ISLAMABAD - PAKISTAN will on Sunday see the re-opening of the luxury Marriott Hotel in the capital Islamabad, just three months after it was ripped apart by a truck bomb that killed 60 people and wounded another 260.

The attack, by a suicide bomber whose vehicle was packed with 600 kilogrammes of explosives, was the worst in the besieged country this year and reduced the hotel to a charred shell on Sept 20.

KUALA LUMPUR - THE father of a slain Mongolian woman has asked a Malaysian court to question the attorney general for failing to appeal against the acquittal of a prime suspect who has top government connections, a lawyer said on Thursday.

Mr Abdul Razak Baginda, a close friend of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, was acquitted in October of abetting the slaying of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian interpreter who was shot in 2006.

WASHINGTON - THE US Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved a request by GMAC, the troubled financial arm of General Motors, to become a bank holding company, clearing the way for it to receive a share of government bailout funds and emergency loans.

The move, announced only hours before Christmas day, boosts the prospects of General Motors after the US government last week approved a US$13.4 billion (S$19.4 billion) rescue loan package for GM and Chrysler to stave off collapse amid tight credit and dismal sales.

TOKYO - JAPAN said on Thursday it was considering dispatching a destroyer to waters off Somalia to guard against pirates who are inflicting a costly toll on the shipping industry.

A growing number of nations are sending navy ships to fight pirates near the lawless East African country, with Japan's neighbour and sometime rival China set to dispatch three vessels on Friday.