HANOI, March 5 — The trial in Vietnam's largest financial fraud case on record begins on Tuesday, with nearly 90 defendants accused of being part of a US$12 billion (RM56 billion) scam, for which some of them risk the death penalty.

SYDNEY, March 5 — Australia said on Tuesday it would set up an A$2 billion (RM6.1 billion) finance facility to boost trade and investment in Southeast Asia as it looks to expand ties with the Asean bloc, the country's second-largest two-way trading partner.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 5 — Four former top Twitter executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, have sued Elon Musk for over US$128 million (RM604 million) in combined unpaid severance, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday.

NEW DELHI, March 5 — Pakistan's new premier Shehbaz Sharif invited Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to visit his country as the two leaders discussed stronger bilateral relations in a phone call.

MELBOURNE, March 4 — Southeast Asia’s favourable demographics, industrialisation and urbanisation trends and technological advances will increasingly make it an economic powerhouse to 2040 and beyond, hence, making it a major opportunity for Australian business.

SINGAPORE, March 4 — Singapore’s retirement and re-employment age will be raised to 64 and 69 respectively in 2026, according to local media.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — Palestine has thanked the government and people of Malaysia for their steadfast support for Palestine during the public hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), The Hague.

MOSCOW, March 4 — Sixty per cent of Americans disapprove of US President Joe Biden's handling of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, while 42 per cent think Israel has gone too far in its efforts to fight Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, reported Sputnik.

SYDNEY Mar 4 — Australia said on Monday Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asian countries are facing serious defence threats as it set aside more funds for maritime security projects with Asean countries during a summit with regional leaders in Melbourne.

MELBOURNE, March 4 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Government House, Victoria, on Monday in conjunction with his four-day official visit to Australia.

MELBOURNE, March 4 — The 2024 Asean-Australia Special Summit is commencing today, bringing together Southeast Asian (SEA) and Australian leaders, business and community leaders, experts and academics to discuss key focus areas such as business; emerging leaders; climate and clean energy; and maritime cooperation.

SEOUL, March 4 — South Korea's health minister said on Monday authorities will start inspecting hospitals in order to take legal action against trainee doctors who have ignored an ultimatum to end a walkout over government plans to increase medical school admissions.

SYDNEY, March 4 — Australia said on Monday the Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asian countries are facing serious defence threats as it set aside more funds for a maritime security pact with Asean countries during a summit with the Southeast Asian bloc.

WASHINGTON, Mar 3 — Former US President Donald Trump on Saturday won Idaho's Republican presidential caucus, easily beating former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and inching closer toward the GOP nomination.

ALGIERS, March 3 — The 7th Summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which concluded on Saturday in Algeria, reaffirmed member states' absolute sovereign rights over their gas resources, rejecting unilateral economic restrictions and political manipulation of gas prices, reported Xinhua.

MOSCOW, March 3 — Forty-eight per cent of American voters are ready to vote for former US President Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for November 2024, while 43 per cent have expressed a desire to support incumbent US President Joe Biden, a poll conducted by The New York Times and the Siena College research organisation showed on Saturday.

WASHINGTON, March 3 — The United States (US) announced on Saturday that it had conducted the first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza, with more than 30,000 meals parachuted from military planes.

CHICAGO, March 2 — Gold futures on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose yesterday as the US dollar and Treasury yields fell, reported Xinhua.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 2 — Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has sued ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and its chief executive officer Sam Altman, saying they abandoned the startup's original mission to develop artificial intelligence (AI) for humanity's benefit and not for profit.

WASHINGTON, March 2 — United States (US) President Joe Biden has announced plans to carry out a first military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza, a day after the deaths of Palestinians queuing for aid threw a spotlight on an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the crowded coastal enclave.