An international manhunt is under way for four North Koreans who fled Malaysia as Kim Jong-Nam was being killed.
The men, aged between 33 and 57, flew out of the country on Monday - the day Mr Kim was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Mr Kim, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, was sprayed with an unidentified chemical.
Four people have already been arrested in connection with the 45-year-old's murder.
Details of the new suspects emerged at a news conference with police chief Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim - but he would not reveal where the men flew.
Another three North Koreans are being sought to assist police with their enquiries.
South Korea and the US have said Mr Kim was assassinated by North Korean agents.
Two women are believed to have carried out the attack.
Two female suspects, one from Indonesia and the other carrying Vietnamese travel documents, were detained earlier this week, along with the Malaysian boyfriend of one of the suspects.
Officers also arrested a North Korean man on Friday - 46-year-old IT worker Ri Jong Hol.
:: Image emerges of Kim-Jong-Nam 'alive after attack'
Pyongyang has demanded Mr Kim's body be returned but Malaysia has refused the request, saying it must remain until identified through a DNA sample from a family member.
A family member has yet to come forward and a cause of death has still not been established.
North Korea has said it will reject Malaysia's post-mortem report and accused the country of "colluding with outside forces", a veiled reference to South Korea.
Mr Kim was known to advocate reform of North Korea's authoritarian regime and opposed its dynastic succession policy.
South Korean intelligence chiefs believe his killing was an assassination ordered by Kim Jong-Un some time ago because he perceived his half-brother to be a threat.
Kim Jong-Nam was the son of Song Hye-Rim, a South Korean actress thought to have been a mistress of Kim Jong-Il.
Understood to be heir apparent as eldest son, he was apparently overlooked after a botched attempt to enter Japan in May 2001 on a forged passport.
He claimed he wanted to visit Disney's Tokyo resort, but the incident embarrassed his father and Kim Jong-Un was selected as his successor.
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Trump launches fresh attack on 'dishonest media' at Florida rally
President Donald Trump has continued his attacks on the media during a rally in Florida - days after branding major broadcasters and The New York Times as enemies of the American people.
He was introduced by his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, who led the crowd in prayer and said he was "creating a country of great safety and prosperity".
At an airport hangar in the city of Melbourne, the president said: "I'm here because I want to be among my friends and among the people.
"This was a great movement - a movement that has never been seen before in our country or probably anywhere else."
Sky's US Correspondent, Hannah Thomas-Peter, said: "That was a carbon copy of campaigning Trump, right down to the music.
"It was Donald Trump at his campaigning best - riffing on issues he cares about... that's the kind of speech that won him the election."
Mr Trump told his audience that they were part of a movement "sweeping the world", adding: "Look at Brexit."
He said he wanted to address the crowd "without the filter of fake news" - and insisted the "dishonest media" is part of a "corrupt system".
To cheers from the crowd, Mr Trump warned: "They have their own agenda and their agenda is not your agenda."
The words came just days after his last attack on the media, in which he said "the level of dishonesty is out of control".
Mr Trump's presidency has lurched from crisis to crisis since his inauguration, including the botched roll-out of his immigration order, struggles to confirm his cabinet picks, and a succession of reports about strife within his administration.
But Mr Trump told his audience that "making America great again" is a campaign and "it's not easy, especially when we're also fighting the press and the media".
He then moved on to trade, saying "every country over a long period of time has been taking advantage of the stupidity of our politicians and it is not going to happen any longer".
Companies planning to move jobs overseas were also threatened, with Mr Trump warning they will pay a "very, very big price".
He added: "Jobs are starting to pour back in... like you've never seen."
Mr Trump went on to say that he had saved the day for American business with a fighter jet deal, as well as a deal to build the pipes in the Dakota Access Pipeline project.
He returned to familiar phrases used throughout his successful campaign during the 45-minute speech, including "Drain the swamp", "We don't win anymore" and "Make America great again".
A surprise came about half way through the event, when Mr Trump invited a man in the audience to join him on stage.
The supporter, who was wearing a T-shirt adorned with a picture of Mr Trump, said he had been waiting since 4am to hear the president speak at the rally.
"When President Trump during the election promised all these things that he was going to do for us, I knew he was going to do this for us," the voter told the crowds.
Mr Trump later re-appeared at the podium, admitting: "I wouldn't say the Secret Service was thrilled with that but we know our people - we know our people."
