A source said the authorities were looking into the possibility of Low, better known as Jho Low, having passports from Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.

His family has substantial investments, including real estate and financial assets, in those countries.

If so, it may be harder to nab the 37-year-old, now wanted in several countries, including Malaysia, in connection with the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.

After the cancellation of his Malaysian passport on June 15, Jho Low is believed to have used a passport issued by the St Kitts and Nevis government.

However, news emerged on Tuesday that that passport had been “deactivated”, also in June.

This suggests that he may have switched to travel documents from other countries as he is always on the move to evade arrest.

“His late grandfather, Datuk Low Meng Tak, used to be in iron-ore mining and liquor distilleries in Thailand,” said the source.

“In fact, his family continues to have business interests in Thailand. The Low family also own a lot of land and have a family house and other pieces of property in Bang­kok.

“They have Thai relatives and there is a possibility that Jho Low also has a Thai identity – by virtue of his grandfather’s vast businesses and investments in the country in the 1960s and 1970s and the fact that the elder Low had been a resident of Bangkok for a long time.”

The source said the well-connected Jho Low had wealthy Thai friends and through such associations, he might have enjoyed privileges most other people could not, including obtaining a Thai passport.

In New Zealand, Jho Low and his family are said to have some NZ$265mil (RM747mil) worth of assets held in trusts, while in Australia, they owned real estate in Melbourne and Sydney.

The authorities have also not ruled out the possibility that he may still be relying on his Malaysian or St Kitts and Nevis passports, supplemented with bribes.

“Despite the Malaysian and St Kitts and Nevis passports being cancelled, it would not be difficult for him to exit any country he had gained entry to, by using either one of the two passports.”

The source pointed out that Jho Low could buy his way out and move to another country using genuine or fake documentation.

On Tuesday, St Kitts & Nevis Observer, a weekly newspaper, reported on its website that the government of the twin-island state cancelled Jho Low’s passport several months ago.

The report mentioned Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement on June 8 that Malaysia wanted to arrest Jho Low but could not do so because he was in a country with which Malaysia did not have an extradition treaty.

The article said the administration decided to deactivate Jho Low’s passport through Interpol in June “out of an abundance of caution”.

St Kitts & Nevis Observer also said that its government was aware of the United States Department of Justice’s (DoJ) indictment of Jho Low for conspiring to launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1Malaysia Development Bhd and to pay bribes to Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials.

The newspaper said that Jho Low became an economic citizen of St Kitts and Nevis in 2011, although immigration records indicated that he had never entered the country.

The DoJ has painted Jho Low as the mastermind behind the alleged misappropriation of billions of dollars from 1MDB, while Singapore investigators called him a “key person of interest”.

He has denied any wrongdoing and said he was only an informal consultant at 1MDB.

Besides Malaysia and the US, the government-owned company is at the centre of money laundering investigations in at least six countries, including Switzerland and Singapore.

Terrified patrons — many of whom were college students — scrambled for the exits after the gunman started shooting people with a handgun in the Borderline Bar and Grill at around 11:20 pm on Wednesday.

“They ran out of the back doors, they broke windows, they went through windows. They hid up in the attic, they hid in the bathroom,” Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said.

The assailant, identified as Ian David Long, a troubled former machine gunner who served a tour in Afghanistan, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Dean told reporters that Long shot an unarmed security guard who was standing outside the bar before entering and opening fire at random inside.

Twenty-three people were injured — some from “jumping out of windows, diving under tables,” Dean said — and treated at area hospitals.

A year ago, 58 people were shot dead at a country music festival in Las Vegas, the worst mass shooting in modern US history, and several of the patrons in the California bar had also been at the Nevada concert.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this again,” Molly Maurer posted on Facebook. “I’m alive and I’m home safe.

According to the Pentagon, Long served in the Marine Corps from August 2008 to March 2013.

He attained the rank of corporal and saw combat while deployed in Afghanistan from November 2010 to June 2011.

“He had perfect form,” bar patron Teylor Whittler told Fox News. “He looked like he knew what he was doing.”

– ‘Like hell’ –

Police on Thursday were searching Long’s house in Newbury Park, near Thousand Oaks, where he reportedly lived with his mother.

Long was found dead by police in an office at the bar and is believed to have shot himself, Dean said.

Authorities so far had no indication of a motive, or of any connection to terrorism.

“We have no idea what the motive was at this time,” Dean said.

“Obviously he had something going on in his head that caused him to do something like this,” he said. “He had some kind of issues.”

Dean described the scene inside the bar as “like hell.”

He said his department had “several contacts” with Long over the years, for minor incidents including a traffic collision, and in 2015 when he was beaten up at a local bar.

