MH17: 10 of 16 Malaysian victims identified are non-muslims

MH17: 10 of 16 Malaysian victims identified are non-muslims
Remains of MAS first officer among 16 Malaysian MH17 crash victims identified
52 dead as jihadists make gains in northern Syria: monitor
US drones strike jihadist target in northern Iraq
Virgin America flight attendants vote for union
Gulung tikar?

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 06:02 PM PDT

SEPANG: Ten of the 16 Malaysian victims of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 crash identified had been confirmed to be non-Muslims, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup.

Kurup is responsible for managing the return of the remains of 22 Malaysian non-Muslim victims of the MH17 crash, out of the total of 43 from this country including the crew members.

He said four non-Islamic religious representatives had left for Amsterdam, the Netherlands to manage the remains of the Malaysian non-Muslim victims of the air crash which occurred in eastern Ukraine on July 17.

"These religious representatives will conduct prayers and perform other rites in accordance with the respective religious beliefs," he said at a news conference in conjunction with their departure from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, here, tonight.

Kurup said the four non-Islamic religious representatives who left for Amsterdam were Ven Sing Kan (for Buddhist victims), Datuk Mohan Shan (Hindu victims), Sardar Haracharan Singh (Sikh victims) and Daozhang Tan Bon Sin (Taoist victims).

He said for Malaysian Christian victims of the MH17 crash, the management of their remains would be coordinated by Rev. Klaas van der Kamp from the Council of Churches in the Netherlands.

"The four religious representatives are accompanied by two officers from the National Unity and Integration Department to ensure a smooth operation," he added.

Kurup also said that the government would respect the decision of the families of whether to cremate the victims' remains in the Netherlands or to bring them back to Malaysia, with the costs to be borne by MAS.

He also said that Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin would announce the date for sending back the remains of the 16 Malaysian victims already identified, at a meeting in Putrajaya tomorrow.– BERNAMA

Remains of MAS first officer among 16 Malaysian MH17 crash victims identified

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 05:55 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: The remains of First Officer Muhammad Firdaus Abdul Rahim was among those of 16 Malaysian victims of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH17 crash already identified and will be sent home by next week, the earliest.

His uncle, Azman Ibrahim said MAS had informed the developments to the victim's mother and elder sister in Shah Alam yesterday, but they had not been told when his remains would actually arrive in Malaysia.

"We were informed that Muhammad Firdaus' remains were identified through DNA matching. We were also told that his family members would be taken to Amsterdam to accompany the victim's remains back to Malaysia," he said when contacted, here, today.

Azman said although the family was still grieving over the loss and did not know about the condition of the victim's remains, they were still relieved that his remains would be brought back and be buried next to his late father's grave in Teluk Intan, Perak as he had wished.

Meanwhile, the family of another MH17 crash victim, Tambi Jiee, was still hopeful that his remains and that of his wife Ariza Gazalee and their four children could be brought home to Semariang, Sarawak.

This was revealed today by Ariza's cousin, Zurusdi Mohamad Hol.

Hoping for the same is Madiani Mahdi, the wife of MAS steward Shaikh Mohd Noor Mahmood who was also on board the ill-fated flight MH17.

Madiani said MAS had told her to be prepared although she had not received information that her husband's remains were among those of 16 Malaysian victims already identified.

She said the family had all agreed that Shaikh Mohd Noor be interred at his village in Klang if his remains were brought back to Malaysia.

The MAS plane on flight MH17, carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew members, crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 while on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

It is believed to have been shot down by a missile over the troubled country. — BERNAMA

52 dead as jihadists make gains in northern Syria: monitor

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 05:24 PM PDT

SYRIA: Jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group seized a string of villages in northern Syria on Wednesday in fighting that left 52 people dead, a monitoring group said.

The jihadists captured eight villages between second city Aleppo and the Turkish border, buoyed by their successes in neighbouring Iraq, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

They killed at least 40 fighters of rival rebel groups and captured at least 50 more for the loss of 12 of their own men, the Britain-based group said.

IS already controls almost all of the Euphrates valley provinces of Raqa and Deir Ezzor and has been making gains further west at the expense of rival rebel groups which it has been fighting since December.

The rival rebels, many of them from more moderate Islamist groups, have been weakened by the defection late last month of Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, which had made common cause in the battle against IS.

The Observatory said the IS capture of the villages was a strategic prize, because it would open the way for the group to attack the towns of Marea and Azaz.

Marea is a stronghold of the Islamic Front, a coalition of Islamist groups that is among those fighting against IS.

Azaz sits next to the border crossing with Turkey, which would be a valuable asset to IS as it seeks to expand its self-declared "caliphate" in the territory it holds in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

The Islamic State emerged from Al-Qaeda's one-time branch in Iraq, and initially fought alongside Syria's opposition, including more moderate rebels and Al-Nusra fighters.

But its abuses against civilians and rival fighters, as well as its bid to dominate control of captured territory, sparked a backlash.

The group was pushed out of much of the territory it held in Aleppo province by the coalition of moderate and Islamist rebels that turned against it in January.

But it has been able to recapture some of that lost ground assisted by the decision of the Islamist Dawud Brigade to pledge allegiance to it. – AFP

US drones strike jihadist target in northern Iraq

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 03:34 PM PDT

Posted on August 14, 2014, Thursday

The US air campaign in Iraq against jihadist militants from the so-called Islamic State continued Wednesday with a drone strike on an armed truck west of the Yazidi town of Sinjar, the military said.

US Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said the vehicle was close to an IS checkpoint and that all US aircraft had left the area safely after it was destroyed.

American forces have been in action over northern Iraq since Friday last week, when they launched a campaign to halt an Islamist offensive against the Yazidi minority and the Kurdish city of Arbil. -AFP

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Virgin America flight attendants vote for union

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 03:34 PM PDT

Flight attendants at Virgin America voted Wednesday to form a union, the first workers to organize at the seven-year-old US affiliate of Virgin Atlantic airline.

The vote, with about 58 percent voting in favor, brought organized labor to the last US airline without a union.

The 830 flight attendants will be represented by the Transport Workers Union, which has about 200,000 members in total around the country.

Flight attendants had complained of scheduling inflexibility and overwork, and argued that a union would allow them to strike a better deal with the management.

?We're excited about what this election means for inflight team members," said Los Angeles-based cabin crew member Adam Croteau.

"We ran a very positive campaign and we believe that we can make positive changes at the airline by giving flight attendants a voice."

Flying between major US cities and to Mexican resorts, Virgin America is US-controlled but 22 percent owned by British tycoon Richard Branson's Virgin group, and it partners with Branson's Virgin Atlantic carrier.

Last month the company filed papers to go public, after having reported its first annual profit in 2013, $10.1 million on revenues of $1.4 billion.

"As the airline grows and becomes an increasingly profitable and larger public company, we also want our members to be recognized for their contribution to the airline's success," said Transport Workers Union president Harry Lombardo.

"We will now focus on gaining a contract thats fair for our new members." -AFP

Gulung tikar?

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 03:27 PM PDT

Oleh Clare Cinderella //

Rugi besar dan kos meningkat, khidmat bas awam di Miri mungkin ditamatkan

MIRI: Perkhidmatan bas awam yang beroperasi di bandar raya ini mungkin akan ditamatkan jika masih tiada jalan penyelesaian kerana jumlah penumpang yang semakin berkurangan, manakala kos operasi kian meningkat.

Pengurus Besar Miri Transport Company Sdn Bhd (MTC) Yeo Yow Shun yang ditemui semalam mengakui, sejak lima tahun lepas perkhidmatan bas awam sudah tidak menguntungkan syarikat tersebut, selain memberi tekanan kerana kos penyelenggaraan termasuk harga bahan api yang semakin naik.

"Untuk memastikan kami ada keuntungan, syarikat ini perlu menjana sekurang-kurangnya RM5,000 sebulan melalui perkhidmatan bas yang disediakan.

"Tetapi sejak lima tahun lalu, sasaran tersebut semakin sukar dicapai.

"Sebagai contoh khidmat bas bagi laluan dari terminal bas awam Miri ke Hospital Miri, dalam sebulan, kadang-kadang pendapatan yang diperolehi tidak sampai RM100.

Ini tidak cukup untuk membayar gaji pemandu bas," jelasnya sambil memberitahu keadaan itu menyebabkan mereka terpaksa menanggung kerugian yang besar.

Bagaimanapun, katanya, demi tanggungjawab mereka terpaksa bertahan sehingga kini, namun jika tiada jalan penyelesaian, MTC mungkin terpaksa gulung tikar.

Apatah lagi, menurut beliau, pemandu bas kini meminta gaji mereka dinaikkan sebanyak RM3,000 berdasarkan pasaran pekerjaan masa kini.

"Ketika ini, gaji pemandu bas ialah RM1,600 dan jumlah itu sudah memberi beban kepada kami kerana tiada untung, apatah lagi hendak membayar mereka sebanyak RM3,000," jelasnya.

Sehubungan itu, katanya, Lembaga Pengarah MTC barubaru ini membincangkan perkara berkenaan dan akan mengambil keputusan untuk menamatkan perkhidmatan bas awam yang disediakan oleh syarikat tersebut secara berperingkat.

Awal tahun ini, katanya, MTC telah menamatkan perkhidmatan bas bagi laluan ke Riam kerana bilangan pelanggan yang amat sedikit, manakala laluan-laluan yang lain sedang dikaji.

"Kami juga akan bersemuka dengan dua lagi syarikat yang turut menyediakan perkhidmatan bas yang beroperasi di bandar raya ini kerana kedua-dua syarikat tersebut turut mengalami nasib sama dan kami benar-benar memerlukan satu penyelesaian yang menguntungkan semua pihak," tambahnya.

Selain MTC, dua lagi syarikat penyedia perkhidmatan bas awam di sini ialah Miri Belait Transport dan Miri City Bus.

Menurut Yeo lagi, ketika ini laluan yang masih bertahan dan memberi pendapatan kepada syarikat itu ialah laluan Miri-Taman Tunku, Permyjaya, Senadin-Tudan.

Selain kos bahan api dan penyelenggaraan yang semakin meningkat, Yeo memberitahu cabaran lain yang turut menjejaskan perkhidmatan bas awam ialah kewujudan kereta sapu selain saingan daripada van-van sewa.

"Jika tiada campur tangan daripada pihak berkaitan dan jalan penyelesaian terbaik, industri pengangkutan bas awam di Miri akan malap atau mungkin berakhir, sekali pun kita sedar bahawa peranannya amat penting," katanya.