Hannah Thomas-Peter agreed: "The Secret Service will have had a heart attack about that but it will have played very well with Donald Trump's supporters."
The wall being planned between the US and Mexico also got a mention, with Mr Trump saying "construction on the great border wall will start very shortly".
Mr Trump then hit out at the judges who have put on hold his travel ban, which halted travel to the US for citizens of Iran, Somalia, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The order was blocked by a US federal court, but Mr Trump has said he will order a new ban to be put in place.
He told the crowd: "We will be doing something over the next couple of days... we won't give up, we never give up."
He was introduced by his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, who led the crowd in prayer and said he was "creating a country of great safety and prosperity".
At an airport hangar in the city of Melbourne, the president said: "I'm here because I want to be among my friends and among the people.
"This was a great movement - a movement that has never been seen before in our country or probably anywhere else."
Sky's US Correspondent, Hannah Thomas-Peter, said: "That was a carbon copy of campaigning Trump, right down to the music.
"It was Donald Trump at his campaigning best - riffing on issues he cares about... that's the kind of speech that won him the election."
Mr Trump told his audience that they were part of a movement "sweeping the world", adding: "Look at Brexit."
He said he wanted to address the crowd "without the filter of fake news" - and insisted the "dishonest media" is part of a "corrupt system".
To cheers from the crowd, Mr Trump warned: "They have their own agenda and their agenda is not your agenda."
The words came just days after his last attack on the media, in which he said "the level of dishonesty is out of control".
Mr Trump's presidency has lurched from crisis to crisis since his inauguration, including the botched roll-out of his immigration order, struggles to confirm his cabinet picks, and a succession of reports about strife within his administration.
But Mr Trump told his audience that "making America great again" is a campaign and "it's not easy, especially when we're also fighting the press and the media".
He then moved on to trade, saying "every country over a long period of time has been taking advantage of the stupidity of our politicians and it is not going to happen any longer".
Companies planning to move jobs overseas were also threatened, with Mr Trump warning they will pay a "very, very big price".
He added: "Jobs are starting to pour back in... like you've never seen."
Mr Trump went on to say that he had saved the day for American business with a fighter jet deal, as well as a deal to build the pipes in the Dakota Access Pipeline project.
He returned to familiar phrases used throughout his successful campaign during the 45-minute speech, including "Drain the swamp", "We don't win anymore" and "Make America great again".
A surprise came about half way through the event, when Mr Trump invited a man in the audience to join him on stage.
The supporter, who was wearing a T-shirt adorned with a picture of Mr Trump, said he had been waiting since 4am to hear the president speak at the rally.
"When President Trump during the election promised all these things that he was going to do for us, I knew he was going to do this for us," the voter told the crowds.
Mr Trump later re-appeared at the podium, admitting: "I wouldn't say the Secret Service was thrilled with that but we know our people - we know our people."
Hannah Thomas-Peter agreed: "The Secret Service will have had a heart attack about that but it will have played very well with Donald Trump's supporters."
The wall being planned between the US and Mexico also got a mention, with Mr Trump saying "construction on the great border wall will start very shortly".
Mr Trump then hit out at the judges who have put on hold his travel ban, which halted travel to the US for citizens of Iran, Somalia, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The order was blocked by a US federal court, but Mr Trump has said he will order a new ban to be put in place.
He told the crowd: "We will be doing something over the next couple of days... we won't give up, we never give up."
Saturday, February 18, 2017
World Trade Center attack 'mastermind' Omar Abdel-Rahman dies in jail
An extremist cleric who is believed to have masterminded the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center has died in jail.
Blind sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman was jailed for life for conspiring with those who carried out the New York City bombing, which killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others.
He was also convicted of planning more attacks on New York City landmarks, including the United Nations and several bridges and tunnels, as part of a "war of urban terrorism".
Authorities said the 78-year-old died in a North Carolina prison after a long battle with diabetes and coronary artery disease.
Before emigrating to the US in 1990, Abdel-Rahman led the militant Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya group in Egypt.
He was accused of issuing a fatwa which led to the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1986, but was eventually acquitted.
A year after arriving in New York City, Abdel-Rahman was given permanent US resident status and began preaching in Brooklyn and New Jersey.
The fundamentalist cleric's followers were linked to terror attacks across the world, including the 1990 assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York and the 1992 killing of a writer in Egypt.
