Muslims all over Malaysia celebrated Hari Raya Haji (also known as Eid al-Adha) on Wednesday on a moderate scale, but with a sense of gratitude and the spirit of sacrifice. They attended prayers at mosques and prayer halls, and slaughtered animals such as cows and goats to mark the festival of sacrifice which comes at the end of the annual Haj pilgrimage.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak attended prayers at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur. He joined more than 10,000 fellow Muslims to perform prayers. Mr Najib, who was attired in a pink baju Melayu, was accompanied by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar as he arrived at the mosque at about 8.30am, and was greeted by the Grand Imam, Ustaz Ehsan Mohd Hosni. After the prayers, Mr Najib shook hands and exchanged Hari Raya Haji greetings with fellow Muslims who had lined up to greet the Prime Minister. Mr Najib, accompanied by Ismail, also sprinkled scented water on the grave of his father, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, at the National Mausoleum at the mosque, and recited prayers.
The Eid al-Adha is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son Ishmael (Isma'il) as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a ram to sacrifice instead.
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Thailad - Bout Deported to US
Alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was flown out of Thailand on Tuesday on a special jet to face trial in the United States, bringing to an end months of legal wrangling over his extradition. The 43-year-old former Soviet air force pilot has been fighting extradition on terrorism charges since his March 2008 arrest after a sting operation in Bangkok involving undercover US agents posing as Colombian FARC rebels.
'Bout already left Thai soil at 1:27 pm (0627 GMT, 2:27 pm S'pore time) from Don Mueang airport,' Colonel Supisarn Bhakdinarunart, commander of Thailand's Crime Suppression Division, said Bout left Thai soil at 0627 GMT and is headed for a secret, final destination in the US.
Bout's sudden departure came shortly after the Thai cabinet approved his handover in a move likely to prompt further fury from Moscow which had vowed to do all it could to bring Bout home. He was escorted by police from Bang Kwang maximum security prison in a convoy of police cars with their sirens blaring.
The inspiration for the Hollywood film 'Lord of War", Bout is accused of using a fleet of cargo planes to deliver arms in Africa, South America and the Middle East.
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Cambodia - Landmine Kills 14
Fourteen people died in western Cambodia when their homemade tractor ran over an anti-tank mine left over from the country's civil war in the 1980s, an official said on Wednesday. The incident occurred on Tuesday in Battambang province, 250km north-west of the capital Phnom Penh, while the farmers were on their way back home from harvesting chilies, police Major Buth Sambo said.
The police officer said the area was the site of intense battles between the Khmer Rouge and government forces in the 1980s and early 1990s and thus was seeded with numerous mines. An estimated 4 to 6 million land mines and other unexploded ordnance from more than three decades of armed conflict continue to maim or kill Cambodians each year. Prime Minister Hun Sen said earlier this year that it will still take years to clear the once war-torn nation of land mines that endanger lives in nearly half the country's villages.
Indonesia - Bali Waters Protected Zone
The Mola Mola (also known as Ocean Sunfish)Indonesia on Sunday declared the coral-rich waters around Bali - a popular scuba diving spot which is home to the giant Mola-Mola ocean sunfish - a protected zone.
The 20,000-hectare area around Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan islands will be protected from destructive fishing, waste dumping and coral mining, project leader Marthen Welly told AFP. 'Destructive fishing is carried out by fishermen using cyanide and explosives,' Welly of the conservation group The Nature Conservancy (TNC) said. 'Many ships also throw anchors on the coral reefs and hotels and households dump wastes causing water pollution. Now they can't do these anymore,' he said.
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Indonesia - Merapi Cooling Down, Death Toll 304
The number of deaths caused by recent eruptions at Indonesia's most volatile volcano has risen to 304.
Slamet Sugiono from the National Disaster Management Agency said on Sunday the toll climbed after some victims succumbed to severe burns and illnesses linked to the eruption. Also, more ash-buried bodies have been found on the slopes of Mount Merapi. The volcano started erupting late last month after years of dormancy. The most significant blast on Nov 5 was Mount Merapi's deadliest in decades. The agency says volcanic activity has declined sharply and Merapi's current eruptions are not strong enough to endanger people, and so, half of nearly 400,000 evacuees have returned home in recent days.
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Scores of people were forced to flee their homes after a restive Philippine volcano shot a column of ash into the air on Sunday, showering surrounding villages, authorities said.
Philippines - Mount Bulusan Shows Activity
Residents of two villages near the 1,565-metre Mount Bulusan volcano evacuated their homes after the volcano shot a column of ash some two kilometres into the air. Evacuees were taken to government schools that are being used as relief centres, he added. More than 750 people have fled their homes since Bulusan started emitting ash on Nov 6, said Mr Lopez.