In April this year, deputies were called to his house for a disturbance and found him “acting a little irrationally.”

“They felt he might be suffering from PTSD, the fact he was a veteran and had been in the corps,” Dean said.

“They called out our crisis intervention team, our mental health specialists who met with him, talked to him, and cleared him.”

Dean said Long was armed with a single handgun, a .45 caliber Glock 21, which he purchased legally.

– ‘Ultimate sacrifice’ –

Among those killed was a three-decade veteran of the sheriff’s department, 54-year-old Sergeant Ron Helus, who was married, had a grown son and was close to retirement.

“He went in there to save people and made the ultimate sacrifice,” Dean said.

He said Helus was on the phone with his wife when he got the report of the shooting and he told her, “‘Hey, I have to go. I love you. I’ll talk to you later.'”

Helus and a highway patrol officer exchanged gunfire with Long, he said, and the sergeant was shot “several times.”

Matt Wennerstron, a 20-year-old college student, said the shooter apparently had a 10-15 round magazine on his gun.

“When (he) started to reload, that’s when we got people out of there and I didn’t look back,” Wennerstron said.

He said he and others smashed their way out of the bar onto a balcony and then jumped down to safety.

Jasmin Alexander, who was with around 15 friends at the bar, said there was chaos and confusion inside when shots rang out.

“We were just at the bar, having fun, dancing,” she told reporters.

“All of a sudden we heard the ‘bang, bang’ of the gunshots and it just started going crazy and people were pushing.

“We didn’t take it seriously at first… because it sounded like firecrackers and everyone just dropped down to the floor.”

President Donald Trump ordered the US flag at the White House and other government buildings to be flown at half-staff following the shooting, which came just 10 days after a gunman killed 11 worshippers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Sgt Eric Buchow told the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles that there were “multiple fatalities” in the shooting and the gunman was dead inside the crowded venue in the upscale residential suburb of Thousand Oaks.

Earlier reports said a gunman barged into a large, crowded Los Angeles-area country music bar and dance hall and opened fire late Wednesday, wounding at least 11 people including a police officer, US police said.

The venue in a quiet, upscale residential suburb was hosting an event for college students, with possibly several hundred young people in attendance, Captain Garo Kuredjian of the Ventura County Sheriff’s office said.

    Witnesses told CNN the attacker had a large handgun, wore a black trench coat and glasses and threw smoke grenades inside the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks.

Kuredjian said at around 0915 GMT that the shooter was still confined inside the premises, adding that he did not know if he had been subdued or shot.

TV footage showed SWAT teams surrounding the bar, with distraught revelers milling around and using their cell phones as lights from police cars flashed.

Holden Harrah, a young man who saw the incident, cried as he told CNN that a place where he goes every week to have fun with friends had been a scene of carnage.

“A gentleman walked in the front door and shot the girl that was behind the counter. I don’t know if she is alive,” he said.

Police who responded to reports of a shooting rushed to the scene and engaged the gunman, said Kuredjian. A deputy sheriff is among the 11 wounded and the injury toll could rise, he added.

The Los Angeles Times quoted a law enforcement official as saying at least 30 shots had been fired.

An unnamed witness told the newspaper that someone ran into the bar around 11:30 pm and started shooting what looked to be a black pistol.

“He shot a lot, at least 30 times. I could still hear gunshots after everyone left,” the Times quoted the man as saying.

Khan was addressing an event at the Central Party School in Beijing which the PTV was telecasting live. In the top left corner, where it says the location of the event, the screen read “Begging”.

While the ticker describing the event got the spellings of Beijing right in Urdu, the word misspelt in English resulted in a major embarrassment for PTV as well as the government.

The faux pas is seen particularly ironic since the Pakistani premier is on a mission to secure a package from China to overcome a major economic crisis his country is confronted with.

Khan has come in for sharp criticism by his adversaries over his ‘U-turn’ since he was a vocal opponent of visiting other countries with a “begging bowl” before assuming office.

Now, with the PM going from one country to another negotiating bailout packages and even having to contend with the IMF, the mistake by the state-run television has become all the more conspicuous.

An embarrassed PTV later tweeted, “Today, during a live address of the Prime Minister during his ongoing visit to China, a typographical error took place, which remained on screen for 20 seconds and later removed. This incident is regrettable. Strict action has been initiated under rules against concerned officials.”

“The T-34C crew that are being investigated for flying a pattern resembling an obscene image are currently not flying pending the results of an ongoing investigation,” spokesperson Major Josef Patterson told Washington Examiner yesterday, Nov 6.

