Jihadist captors sent taunting letter to Foley family: employer

Jihadist captors sent taunting letter to Foley family: employer
First batch of 20 remains of MH17 victims arrive home
King, Queen attend special ceremony to honour MH17 victims
Weather forecast says no rain in Sepang this morning
Regent: “Secretary can help accelerating development”
$2 million worth of meth led Kenyan woman to her death sentence

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 07:53 PM PDT

Journalist James Foley's jihadist captors sent his family a taunting and rambling email threatening to kill him, just a week before making public a video of his execution, the American reporter's employer said Thursday.

GlobalPost said it released the full text of the email from Islamic State (IS) militants "in the interest of transparency and to fully tell Jim's story."

"We believe the text offers insight into the motivations and tactics of the Islamic State," it added.

The release comes after the GlobalPost told AFP that Foley's captors had demanded a ransom of 100 million euros — $132 million — for his release.

The email claims that "other governments" had accepted "cash transactions" for the release of hostages and says that the militants had offered prisoner exchanges for Foley's freedom, naming Aafia Siddiqui, the scientist jailed for 86 years for attempting to murder US military officers.

IS, which has marauded across large areas of Iraq in recent months, on Tuesday published a video showing one of its members beheading Foley.

Foley, a photojournalist, was reporting from Syria for GlobalPost and other outlets including AFP when he was abducted in November 2012.

Prior to disclosing the email, GlobalPost CEO Philip Balboni said the captors made contact with GlobalPost and the Foley family fewer than half a dozen times, and "the kidnappers never really negotiated" over their huge sum, but simply made their demand.

"We never took the 100 million (euro) figure seriously," Balboni told CNN.

The US government opposes paying such ransoms, arguing that it only encourages more hostage-taking.

"We do not make concessions to terrorists. That includes: We do not pay ransoms," State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters Thursday.

Such payouts, she added, would only serve to "fund and finance exactly the groups (whose capabilities) we are trying to degrade."

Balboni referred to the release of several European hostages by the extremist group earlier this year, likely upon payment of ransoms that were "dramatically less" than what the group sought for Foley.

The family and GlobalPost were seeking to raise money "in the range" of the amount paid for the other hostages, Balboni added, without mentioning a dollar amount.

Harf referenced the other countries' ransom payments to the group, saying that in 2014 alone, they amounted to millions of dollars, although she too did not provide a figure.

And she stressed that the US government "does not have contact with ISIL."

Balboni said he and the family provided all information about their search for Foley and their contact with his captors to authorities at the FBI and State Department.

After initial messages and the ransom demand, he said, the line of communication with the jihadists went cold until August 13, when they sent the terrifying message telling the Foleys that their son would be killed.

The Pentagon revealed Wednesday that US special forces were sent into Syria earlier this year to try to rescue American hostages but they came up empty-handed as the captives were not at the targeted location.

"This operation was a flawless operation, but the hostages were not there," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters. -AFP

First batch of 20 remains of MH17 victims arrive home

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 07:47 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: The special Malaysia Airlines aircraft bearing the remains of 20 Malaysian victims of the MH17 tragedy touched down at the KL International Airport (KLIA) at 9.54 am today.

The plane had departed Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport at 9.40 pm Malaysian time last night on a 12-hour journey to Kuala Lumpur, bringing the first batch of remains in 17 caskets and three urns.

A total of 43 Malaysians perished in the downing of MH17 over Ukraine on July 17.

The special aircraft bearing the remains stopped in front of the Bunga Raya Complex, KLIA, for the commencement of the special ceremony to honour the remains of the 11 passengers and nine crew of MH17.

The flight, bearing the call sign MH6129, was piloted by MAS chief pilot of flight safety and human factors operation Datuk Captain Misman Leham,

accompanied by Captain Bakri Othman, Captain Zaim Khalid and First Officer Yap Yoon Kong.

Malaysia is observing a day of national mourning today in honour of the Malaysian victims of the MH17 tragedy. — BERNAMA

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King, Queen attend special ceremony to honour MH17 victims

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 07:45 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah arrived at the KL International Airport (KLIA) Bunga Raya Complex in Sepang to attend the ceremony to honour 20 victims of the MH17 tragedy whose remains were flown home today.

