The head of South Korea's Samsung Group, Jay Y. Lee, denies all charges against him, his lawyer said on Thursday, at the start of what the special prosecutor said could be the "trial of the century" amid a political scandal that has rocked the country.

Uber Technologies Inc is working to mend its relationship with regulators as pressure mounts for the company to improve its business practices and temper Chief Executive Travis Kalanick's aggressive leadership style.

Indian inflation likely picked up for the first time in seven months in February as rising food prices began to bite, but it remained below the central bank's medium-term target, a Reuters poll found.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is in talks with banks to raise $5 billion in new funding, sources told Thomson Reuters' Basis Point, amid a flurry of fund-raising by China's tech giants.

Japan will push to leave agriculture out of its first economic talks with the Trump administration next month, sources say, hoping to prevent thorny topics such as its heavily protected farm industry from blocking other negotiations.

Donald Trump and his travel bans are dissuading some foreigners from vacationing in the United States, but a decline in visitors is also linked to the dollar and may be limited, experts say.

SWISS firms from food and beverage giant Nestle to banking groups UBS and Credit Suisse pledged new goals on Tuesday to support and promote women.

Australia's consumer watchdog Wednesday launched court action against Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi over an emissions cheating scandal, claiming they engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.

India's top e-commerce company Flipkart is holding talks with investors to raise up to $1 billion in one of its biggest funding rounds so far, a source familiar with developments said on Wednesday.

Oil dropped further below $56 a barrel on Wednesday after an industry report pointed to a large rise in crude inventories in the United States, renewing oversupply concerns despite Opec output curbs.

Belgium-based SWIFT said on Wednesday it has stopped providing financial services to all North Korean banks under UN sanctions, as international tensions rise over Pyongyang's increasingly aggressive military behaviour.

Online shopping helped boost profits last year at German logistics group Deutsche Post, while the owner of the DHL express delivery firm said Wednesday that improved efficiency should ensure further gains this year.

JAPAN'S economy expanded by a revised 0.3 percent in the last quarter of 2016, government data showed Wednesday, as company investment and a weaker yen propped up growth.

Aamra Companies, a local conglomerate, wins three awards in three different categories at the World HRD Congress held from February 15-17 at Taj Lands End in Mumbai, India.

Crude oil lost more ground on Wednesday with rising US oil output adding pressure on the market, although OPEC production cuts continued to offer support.

Asian factories extended a global manufacturing revival as activity picked up steam in February, though the outlook for many of the region's export-reliant economies remained uncertain in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist stance.

World Trade Organisation chief Roberto Azevedo secured a second term Tuesday pledging to build on recent successes despite the "challenging times" confronting global trade.

Economist Viral Acharya spent nearly two decades studying banking crises around the world. Now, as a deputy governor at India's central bank, he is turning his attention to one that may be developing at home.

Private investment, which has been stagnant for several years, should be raised to help the country achieve higher economic growth and lift millions of people out of poverty, said Mashiur Rahman, economic affairs adviser to the prime minister.

Australia's economy rebounded strongly in the December quarter, growing 1.1 percent to dodge a technical recession on the back of buoyant exports, government investment and household spending, data showed Wednesday.