“Although not flying for the time-being, the two Marine Corps aviators are still providing vital squadron ground support functions,” Patterson said.

The Marine Corps will determine the appropriate disciplinary or administrative action for the two pilots once the investigation on the matter is finished, the report said.

“Somebody needs to have a word with the crew of US Navy T-34C,” the tracking account stated.

The post, which had gone viral, caught the attention of the authorities. It was later discovered that the aircraft used by the pilots is part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, as per report.

Last year, the same publication reported that the U.S. Navy issued a public apology after two of its pilot drew a penis over Okanogan County, Washington, with an EA-18G Growler jet.

The Navy pilots involved were grounded and consequently disciplined.

This colourful event centres on the presentation of new robes to monks at the temple, as well as monetary donations in support of temple restoration.

The two-day festival was organised by a leading monk at the temple, which is in Nongluang village, Pakxong district.

Donors, organising committee members and village residents all gathered at the temple to make merit and share in the spiritual ceremony.

The Kathin festival is a traditional Buddhist ritual that is celebrated countrywide each year. It features colourful parades and offerings to monks following the end of Lent.

The end of Lent, which occurs in October, is the beginning of a 30-day period of merit-making.

This affords a special opportunity for prayers to Buddha and for the presentation of gifts to monks.

The offering of new robes is considered to be particularly meritorious and important. Other gifts include basic utensils, toiletries, writing materials, and food. Gift-giving is seen as an act of appreciation and gratitude to the monks.

The Kathin festival at Kheery Vongkot Thammaram temple is a way of unifying people through merit-making.

Devotees join together in chanting and worshipping Buddha images and listening to Dhamma teachings by leading monks about making merit and adhering to the five Buddhist precepts.

Those taking part also prepare food for the monks, donors and other participants.

A senior monk at the temple, Monk Somvang, said this year’s festival marked the construction of a new monastery in the village.

He thanked merit-makers from Laos and Thailand for their donations of cash and construction materials through the Phapa Samakkhee last year. This had enabled the completion of the monastery, which provided another place of worship for Buddhists.

A monk from the International temple in Thailand, Mr Geyvaly, who donated 400 boxes of tiles for the floor of the monastery, was invited to attend the festival, and took part in the rituals alongside other high-ranking monks.

When organising the festival, someone is first appointed as the leader of the event. Older people in the village are then required to lead the chanting by festival participants.

The festival was a wonderful opportunity for the monks at the temple and others in Champassak and nearby provinces to gather together to lead laypeople and donors in making merit.

Mr Geyvaly said he greatly enjoyed being in this beautiful temple and seeing that everyone continued to follow tradition by wearing Lao dress, with men wearing baggy pants, long sleeved shirts and a sash, while women too wore beautiful and modest clothes.

The event reflected the unity of everyone in the village as they helped each other to cook food and serve it to monks and festival participants, he added.

Villagers combine their efforts by collecting cash donations for the maintenance of their temple. These donations are vividly arranged on a “money tree” which is bedecked with banknotes as the “foliage”.

The money tree is ceremoniously paraded to the temple, led by a team of drummers and musicians, with the villagers carrying their own individual gifts on trays bringing up the rear. In this way, laypeople reaffirm their faith and, in a joyous fashion, bring gifts to Buddha and his servants.

Before the presentation of robes to monks, there is an early morning almsgiving when everyone gathers to make merit and presents monks with the rice and other offerings that they prepared at home.

The festival resulted in donations amounting to more than 20 million kip which was given to the monks for continuing restoration work and to support other activities that preserve Buddhism.

Pramintohadi Sukarno, the Ministry of Transportation’s acting director general for air transportation, said Flight No. JT633 had been canceled and the pilots grounded after the accident.

“We grounded the aircraft and the pilots for an investigation,” Pramintohadi said in a statement, as quoted by tempo.co.

No injuries were reported in the incident that damaged the aircraft’s wing.

According to Pramintohadi, the Boeing 737-900 ER aircraft was scheduled to depart for Soekarno-Hatta International Airport near Jakarta at 6:20 p.m.

Lion Air spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantoro attributed the accident to wrong directions given to the pilot by ground control staff.

“The pilot only followed the instruction and directions from the Aircraft Movement Control (AMC) officer,” Danang said in a statement.

AMC personnel of the airport had been questioned by the authorities over the accident, he added.

Lion Air assigned another jet and different crew to fly the 145 passengers out at 10:48 p.m.

“The airplane arrived at Soekarno-Hatta airport at 11:50 p.m.,” Danang said.

As of Wednesday, a joint search team had identified 44 victims of the Lion Air JT610 crash.