My Anthem

Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Unravelling of 1MDB -- THE END IS NIGH? My HeART Jumps Wit'...

READING THIS from steadyaku-staedyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.com:~~~~

Thursday, 31 March 2016

Sarawak Report : First 1MDB Arrest



First 1MDB Arrest - Former Senior Fund Manager Faces US Extradition Request In Abu Dhabi EXCLUSIVE!

First 1MDB Arrest - Former Senior Fund Manager Faces US Extradition Request In Abu Dhabi EXCLUSIVE!

Side kick to former IPIC CEO, Khadem al Qubaisi
Al Husseiny – side kick to former IPIC CEO, Khadem al Qubaisi
The first 1MDB related arrest has taken place at the request of the United States, in a move that will send shock waves and shivers through the Malaysian political establishment and also in related businesses in Hollywood and Las Vegas.

Sources close to Department of Justice officials in the United States have confirmed to Sarawak Report that the former CEO of Aabar, Mohamed Al Husseiny (top right), has been placed in detention by the authorities in Abu Dhabi, who are now processing an extradition request by the US Department of Justice, relating to charges concerning 1MDB.

Al Husseiny, who originated from Kenya, holds US citizenship, despite having moved to Abu Dhabi.
This is the first outward move in an investigation that has been ongoing in the United States and other jurisdictions for several months, into the disappearance of billions of dollars from the Malaysian development fund.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister, Najib Razak, who is the sole shareholder and signatory of the fund, has solidly denied that any wrong-doing took place.

Key player at International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) subsidiary

Whilst CEO of Aabar (a subsidiary of IPIC) until July of last year, Al Husseiny was a key player in a number highly controversial deals involving 1MDB, from which billions of ringgit appear to have disappeared.

He also fronted a massive bail-out of 1MDB’s debts, in a surprise move last June.  It was one of his last actions in the post, from which he was summarily dismissed the following month.

Raft of flamboyant, but mainly disastrous investments - Aabar backed Virgin Galactica
Raft of flamboyant, but mainly disastrous investments – Aabar backed Virgin Galactica

There are numerous other questions concerning the management of Aabar, where Al Husseiny was regarded as a right hand man of the ex-Chairman, the high-rolling nightclub supremo, Khadem al Qubaisi, also CEO of IPIC.

Al Qubaisi was thrown out of all his official posts some weeks earlier in April of last year and following a period under house arrest he fled to the South of France, where he has considerable property.

Sarawak Report has identified that Al Qubaisi has also been removed from a number of his private business positions over the past fortnight – in the same period IPIC has mysteriously removed all reference to a number of key subsidiaries of Aabar (which were linked to Khadem) from its websites.

US dimension

The effects of the news has already caused an apparent major loss of confidence in related businesses in the United States.
Read Hakkasan
Read Hakkasan

The previously burgeoning Las Vegas-based Hakkasan nightclub empire, which is owned by Al Qubaisi and fronted by its British born CEO, the Head of Mergers & Aquistions, Neil Moffit, has shown signs of panic over the past few hours, according to contacts.

Screen-Shot-2016-02-19-at-17.23.29

Rumours circulating Las Vegas that three top executives, including Moffit, were about to jump ship have been quashed by Khadem’s New York law firm Greenberg Taurig.. for now.

Swift retraction -
Swift retraction –
However, there are equal concerns in Hollywood, where Mr Al Husseiny had revealed himself as the major investor in none other than the high-profile new movie production company Red Granite, which is owned by Najib’s step-son, Riza Aziz.

Aziz (left) with partner McFarland and Jho Low
Better days – Aziz (left) with partner McFarland and Jho Low. Aziz has since wiped all evidence of Jho Low from his Instagram and other accounts

At the time of the announcement in August 2014 Sarawak Report questioned the apparent conflict of interest over a major business partner of 1MDB investing hundreds of millions in films commissioned by the shareholder’s own son.

How the former Abu Dhabi fund manager – a public servant – acquired such huge sums was another question that has gone unanswered.

Perhaps Mr Al Husseiny will be able to address these issues if he is indeed brought to the United States, as now formally requested. If so, the position of Rosmah’s son and Najib’s step-son Riza Aziz, who has been subject to much speculation over his ostentatious living and property acquisitions, might start to look somewhat precarious.
It is widely known in Hollywood that before Sarawak Report queried Red Granite’s connections to Malaysia’s public funds, Riza and his partner, Joey McFarland, had told their colleagues and connections that their funding came from Jho Low (rather than Al Husseiny).
Their blockbuster Wolf of Wall Street even carried a credit thanking Low.

Jho Low connection

Riza’s funding comes under the spotlight, just as Red Granite prepares to launch the production of its next planned Scorcese blockbuster, The General, a bio-pic of America’s hero George Washington, starring (of course) the Oscar-winning Leonardo di Caprio, a close party pal in Jho Low’s circle.

Together with director Martin Scorcese
Together with director Martin Scorcese

Al Husseiny’s dealings with the fugitive billionaire, his former boss Khadem Al Qubaisi, and their mutual business contact Jho Low are therefore likely to be top of the agenda during any questioning by law enforcers.

