KINI ROUNDUP | Here are the key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

The politics of quinoa

The news yesterday was dominated by reactions to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's apparent love for a pricey health food known as quinoa.

It even prompted the Prime Minister's Department (PMO) to issue a statement on Najib's dietary habits - it turns out that the prime minister does eat rice.

But what is quinoa? Our mini-guide will help you digest the popularity behind this rather expensive Andean seed.

The spotlight on quinoa led to Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad declaring that he only eats local rice.

Pro-Umno website MyKMU rallied behind Najib and dismissed Mahathir as a "clown".

FGV made more money

Although Felda's reputation has taken a pounding of late, its subsidiary Felda Global Ventures Bhd (FGV) has plenty to cheer as its net profits for 2017 soared by 213 percent.

More good news for the ruling party - a Court of Appeal ruling said Najib did not commit any wrongdoing with regards to the 1MDB affair.

Najib also released an audio clip where he outlined two of his predictions of how things would pan out should Pakatan Harapan win the next elections - both had dire consequences.

Other KiniBites

Artist Fahmi Reza managed to raise RM30,000 within 24 hours to pay a fine for insulting Najib with a caricature that depicted the premier as an evil clown.

Penang Harapan negotiations on the allocation of six Malay-majority seats have collapsed and the national leadership will now have to take over. The six disputed state seats in Penang are Bertam, Sungai Dua, Telok Ayer Tawar, Sungai Acheh, Pulau Betong and Telok Bahang.

A woman who lodged a complaint with the Petaling Jaya City Council was shocked to find out that the council had made her identity public.

Contributors to Malaysiakini's defence fund as well as long-time subscribers are invited to a special screening of Oscar-nominated ‘The Post’. Click here for free tickets.

Looking ahead

The Selangor state-level Chinese New Year open house event, which will be attended by the Selangor ruler, will be held at Padang Timur this evening.

Najib will attend the Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia (Huazong) Chinese New Year celebrations in the morning.