Expert panel on MH370 probe

KUALA LUMPUR - The government will soon announce the list of experts forming the international investigation team on the MH370 incident.

Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the Cabinet has deliberated and approved the formation of the team, with the Transport Ministry being tasked to draft its terms of reference.

Missing MH370: Check Kandahar, say family members

Reports that MH370 is in Kandahar prompts family members to request Malaysian government to search for the plane there.

PETALING JAYA:Family members of the missing MH370 flight passengers want the government to investigate claims that the missing flight is in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

There are reports that the plane is in the South Asian country and it quoted Russian intelligence agency as the source.

Chinese groups reject PAS' hudud agenda

A group of Chinese NGOs have expressed disagreement with the plan to implement hudud law in Kelantan and PAS' intention to submit a Private Member's Bill in Parliament.

In a joint statement today, the 22 NGOs said the federal constitution clearly states that Malaysia is a secular nation and this was reiterated by the Supreme Court in 1988.

Missing MH370: Air search activities suspended due to cyclone

KUALA LUMPUR - The planned air search activities have been suspended today due to poor weather conditions in the search area as a result of Tropical Cyclone Jack.

The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) in a statement today, said the current weather conditions resulted in heavy seas and poor visibility.

Korean ferry death toll exceeds 100, nearly 200 still missing

JINDO, South Korea - One by one, coast guard officers carried the newly arrived bodies covered in white sheets from a boat to a tent on the dock of this island, the first step in identifying a sharply rising number of corpses from a South Korean ferry that sank nearly a week ago.

Dozens of police officers in neon green jackets formed a cordon around the dock as the bodies arrived Tuesday. Since divers found a way over the weekend to enter the submerged ferry, the death count has shot up. Officials said Tuesday that confirmed fatalities had reached 104, with nearly 200 people still missing.

Grieving family members: ‘hiding information on missing jet'

PETALING JAYA - After an agonising 45 days of waiting for concrete information on the missing MH370, family members of those board the flight vented their anger at the authorities.

The ‘United families of MH370′,  consisting of 40 grieving families took the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), Malaysia Airlines and the Transport Ministry to task at a meeting yesterday.

Why are Americans obsessed with missing plane?

PERTH - From the disappearances of aviator Amelia Earhart to labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, there's just something about a good mystery that Americans find too tantalizing to resist. Perhaps that's why the saga of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has continued to rivet the country long after people elsewhere have moved on.

From the beginning, the story has bubbled with enough drama to rival a good Hollywood whodunit. And even though it unfolded on the other side of the world with only three Americans on board, many were sucked in anyway.

Raja Bomoh spouting mumbo-jumbo again

Bomoh (shaman) Ibrahim Mat Zin is in the headlines for the wrong reasons again, this time for conducting a cleansing ritual along KM306.1 of the North-South Expressway.

The area has been in the spotlight since last Thursday after Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh died when his Toyota Alphard was involved in a collision with a lorry.

Cops probe possibility of sabotage on MH192

Police are looking into the possibility of sabotage in the Malaysia Airlines MH192 from Kuala Lumpur bound for Bangalore, India, early this morning.

"We will take the necessary steps to investigate," said Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar at a press conference today.

Junz in hot water for making fake report

His claim of assault on woman never took place and Pairin wants him censured by state assembly

KOTA KINABALU: Rookie Sabah assemblyman, Junz Wong, is in hot water with the state assembly over a sensational report he made earlier this year about a crime that did not take place.

Altantuya’s dad: Karpal with me during my worst

The death of Malaysian icon Karpal Singh has reached the shores of Ulanbataar, Mongolia, where a two-page tribute was dedicated to him in a local daily yesterday.

The Mongolian-language Zuunii Medee or Century News carried two pages of an interview with Altantuya's dad Setev Shaariibuu who poured out his personal feelings about Karpal in an article headlined 'Malaysian opposition DAP leader Karpal Singh dies in car accident'.

Missing MH370: 4 questions about missing Malaysian plane answered

Travelers at Asian airports have asked questions about the March 8 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Here are some of them, followed by answers.

Samuel Rogers, a 20-year-old German on a backpacking trip, in Bangkok and on his way to Malaysia.