Following a nine-month trial in 1995, Abdel-Rahman was found guilty on 48 of 50 charges - which included plots to kill Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a Jewish New York state legislator and a Jewish New York State Supreme Court justice.
During a sentencing hearing, the cleric gave a 90-minute speech in which he claimed he had not "committed any crime except telling people about Islam".
A year before his followers killed 2,996 people in the September 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden pledged a jihad to free Abdel-Rahman from jail.
In 2012, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi called for the cleric to be sent home in a prisoner exchange with the US for "humanitarian reasons".
Blind sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman was jailed for life for conspiring with those who carried out the New York City bombing, which killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others.
He was also convicted of planning more attacks on New York City landmarks, including the United Nations and several bridges and tunnels, as part of a "war of urban terrorism".
Authorities said the 78-year-old died in a North Carolina prison after a long battle with diabetes and coronary artery disease.
Before emigrating to the US in 1990, Abdel-Rahman led the militant Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya group in Egypt.
He was accused of issuing a fatwa which led to the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1986, but was eventually acquitted.
A year after arriving in New York City, Abdel-Rahman was given permanent US resident status and began preaching in Brooklyn and New Jersey.
The fundamentalist cleric's followers were linked to terror attacks across the world, including the 1990 assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York and the 1992 killing of a writer in Egypt.
Following a nine-month trial in 1995, Abdel-Rahman was found guilty on 48 of 50 charges - which included plots to kill Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a Jewish New York state legislator and a Jewish New York State Supreme Court justice.
During a sentencing hearing, the cleric gave a 90-minute speech in which he claimed he had not "committed any crime except telling people about Islam".
A year before his followers killed 2,996 people in the September 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden pledged a jihad to free Abdel-Rahman from jail.
In 2012, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi called for the cleric to be sent home in a prisoner exchange with the US for "humanitarian reasons".
Ancient microbes found trapped in crystals in Mexican cave system
A population of microbes that are tens of thousands of years old has been discovered in a place called Hell.
The extraordinary micro-organisms were found trapped in crystal in a volcanically heated Mexican cave system where temperatures reach 60C (140F).
Some of them are believed to have been there for 60,000 years and were shut off from light or oxygen and obtained energy from minerals.
Scientists have been unable to classify 90% of the bugs, which could not be matched with any other micro-organisms catalogued in available databases.
The extraordinary micro-organisms were found trapped in crystal in a volcanically heated Mexican cave system where temperatures reach 60C (140F).
Some of them are believed to have been there for 60,000 years and were shut off from light or oxygen and obtained energy from minerals.
Scientists have been unable to classify 90% of the bugs, which could not be matched with any other micro-organisms catalogued in available databases.
Anger as touts resell tickets to Ed Sheeran charity gig for £5,000
Secondary ticketing website Viagogo has been criticised for "profiteering at the expense of teenage cancer sufferers".
The website is advertising seats at vastly inflated prices for next month's Ed Sheeran concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, which is a fundraiser for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Seats have reportedly been advertised for up to £5,000, with the most expensive on the website currently costing about £1,500.
Viagogo admitted on its website that the original face value for each ticket was between £49.50 and £110.
In a statement on their website, the Teenager Cancer Trust said: "The only people who should profit from Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall are young people with cancer."
They added: "ID will be rigorously checked and anyone with tickets purchased on the secondary market will not be admitted."
But, according to a report in The Guardian, Viagogo has said on its website that "buyers of tickets for this event will be accompanied into the venue by the seller".
Ticket reform campaigners Fan Fair Alliance said: "Teenage Cancer Trust have gone to huge lengths and expense to prevent resale and profiteering of their tickets.
"To all intents and purposes they are non-transferable, with buyers needing to provide photo ID on the door.
"And yet, not only are Viagogo encouraging touts to sell these tickets at vastly inflated prices, none of which goes back to the charity, they attempt to circumvent the terms and conditions by advertising that the buyer will be accompanied into the venue by the seller.
"Leaving aside the moral repugnance of profiteering at the expense of teenage cancer sufferers, this appears a flagrant breach of consumer law and yet another reason why Government intervention is so desperately needed."
The website is advertising seats at vastly inflated prices for next month's Ed Sheeran concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, which is a fundraiser for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Seats have reportedly been advertised for up to £5,000, with the most expensive on the website currently costing about £1,500.
