DORAL, Florida, March ⁠9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on ‌Monday told reporters he had a "very good call" with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Ukraine and ​the conflict in the Middle ⁠East. "There's tremendous hatred ⁠between President Putin and (Ukraine's) President Zelenskiy. Trump added ‌that Putin "wants to be helpful" with ⁠the Iran ​conflict. ⁠That will be more helpful,'" ​Trump told reporters in a press conference at his Florida golf club. Trump recently has ⁠expressed dismay about the ongoing conflict between ​Russia and Ukraine, which ‌started more than four years ​ago.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has sent oil prices surging, upending global travel and sparking fears of a deep travel slump and the potential for the widespread grounding of planes. As oil prices soar, Vietnam Airlines has asked local authorities to remove an environment tax on jet fuel to help it maintain operations. The Southeast Asian nation's government said Vietnamese airlines' operating costs have risen 60% to 70% due to the rise in jet fuel prices and fuel suppliers were facing difficulties in meeting airline demand. In Asia, airline shares showed signs of stabilising, with Air New Zealand up 2% after falling nearly 8% on Monday. Some major Asian and European airlines have oil hedging in place, but U.S. airlines largely stopped the practice over the last two decades.

Vietnam has proposed allowing them to impose fuel surcharges and adjust the price cap on domestic fares to help maintain operations. Thailand plans to increase the use of biofuel blends to reduce demand for imported crude, Energy Minister Auttapol Rerkpiboon said on Monday. Long lines have formed at the pumps in Myanmar over the past week amid concerns about fuel supplies under the country’s military government. The Philippines has enough crude supplies, either stockpiled or en route, to last until April, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said. Vietnamese officials, meanwhile, are considering importing crude oil from Venezuela, news website VnExpress reported, citing Deputy Trade Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan.

IPOH: Two Indonesian palm oil harvesters have been remanded for seven days to assist in investigations into the death of a male vocational college student in Teluk Intan on Monday (March 9). The student was killed after sustaining severe injuries believed to have been caused by a sickle blade to the neck. Hilir Perak police chief ACP Dr Bakri Zainal Abidin said the remand order, effective from March 10 to 16, was issued by Magistrate Naidatul Athirah Azman at the Teluk Intan Magistrate's Court. On Monday, the 18-year-old victim, Adham Faisal, a student of Teluk Intan Agricultural Vocational College, was killed after his neck was slashed by a sickle in an accident involving two motorcycles at Batu 4, Kampung Selabak, Teluk Intan. In the incident, the deceased's 17-year-old college mate suffered injuries to his hand, and it was learned that the two students were on their way to college for practical training at the institution.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 10): The Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s (KLIA) Runway 3 has resumed full operations seven days ahead of schedule. KLIA said improvement works began with a full closure from Feb 24 to 26, followed by operations under a shortened runway configuration while the remaining works progressed. “With the works now completed earlier than planned, the runway has resumed full-length operations ahead of schedule,” it said in an official X posting. It added that the works form part of KLIA’s ongoing efforts to maintain the highest safety and quality standards. The actual scheduled date for resumption was March 17.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli's move to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp) director Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, along with winding-up proceedings against the company, has been amicably resolved. Previously, it was reported that Rafizi had acknowledged payments totaling RM300,000 by Mohamad Salleh and NFCorp, which were made through their solicitors in December 2022. In 2016, the High Court here ordered Rafizi to pay RM150,000 in damages to Mohamad Salleh and RM50,000 in damages to NFCorp after allowing their suit against him. Rafizi was also ordered to pay RM100,000 in costs to Mohamad Salleh. In 2019, the Court of Appeal allowed Rafizi's appeal and ordered that the RM200,000 in damages and RM100,000 in costs previously paid to Mohamad Salleh and NFCorp be returned to Rafizi.

(March 10): European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Madis Muller said the chances of an interest-rate hike have risen of late, but that officials shouldn’t react hastily to the war in Iran and its implications. “That probably has gone up in the last couple of weeks.”At the same time, the ECB shouldn’t “rush into any decisions”, he said. “We should first see if this increase in energy prices that we now are experiencing, if that turns out to be transitory or not.”Traders ramped up bets on monetary tightening as the fighting in the Middle East sent energy prices surging. Speaking at the same event, Muller’s Lithuanian counterpart Gediminas Simkus also warned against hasty action. “If things would last, if things spread, it would have implications not only on inflation but also more generally on the Middle East and also for Europe.”The ECB will next set borrowing costs on March 19.

