Putrajaya

Abu Dhabi struck deals worth billions of dollars with Malaysia on Tuesday, a state-owned company announced, as Kuala Lumpur seeks investment to boost the economy before polls due by June.

Thailand and one of several rebel groups in the country's Muslim south will open talks in Kuala Lumpur in two weeks to try to end a bloody insurgency, Malaysia's prime minister said Thursday.

China will loan two endangered baby pandas to Malaysia for 10 years to commemorate strong diplomatic ties between the two Asian countries, the environment ministry said on Tuesday.

A car with five off-duty policemen on board crashed into the Malaysian prime minister's official residence, according to reports and an official.

A new scheme to provide women-only taxis is being welcomed by Malaysian commuters who say female passengers in the Muslim-majority country are vulnerable to robbery and other violence.

Malaysian premier Najib Razak is throwing open his home on Sunday for football fans to watch Manchester United take on Manchester City, in a rapport-building exercise ahead of expected elections.

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (Reuters) - Dr. Mahathir Mohamad sits at a vast desk cluttered with work, hands clasped before him and looking at his visitors with a slight smile.

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (Reuters) - Dr. Mahathir Mohamad sits at a vast desk cluttered with work, hands clasped before him and looking at his visitors with a slight smile.

Malaysian premier Najib Razak on Sunday told a gathering of African leaders including Zimbabwe's controversial President Robert Mugabe that good governance was vital to economic growth.

Malaysian premier Najib Razak Sunday told a gathering of African leaders including Zimbabwe's controversial President Robert Mugabe that good governance was vital to economic growth.

Malaysia's biennial convention to promote economic collaboration with Africa will begin Sunday with the attendance of controversial Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes, will no longer attend a weekend summit in Malaysia, said authorities who had been under pressure to cancel the visit.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, are to visit Malaysia for an economic gathering, a minister said Sunday.

Malaysia's Proton aims to mass produce hybrid electric cars by 2012. Malaysia's national car maker Proton will roll out its first fleet of hybrid electric vehicles in January for a pilot run before mass production begins in 2012, officials said Thursday.

China objects to US offer to host three-way talks over disputed islands with Japan. China rejected Tuesday a U.S. offer to broker three-way talks with Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea, prompting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to reiterate the proposal.

"Are India and China in competition? I sincerely believe that there are enormous possibilities of our two countries to work together," Singh told a gathering of business leaders in Malaysia's administrative capital, Putrajaya.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Western Pacific countries face an increasing economic toll from mainly preventable illnesses such as strokes, heart disease and diabetes, a World Health Organization official said on Sunday.

JONGGOL, Indonesia (Reuters) - A mere pinprick on the map of Java, Jonggol's cluster of tiny red-roofed houses set among banana groves and shimmering waterlogged rice fields may in years to come be destined for greater things.

Malaysia's first female Islamic court judges will have the same powers as their male counterparts, an official said Monday, dispelling concerns their role would be curtailed.

Malaysia's two newly-appointed women Sharia judges will not be allowed to rule on criminal or divorce cases, a top official said Wednesday, while denying the religious courts were biased.