KUALA LUMPUR / AP Appearing calm and solemn, two young women accused of smearing VX nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader, were charged with murder on Wednesday. The women, who arrived in court under the protection of masked special forces carrying machine guns, are at the center of a bizarre killing at ...

  BOGOR / AP The first Saudi monarch to visit Indonesia in nearly half a century arrived on Wednesday to an elaborate official welcome and crowds of thousands. King Salman exited his plane at Halim airport in Jakarta using a gold-colored escalator sent from Saudi Arabia for the visit, with a portable lift carrying him the final meter or so to ...

  MOSCOW / AP The largest provider of humanitarian aid in rebel-held eastern Ukraine said on Wednesday that it has suspended its operations there. The charity foundation run by billionaire Rinat Akhmetov has been distributing food and other supplies to residents in the rebel-controlled east, where most of the international aid organizations have no access. Akhmetov’s foundation said in a statement ...

  Bloomberg Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said another vote on independence is the only way to protect the country’s interests unless the UK softens its plan to leave the European Union and its single market. Speaking at an event organized by the David Hume Institute in Edinburgh on Tuesday evening, Sturgeon said factions in the UK Parliament want to ...

  TOKYO / AP Global stocks turned higher on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump delivered a relatively upbeat speech to the US Congress. Investors were watching for signals on what’s ahead in trade, regulations and tax policies, though they got few specifics. France’s CAC 40 gained 1.6 percent to 4,936 and Germany’s DAX jumped 1.4 percent 11,998. Britain’s FTSE ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Trading volumes in Middle Eastern stocks were light on Wednesday, with relatively modest moves and regional markets taking different directions. Qatar’s index rebounded 0.5 percent after dropping 2.2 percent in the previous session. All but one of the six banks rose with Commercial Bank, the top gainer, jumping 2.3 percent. Abu Dhabi’s index added 0.4 percent ...

  Bloomberg Global equity investors who had shunned Europe for months are back, and at the expense of the US Since October, global funds have made a “significant rotation” out of US stocks into Europe excluding the UK and into Japanese equities, equity strategists at HSBC Holdings Plc wrote in a note. The shift comes as banks including Goldman Sachs ...

  Bloomberg VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co. surged by the 20 percent daily limit in its trading debut on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, reflecting investor interest in Vietnam’s first mainboard-listed carrier as travel demand soars in the nation. The stock rose to 108,000 dong at the close of trading, valuing the low-cost carrier at 32.4 trillion dong ...

  Bloomberg Wal-Mart Stores Inc., looking to lock in more customers with its mobile-phone app, is updating the software so it can be used to refill prescriptions and skip the line at the pharmacy counter. The upgrade also will let users sign off on medical forms and view prescription pricing on the application, Wal-Mart said. Once their pharmacy orders have ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business SalamAir, Oman’s first budget airline, expanded its network by introducing its first international destination, Dubai. The double daily service will operate from Muscat International Airport (MCT) to Dubai World Central (DWC) before moving to Dubai International Airport (DXB) is starting from March 26. SalamAir’s growing destination network was made possible with the arrival of the ...