Viagogo admitted on its website that the original face value for each ticket was between £49.50 and £110.
In a statement on their website, the Teenager Cancer Trust said: "The only people who should profit from Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall are young people with cancer."
They added: "ID will be rigorously checked and anyone with tickets purchased on the secondary market will not be admitted."
But, according to a report in The Guardian, Viagogo has said on its website that "buyers of tickets for this event will be accompanied into the venue by the seller".
Ticket reform campaigners Fan Fair Alliance said: "Teenage Cancer Trust have gone to huge lengths and expense to prevent resale and profiteering of their tickets.
"To all intents and purposes they are non-transferable, with buyers needing to provide photo ID on the door.
"And yet, not only are Viagogo encouraging touts to sell these tickets at vastly inflated prices, none of which goes back to the charity, they attempt to circumvent the terms and conditions by advertising that the buyer will be accompanied into the venue by the seller.
"Leaving aside the moral repugnance of profiteering at the expense of teenage cancer sufferers, this appears a flagrant breach of consumer law and yet another reason why Government intervention is so desperately needed."
Trump declares media 'the enemy of the American people'
US President Donald Trump has ratcheted up his verbal assault on the media, describing it as "the enemy of the American people" in a tweet.
Shortly after landing at his holiday home in Florida - where he is spending a third consecutive weekend - the president lashed out at several news organisations.
"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" he wrote on Friday.
Trump had posted an earlier tweet that took aim at the New York Times, CNN, NBC "and many more" media organisations - and ended it with the exclamation "SICK!"
But he swiftly deleted that before tweeting the final version, adding two more "enemies" to his list.
Many US presidents have criticised the press in the past, but political analysts say Trump's language has more closely echoed that of authoritarian leaders.
Trump, who regularly accuses the media of overstating his problems, has also accused journalists of failing to show sufficient respect for his accomplishments - including in their coverage of a long-winded press conference on Thursday in which he voiced a litany of grievances against the industry.
Many journalists were taken aback by the extraordinarily combative press conference, which was described by some as bizarre, but Trump later echoed words of praise he got from one right-wing commentator and insisted it had been a bravura performance.
The 70-year-old partly built his election campaign on criticising the press as biased.
Month of tumult
In four tumultuous weeks, Trump has seen his national security adviser ousted, a cabinet nominee withdraw, a centrepiece immigration policy fail in the courts and a tidal wave of damaging leaks.
Trump tried to put that first month of difficulties behind him as he pitched himself as a champion of US jobs and industry during a visit to Boeing in South Carolina.
He used the visit to publicly renew a campaign vow to champion jobs and industry.
"As your president, I'm going to do everything I can to unleash the power of the American spirit and to put our great people back to work," he said.
"This is our mantra, 'buy American and hire American.' We want products made in America, made by American hands," Trump added, pledging to wean the country off imports.
Although the unemployment rate is at a low five percent and wages are rising steadily, a triple whammy of deindustrialisation, globalisation and automation have hit the US heartland hard.
Shortly after landing at his holiday home in Florida - where he is spending a third consecutive weekend - the president lashed out at several news organisations.
"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" he wrote on Friday.
Trump had posted an earlier tweet that took aim at the New York Times, CNN, NBC "and many more" media organisations - and ended it with the exclamation "SICK!"
But he swiftly deleted that before tweeting the final version, adding two more "enemies" to his list.
Many US presidents have criticised the press in the past, but political analysts say Trump's language has more closely echoed that of authoritarian leaders.
Trump, who regularly accuses the media of overstating his problems, has also accused journalists of failing to show sufficient respect for his accomplishments - including in their coverage of a long-winded press conference on Thursday in which he voiced a litany of grievances against the industry.
Many journalists were taken aback by the extraordinarily combative press conference, which was described by some as bizarre, but Trump later echoed words of praise he got from one right-wing commentator and insisted it had been a bravura performance.
The 70-year-old partly built his election campaign on criticising the press as biased.
Month of tumult
In four tumultuous weeks, Trump has seen his national security adviser ousted, a cabinet nominee withdraw, a centrepiece immigration policy fail in the courts and a tidal wave of damaging leaks.
Trump tried to put that first month of difficulties behind him as he pitched himself as a champion of US jobs and industry during a visit to Boeing in South Carolina.
