Tradisional Sabah Borneo

The family alleges in legal claims that a Bureau of Land Management ranger left his loaded service weapon in a backpack in plain view in his car before the weapon was stolen in June.

The semi-automatic pistol was later used in the July 1 killing of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle.

BLM spokeswoman Martha Maciel said the agency is cooperating with investigation of the shooting but she declined further comment.

The family and their attorneys filed three separate legal claims seeking unspecified damages from the BLM, San Francisco Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The family said it would file lawsuits if the claims are denied.

The parents said they were filing the legal claims to prevent a similar tragedy.We're here not only for Kate, we're here for every citizen of this country who comes to San Francisco," Jim Steinle, the father of the victim, said at a news conference at City Hall. "If you think this can't happen to you, think again."

Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, 45, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. He told police he fired the fatal shot accidentally while examining the ranger's gun after finding it under a bench on Pier 14.

The shooting triggered a national debate over immigration after it was revealed that the Sheriff's Department had released Lopez-Sanchez despite a federal request to detain him for possible deportation. Lopez-Sanchez was previously deported five times to his native Mexico.

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi said his department was following city law when it released Lopez-Sanchez in April after prosecutors dropped old marijuana possession charges against him.

San Francisco and other cities and counties across the state have enacted policies of ignoring so-called detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold jail inmate thoughtto be in the country illegally for deportation proceedings.

The Steinle family claimed the sheriff violated federal laws when he issued a memo in March barring jail staff from communicating with federal immigration officials about detainer requests.

Mirkarimi has said his department requires federal officials to obtain a warrant or some other judicial notice in order for his jail to hold an inmate facing possible deportation.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Kenya Briggs said Mirkarimi can't comment on potential litigation but continues to extend his sympathy to the Steinle family for their loss.

The family also accused ICE, an agency within Homeland Security, of failing to obtain a warrant or judicial notice required by San Francisco to detain and deport Lopez-Sanchez.

ICE didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

AP

Rumours of her expulsion spread after a letter signed by Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor emerged on social media earlier today; however, the letter was dated September 2, which raised doubts as to its veracity.

“Yes, she was sacked,” Tengku Adnan told Malay Mail Online in a text message.

However, he did not elaborate on the reason for her termination.

The letter to Anina only stated that Umno headquarters had decided to terminate her membership with immediate effect under Article 20.7 of the party constitution for taking a party matter to court.

Umno executive secretary Datuk Ab Rauf Yusoh also confirmed the termination with Malay Mail Online when contacted.

“Her membership has been terminated because she violated the party’s rule by filing a lawsuit against Datuk Seri Najib… she cannot do that according to the party’s constitution,” he said, when asked the reason for Anina’s ejection.

Malay Mail Online was unable to reach Anina for comment at the time of writing.

Anina was the Langkawi Wanita Umno chief who first shot into the spotlight after a video of her tirade against Najib was uploaded online and went viral.

Anina gained prominence following widespread circulation of a 2.52-minute video clip last month in which she harshly criticised Najib as “urinating” on Umno’s three million members in a public storm over RM2.6 billion deposits into his personal account, which the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has said was a donation from a Middle Eastern donor.

Last Friday, she filed a lawsuit against Najib at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, seeking to claim a US$650 million (RM2.7 billion) portion of the US$681 million said to have been donated to Umno by a friendly Middle Eastern nation to help the Malay ruling party in its 2013 election campaign.

According to the filing, Anina is claiming that Najib had violated his duties as a trustee, alleging that the US$650 million was transferred out of an AmPrivate Banking account in Malaysia on August 30, 2013 into a Singapore account that “did not belong to Umno.”

She had also named Ab Rauf as a defendant in her suit.

Anina also sought an injunction order to prohibit Umno from “removing, suspending and/or taking any disciplinary action” against her pending the disposal of the lawsuit.

Umno legal adviser Datuk Hafarizam Harun had previously told Malay Mail Online that Umno members who sue fellow members or who go to court over party decisions risk expulsion as the party constitution prohibits them from doing so.

Citing the Societies Act 1966, Hafarizam also said only a “public officer” appointed by the Umno supreme council can file a lawsuit on behalf of Umno, which in this case is Umno executive secretary Ab Rauf. 

MALAY MAIL ONLINE

Major powers voiced deep concern at the bloodshed, which the Ukrainian government blamed on ultra-nationalists.

It was the worst unrest in the capital since a popular uprising ousted Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovych early last year, unleashing a separatist insurgency in Ukraine's industrial east.

Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk pointed the finger at ultra-nationalists for the violence, which left 125 injured, six seriously, according to the interior ministry.

"At a time when Russia and its bandits are seeking to destroy the country but are unable to do this on the front line, the so-called pro-Ukrainian political forces are trying to open a second front inside the country," Yatsenyuk said in a nationwide address.President Petro Poroshenko branded the violence a "stab in the back" and said the perpetrators deserved "severe" punishment.

The European Union, Russia, the United States, France and Germany expressed their disquiet.

"Today's events are very worrying," said EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini while Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman condemned the "displays of violence" in Kiev.

