The four were targeting several VIPs and non-Muslim houses of worship, said Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador, adding that the hunt is on for remaining members of the plot.

The Inspector-General of Police said the male suspects – a Malaysian, two Rohingya and an Indonesian – were detained in special ops by the Counter Terrorism Division (E8) in Terengganu and Klang Valley between May 5 and May 7.

“Officers from E8 detected this ‘wolf pack’ Islamic State (IS) state cell who planned to assassinate four VIPs and launch large-scale attacks on non-Muslims houses of worship, as well as entertainment centres in the Klang Valley.

“They were planning to carry out their plans in the first week of Ramadan to ‘avenge’ the death of Muhammad Adib,” he told a press conference at Bukit Aman on Monday (May 13).

Their reasons given for targeting the VIPs were the supposed failure to “protect the sanctity of Islam”, he added.

The IGP said the first arrest was made on a 34-year-old Malaysian man in Kuala Berang, Terengganu, on May 5.

“The suspect is the leader of the terror cell and the mastermind behind their plans to assassinate and bomb their targets.

“We also seized six Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that had been obtained from a neighbouring country, along with a CZ9mm pistol and 15 bullets,” Abdul Hamid said.

The second arrest was conducted in Kuala Lumpur on May 7 on 20-year-old Rohingya man, who also has a UNHCR (the United Nations Refugee Agency) card, he added.

“He admitted to joining the cell and supporting the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) terror group.

“He also planned to attack the Myanmar Embassy in the city and wanted to go to Rakhine to continue his false jihad,” he said.

The remaining two suspects were detained in Subang Jaya and Old Klang Road on May 7, Abdul Hamid added.

The country’s top cop said police are still tracking down three other members of the terror cell who are still at large.

The suspects are Malaysians Syazani Mahzan, 21, and Muhamad Nuurul Amin Azizan, 27, from Bedong, Kedah, as well as Indonesian Fatir Tir, whose last known address was in Banting, Selangor.

Abdul Hamid urged anyone with information to contact E8 Investigating Officer ASP S. Manivanan at 017-3278435, or any nearby police station.

Muhammad Adib was critically injured in the early morning of Nov 27, 2018, after he and his team members from the Subang Jaya fire station responded to an emergency call at the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, where a riot was taking place.

The fireman was taken to SJMC after he was found injured, before being transferred to the National Heart Institute (IJN) for further treatment, where he later died on Dec 17, at 9.41pm.

There is an ongoing inquest into his death.

    Modi, who is currently fighting to retain his premiership in a marathon election, claimed in a weekend television interview that he ordered air strikes on Pakistan in February because cloud cover would stop radar detection of Indian fighter jets.

“I said there is so much cloud and rain. There is a benefit,” Modi told News Nation in the interview, recounting the bombardment of what India claims was a militant training camp across the Pakistani border.

“(I thought) the clouds can benefit us too. We can escape the radar… Ultimately I said there are clouds, let’s go,” he added.

    Modi has been using the air strikes during the country’s election campaign to bolster his strongman image.

His Bharatiya Janata Party posted the comments on Twitter but soon deleted them as newspapers quoted experts rubbishing Modi’s claims, with the Kolkata-based Telegraph ridiculing the prime minister for his “shock and awe” disclosure.

Opposition politicians also piled in to taunt the 68-year-old.

“It seems no one clarified (to) the PM how radars work,” tweeted Salman Soz, a senior member of the opposition Congress party.

“If that is the case, it is a very serious national security issue. No laughing matter!”

Social media jibes came thick and fast. One widely-shared internet meme featured a still from the blockbuster “Avengers” film franchise with Modi superimposed among the superheroes.

Twitter users also had a field day over Modi’s claim that he sent digital pictures as an email attachment in the late 1980s.

“I am likely the first person to use digital camera in India in 1987 or 88. Only a few people had emails then,” Modi had said in the same interview.

In reality, the first email attachment wasn’t sent until 1992 by researcher Nathaniel Borenstein.