He used the visit to publicly renew a campaign vow to champion jobs and industry.
"As your president, I'm going to do everything I can to unleash the power of the American spirit and to put our great people back to work," he said.
"This is our mantra, 'buy American and hire American.' We want products made in America, made by American hands," Trump added, pledging to wean the country off imports.
Although the unemployment rate is at a low five percent and wages are rising steadily, a triple whammy of deindustrialisation, globalisation and automation have hit the US heartland hard.
US and Israel join forces to bury Palestinian statehood
Thanks to the lovefest between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, ignoring the Palestinian national leadership seems to be back on the front burner.
During both leaders' first meeting since the new United States administration took office, Trump repeatedly talked about the need for the Israelis and Palestinians to make peace but avoided mentioning the Palestinian leadership.
Apparently fearing the repercussions of Washington's withdrawal of both support for the two-state solution and recognition of the legitimate Palestinian leadership, the US sent CIA chief Mike Pompeo to President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday, February 14.
By sending the CIA chief rather than a political figure to visit President Abbas, the US is prioritising security issues - including joint security cooperation with Israelis - over the need to recognise Palestinian political and national aspirations.
Trump also casually walked away from a long-standing US and international consensus on the two-state solution, which has been the foundation of Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
'Been there, tried that'
The US president's naive comment on the two or one-state solution - saying he "can live with either one" - means Washington is likely to prolong the status quo of occupation.
Ever since the 1967 occupation, the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly expressed the illegality of the occupation, as in the preamble of Resolution 242 "emphasising inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war" (PDF).
By leaving the solution to the parties while, at the same time, politically bypassing the Palestinian leadership, the Trump administration is empowering the Israelis to dictate to the Palestinians any deal they want.
The sheer reality of the Israeli occupation and the absence of any political solution is a reflection of how Israel's current tactics have not been producing any results for decades now.
The problem is that Trump and Netanyahu's warm relationship and the former's withdrawal of support for the two-state solution further weakens the US' ability be an honest broker.
Hoping that Arab leaders will replace Palestinians and agree to make peace with Israel on behalf of Palestinians, is another mistaken proposal. As the saying goes, "been there, tried that".
In the past, Arab leaders as well as Israeli and US leaders have tried to find an alternative leadership for Palestinians and have failed miserably.
For instance, Egypt and Jordan resisted pressures from Israel and the international community on who should represent the Palestinians in the 1970s, and in 1974 the Arab summit recognised the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
During both leaders' first meeting since the new United States administration took office, Trump repeatedly talked about the need for the Israelis and Palestinians to make peace but avoided mentioning the Palestinian leadership.
Apparently fearing the repercussions of Washington's withdrawal of both support for the two-state solution and recognition of the legitimate Palestinian leadership, the US sent CIA chief Mike Pompeo to President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday, February 14.
By sending the CIA chief rather than a political figure to visit President Abbas, the US is prioritising security issues - including joint security cooperation with Israelis - over the need to recognise Palestinian political and national aspirations.
Trump also casually walked away from a long-standing US and international consensus on the two-state solution, which has been the foundation of Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
'Been there, tried that'
The US president's naive comment on the two or one-state solution - saying he "can live with either one" - means Washington is likely to prolong the status quo of occupation.
Ever since the 1967 occupation, the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly expressed the illegality of the occupation, as in the preamble of Resolution 242 "emphasising inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war" (PDF).
By leaving the solution to the parties while, at the same time, politically bypassing the Palestinian leadership, the Trump administration is empowering the Israelis to dictate to the Palestinians any deal they want.
The sheer reality of the Israeli occupation and the absence of any political solution is a reflection of how Israel's current tactics have not been producing any results for decades now.
The problem is that Trump and Netanyahu's warm relationship and the former's withdrawal of support for the two-state solution further weakens the US' ability be an honest broker.
Hoping that Arab leaders will replace Palestinians and agree to make peace with Israel on behalf of Palestinians, is another mistaken proposal. As the saying goes, "been there, tried that".
In the past, Arab leaders as well as Israeli and US leaders have tried to find an alternative leadership for Palestinians and have failed miserably.
For instance, Egypt and Jordan resisted pressures from Israel and the international community on who should represent the Palestinians in the 1970s, and in 1974 the Arab summit recognised the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
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