Their Majesties were joined by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor as well as the next-of-kin of the victims at the complex located adjacent to the KLIA main terminal building.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and wife Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman, cabinet ministers, members of parliament from the Barisan Nasional and the opposition as well as foreign diplomats.

The special aircraft bearing the remains of the 20 Malaysian nationals who died in the crash in eastern Ukraine on July 17 had left Amsterdam's Schiphol airport at 9.40 pm Malaysian time last night on a 12-hour journey to Kuala Lumpur.

Forty-three Malaysians were killed in the tragedy when Flight MH17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur went down in Ukraine. — BERNAMA

Weather forecast says no rain in Sepang this morning

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 07:44 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: No rain is forecast by the Malaysian Meteorological Department in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Sepang, where the ceremony honouring the victims of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 tragedy is taking place, this morning.

The temperature in Sepang for today is expected to be between 25 to 32 degree Celsius.

Isolated thunderstorm is expected in the afternoon, but no rain at night.

The same weather condition is also forecast in the city and Putrajaya with temperature between 24 to 33 degree Celsius.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country, but no one had claimed responsibility so far.

Forty-three of the people on board the ill-fated aircraft were Malaysian nationals and 20 remains will be arriving this morning at the Bunga Raya Complex at the KLIA. — BERNAMA

Regent: “Secretary can help accelerating development”

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 06:05 PM PDT

TANJUNG, South Kalimantan: Regent Tabalong, Anang Syakhfiani, declares the regional secretary (Sekda) is a strategic position, since one of his duties is to assist in formulating policy, including supporting efforts to accelerate development, Antaranews reported.

Anang was inaugurating the new Tabalong Administration Regional Secretary (Sekda), Abdul Muthalif Sangaji, in Tanjung on Thursday at the Pendopo Bersinar, Pembataan, Subdistrict Murung Pudak.

"I hope the new Sekda could spur the implementation of tasks among which the budget or financial management in order to achieve "reasonable without exceptions" (WTP) opinion and coordination in efforts to accelerate regional development," said Anang.

He also hoped that the new Sekda could help bring back Tabalong as waste-free district by winning an Adipura trophy for clean city like ten years ago.

"Declaration of the waste-free together with Environment Ministry I have signed a few days ago in the city of Balikpapan and this commitment must be realized by the target Tabalong waste-free by 2020," said Anang again.

New regional secretary, Sangaji, said duties and responsibilities assigned to him is a mandate that must be implemented as well as possible in order to advance to the district whose nickname "Bumi Saraba Kawa".

Sangaji who previously served as Secretary of the local assembly (DPRD) admitted the financial management including regional asset management system is still not optimal or not in accordance with the
applicable regulations that why it has not been able to achieve WTP.

$2 million worth of meth led Kenyan woman to her death sentence

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 05:58 PM PDT

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: A Kenyan woman was sentenced to death by hanging yesterday after the High Court found her guilty of trafficking three kilograms of methylamphetamine that worth over BND$2 million in the black market, Brudirect reported.

Justice Dato Paduka Steven Chong and Dato Paduka Hj Hairol Arni Hj Abd Majid passed the judgment yesterday and handed death sentence to Jusca Millicent Ojwang after Deputy Public Prosecutors Suriana Radin and Yvonne Lim proved the case beyond the court's reasonable doubt in a trial that saw testimonies from twenty witnesses including the Narcotics Control Bureau (BKN / NCB) and Royal Customs and Excise Department.

Jusca gave her defence during the trial and did not believe her, citing that she was not a truthful witness. The defendant was found carrying in her baggage 3,956.59 grams of crystal substances containing 3,019.56 grams of pure meth on arrival at the Brunei International Airport on March 7 2012.

At first, Customs officers found suspicious items in the defendant's baggage which were later inspected by the NCB personnel leading to the discovery of the drugs in four plastic packets hidden inside the bottom compartment of the defendant's black suitcase. She was immediately arrested following the discovery.

It was revealed that the defendant took a flight from Nairobi, Kenya to Duala, Cameroon and then Adis Ababa before continuing her journey to Dubai and then to Brunei. The defendant was in transit in Brunei and was destined for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The drugs were valued at BND$2,826,152.67. The defendant was legally aided by defence counsel Hj Daud Ismail.