Aabar, once a wealthy investor with a US$70 million equity base, appears to have lost the bulk of its money.  It has been struggling to raise sufficient lending in recent weeks on the London, largely to cover these commitments to 1MDB – the authorities in Abu Dhabi must be wondering why?

The authorities in the US are likely to be more interested in the extensive private investments made in property and businesses by these players, in particular record price breaking penthouses in New York and homes in Beverley Hills, plus the multi-million dollar investments in the Hakkasan chain managed by Moffit.







Hornbill Unleashed

March 31, 2016

Interesting revelations by ABC Australia

Filed under: Politics — Hornbill Unleashed @ 8:03 AM
 On Monday, ABC Australia aired an episode of their programme Four Corners, detailing the shocking events surrounding the 1MDB scandal. The prime minister of Malaysia is alleged to have received vast amounts of money by improper means.
Yesterday morning, in a report entitled ‘Najib Razak 1MDB Scandal: Malaysian Prime Minister’s accounts triggered internal money-laundering alarm’, ABC News disclosed that Najib’s account received more than US$1 billion in two years and that millions were spent on luxury hotels, cars and jewellery.
What was interesting was the disclosure that Najib used this money in his account to fund ‘political affiliates’ in the run up to the 2013 general election, naming the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) as one of the recipients of the PM’s tainted money. This is a serious matter which the leaders of SUPP must explain to the public. There are legal and ethical issues about being the recipient of the proceeds of corruption.
Besides that, one must ask what price the PM extracted from SUPP for his generosity. Blind and unquestioning support? Is this why the leaders of SUPP have not made any stand about the 1MDB scandal?
The other question that springs to mind is this: did the other BN component parties receive similar handouts from Najib? If SUPP was a recipient, it is logical to assume that the other BN parties were also on the receiving end of Najib’s generosity. This means that they are all beholden to Najib.
It is no wonder that they fall over themselves fawning over him when he comes to Sarawak, pledging their undying loyalty to him. It is no wonder that they are all silent about the 1MDB scandal. Is the price for this largesse that they all shut down their thought processes and not apply their minds to whether it is possible, in the face of all the evidence, that the PM is in fact engaging in corrupt practices?
I invite the leaders of all the BN component parties to come clean and tell the public whether they received money from Najib for GE13, before further disclosures are made by the investigative journalists. This 1MDB money belongs to the people of Malaysia and we have the right to know. They must explain to us how they can claim to be fighting to safeguard Sarawak’s rights when they are beholden to Najib for the huge sums of money given to them.
The chief minister must also make his stand on 1MDB. Just saying that a man is innocent until proven guilty does not work in this case as the accused has removed the parties who are believed to have intended to bring criminal charges against him. The gravity of the situation should not be lost on the BN leaders.
Human beings have been murdered over this scandal and I hope these leaders will ask themselves whether it is worth them sacrificing their conscience to continue to deny an unassailable fact. The prime minister is unable to explain this obscene amount of money flowing into his accounts. The story keeps changing. Nobody believes he is clean. Do not insult our intelligence by insisting he has done no wrong.

BARU BIAN is the state assemblyperson for Ba’kelalan and Sarawak PKR chief.

I enjoy the Aussie press at work 'Cos they are ROBUST in conTRAST wit' local MSM 'TAME&LAME'... Part II

DEAR esteemedREADERS, PLEASE TREAT THIS AS A CONTINUATION OF the post dated Monday, March 28, 2016:~~~

Today's news reports partially lend credence to the "latter" part in the Post Title on ".... in conTRAST with Aussie media, why Desi titled Part 1 thus: " wit' local MSM 'TAME&LAME'....

To be fair, the local MSM like the Sun daily got their stories/reports from the political masters, who are even TAMER&LAMER, so can't totally blame the reporters. But I hold the EDitors for keeping them "lame&tame" for NOT FOLLOWING UP with the ORiginators of the story, in this case, AUSSIE TV 4CORNERS!

EXcept for a bolde editor named "CITIZEN" NADESWARAN, almost no other editors would stick their neck out to give an INDEPENDENT COMMENTARY OF CURRENT ISSUES INVOLVING THE "CLUELESS CEO and his HENCHMEN bringing shame to MAlSia and making a LAUGING STOCK OF MALYSIA for the W.W.W to LOL! (LaughOOOUCHLoud! in Bogspeak, my dear ER!)! 

MAybe I'll say aMore TOMORROW, about the SHIPLOAD OF FOOLS bringing the MalShip &'hole country towards the ABYSS! ~~ YL, Desi

PMO: ABC Four Corners report confirms money in Najib's account was a 'donation' from Saudi royal family

PETALING JAYA: The Prime Minister's department has reiterated that the funds in Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's bank accounts were a donation from the Saudi Arabian royal family as confirmed by an Australian news broadcast.
In a statement today, an official said Australia's ABC Four Corners report "confirms what the Prime Minister had maintained all along, and what multiple authorities concluded after exhaustive investigations".
The statement noted the comprehensiveness of the investigations, pointing out that forensic examination of every wire transfer was conducted.
It added that this also included inspections of documentation and interviews with members of the royal family and officials who administered the donation by Malaysian authorities who had traveled to Saudi Arabia.
"As the leaked letter from Saudi Arabia states, the donation was a gift to the Prime Minister for promoting moderate Islam, and his leadership in combating terrorism and extremism-such as by launching his Global Movement of the Moderates initiative.
"The letter makes clear that the gift was to be used as the Prime Minister saw fit; would be transferred directly or through the donor's companies; and no benefit was expected in return," it stated.

