Malaysia Airlines agreed to buy Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliners and 737 Max jets as the Southeast Asian nation’s flag carrier looks to boost services on its busiest routes.The airline signed a memorandum of understanding for eight of the carbon-composite Dreamliners, and eight 737 Max 8s, Boeing said in an e-mailed statement late Tuesday.

When Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak meets former golf partner Donald Trump in the White House on Tuesday, the elephant in the room will be a US criminal probe of an investment fund linked to Najib.While ties between the countries are solid, there are points of strain for the two leaders. One wrinkle is a Department of Justice investigation into alleged money laundering and embezzlement at state-owned 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd).

North Korea said the US will “pay dearly” after its UN (United Nations) Ambassador Nikki Haley said the isolated nation was “begging for war,” again ratcheting up tensions as world leaders consider a fresh round of sanctions.Describing Haley’s comments to the UN this week as a “hysteric fit,” a commentary by the state-run KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) on Friday warned the US of unspecified retribution.

The North Korean nuclear crisis dragged Asian markets further into the red on Wednesday as world powers struggled to agree how to deal with the isolated state, while doubts about further US interest rate hikes dragged the dollar.With few other catalysts to deflect attention from the face off with Pyongyang, investors continue to flock to safe-haven assets, sending gold to near one-year highs and the yen flying.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned against "confrontational rhetoric

US President Donald Trump recently warned that “all options are on the table” in response to North Korea’s recent missile tests. The latest of which, was an unprecedented launch which saw the missile soar over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido before falling into the sea, 500 nautical miles off the east coast of Japan.

Kim Jong Un might have done Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a little favour.The North Korean leader’s move to fire a ballistic missile over Japan’s northern Hokkaido island on Tuesday put the spotlight on Abe, whose popularity has slumped after a series of scandals.

Asian stocks advanced after President Donald Trump’s measured response to North Korean missile launches and comments from Kim Jong Un suggested geopolitical tensions will ease off. The yen fell for a second day.Equity indexes in Japan, South Korea and Australia opened higher after U.S. stocks rebounded from losses initially sparked when Kim’s regime fired a missile over Japan.