In Washington, deputy US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said "in a democratic society, grievances must be addressed peacefully and lawfully".

"We also call for a full investigation into the cause of today's violence. Those responsible should be held accountable," Toner said.

- Young conscript killed -The violence flared shortly after MPs backed the first reading of constitutional reforms that critics have branded "un-Ukrainian" for giving the Moscow-backed insurgents greater powers in the east.

A total of 265 lawmakers voted in favour of the legislation.

The stormy session saw some MPs angrily try to disrupt the vote, which they condemned as "pro-Vladimir Putin". Some shouted "Shame!"

The reforms were agreed as part of a February peace deal brokered by Germany and France that called for Kiev to implement decentralisation by year's end.

Outside parliament, baton-wielding riot police clashed with the protesters.

A loud blast was heard and clouds of black smoke billowed into the air as demonstrators threw what security forces said were grenades.

Some of the injured lay bleeding on the ground in front of the parliament building, with many suffering injuries to their arms and legs. Most of those hurt were in uniform.

The authorities said a member of the National Guard, believed to be a 24-year-old conscript, died of his injuries.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov initially said he died from a bullet wound to the heart but later revised his remarks, saying he was killed by shrapnel from a grenade.

Avakov said a deputy interior minister was also hurt.

Several journalists were also injured.

Tear gas was used by both sides, an AFP correspondent said.

- 'Anti-Ukrainian war' -

The interior ministry blamed the nationalist Svoboda party for the unrest, saying those detained included a member of the party's paramilitary unit, who was accused of throwing the grenade.

"More than 30 people have already been detained. More to come," Avakov said, adding that people who threw "several" explosive devices were wearing T-shirts with the Svoboda logo.

The authorities seized an F1 anti-personnel grenade at the scene.

Svoboda rejected the accusations, instead blaming the violence on the authorities who it said were the first to use force against the protesters.The party, led by firebrand nationalist Oleg Tiagnybok, called the explosions a provocation aimed at casting suspicion on "Ukrainian patriots".

Authorities opened a criminal probe into the clashes.

"Investigation and punishment will be unavoidable," Avakov said, calling the clashes an "anti-Ukrainian war".

- Controversial legislation -

The bill on increased autonomy for Ukraine's regions has sparked heated debate in Ukraine where opponents see it as an attempt to legalise the seizure by Russian-backed rebels of the eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

The second reading of the legislation is expected by the end of the year. It will need a two-thirds majority of 450 lawmakers to pass that stage.

Kiev's Western allies see the reforms as a chance to end the armed conflict in the east that has claimed more than 6,800 lives over the past 16 months.

Contrary to the expectations of separatists, the legislation does not definitively grant the industrial east the semi-autonomous status the insurgents are seeking.

The Russian-speaking regions -- which are dotted with war-shattered steel mills and coal mines that once fuelled Ukraine's economy -- want their special status spelt out in constitutional amendments that would be very hard to overturn.

Kiev and the West accuse Russia of backing the rebels with weapons, troops and military advisors, claims the Kremlin denies.

Russia on Friday dismissed the autonomy measures voted on in Kiev as merely an "imitation" of compliance with the February peace deal.

The ceasefire agreed in the Belarus capital Minsk led to a marked de-escalation in fighting but deadly clashes still frequently erupt along the frontline.

AFP

Ruben Espinosa, social activist Nadia Vera and three other women were found dead with their hands bound and their bodies bearing signs of torture in a Mexico City apartment on July 31.

Espinosa, 31, and Vera, 32, worked in the eastern state of Veracruz but had taken refuge in the country's capital after receiving threats.

The motive behind the killing is under investigation, but press rights groups say the case highlights the threats and violence that journalists face in Mexico, which has become one of the world's most dangerous places for reporters.

New details suggest the multiple homicide was a professional hit job.

Karla Micheel, a member of the National Democratic Attorneys Association who represents Vera's family, told AFP that the victims were shot in the head at point-blank range with a 9mm handgun fitted with a silencer.

The gun was "clean," meaning it had not been used in other crimes and was loaded with untraceable bullets, said Micheel, who has seen the investigation's report.

While a fingerprint was found in one room, the killers did not leave any prints on the tape they used to tie the victims, she said.

Forensic reports show that Vera was strangled and stabbed six times, while Espinosa had 12 stab wounds. They were both found in the same room.

"The cuts were not due to resistance or a struggle. The wounds were literally aimed at causing pain," Micheel said.

- Rushdie, Cuaron call for justice -

The other victims included Mile Virginia Martin, a 29-year-old Colombian, and Yesenia Quiroz, an 18-year-old Mexican. They were both models. A maid, 40-year-old Alejandra Negrete, was also killed.

Mile was sexually assaulted while Quiroz was strangled. They were also shot and found in another room.

Negrete was shot and her body was left in the bathroom.

The investigative reports suggest that the assailants may have used the bathroom or something else to clean up the blood, Micheel said. The killers did not leave any murder weapon behind.

Mexico City authorities detained on Sunday a former police officer in connection with the killing.