MH370 search most difficult, costliest

Australia, which is leading the search in a remote patch of water described as ‘unknown to man’, has not put a figure on spending, but Malaysia has warned that costs will be ‘huge’, reports Madeleine Coorey

OMG! Even ‘RIP’ had Christian connotations

Following the death of Karpal Singh and the outpouring of grief, Muslims were reminded by the National Fatwa Council today that they were not encouraged to use the phrase “Rest in Peace" (RIP) to a non-Muslim because the term had Christian connotations.

Missing MH370: What's the next phase of search if mini-sub finds nothing?

Perth, Australia - The hunt by a mini-submarine for a Malaysian airliner in the uncharted depths of the Indian Ocean - the latest phase in a huge international search - will end in about a week, Australia says.

If the best leads now being pursued to locate wreckage from the Boeing 777 prove fruitless, said Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the search would not be abandoned but enter a new phase.

Spineless Zul Noordin rejoices over Karpal's death

As condolences pour in over the death of Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh, some appear to be seeing the veteran opposition leader's sudden departure as something to celebrate.

Most controversial were comments from former Kulim Bandar Baharu MP Zulkifli Noordin, who praised God for Karpal's death, which he said would help advance hudud in Malaysia.

Karpal killed in car crash

Both Karpal and his personal aide died on the spot while three others were injured.

PETALING JAYA - DAP veteran leader and Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh died in a car crash near Gua Tempurung early Thursday. The accident occurred at about 1am.

Also killed was his personal assistant Michael Cornelius, 39. Both of them died on the spot while three other passengers, including Karpal’s son Ramkarpal, were injured. One of them, believed to be Karpal’s Indonesian maid, is said to be seriously hurt.

Search for MH370: Mini-sub aborts again

PERTH - The hunt for a missing Malaysian plane suffered another setback today when a second seabed search by a mini-submarine was cut short due to “technical” troubles after the first also aborted in very deep water.

Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) issued a brief statement which spoke of an unspecified “technical issue” with the unmanned Bluefin-21 sonar device.

DAP has betrayed the Chinese

It asked the community to support PAS in the last general election and now has to face the consequences of the Islamist party's move to table the hudud bill in Parliament.

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Gerakan has accused the DAP of hoodwinking the Chinese community and opening the floodgates for PAS to achieve its Islamist state agenda.

Its secretary, Oh Tong Keong, said the Chinese voters had trusted and voted for DAP to strive for greater benefits for the Chinese community in the last two general elections.

Kelantan Chinese against hudud

PETALING JAYA - Although they have had no problems living under PAS rule, Kelantan Chinese are opposed to the imposition of hudud, according to two businessmen who claim that their views represent those of their community.

Oie Poh Choon and Lee Seng Long said their main worry was that the implementation of hudud would cause conflicts in the administration of justice if a group of suspects in a crime were to consist of both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Missing MH370: Afghan Terrorist Hijack, Illuminati, Snowden and Other Conspiracy Theories

As the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane continues in the southern Indian Ocean, speculation on its whereabouts become increasingly wild.

The aircraft disappeared on 8 March and despite the extensive search effort, no definite wreckage has been recovered.

Ramli: I'd have hit Sabah intruders fast and hard

INTERVIEW The Lahad Datu incursion last year remains a black mark in the nation's history but former Sabah police chief Ramli Yusuff said if he was at the helm during the crisis, he would have wasted no time hitting the foreign intruders quick and hard.

Ramli, born in a leap year 62 years ago, said if he was in charge, he would never allow armed invaders to prevail.

Zahid is irresponsible, says MIC youth chief

MIC Youth chief C Sivaraajh has criticised Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's statement that the police would not take any action against a Muslim convert father who snatched his six-year-old son from his Hindu ex-wife in Negri Sembilan last week.

He said he was "taken aback by the home minister's irresponsible statement in relation to S Deepa's case".

Missing MH370: First underwater search finds nothing

The first underwater search for MH370 has come up fruitless.

Analysts did not identify any objects of interest after looking at the data retrieved from the underwater vehicle deployed on Monday in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Ex-Sabah chief cop: Esscom is ridiculous

The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) leads to a duplication of work, said a former Sabah police chief.

However, Ramli Yusuff, who was Sabah police chief from 2002 to 2004, refused to comment on whether Esscom should be scrapped, saying that it was a policy issue.

On the same note, Ramli said, Esscom should be headed by the state police chief to avoid duplication of the chain of command and ensure a better grip on security operational matters.

Missing MH370: Search Goes Underwater with Bluefin-21 as Oil Slick Discovered

Search crews will deploy a submarine in the Indian Ocean to try and determine whether the "ping" signals detected by equipment are from the missing Malaysian plane's black boxes.

Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston, who is leading the search, said the mini-submarine will scan the sea bed for wreckage from flight MH370 "as soon as possible".

PKR Sabah internal feuds: Lajim accused of misusing funds

KOTA KINABALU - With the party elections due in less than a month, trouble appears to be brewing in PKR Sabah with a state leader accusing the state liaison chief, Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin, of misusing funds.

Deputy PKR Sabah information chief Taufik Ruschi, who made the allegation, has even lodged a police report against Lajim for allegedly misusing the fund which was given by the Menteri Besar of Selangor.

Malaysia says no knowledge of mid-flight phone call from MH370 cockpit

Malaysia on Sunday rejected claims that phone calls were made from Flight MH370 before it vanished, but refused to rule out any possibility in a so far fruitless investigation into the jet's disappearance.

The New Straits Times, quoting an anonymous source, had reported Saturday that co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid made a call which ended abruptly, possibly "because the aircraft was fast moving away from the (telecommunications) tower".

Missing MH370 "thrown around like a fighter jet" in deliberate bid to avoid radar detection

Malaysian military investigators' new theory adds weight to the suggestion that captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah hijacked his own plane after tricking his co-pilot into leaving the cockpit

The missing flight MH370 carried out drastic manoeuvres just after it disappeared from radar to avoid detection - a new theory suggests.

Malaysian military investigators believe the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 jet was "thrown around like a fighter jet" to dodge radar signals and disappear.

Missing plane's black box batteries may have died

Following four strong underwater signals in the past week, all has gone quiet in the hunt for the missing Malaysian airline, meaning the batteries on the all-important black boxes may have finally died.

PERTH, Australia - Following four strong underwater signals in the past week, all has gone quiet in the hunt for the missing Malaysian airline, meaning the batteries on the all-important black boxes may have finally died.

Yong called up by police for accepting challenge

KOTA KINABALU - The offer made by Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to challenge former Sabah chief minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee to slap him still stands, said the SAPP president.

Speaking to reporters after giving his statement to the police at the city police headquarters in Karamunsing yesterday in regard to the incident, Yong said he will accept the challenge only if Zahid agrees to come and visit Lahad Datu and Semporna without being escorted by bodyguards, police and army.

Sarawak must take full ownership of oil

Every year, billions of ringgit slips away, right from under noses. Sarawak needs the billions. Oil and gas rights is the essential key.

The almost forgotten, or hidden truth, was revealed last month when Parti Kerjasama Rakyat Sabah (Pakar) secretary-general Zainnal Ajamain stated that all oil and gas in the territorial waters of Sarawak and Sabah belong to the state governments and not Petronas.

With no new signals and black box batteries dying, search will take long time

PERTH, Australia - With no new underwater signals detected, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Saturday that the massive search for the Malaysian jet would likely continue "for a long time" as electronic transmissions from the dying black boxes were fading fast.

Missing MH370: Jet search party 'within a kilometre' of black box resting place

A dozen military planes and 13 ships, including the Royal Navy’s HMS Echo, are involved in the hunt - but it is feared the black box could be 14,700ft under water

Search teams hunting for missing Flight MH370 are within a kilometre of its final resting place.

Where’s the debris, asks aviation expert as search for MH370 enters 36th day

As searchers scour the Indian Ocean west of Australia for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, an aviation expert told CNN today there should be debris on top of the water.

Jim Tilmon, a former American Airlines pilot and aviation analyst, told CNN that the chances of not having debris on top of the water were remote.

IGP ignoring abduction case is condoning lawlessness in country

GEORGE TOWN - Hindraf and Gerakan say that the Inspector-General of Police by ignoring the abduction of a six- year- old boy from his mother is encouraging citizens to take the law into their own hands.

Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy alleged that IGP Khalid Abu Bakar had encouraged citizens to take the law into their own hands by washing his hands off the issue.

Searchers confident signals are from missing jet: Aus PM

Searchers hunting for the missing Malaysian jet are "confident" about the position of the aircraft's black box to within "some kilometres" and the signals detected recently emanated from it, the Australian Prime Minister said today.

"It's been very much narrowed down because we've now had a series of detections, some for quite a long period of time," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.

Russia's Federal Security Service source says MH370 passengers were hijacked and taken to Afghanistan

A source in the country’s FSB secret service said the plane has been hijacked and flown close to the Pakistan border.