More Expose on Najib's Money Trail, RIGHT UP TO BANKER-BROTHER'S DOORSTEP!

From theedgemarkets.com, quoting BLOOMBERG:~~~~

Najib's brother disbursed funds before Malaysian polls: WSJ



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Translated by Google Translator: 
KUALA LUMPUR (March 31): Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's brother received about US$7 million ($9.6 million) from the premier's accounts ahead of the last election and passed the money onto politicians in the ruling party, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Nazir Razak, chairman of lender CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, said the money that entered his account was distributed in accordance with instructions from party leaders, the paper said, citing a statement from Mr Nazir. He said he believed the money came from donations he helped solicit from Malaysian companies and individuals, it said.
"I had no knowledge whatsoever that these funds may have originated from any other source," the Journal cited Mr Nazir as saying.
"The entire amount was paid out in cash to various recipients according to the instructions of the party president and the account was closed with a zero balance." A CIMB spokeswoman said she couldn't immediately comment on the report.
Mr Najib, who has denied any wrongdoing, is facing his biggest political crisis since coming to power seven years ago amid questions over US$681 million that appeared in his accounts before the 2013 election, which the ruling coalition, in power since independence in 1957, won with its slimmest margin yet. Mr Najib is president of the United Malays National Organisation, the largest party in the Barisan Nasional alliance.
Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali said the money was a personal donation from the Saudi royal family, and that Mr Najib later returned US$620 million. He cleared Mr Najib of any wrongdoing in January.
Funds from Mr Najib's accounts went to political affiliates, officials in Barisan Nasional and a company that runs grassroots campaigns for the alliance, according to an Australian Broadcasting Corp news report earlier this month. Money and checks were also given to a charity named after Mr Najib's mother, prominent businessmen, academics, lawyers and advertising and media companies, it said.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Aussie TV 4Corners Serves Ye a Dishy BF of Malaysian MmMURDER, INTRIGUE and Dainty Course of FEAR!

 FROM donplaypuks.blogspot.com:~~~

 

29/3/2016

4 CORNERS OF AUSTRALIA BROADCASTING CORPORATION CORNERS BNM'S YETI WHO WAFFLES, LIES & INDULGES IN CYA (COVER YOUR ASS) TACTICS!!

by rothman's corner, Donplaypuks® intrepid correspondent for cornering and cover your ass affairs


CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO BUY BOOK 'MURDERED IN MALAYSIA:THE ALTANTUYA STORY' BY E.S. SHANKAR of http://esshankar.com/:






The explosive documentary titled 'State of Fear: Murder and Money in Malaysia' aired yesterday by the 4 Corners (4C) team of investigative journalists led by Linton Besser from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), served to confirm that serially lying Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is, without a shadow of a doubt, guilty of criminal fraud, racketeering, embezzlement of public moneys, CBT, international money-laundering, accounting fraud, abuse of power and covering up for it all. CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE 4C PROGRAM.
More than that, it revealed that BNM governor Yeti officially knew as far back as September 2012 that RM1 billion had suspiciously been deposited into Najib's personal bank account, and did absolutely nothing about it. She dismissed a delegation of AMBANK officers who had reported to her about that transaction and handed the report back to them.
Remember, this was way back before the RM2.6 billion "donation" that was transferred into Najib's bank account in March 2013, and the RM42 million and $32 million that went in via SRC in 2014!! Yet Yeti, BNM and the MACC have kept totally silent about this earlier transaction, deliberately. It is inconceivable that they were not aware of this transaction. They conspired to mention nothing about it, and narrowed their public statements to the RM2.6 billion and the mysterious royal Saudi "donor".
In the 4C interview, Yeti clearly covers up for Najib by saying that the investigations are ongoing and that BNM cannot investigate the bank accounts of individuals. That's pure bull shit! When a suspicious activity was reported, she decided to cover it up. She had all the powers to investigate and did nothing. Even when it was reported that millions of ringgit had suspiciously flowed into Rosmah's, (Najib's wife) bank account. she still did nothing. She only got moving to cover her ass when Sarawak Report and the WSJ started snooping around, and published that 1MDB had misled BNM and the Monetary Authority of Singapore about transfer of some US$1.03 billion.
At the press conference last year, Yeti maintained that she was "looking into it" when asked whether AMBANK had reported to BNM. Now 4C has internationally exposed that she knew 3 years ago that something criminal had likely taken place.
This gives more credence to Pascal Najadi's claims that his father Hussein Najadi, founder of AMBANK, had also reported to BNM and Yeti about these massive money movements in and out of Najib's bank account, and been killed on the orders of certain parties very high up in government for it.
Repeatedly, Yeti, who will be retiring next month, has hid behind the fact that she had won numerous international awards for her performance as BNM governor. Najib's brother, CIMB banking group's founder, praised her last year as an "international icon". Really? Now, we can see that she is, in reality,  just another BUMNO/SCUMNO stooge, lackey, apologist and cover-up artiste.

