwide, says it has a zero-tolerance policy on forced labour. Temu has also said it strictly prohibits forced labour. – Reuters NEW SOUTH WALES CULLS THOUSANDS OF WILD HORSES SYDNEY: Thousands of wild horses were shot dead in the mountains of eastern Australia as part of a controversial plan to cull them to protect the environment. The New South Wales government is attempting to reduce their population from an estimated 14,380 to 3,000 by 2027 by trapping and rehoming as well as, when not possible, by ground and aerial shooting “as a way of protecting the natural environment” of Kosciuszko National Park. The wild horses, known as brumbies, have lived in the rugged Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains for 200 years and have become part of Australian folklore featured in poems, songs, novels and movies. – Bernama 1,700 FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE JAPAN FOREST BLAZE TOKYO: Nearly 1,700 firefighters are battling Japan’s biggest forest fire in three decades, officials said yesterday, as some 4,600 residents remain under an evacuation advisory. The fire near the city of Ofunato has burned through some 2,100ha since Thursday, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said yesterday. It is estimated to have damaged 84 buildings by Sunday. One person died last week in the blaze in the northern region of Iwate, which follows record low rainfall in the area and last year’s hottest summer on record across Japan. Firefighters from 14 Japanese regions, including units from Tokyo, were now tackling the blaze, with 16 helicopters – including from the military – trying to douse the flames. – AFP

o Mikey Madison named best actress

LOS ANGELES: Anora , the story of a New York “working woman” who gets a chance at a new life when she marries a wealthy Russian client on a whim, won five Academy Awards on Sunday, including the coveted best picture Oscar. In addition to best

picture, Sean Baker won for best director, original screenplay and editing to tie the record for most Oscars won by an individual in one year with Walt Disney who won for four different films in 1954. The movie’s 25-year-old star, Mikey Madison (pic) , was named best actress.

Anora was made for US$6 million (RM26.7 million), a tiny sum by Hollywood standards. It emerged as the winner in an unpredictable Oscars race that included papal thriller Conclave , Jewish immigrant story The Brutalist and blockbuster musical Wicked . “If you’re trying to make independent films, please keep doing it. We need more. This is proof,” said Baker, a director known for making small films about marginalised people. Madison scored an upset over Demi Moore, who had been favoured to win best actress for her role in The Substance . “I grew up in Los Angeles, but Hollywood always felt so far away from me. To be here standing in this room today is really incredible,” Madison said on stage. Anora , released by independent distributor Neon, has generated US$40 million at global box offices. Wicked, by comparison, has hauled in US$728 million. Adrien Brody claimed his second best actor Oscar for his role as a Jewish immigrant and architect who chases the American dream in The Brutalist . The 51-year-old New York City native had previously won for The Pianist , when he became the youngest best actor winner at age 29. “Acting is a very fragile profession. No matter where you are in your career, it can all go away. I think what makes this most special is the awareness of that,” Brody said. Zoe Saldana was named best supporting

Baker with his four Oscars. – AFPPIC

China, a producer of materials used in PEDs. China’s participation is important, says Younger, to better understand the country’s legal framework for these materials. “Sometimes powder used in PEDs or pre-cursors are allowed but trafficking is not allowed,” he said. “So if we know (the legal framework), then we can provide this intelligence to China ... if there are criminals and (activity) is against the law in China.” China’s commitment to anti-doping efforts came into question last year when it emerged that 23 of the nation’s swimmers tested positive for the banned drug in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics but were cleared to compete at the Games. Chinese authorities blamed contamination from a hotel kitchen after an investigation. WADA declined to contest the findings on the advice of lawyers. – Reuters recently told her he wanted a total of four kids. Culkin said she joked she would agree if he won an Oscar. “Let’s get cracking on those kids!” Culkin said to his wife from the stage. Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes are chosen by the roughly 11,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. No Other Land , a film showing Palestinian West Bank resistance to Israeli soldiers tearing down their homes and evicting residents, won the documentary feature film Oscar. – Reuters

actress for her role as the fixer for a Mexican drug lord in Emilia Perez , a Spanish-language musical released on Netflix. The movie, which also won best original song for El Mal , was a favourite for best picture earlier this year. Its chances dwindled when offensive social media posts surfaced from star Karla Sofia Gascon. Kieran Culkin received the best supporting actor award for playing one of two cousins who travel to Poland to study their family’s roots in A Real Pain. Culkin thanked his wife and mother of his two children, Jazz Charton, and said he had

BR I E F S

Anti-doping agency targets Oceania MELBOURNE: A World Anti-doping Agency programme aimed at building cooperation with law enforcement in Europe led to seizures of more than 25 tonnes of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) and officials now hope to see a similar impact in Oceania and Asia. “So this is where our management decided, wow, that’s a good project, we want to continue. “Now we are hoping to have the same impact, perhaps on a different scale, in Asia and Oceania.”

WADA I&I staff are meeting anti-doping and law enforcement officials on Australia’s Gold Coast this week to share intelligence and build crime-fighting capacity in the Oceania region. The workshop is the first of six to be held across the region and Asia this year as WADA pushes national anti-doping watchdogs and police to collaborate to shut down illicit PED production and distribution. Sponsored by Sport Integrity Australia, the Gold Coast workshop is confined to Oceania participants including New Zealand and Pacific nations. Other workshops in Saudi Arabia, India and Thailand will feature Asian nations, including

WADA launched the Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) programme in Europe in 2022, hoping it might lead to five anti-doping operations being launched among the 48 countries that participated. Nearly a year on from the end of the programme, there are more than 100 operations still ongoing across the continent, over 25 tonnes of illicit PEDs seized and 25 laboratories shut down, said WADA’s I&I Director Gunter Younger. “They prevented more than 500 million doses of PEDs coming on the global market, which is really significant,” said Younger.