The Boeing 777 has been missing since March 8 and it is thought the black box which holds the flight’s secrets may have run out of battery.

Chinese tourists cancelled visit to Malaysia...Visit Malaysia Year postponed

30,000 Chinese cancel holiday plans to Malaysia following MH370 disappearance, says Nazri

THERE has been a dip in the number of Chinese tourists arriving in Malaysia, following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 since March 8.

Kidnappers want RM36.4m ransom

The demand comes nine days after seven armed men in masks stormed Singamata Reef Resort and abducted a China national and a Filipino staff.

KOTA KINABALU: The group involved in last Wednesday’s abduction of two foreign nationals from a resort in Semporna have made their ransom demand.

Yong accepts challenge to slap Home Minister

KOTA KINABALU - Former chief minister Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee has accepted the challenge by Home Minister Zahid Hamidi’s challenge to slap the latter.

“On Home Minister Zahid's slap challenge for me to slap him personally, I accept his challenge and invite him to come to visit Lahad Datu and Semporna without being escorted by his crowd of bodyguards and police and army security cordon,” he said.

Dr Jeffrey to table several motions on Sabah's Petroleum Rights and Review of Malaysia Agreement 1963

KOTA KINABALU - STAR Sabah chairman, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, will be submitting several motions on "Sabah's Petroleum Rights" and "Review of Malaysia Agreement 1963" for the next State Assembly sitting from 14th to 17th April 2014, he said during a press conference held today at TNGC Clubhouse, Beverly Hills, Bundusan.

Missing MH370: More underwater pings heard in hunt for missing jet, raising hopes

PERTH, Australia (AP) — A ship searching for the missing Malaysian jet has detected two more underwater signals that may be emanating from the aircraft's black boxes, and the Australian official in charge of the search expressed hope Wednesday that the plane's wreckage will soon be found.

Angus Houston, the head of a joint agency coordinating the search for the missing plane in the southern Indian Ocean, said that the Australian navy's Ocean Shield picked up the two signals on Tuesday, and that an analysis of two sounds detected in the same area last week showed they were consistent with a plane's black boxes.

Zahid getting wrong message: Challenges Yong to slap him

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today challenged former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee to slap the former and claim a RM501 reward.

During his address to home ministry staff at Putrajaya this morning, Zahid said Yong need not pay someone else to do the deed and should be brave enough to do it himself.

Missing MH370: Hunt for elusive 'pings' goes on

PERTH - A fleet of ships and planes pursued today the hunt for elusive signals and debris from missing Malaysian Flight MH370, scouring tens of thousands of square kilometres of remote Indian Ocean, officials said.

Hunt for MH370 pushes sonar loaded underwater robot to its limits

SYDNEY (AFP) - A torpedo-shaped mini-sub could provide conclusive proof that missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 crashed into the Indian Ocean, but the task is set to push the machine to its limits.

The Bluefin-21, a 493 centimetre (16.2 feet) long sonar device is expected to be deployed to the ocean floor in the days ahead to look for debris from Boeing 777, which vanished on March 8.

Semporna resort kidnap: 25 detained in swoop on island resorts

KOTA KINABALU - Twenty-five people, including a six-year-old child, were detained in a swoop on 19 tourist resorts in Semporna on Monday.

GST Bill Passed 2014

The Dewan Rakyat this Monday morning passed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill 2014. This bill was passed through a head count twice with the opposition giving only 81 votes and the government, 118 votes in the first round.

In the second voting, the opposition maintained with 81 votes while the government voting increased to 119 votes.

Earlier, when winding up the debate on the bill, the Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said that the GST would have positive implications on the value of exports and also on the Gross Domestic Product.

Missing MH370: 'black box pings' tracked to same point as final 'half-handshake'

MH370's final 'half-handshake' communication tracked to around the same point in Indian Ocean as authorities detect underwater signals that could be from missing plane's black box

A final unexplained signal emitted by the missing Malaysia Airlines plane was tracked to the same point in the Indian Ocean at which authorities believe they have found the aircraft, it can be revelaed.

‘Clean up squatter, illegal immigrants first’

Matta slams the deputy home minister, reminding him that he is duty bound to protect every citizen including tourists.

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (Matta) has lambasted Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar for his callous remark and want him to solve the illegal immigrant and squatter issues in Semporna and along Sabah’s east coast instead.