Does Yeti want that stain of the heinous Hussein Najadi murder to be attached to her already sullied and tarnished reputation?
How on earth can she shamelessly say that she cannot investigate the bank account of individuals when billions of ringgit have unaccountably move through them, and which had been reported to her?
Read 'em and weep my fellow Malaysians, as Yeti, BNM governor, covers up for Najib's crime of the century. I am ashamed that we have these type of persons heading our main public institutions, collecting their huge monthly salaries and perks, and walking around as though they owe nothing to the citizens of our country:  

18.19 Minutes into the program: Malaysia's banking regulators were told at least 3 times about the enormous deposits into prime minister Najib Razak's personal account. 4 Corners has learnt that senior AMBANK officials came here (Bank Negara Malaysia HQ in KL) to the Malaysia central bank governor to warn her about Najib Razak's personal bank account, way back in September 2012!!

Their report was marked 'highly sensitive'. It revealed that almost US$300 million had already flowed to Najib Razak from several mysterious "donors" overseas.

Yet, the central bank governor Yeti Aziz merely thanked them for their report and handed it back.

Yeti Aziz is still head of Malaysia's central bank. We wanted to know what action she took about Najib's accounts.

4C: Hello, hello Dr.Yeti Aziz. We are ABC Australia. We'd like to ask you just a couple of questions about your role regarding the prime minister's bank accounts. We are trying to understand why you didn't do more when you were alerted about the hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into Najib's accounts.
YA: First of all, I cannot discuss any individual account including even your own account, because no central bank or regulator can look at individual accounts. But if the financial institution informed us of what they call "suspicious transactions", then we will investigate into it.

4C: Do you remember the Task Force looking into all these concerns. What is the outcome of all that? Is it true what your Attorney General has said that Najib Razak has no case to answer? Is that true?
YA: I have no comment on this at this point in time. As I said, no authority will discuss any investigation that has not been concluded.

4C: So, who is behind the money's that's been flowing into the prime minister's bank account?
YA: As I said, I cannot comment on this. It is an ongoing investigation.

Are you not thoroughly ashamed, Yeti? Can you look into the public's eye and honestly say you have done your duty to BNM and the nation"


Donplaypuks® with covering your ass to retirement for Najib, YETI! !

DESIDERATA: As I C&P this post by DPP< I spied se7en comments already at his blogsite. I urge my ER to surf to donplaypuks.b.c IF ANY ONE WISHES TO COMMENT< IT'S ONLY RIGHT&FAIT TO ADD TO DPP's Site. THanks, Xie Xie, TErima Kasi". YL, Desi

HIJACKING with many a TWIST&SHOUT, but AweisWellA!

from news.com.au:~~~

From almost Tragedy to nigh Comedy, but like a Shakesperean play, ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL! I believe thiis could qualify as the SHORTEST PLANE HIJACK EVER, and except for the CREW & PASSENGERS ON BOARD< we viewers must thank agencies LIKE CNN< BBC and aljazeera feeding us "LIVE" coverage better than the average TV fictional series! IMHO K! I don't get paid by the Agents! -- YL, DEsi


Seif Eldin Mustafa arrested, hostages escape after EgyptAir plane hijacked flying from Alexandria to Cairo

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EgyptAir hijacker surrenders