“The joke is not on Modi,” tweeted academic and columnist Nissim Mannathukkaren.

“The joke is on the “educated” elite/middle class supporters of Modi who have made idiocy and ignorance fashionable.”

    Investors watched the latest developments warily in the trade war between the world’s top two economies, after negotiations in Washington ended Friday without agreement and a tariff hike on Chinese imports went into effect.

Almost all Asian markets were lower as the week’s trading began, with Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closing down 0.7 percent.

Shanghai was down 1.2 per cent, Singapore shed one per cent, while Taiwan and Seoul both dropped 1.4 per cent.

    White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping could meet next month on the sidelines of the G20 summit to hash out their differences on trade — but no new talks are yet scheduled.

With another round ending without a deal, markets are underpricing how long the US-China trade talks may drag on, Eleanor Creagh, a Sydney-based Australia market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets, told Bloomberg Television.

The “underlying relationship is going to be fraught with much deeper tensions,” she said.

Trump had accused Beijing of reneging on its commitments and ordered new punitive duties — which took effect Friday — on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, raising them to 25 per cent from 10 per cent.

He then ordered a tariff hike on almost all remaining imports from China, which are worth about $300 billion, according to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

– Retaliatory measures –

Beijing’s top trade negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, had warned earlier that Beijing “must respond” to any US tariffs — while China’s state media blamed Washington for the lack of progress.

“US-China trade relations will continue centre stage this week with most other data and events relegated to a distant second place,” said OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley.

“China will no doubt announce retaliatory measures while the US may provide more concrete start dates for the newly-imposed tariffs. Markets can expect short-term whipsaw price action as the street hangs on every little comment emanating from Washington DC and Beijing.”

Amid nervousness in China markets, state funds reportedly intervened to prop up shares on Monday and again Friday, when the Shanghai Composite closed up more than 3 percent.

“Trade talks have come to a deadlock and it’s unlikely we’ll see the situation turn for the better in the near term,” said Raymond Chen, a portfolio manager with Keywise Capital Management Beijing Ltd.

“Now all eyes will turn to China’s policies and how it will stimulate domestic consumption to maintain its growth.”

The yuan dropped 0.6 per cent in offshore trading Monday after having lost about 2.4 per cent in May, making it one of the worst performing currencies in the world.

Japan yen — often a safe haven in time of crises — extended gains after capping its fourth weekly advance against the dollar on Friday.

Traders will also be watching this week for earnings reports from Chinese tech giants Tencent and Alibaba, and key data on China’s industrial production and retail sales slated for Wednesday — the same day figures are due for US retail sales and industrial production.

In Europe, stock markets rose at the start of trading on Monday, with London and Frankfurt both opening up 0.1 per cent.

– Key figures around 0720 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,212.68 points

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 21,191.28 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 2,903.71 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: closed for a public holiday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1232 from $1.1239 at 2100 GMT Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3001 from $1.3006

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.70 yen from 109.96 yen

Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP 20 cents at $61.85 per barrel

Oil – Brent Crude: UP 55 cents at $71.17 per barrel

New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 25,942.37 (close)

A sizeable population of expats and local business owners in Cambodia are now able to access money transfer services and send money to Thailand faster and without paying hefty fees. Thai nationals are among the top ten visitor arrivals to Cambodia with 382,317 recorded in 2018, according to the Thai Business Council in Cambodia.

The strategic partnership allows Wing customers in Cambodia to remit transfers using Wing Money app to Thailand with a limit of up to US $1,000 per transaction. Recipients may receive funds in cash from any of the DeeMoney’s four branches in Bangkok or direct bank deposits in local currency. DeeMoney offers local support for tracking transactions using Wing’s transaction ID code.

DeeMoney is the financial services platform of Sawasdeeshop.  It continues to successfully leverage its omni-channel presence to disrupt the remittance market. Its transparent business model provides an effective alternative for customers who have used traditional informal channels to transfer money.