PETALING JAYA: Bersatu Malaysia vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee has been suspended from the party as of Tuesday (March 10). In a social media post, Ronald shared a notice from the party's Disciplinary Board, which suspended him for two party election terms. In the same post, he said he would not appeal the decision. Just consider the appeal period to be over. He will be stripped of all posts and barred from making any statements in the party's name until his suspension ends.

LONDON: Central banks are clearly watching the Iran war oil shock like hawks. The surge in oil prices, driven by supply disruption from more thana week of war in the Middle East, is already challenging central banks' stretched mandates. Others suggest "looking through" volatile inflation, much like central banks did post-pandemic - mistakenly, in hindsight. But there's another consideration under a third hat most major central banks now wear - financial stability. We have already seen rumblings of the latter over the past week with rising government borrowing rates and jolts to central banks' interest rate horizons.

SHAH ALAM: A managing director of a company pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to bribing an officer of the Environment Department (DOE) as an inducement not to take legal action against him. Goh Chin San, 53, is accused of giving a RM5,000 bribe to a DOE senior environmental control officer over an alleged offence under the Environmental Quality Act 1974. Goh was charged under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009. Judge Awang Kerisnada Awang Mahmud allowed Goh bail of RM12,000 with one surety and set May 13 for mention. He also ordered Goh to report to the MACC office in Shah Alam every month, surrender his passport to the court and not to interfere with prosecution witnesses.

(March 10): Lego A/S, best known for toys using interlocking plastic bricks, plans to invest heavily in the US, undeterred by the political risks from the Iran War. The expansion was more than twice as fast as the global toy market, which grew by 7% last year, according to market researcher Circana. In the last few years, Lego has invested heavily in expanding its portfolio. “We’ve grown quite nicely in the US over the past three years, and I believe that can continue — both because the market is doing reasonably well and because we’re gaining market share,” Christiansen said. He also said Lego is focused on staying flexible in an increasingly volatile global environment.

TAIPEI (March 10): The US has not approached Taiwan about transfers of weapons to the Middle East, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Tuesday, after South Korea said it was in talks about the possible redeployment of some US Patriot missile systems. Were that to happen, the US would be responsible for transporting them, he added. The US is Taiwan's main arms supplier and Taiwan has Patriot missiles in its arsenal. Democratically governed Taiwan is facing increased military pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory. Media reports citing South Korean government sources said the Patriot systems were being readied for redeployment in the Middle East, with heavy US military transport planes having flown into Osan to move them.

WOLFSBURG, Germany (March 10): Volkswagen is in ‌for another tough year dominated by tariffs and the battle to win back China, after Europe's largest carmaker reported a slump in operating profit on Tuesday and forecast only a modest recovery for ​its dwindling margin. Like its rivals, Volkswagen has contended with pressures across major ​markets, with U.S. tariffs costing the company billions and local competition eroding ⁠its share in China, the world's biggest car market. Shares in Volkswagen and Porsche AG have significantly underperformed the broader European auto index under Oliver Blume. "But the operating margin of 4.6% adjusted for restructuring ​is not ⁠sufficient in the long run," he said, adding that Volkswagen would continue to rigorously reduce costs. Its operating margin fell to 0.3% after 14.5% in 2024.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 10): The surge in crude palm oil (CPO) prices has reignited the appeal of biodiesel amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have sent crude oil prices surging past US$100 (RM392.70) per barrel, according to analysts. Analysts noted stronger crude oil prices tend to support palm oil prices through improved biodiesel economics, as higher diesel prices enhance the attractiveness of biodiesel blending. This could accelerate Indonesia’s policy momentum towards B50 implementation, tightening palm oil availability and providing upside support to CPO prices. "While it remains unclear how long geopolitical tensions will persist — and thus the sustainability of the CPO price rally — the current surge in CPO prices should support near-term earnings for planters, particularly upstream players, given their high operating leverage to CPO prices. "We estimate gasoil prices to remain above US$95/bbl this year, about 7.3% year-on-year higher versus the 2025 average of US$88.5/bbl.

PETALING JAYA: National Journalism Laureate Khalidah Adibah Amin is in stable condition, although she is physically weak and requires full-time care. Her sister Khalilah Fadzilah Amin, 87, said apart from having diabetes, Adibah is weak due to age and could only sit in a wheelchair for a short period of time. Adibah, 90, has served as an editor with Star Media Group, News Straits Time and Berita Harian. Khalilah Fadzilah said Adibah is currently being cared for full-time by a trained and experienced caretaker who ensures her daily needs are well taken care of. A family friend, Lay Hua, said all proceeds from the event would be channelled to support Adibah's care, while preserving her legacy by awarding the "Adibah Amin Literary Prizes" to young writers.