Shoba Rao, Victoria Craw and wiresNews Corp Australia Network
  • Hostages released, five-hour siege ends
  • Hijacker named as Seif Eldin Mustafa
  • Mustafa described as ‘psychologically unstable’
  • Motives remain unclear
THE “explosive belt” worn by an Egyptian man who hijacked a plane and diverted it to Cyprus was fake, authorities have confirmed, as footage emerges of him passing through airport security.
Seif Eldin Mustafa was met by snipers, counter-terrorism police and sniffer dogs when he emerged from the plane he had occupied for hours on Tuesday after diverting the flight that was bound for Cairo to Cyprus.
He will appear in court on Wednesday, where authorities will ask that he be held on a number of unspecified charges, said police spokesman Andreas Angelides.
The Sun reported that the belt was made from several iPhone cases tied together and covered with cloth.
Officials said early on that the hijacking was not an act of terrorism, and later that the man appeared to be psychologically unstable.
Ben Innes' photo with Seif Eldin Mustafa wearing his fake suicide belt on the hijacked EgyptAir. Picture: Supplied
Ben Innes' photo with Seif Eldin Mustafa wearing his fake suicide belt on the hijacked EgyptAir. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
“From the start, it was clear that this wasn’t an act of terrorism, and despite the fact that the individual appeared to be dangerous in terms of his behaviour, we understood that this was a psychologically unstable person,” Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides told reporters.
He said the man initially asked to speak with his Cypriot ex-wife, who police brought to the airport.
“After that, he started asking for European Union representatives to assure him about matters that had no logical basis,” Kasoulides said.
At one point the hijacker demanded the release of women held in Egyptian prisons, but he then dropped the demand and made others. “His demands made no sense or were too incoherent to be taken seriously,” the minister said, adding that the contents of a letter the hijacker wanted to give to his ex-wife “were also incoherent.” Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, in an earlier appearance alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked whether the incident involved a woman. “Always, there is a woman,” he replied, drawing laughter.
Police in Cairo questioned Mustafa’s relatives, said Sharif Faisal, the police chief for the industrial suburb of Helwan. Islam Magdy, a taxi driver who lives in the same five-story house as Mustafa’s sister, described him as “a mysterious person”.
Pictures emerged from inside the plane showing a bulky belt strapped to Mustafa’s waist. Another image shows him with a passenger who is broadly grinning in a photograph that remains unexplained.
A man clambers out of the plane moments before the siege ends. Picture: SkyNews.
A man clambers out of the plane moments before the siege ends. Picture: SkyNews.Source:Supplied
The five-hour siege came to an end after a man was filmed crawling through the cockpit window and sprinting towards waiting police. Three more people were shown running down the stairs before being driven away by authorities.
The incident raises key questions about security, particularly given the hijacker was able to divert the plane without real explosives on board. Israel scrambled warplanes in response to the incident, according to an Israeli military source.
Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy Ateyya said the pilots had no choice but to take the threat seriously as they had no idea the belt was fake.
And Egyptian officials stressed that their security measures were not to blame, and there was praise for the EgyptAir flight crew. Pilot Amr Gamal told The Associated Press, “We rescued all the people and the man got arrested.”
It’s also a major blow for Egypt’s tourism industry, already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in October which killed 224 people after a bomb went off on board.
A man believed to be the hijacker leaves the plane. Picture: AFP/BEHROUZ MEHRI
A man believed to be the hijacker leaves the plane. Picture: AFP/BEHROUZ MEHRISource:AFP
‘NOT SOMETHING TO DO WITH TERRORISM
The man’s motivations for the hijack remain unclear, although officials said he had tried to communicate with his ex-wife wife who lives on the island.
Egypt’s civil aviation minister Sharif Fathi confirmed seven people including the captain, co-pilot, an air marshal and a hostess as well as three passengers — were trapped on the plane throughout the ordeal.
Earlier, the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said there were a number foreigners on the flight including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian.
An Egyptian passenger, Farah el-Dabani, told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah TV network that the hijacker was seated in the back of the aircraft and that it was the crew who told passengers that the plane was being hijacked.
A veiled female passenger told Egyptian TV upon arrival back in Cairo, “We were terrified but cooperating.” The woman, who was not identified, said she thought the explosives had been real.
“I felt like the man can just press the button, and we will be gone,” she said.
A middle-aged male passenger who also didn’t identify himself told the broadcaster, “The situation was very hard, more than anyone can imagine.” He also praised the flight crew, saying they “were like a psychiatrists to the hijacker.” The flight crew and passengers who returned to Cairo on Tuesday night broke into tears while hugging and kissing their waiting families.
“There was panic at the beginning, but the crew told us to be quiet. They did a good job to keep us all quiet so the hijacker does not do anything rash,” she said in a telephone interview.
A man exits the plane while snipers point their weapons at him. Picture: AFP/GEORGE MICHAEL
A man exits the plane while snipers point their weapons at him. Picture: AFP/GEORGE MICHAELSource:AFP
Negotiations meant most of the passengers were allowed to leave the plane early.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said: “We are doing our utmost in order for everyone to be released and safe and to give an end to this unprecedented (incident). In any case it is not something which has to do with terrorism.”
The sentiment was echoed by a member of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry who said the hijacker was “not a terrorist, he’s an idiot ... Terrorists are crazy, but they are not stupid”.
Passengers disembark an Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sitting on the tarmac of Larnaca airport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus. Picture: AFP/GEORGE MICHAEL
Passengers disembark an Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sitting on the tarmac of Larnaca airport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus. Picture: AFP/GEORGE MICHAELSource:AFP
CONFUSION OVER HIJACKER IDENTITY
It was initially reported the hijacker was Ibrahim Samaha, a 27-year-old professor who was said to be demanding to see his estranged Cypriot wife.
But authorities backtracked on that claim after the BBC spoke to Mr Samaha who said he was a passenger on the plane who “did not know what was going on”.
“We got aboard the plane and we were surprised that the crew took all our passports, which is unusual for a domestic flight. After a while we realised that the altitude is getting higher. Then we knew we were heading to Cyprus. At first the crew told us there was a problem with the plane, and only later we knew it was hijacked,” he said.
An Egyptian woman who identified herself as Nahala, also told broadcaster ONTV her husband Ibrahim was travelling to a conference in the US. She said the picture being shown on television was not him and he had never travelled to Cyprus before.
PASSENGERS LEAVE PLANE UNHARMED
Passengers were shown leaving the plane calmly with their hand luggage and walking to a waiting bus.
A spokesman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the Australian Embassy in Cairo and the Australian High Commission in Nicosia are making urgent inquiries with local authorities to determine whether any Australians are affected by the hijacking of an EgyptAir flight.
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EgyptAir hijack: Most passengers freed