Government vulcanologists had earlier raised the alert level for Bulusan from zero to level 1, indicating abnormal activity, possibly a sign of more ash eruptions to come.
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Malaysian Hacker 'Highly Skilled'
The Malaysian accused of hacking into the system of a US central bank branch in Cleveland, Ohio, is believed to be highly skilled and collaborating with others in carrying out cyber crimes. US prosecutors described Lin Mun Poo, 32, as an 'extremely sophisticated and dangerous computer hacker' in documents obtained from the US Justice Department.
Lin made world headlines for the wrong reasons - he managed to hack into high security cyber systems of major institutions in the US, including the Federal Reserve Bank and the Pentagon's security contractors. He was caught in a New York diner by the Secret Service on Oct 21 while allegedly selling stolen credit card numbers for US$1,000 (S$1,295). It was only hours after he had arrived in the city. On Thursday, he was indicted by a grand jury on four charges, including for hacking into the central bank branch in Cleveland. If convicted, Lin faces a jail sentence of between six-and-a-half years and eight years.
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Philippines - Bomb Narrowly Missed Mayor Ampatuan
A bomb attached to a parked motorcycle exploded on Sunday in a violent southern Philippine province, wounding two people and narrowly missing the convoy of a mayor belonging to a powerful clan blamed for a massacre last year of dozens of people, officials said. The bomb constructed from a mortar round went off near a grade school in Maguindanao province's Shariff Aguak town a few minutes after the convoy of Mayor Akmad Ampatuan of nearby Datu Salibo town passed by, police said. The bomb, which wounded two residents, appeared to have been meant for Ampatuan, police said.
Several members of his clan and armed followers have been put on trial in connection with the massacre in Maguindanao last Nov 23 of 57 people, including political rivals and at least 30 media workers.
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Singapore - Third Teen Slashing Incident
Police have arrested a teenager who was involved in an attack on another youth in Ang Mo Kio on Thursday. In yet another incident of youth violence, a 17-year old , who was acquainted with the alleged attacker, also 17, was slashed on the right shoulder at Block 448, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 at about 7pm. The New Paper reported on Friday that the two youths had got into a loud dispute and a shoving match before the victim was knifed. A police spokesman told straitstimes.com on Friday morning that the incident had nothing to do with gang activities, and investigations are ongoing. This is the third of knife fights within three weeks, the first of which ended in a teen's death, and the second of which seven youths were slashed.
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Thailand - 2,000 Foetuses Found at Temple
THAI police investigating a strong smell emanating from a Buddhist temple have found more than 2,000 foetuses hidden in the complex's morgue that appear to have come from illegal abortion clinics. During an initial investigation at the temple in Bangkok on Tuesday, police discovered piles of plastic bags containing more than 300 foetuses. Police Lieuenant Colonel Kanathud Musiganont said workers pulled more bodies from the temple's morgue on Friday. More than 2,000 have been unearthed from vaults where bodies are traditionallyinterred pending cremation, which under some circumstances can take place years after death.
Abortion is illegal in Thailand except under three conditions - if a woman is raped, if the pregnancy affects her health or if the foetus is abnormal.
Several people have already been arrested in the case: two undertakers for hiding bodies to conceal the cause of death and an abortion clinic employee on charges of operating an unlicensed medical clinic and performing abortions.
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US House Slams Myanmar Vote
The US House of Representatives on Thursday condemned Myanmar's recent elections and said no government there can be legitimate without the participation of Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. By voice vote, lawmakers approved a symbolic resolution that 'denounces the one-sided, undemocratic, and illegitimate actions' of the country's ruling junta and accused them of consolidating their power with a 'flawed election'. 'No government in Burma can be considered democratic or legitimate without the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, and ethnic nationalities,' the measure states. The resolution also demands 'the full restoration of democracy, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and internationally recognized human rights for all Burmese citizens.'
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Indonesia - 2 Foreigners Caught for Drugs, Possibility for Execution
A British man and a Japanese man are facing possible execution in Indonesia after customs officials found drugs in their luggage at Bali airport, authorities said on Monday. Customs officers said they had arrested British national Khuram Antonio Khan Garcia, 39, with methamphetamine and Japanese Morita Yuki, 35, with hashish as they arrived at the resort island's international airport.
Garcia was arrested on Thursday after landing on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha with 3.1kg of methamphetamine in his suitcase. The drugs had an estimated street value of six billion rupiah (USD 670,200). He told investigators someone called 'Mr. Ben' had asked him to carry the suitcase from Cameroon to Indonesia. An Indonesian suspect was arrested on Friday when he came from Jakarta to pick up the suitcase, the customs office said in a statement.
Yuki was arrested on Sunday after landing from Bangkok with 5.9kg of hashish valued at 3.5 billion rupiah (USD 390,952) hidden in paper packages in his suitcase lining.
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