KINI ROUNDUP Here are the key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

Harapan-Bersatu tie-up

The three parties under Pakatan Harapan and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) officially signed an agreement as a prelude to an electoral pact, to ensure straight fights against BN in the coming general election, as well as cooperation and a common framework among them.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said the party's deadline for PAS to reciprocate, is until next year, before it calls off attempts to include the Islamic party in an opposition electoral pact ahead of the coming 14th general election.

This comes despite Bersatu's offer to help rebuild ties between PAS and both DAP and Amanah, in order to unite the opposition parties as a collective force to face BN, made at the 'Mega Ceramah Rakyat', Monday, was not well received by the Islamic party's deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Mat.

New Agong's pardon may be sought

Jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's family may file a fresh application for a royal pardon from the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong, should his application to the Federal Court to review his Sodomy II conviction be quashed.

His Royal Highness Sultan Muhammad V, who is the Sultan of Kelantan, took his oath of office as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong in a ceremony steeped in tradition and customs at Istana Negara yesterday.

The Federal Court is due to deliver its verdict today on the review application, which is Anwar's last legal avenue to challenge the five-year jail sentence handed down by the same court, which upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn his earlier acquittal.

More Kinibites

With Donald Trump as the president-elect and Republicans controlling both houses of Congress, a tax reform is looming in the United States, which may cause a shift in global trade that can be of grave concern to countries trading with the US, such as Malaysia.

Former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) director Ramli Yusof has obtained a consent judgment from the High Court in Kuala Lumpur against three media organisations, on the defamation suit he filed related to their reports on the ‘Copgate’ affair.

A US federal judge has rejected an attempt by family members of Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho to claim assets seized by the US government in its probe into the scandal-tainted 1MDB fund.

Police have arrested the man alleged to be the mastermind in the murder of Miri PKR branch secretary Bill Kayong, who was shot dead at a traffic light junction in Lutong on June 21. This was after the suspect, who is a Datuk, was apprehended and deported to Malaysia by Chinese authorities.

Looking Ahead

Today Anwar Ibrahim will find out if he will be granted a re-trial, acquitted of his Sodomy II conviction, or serve out his five-year jail-sentence. His supporters are planning a rally outside the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya, where the Federal Court will decide on his review application.