Passengers stand at Larnaca airport after disembarking the plane. Picture: AFP / George Michael
Passengers stand at Larnaca airport after disembarking the plane. Picture: AFP / George MichaelSource:AFP
HOW IT ALL UNFOLDED
EgyptAir MS181 was travelling the 30 minute flight from Alexandria to Cairo when a demand was made for the pilot to land the Airbus 320 at Larnaca.
“The Airbus A-320 carrying 81 passengers and flying between Alexandria and Cairo was hijacked. The pilot said that a passenger told him he had an explosives vest and forced the plane to land in Larnaca,” an Egyptian aviation ministry statement said.
Police said the alleged hijacker contacted the control tower at 8.30am local time and the plane was given permission to land at 8.50am.
Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for FlightRadar24, told The Associated Press that EgyptAir flight MS181 flew in a typical fashion on the Cyprus, without the pilots signalling any trouble via their transponder.
“It looks like a completely controlled flight aside from the fact it was hijacked,” he said.
Flights to Larnaca in the south were diverted to the Paphos airport in the west, officials said.
Larnaca is no stranger to hostage crises. Several hijacked planes were diverted to the airport in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1988, a Kuwait Airways flight hijacked en route from Bangkok to Kuwait was diverted to Meshed and later to Larnaca, where hijackers killed two Kuwaiti passengers and dumped their bodies on the tarmac.
In February 1978, an Egyptian commando unit stormed a hijacked Cyprus Airways DC-8 at Larnaca airport, where 15 passengers were being held hostage. Some 15 Egyptian soldiers were killed and 15 wounded. All the hostages were freed and the hijackers arrested.
— With agencies

Mustafa arrested, hostages escape after EgyptAir plane hijacked flying from Alexandria to Cairo

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EgyptAir hijacker surrenders

Shoba Rao, Victoria Craw and wiresNews Corp Australia Network
  • Hostages released, five-hour siege ends
  • Hijacker named as Seif Eldin Mustafa
  • Mustafa described as ‘psychologically unstable’
  • Motives remain unclear
THE “explosive belt” worn by an Egyptian man who hijacked a plane and diverted it to Cyprus was fake, authorities have confirmed, as footage emerges of him passing through airport security.
Seif Eldin Mustafa was met by snipers, counter-terrorism police and sniffer dogs when he emerged from the plane he had occupied for hours on Tuesday after diverting the flight that was bound for Cairo to Cyprus.
He will appear in court on Wednesday, where authorities will ask that he be held on a number of unspecified charges, said police spokesman Andreas Angelides.
The Sun reported that the belt was made from several iPhone cases tied together and covered with cloth.
Officials said early on that the hijacking was not an act of terrorism, and later that the man appeared to be psychologically unstable.
Ben Innes' photo with Seif Eldin Mustafa wearing his fake suicide belt on the hijacked EgyptAir. Picture: Supplied
Ben Innes' photo with Seif Eldin Mustafa wearing his fake suicide belt on the hijacked EgyptAir. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
“From the start, it was clear that this wasn’t an act of terrorism, and despite the fact that the individual appeared to be dangerous in terms of his behaviour, we understood that this was a psychologically unstable person,” Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides told reporters.
He said the man initially asked to speak with his Cypriot ex-wife, who police brought to the airport.
“After that, he started asking for European Union representatives to assure him about matters that had no logical basis,” Kasoulides said.
At one point the hijacker demanded the release of women held in Egyptian prisons, but he then dropped the demand and made others. “His demands made no sense or were too incoherent to be taken seriously,” the minister said, adding that the contents of a letter the hijacker wanted to give to his ex-wife “were also incoherent.” Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, in an earlier appearance alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked whether the incident involved a woman. “Always, there is a woman,” he replied, drawing laughter.
Police in Cairo questioned Mustafa’s relatives, said Sharif Faisal, the police chief for the industrial suburb of Helwan. Islam Magdy, a taxi driver who lives in the same five-story house as Mustafa’s sister, described him as “a mysterious person”.
Pictures emerged from inside the plane showing a bulky belt strapped to Mustafa’s waist. Another image shows him with a passenger who is broadly grinning in a photograph that remains unexplained.
A man clambers out of the plane moments before the siege ends. Picture: SkyNews.
A man clambers out of the plane moments before the siege ends. Picture: SkyNews.Source:Supplied
The five-hour siege came to an end after a man was filmed crawling through the cockpit window and sprinting towards waiting police. Three more people were shown running down the stairs before being driven away by authorities.
The incident raises key questions about security, particularly given the hijacker was able to divert the plane without real explosives on board. Israel scrambled warplanes in response to the incident, according to an Israeli military source.
Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy Ateyya said the pilots had no choice but to take the threat seriously as they had no idea the belt was fake.
And Egyptian officials stressed that their security measures were not to blame, and there was praise for the EgyptAir flight crew. Pilot Amr Gamal told The Associated Press, “We rescued all the people and the man got arrested.”
It’s also a major blow for Egypt’s tourism industry, already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in October which killed 224 people after a bomb went off on board.
A man believed to be the hijacker leaves the plane. Picture: AFP/BEHROUZ MEHRI
A man believed to be the hijacker leaves the plane. Picture: AFP/BEHROUZ MEHRISource:AFP
‘NOT SOMETHING TO DO WITH TERRORISM
The man’s motivations for the hijack remain unclear, although officials said he had tried to communicate with his ex-wife wife who lives on the island.
Egypt’s civil aviation minister Sharif Fathi confirmed seven people including the captain, co-pilot, an air marshal and a hostess as well as three passengers — were trapped on the plane throughout the ordeal.
Earlier, the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said there were a number foreigners on the flight including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian.
An Egyptian passenger, Farah el-Dabani, told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah TV network that the hijacker was seated in the back of the aircraft and that it was the crew who told passengers that the plane was being hijacked.
A veiled female passenger told Egyptian TV upon arrival back in Cairo, “We were terrified but cooperating.” The woman, who was not identified, said she thought the explosives had been real.
“I felt like the man can just press the button, and we will be gone,” she said.
A middle-aged male passenger who also didn’t identify himself told the broadcaster, “The situation was very hard, more than anyone can imagine.” He also praised the flight crew, saying they “were like a psychiatrists to the hijacker.” The flight crew and passengers who returned to Cairo on Tuesday night broke into tears while hugging and kissing their waiting families.
“There was panic at the beginning, but the crew told us to be quiet. They did a good job to keep us all quiet so the hijacker does not do anything rash,” she said in a telephone interview.
A man exits the plane while snipers point their weapons at him. Picture: AFP/GEORGE MICHAEL
A man exits the plane while snipers point their weapons at him. Picture: AFP/GEORGE MICHAELSource:AFP
Negotiations meant most of the passengers were allowed to leave the plane early.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said: “We are doing our utmost in order for everyone to be released and safe and to give an end to this unprecedented (incident). In any case it is not something which has to do with terrorism.”
The sentiment was echoed by a member of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry who said the hijacker was “not a terrorist, he’s an idiot ... Terrorists are crazy, but they are not stupid”.
Passengers disembark an Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sitting on the tarmac of Larnaca airport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus. Picture: AFP/GEORGE MICHAEL
Passengers disembark an Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sitting on the tarmac of Larnaca airport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus. Picture: AFP/GEORGE MICHAELSource:AFP
CONFUSION OVER HIJACKER IDENTITY
It was initially reported the hijacker was Ibrahim Samaha, a 27-year-old professor who was said to be demanding to see his estranged Cypriot wife.
But authorities backtracked on that claim after the BBC spoke to Mr Samaha who said he was a passenger on the plane who “did not know what was going on”.
“We got aboard the plane and we were surprised that the crew took all our passports, which is unusual for a domestic flight. After a while we realised that the altitude is getting higher. Then we knew we were heading to Cyprus. At first the crew told us there was a problem with the plane, and only later we knew it was hijacked,” he said.
An Egyptian woman who identified herself as Nahala, also told broadcaster ONTV her husband Ibrahim was travelling to a conference in the US. She said the picture being shown on television was not him and he had never travelled to Cyprus before.
PASSENGERS LEAVE PLANE UNHARMED
Passengers were shown leaving the plane calmly with their hand luggage and walking to a waiting bus.
A spokesman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the Australian Embassy in Cairo and the Australian High Commission in Nicosia are making urgent inquiries with local authorities to determine whether any Australians are affected by the hijacking of an EgyptAir flight.
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EgyptAir hijack: Most passengers freed