Petronas not ‘legal owner’ of Sabah, S’wak waters

It is unconstitutional to use Act 750, as it was passed and gazetted two months after the legal requirement had lapsed.

The Emergency Proclamation which was lifted on Nov 23, 2011 and the legal requirement for six months lapsed on May 24, 2012.

By May, 2014, twenty-four months would have lapsed.

Semporna kidnappers made contact to Chinese victim’s family

Kidnap victim - Gao Huayuan

Kidnappers holding a Chinese tourist who was abducted from a resort in Semporna, Sabah have made a phone call to her family in China, a senior security official said today. The gunmen have communicated with the family of Gao Huayuan, 29, whom security forces believe is being held in Jolo island in southern Philippines, said Mohammad Mentek.

Kidnappers holding a Chinese tourist who was abducted from a resort in Semporna, Sabah have made a phone call to her family in China, a senior security official said today.

The gunmen have communicated with the family of Gao Huayuan, 29, whom security forces believe is being held in Jolo island in southern Philippines, said Mohammad Mentek, eastern Sabah security command director-general.

'GST will affect middle and lower income group most'

The Goods and Services Tax 2014 (GST) Bill has been recently tabled for Parliament reading. This sets in motion GST’s eventual implementation from April 1, 2015.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala wrote in his blog on Nov 4, 2013 that GST “will tax most those who consume the most, which of course will be the rich” and “the imposition of a 6% GST will have minimal impact on the poor because a range of essential items will be zero-rated and exempted”.

Missing MH370: authorities 'very close' to finding missing plane

Australian search co-ordinator optimisitic of locating MH370 after navy ship detected pulse signals believed to be from the aircraft’s black box pinger

Authorities say they are “very close” to finding the missing Malaysian Airlines plane after an Australian ship detected pulse signals - believed to be from the aircraft’s black box pinger - which lasted for two hours and twenty minutes.

“Sabah Needs Own Homeland Security – Dr. Jeffrey”

KOTA KINABALU - “The Sabah government should seriously consider and take the necessary action to establish its own Sabah Homeland Security Ministry and Department to maintain and ensure Sabah’s homeland security.  The latest kidnapping of a Chinese tourist and Filipino employee re-affirms the federal government’s failure to secure Sabah," said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief, when asked to comment on the latest kidnapping incident in Singamata Resort, Semporna.

Semporna Kidnap: kidnappers telephone victim’s family

Kidnappers holding a Chinese tourist who was abducted from a resort in Sabah have made a phone call to her family in China, a senior security official said Sunday.

The gunmen have communicated with the family of Gao Huayuan, 29, whom security forces believe is being held in Jolo island in southern Philippines, Mohammad Mentek, eastern Sabah security command director-general, told AFP.

Missing MH30: Second signal detected

A SECOND signal that could be from the black box of missing flight MH370 has been detected 2km from the initial detection area.

Chinese ship the Haixun 01 detected the signal late yesterday hours after it picked up an initial pulse signal.

SAPP: The Deputy Home Minister Should resign too

KOTA KINABALU - Deputy Home Minister Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar was quoted yesterday in saying that resorts operating in remote locations off Sabah should cease operation as authorities cannot prevent repeats of Wednesday’s abduction near Semporna. He said the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) — tasked with coordinating security forces in Sabah, could not provide round-the-clock protection to these far-flung locations.

Missing MH370: Chinese patrol ship detects ping near suspected location of plane

A Chinese patrol ship has detected an electronic pulse close to where the missing Malaysia Airlines plane is believed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, state media announced late on Saturday.

Ex-Sabah chief minister wrong to offer RM500 to slap Ahmad Zahid, says Teresa

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, who had a slap threat made against her by a group of Islamic NGOs, has criticised a former Sabah chief minister's offer of RM500 to anyone willing to slap the home minister over the abduction of two people from an island resort in Sabah.

This is despite the fact that the minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had dismissed the threat against Kok, saying it was not a life-threatening matter.

Relatives of kidnap victims among four arrested

KOTA KINABALU - Police have zeroed in on four suspects from 17 individuals picked up in relation to the kidnap of two women from Singamata Adventures and Reef Resort near Semporna.

Two of them are resort workers and the rest are close relatives of Marcy Dawan, the Filipino worker who was one of the victims.

The rest, according to Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib, were illegal immigrants.

"All of them, including the four people, are being detained under the Immigration Act," he told the NST when contacted.