Abraham Torres Tranquilino, 24, worked as an officer in the capital until 2011, when he was sentenced to almost five years in prison for torture in another crime.

But he only spent one year behind bars.

Another suspect, Daniel Pacheco Gutierrez, was detained on August 4. He is also a former convict who served time for rape.

Hundreds of writers, filmmakers and journalists published a second open letter to President Enrique Pena Nieto over the case on Monday, urging him to solve the crime and better protect journalists.

British novelist Salman Rushdie and Oscar-winning Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron were among the signatories of the missive published in El Universal newspaper with the front-page headline "They Won't Silence Us."

More than 80 journalists have been killed since 2000, while 17 more have disappeared, according to Reporters Without Borders.

At least 12 reporters have been killed in Veracruz since Governor Javier Duarte took office in 2010.

AFP

Obama, in an interview with the Jewish newspaper The Forward, was asked whether it hurt him personally when people say he's anti-Semitic.

"Oh, of course," Obama said. "And there's not a smidgeon of evidence for it, other than the fact that there have been times when I've disagreed with a particular Israeli government's position on a particular issue."

The president added, though, that he's "probably more offended when I hear members of my administration who themselves are Jewish being attacked. You saw this historically sometimes in the African-American community, where there's a difference on policy and somebody starts talking about, 'Well, you're not black enough,' or 'You're selling out.' And that, I think, is always a dangerous place to go."Obama didn't mention any specific critics or targets by name.

Asked to whom the president was referring, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Monday mentioned former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's charge that the nuclear deal was like "marching the Israelis to the door of the oven," a reference to the Holocaust. Earnest added, "It's certainly not the only example of the kind of political rhetoric that certainly the president and others find objectionable."

Obama's Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who is Jewish, was heckled this summer at a Jewish-themed conference in New York when he defended the nuclear deal and spoke of the administration's support for Israel.

Obama, in the Forward interview, said that while those who care about Israel have an obligation to be honest about what they think, "you don't win the debate by suggesting that the other person has bad motives. That's, I think, not just consistent with fair play; I think it's consistent with the best of the Jewish tradition."

Secretary of State John Kerry, the chief U.S. diplomat in the negotiations with Iran, is to make a speech in Philadelphia on Wednesday on the importance of the agreement to U.S. national security, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday.On a lighter note, Obama was asked about his bagel of choice.

He described himself as "always a big poppy seed guy." As for toppings, he added, "lox and capers OK, but generally just your basic schmear," referring to a smear of cream cheese on the bread.

The interview was conducted Friday and released Monday.

The Federal Territories minister said the residents of one of the last surviving Malay settlements in the country’s capital city felt they should get between RM3,000 and RM5,000 per sq feet if they sell their land in the redevelopment project, although the government has seen sale transactions in the area going for RM500 per sq ft.

“One is an attitude problem,” Tengku Adnan told Malay Mail Online in an interview at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall headquarters here yesterday.The people there feel they should get RM3,000, 5,000 per sq ft...They think they're living next to KLCC,” he said, referring to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre that is the heart of the national capital’s central business district and which also houses the country’s iconic Petronas Twin Towers.

Tengku Adnan said the second problem in the Kampung Baru redevelopment project was multiple ownership of land titles, due to the Malay reserve land being passed down through generations.

“So sometimes there’s small pieces of land, 4,000, 6000, 10,000 sq ft, there's ownership of 40, 50 people. We need to solve all this,” said Tengku Adnan, who is also Umno secretary-general.

The minister said the government does not want Kampung Baru residents to sell their land, but to come on board as “partners” with the developers.

The Kampung Baru redevelopment project comprises four phases spanning 20 years under the Kampung Baru Detailed Development Master Plan that was launched last January.

Local daily New Straits Times reported last January that the project’s development and construction costs are estimated at RM43 billion and RM30 billion respectively.

The paper quoted then-Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as saying that Kampung Baru will be turned into the capital city’s new economic enclave as well as a Malay cultural centre.

According to Tengku Adnan’s office, two construction projects have already been completed, which are Masjid Jamek in Kampung Baru and a 21-floor business suites tower by Arina Development.

Projects under construction in Kampung Baru include a hotel, service apartments, as well as a mixed commercial and residential property.

MALAY MAIL ONINE

Local English newspaper, The Jakarta Post quoted Navy spokesman Col M. Zainudin as saying the Navy’s Western Fleet Quick Response (WFQR) IV team had nabbed the Indonesian suspect at an apartment in Grogol Petamburan, West Jakarta on Thursday.

He said yesterday, the man was suspected of being the mastermind behind the hijacking of the Malaysian-flagged vessel.

The suspect is currently in custody of the Navy Military Police in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta where he is being questioned.

The 7,300 deadweight tonne Orkim Harmony was hijacked on June 11 about 30 nautical miles from the Malaysian port of Tanjung Sedili carrying about 50,000 barrels of RON95 fuel.

The fuel on the ship was owned by Petronas and operated by Malaysia’s Orkim Ship Management.

On board the vessel were a 22-man crew comprising 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and a Myanmar national.– BERNAMA