Passengers stand at Larnaca airport after disembarking the plane. Picture: AFP / George Michael
Passengers stand at Larnaca airport after disembarking the plane. Picture: AFP / George MichaelSource:AFP
HOW IT ALL UNFOLDED
EgyptAir MS181 was travelling the 30 minute flight from Alexandria to Cairo when a demand was made for the pilot to land the Airbus 320 at Larnaca.
“The Airbus A-320 carrying 81 passengers and flying between Alexandria and Cairo was hijacked. The pilot said that a passenger told him he had an explosives vest and forced the plane to land in Larnaca,” an Egyptian aviation ministry statement said.
Police said the alleged hijacker contacted the control tower at 8.30am local time and the plane was given permission to land at 8.50am.
Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for FlightRadar24, told The Associated Press that EgyptAir flight MS181 flew in a typical fashion on the Cyprus, without the pilots signalling any trouble via their transponder.
“It looks like a completely controlled flight aside from the fact it was hijacked,” he said.
Flights to Larnaca in the south were diverted to the Paphos airport in the west, officials said.
Larnaca is no stranger to hostage crises. Several hijacked planes were diverted to the airport in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1988, a Kuwait Airways flight hijacked en route from Bangkok to Kuwait was diverted to Meshed and later to Larnaca, where hijackers killed two Kuwaiti passengers and dumped their bodies on the tarmac.
In February 1978, an Egyptian commando unit stormed a hijacked Cyprus Airways DC-8 at Larnaca airport, where 15 passengers were being held hostage. Some 15 Egyptian soldiers were killed and 15 wounded. All the hostages were freed and the hijackers arrested.
— With agencies
One aviation expert said the flight patterns looked normal except for the fact ‘it was hijacked’.
One aviation expert said the flight patterns looked normal except for the fact ‘it was hijacked’.Source:Supplied

Monday, March 28, 2016

I enjoy the Aussie press at work 'Cos they are ROBUST in conTRAST wit' local MSM 'TAME&LAME'...