“We are committed to leveraging cutting-edge technology to improve our customers’ financial transactions. Our Thai and Cambodian customers stand to gain through this partnership. With both cash payout and bank credit options available, we strive for financial inclusion in the market”, said Aswin Phlaphongphanich, CEO SawasdeeShop Co. Ltd.

Wing Chief Executive Officer, Jojo Malolos, said the launch of Inbound service from Cambodia marks another milestone in our partnership, and that it also shows how Wing customers can do so much more via the Wing Money app, connecting Cambodians to the world.

“Through the convenience of Wing Money app, locals as well as expats residing in Cambodia are able to remit to Thailand anytime and the recipient  can cash out at any DeeMoney branch  or  receive account credit at all banks in Thailand,” said Malolos.

The partnership represents two non-commercial bank entities joining hands to provide money transfer services to individuals and businesses in Cambodia. “With DeeMoney Wing customers can access cash out and account credit modes for money transfers,” Phlaphongphanich concluded. “Our API integration ability, competitive FX and fee structure makes us an ideal choice for anyone looking to remit funds to or from Thailand.”

    More than 18,000 positions are at stake, including half of the seats in the upper house Senate, which has served as a bulwark against some of Duterte’s most controversial policies.

Duterte is known internationally for his foul-mouthed tirades and deadly drug war, but remains hugely popular among Filipinos fed up with the country’s general dysfunction and leaders who have failed to fix it.

He wants to bring back capital punishment for drug-related crimes as part of his narcotics crackdown in which thousands of alleged pushers and users have already been killed by police.

    His tough-on-crime platform — which also includes lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 12 — was key to his landslide election victory in 2016.

Voters crowded voting centres in the capital Manila even ahead of polls opening at 6:00 am (2200 GMT Sunday) in an election where some 61 million are registered to cast ballots.

“I voted for many of the candidates endorsed by President Duterte because his government is doing its job,” said Myrna Cruz, 51.

“I support their programmes, including the anti-drug campaign… but I wish the bloodshed would stop,” she adding, echoing many Filipinos’ nuanced backing of the crackdown.

The opening of the polls were accompanied by isolated outbursts of violence, which is not unusual in the Philippines’ frequently bloody competition for elected posts.

At least 20 people have been killed and 24 wounded in election-related violence in the run up to the vote, according to an official count.

Early on Monday nine people were shot and wounded during a confrontation at a polling station on the restive southern island of Jolo, which is home to insurgents and powerful local clans, according to the military.

The violence is more frequent with the lower level races and will not likely be a major feature in the election’s main contest for the Senate.

Winning a Senate majority, something that independent national surveys indicate is well within reach, would give Duterte legislative backing for his anti-crime proposals and his plan to rewrite the constitution.

Historically, the nation’s 24 senators — who serve six-year terms — have had a reputation for being more independent-minded than the lower house.

The opposition warns that could lead to the single-term limit for the presidency being lifted, allowing him to seek re-election despite his repeated statements that he would stand down at the end of his mandate.

It would also allow him to expand his contentious anti-drug crackdown by bringing back the death penalty, a pledge that the UN Human Rights Council said gave it “deep alarm”.

The Philippines outlawed capital punishment in 1987, reinstated it six years later and then abolished it again in 2006.

   – Duterte’s daughter –

Duterte, 74, hit the campaign trail to get his supporters in the Senate, giving two-hour speeches at late-night rallies and routinely insulting their opponents — referring to one by an anti-gay slur and accusing another of working for communist guerrillas.

The results for municipal and city mayors and councils are expected within hours of polls closing at 6:00 pm Monday, with winners for the Senate and congressional seats likely to be declared from Friday.

Even if the presidential term limit is not lifted, the Duterte family looks well-placed to continue its reign.

The president’s daughter Sara — being eyed by some as the president’s potential successor in the 2022 vote — is running to keep her post as mayor in its southern bailiwick of Davao city.

Her younger brother Sebastian is seeking, unopposed, the city’s vice-mayoral seat, while Duterte’s eldest son Paolo is standing for a seat in the lower House of Representatives.