ANOTHER prime reason I monitor the Aussie press reports on Malaysia closely is that I earned a salary from the Australian Government for some 13years at its diplomatic mission in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng; if you knoweth knot where this Jalan is, please get the here out of Hell! Secondary reason is many of my fRiends had migrated Down UNder, including a Brother of mine too; and they all report life there is an UPPER!

NOTE: That "800 Words" programme I wrote about just day/s ago is aired over AUSTRALIA PLUS (A+ is also Desi's rating) ASTRO CH 521 where I also viewed the two Aussie preSSmen as ABC report later refers... being stopped by all the UM-oh-No SECURITY MEN because their Boss knew what the Robust newsdogs would be asking of him. No, it's not about the sizzling hot weather...

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fROM STEADYAKU47 BLOG, WRIT BY A mALAYSIAN RESIDING IN THE lUCKY cOUNTRY:~~~

Monday, 28 March 2016


FOUR CORNERS : Why Gani Patail was sacked and other interesting stuff about that wife of Rosmah.





Najid LAME (concerning the MSM)alaysian is TAME anb Razak 1MDB scandal: Former Malaysian attorney-general planned to lay charges against PM

Four Corners By Linton Besser, Elise Worthington and Jaya Balendra
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak speaks at de-radicalisation conference.
 
Photo
Questions have been raised over money deposited into Najib Razak's accounts
Reuters: Olivia Harris
The former Malaysian attorney-general had put in place a plan to lay criminal charges of misappropriation against the Prime Minister Najib Razak before he was suddenly removed from office last year, Four Corners has confirmed.



Abdul Gani Patail informed several senior officials on July 23, 2015 of his plan to confront Mr Razak at a cabinet meeting scheduled for July 29.
But a high-level source with direct knowledge of the affair said the plan was leaked and both Mr Patail and the deputy prime minister of Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin — who would have replaced Mr Razak — were sacked.
A Four Corners investigation which airs tonight will also broadcast new details regarding the payment of hundreds of millions of dollars into Mr Razak's personal bank accounts, which he has not accounted for.
The ABC investigation made global headlines earlier this month when the Four Corners team were arrested trying to question Mr Razak about his extraordinary personal finances.
There are currently at least four international investigations into billions of dollars that have allegedly leaked out of Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund, 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The Malaysian Prime Minister chairs the fund's advisory board.



The Swiss Attorney-General has announced that its investigation has uncovered a "sum suspected to have been misappropriated [which] amounts to around USD 4 billion".
"The criminal investigation conducted by the Office of the Attorney-General of Switzerland (OAG) has revealed serious indications that funds have been misappropriated from Malaysian state companies," the Swiss Attorney-General said.
"So far four cases involving allegations of criminal conduct and covering the period from 2009 to 2013 have come to light ... each involving a systematic course of action carried out by means of complex financial structures."
The controversy engulfed the Malaysian Prime Minister last year when it was revealed that an unnamed donor from the Middle East had deposited more than $US680 million into his account.
In January, Mohamed Apandi Ali, the new Malaysian Attorney-General, said $US620 million of this money was a "donation" from Saudi Arabia which was subsequently repaid, and that Mr Razak's account was closed.
He also shut down an investigation by Malaysia's anti-corruption agency into the affair.
But Four Corners has seen bank records which show other deposits between 2011 and 2014 from mysterious individuals and companies both in Malaysia and overseas via both wire transfers and in cash.
The records show that in mid 2013 the bank opened three new accounts in the Prime Minister's name, as well as regular pledges of money from a Saudi prince, including a promise of 50 million British pounds ($94 million) as late as June 2014.
He told Four Corners there was no legitimate reason for a Malaysian political leader to have such large volumes of money.
"This is wrong, this is totally wrong," he said.
"A prime minister of Malaysia should never have that amount of money in his private account, if he has ... it must have come through some undesirable activity."

Government 'pulling charges out of air'

Political observers and human rights groups say the Razak regime has resorted to a crackdown against anti-government voices.
Local newspapers and television stations rarely carry sceptical coverage of the Government, while an Al-Jazeera television reporter was deported from Malaysia last year.
Two weeks ago, a prominent and critical online news portal, Malaysian Insider, suddenly announced its closure.
"They've resorted to sheer intimidation and threats," said Clare Rewcastle Brown, whose online Sarawak Report based out of London has led coverage of the corruption controversies surrounding Mr Razak.
"They're pulling charges out of the air to throw at people, and shoving people in jail."
In July last year, draft charges against Mr Razak were leaked to Ms Rewcastle Brown which alleged he did "corruptly receive a bribe in the sum of RM27 million", the equivalent of $9.5 million.
Four Corners has independently corroborated the authenticity of this document. The program has also established that in its final iteration, the charge adopted for action by the former attorney-general was changed to criminal misappropriation.

'This is unprecedented'

Malaysia's former legal affairs minister, Zaid Ibrahim, told the program Mr Razak had many questions he had yet to answer.
"You sack your deputy prime minister who just wanted to know what happened, you sack the attorney-general who I believe was putting a charge against you ... well, this is unprecedented," he said.
"I don't think we will ever have, we will ever witness this kind of massive dismantling of the institutions of government to cover up crime."
Mr Razak's office did not respond to questions from the ABC.