“These massage parlours were operating without licences and the female workers were even offering sex services,” said DBKL enforcement director Azman Mahmood.

“We also found evidence such as porn videos and numbered tags used to identify the women.

“The women offering sex services were foreigners who entered the country under tourist visas and had their passports withheld by the massage parlour owners,” he said.

Thursday’s raid by 50 DBKL officers was a follow-up operation, after several joint raids with other government agencies such as the Immigration Department, police, National Anti Drugs Agency (AADK) and Islamic Religious Department.

“We have been observing and raiding these illegal massage parlours since 2016.

“These premises will be sealed off after today’s raid. We will take court action if the seal is broken.

“If the owner wants his premises back, he will have to provide proof such as a licence or other documentation that he owns the place,” said Azman.

He said the six illegal massage parlours in Wangsa Maju were among 122 suspicious massage parlours in the city being monitored by DBKL.

“We have raided and sealed 65% of the illegal massage parlours thus far, and will continue taking action on the remaining 35% by the end of this year,” said Azman.

The raid was carried out under DBKL’s Licensing, Trade and Business 2016 Bylaw, which comes with a maximum fine of RM2,000.

Several wall partitions were also torn down as these contravened the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974.

“Massage parlours are only allowed to use curtains as partitions, they cannot build anything permanent,” said Azman.

The 24-year-old was in his car heading towards his home at Varcaturo on the Domitian Coast 20km west of Naples at around 2am when his car was stopped by a high-powered motorcycle blocking the road.

The two assailants — whose faces were entirely covered by helmets — approached the footballer’s car and pointed a gun at him, ordering him to hand over his Rolex Daytona watch worth 7,000 euros ($8,000).

The robbers then sped into the countryside towards Licola, police said according to the AGI news agency.

As soon as he recovered from the shock, Milik went to the nearest police station to report the crime.

Attacks on professional players in the southern Italian city are frequent.

Italian international Lorenzo Insigne was robbed of jewelry, cash and a luxury watch in 2016 and the club’s Slovakian captain, Marek Hamsik, was held up at gunpoint in the centre of the city four years ago.

Napoli beat last year’s Champions League finalists 1-0 with a 90th-minute Insigne goal to go top of Group C.

The 17-year-old boy had gone missing Wednesday while fishing in the pool popular with anglers in the township of Puchong west of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Mohammad Hamdan Wahid, fire and rescue department director-general, said the divers encountered strong undercurrents that spun them around in the murky water.

Local police chief Abdul Aziz Ali said the spinning caused them to lose their diving gear. They were pulled out of the water after 30 minutes but by then they were already unconscious, he added.

Fire chief Mohammad described the death of six officers in one day as the “worst tragedy” to hit his department. The search for the missing youth was continuing, he said.

The Star reported that the Selangor Government has ordered the Sepang Municipal Council to close down the mining pool in Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong once the search-and-rescue (SAR) operations for the teenager is completed.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said the closure was necessary following several drowning cases reported in the area, with the latest involving six firefighters who were part of the SAR operations last night.

“I received a report that this (drowning at the mining pool) was not the first, and I have instructed the Sepang Municipal Council to increase security surveillance, including closing off the area.

“The closure will take effect as soon as the SAR operations, now being conducted there, are completed,” he told reporters after meeting the family members of the firefighters at the Fire and Rescue Station in Section 15 here Thursday (Oct 4).

Also present was Director-General of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department Mohamad Hamdan Wahid.

Amirudin said he also ordered the municipal council to close the route to the mining pool which was a popular fishing site.

“I understand that there is a jetty there leading to the mining pool which is now being upgraded to become a water catchment site.

“…and the jetty is not for fishing purposes, if the members of the public want to fish, I advise them to find a safer location,” he said.

Amirudin also said the Selangor government had agreed to contribute RM20,000 to each family of the firefighters who died in the incident.

He said the contribution was to honour them and to lighten the burden faced by their families.

“I represent the state government in conveying my condolences to the family members of the firefighters who died.

“We appreciate their contributions and sacrifices and hope this will lighten their burden,” he said.

Earlier, final funeral rites were performed on the bodies of the six firefighters from the Fire and Rescue Department Department’s Water Rescue Unit (PPDA) at the Fire and Rescue Station in Section 15 at about 9 am.

Two of them were from the Shah Alam fire station while four others were from the Port Klang fire station.

He said the prosecution had in court tendered a police report filed by the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC), alleging that Rosmah was in contact with a potential witness but claimed that it was “pretty much unfounded” as there were no investigations done and his client had not given a police statement on this.

“The police report was just produced today (Oct 4) and was lodged last Friday (Sept 28), so we were never given an opportunity to negate it or challenge it.

“There was no investigation done on the report and it is pretty much unfounded.

“We also contend that it is not right to accept the police report just by listening to one party, as there was no opportunity to defend and no investigation done,” he said at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex here on Thursday (Oct 4).

Earlier, Rosmah pleaded not guilty to all 17 charges of money laundering, involving about RM7mil at the Sessions Court here Thursday (Oct 4) and had her bail set at RM2mil by Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi.

In setting the bail, Azura said that the RM10mil requested by the prosecution was too excessive, but the RM250,000 amount suggested by the defence was too low.

She was quoted as saying, “I can’t disregard the fact that the police report (claiming that Rosmah had attempted to tamper with a witness) has been made”.

The court allowed RM500,000 to be paid on Thursday (Oct 4) and the balance to be paid on or by Oct 11.

She also instructed that Rosmah surrender her passport and that she not approach any of the witnesses.

Geethan added that amid the 17 charges, this was a good opportunity for Rosmah to “come forward and clear her name”.

The charges framed against Rosmah are under the AntiMoney Laundering, AntiTerrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLATFPUAA) 2001 amounting to more than RM7mil.

The mention date has been set for Nov 8.

Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram and Ahmad Akram Gharib are the prosecution team, while the defence is being led by Datuk K. Kumaraendran and Geethan.

The images are made of gold, silver, bronze, wood and other materials and range in height from 8cm to 10cm.

All Buddha images, jars and other ancient objects are now being kept in a secure location, according to a provincial Information, Culture and Tourism Department official.

In an interview with Vientiane Times yesterday, the department’s Deputy Director Mr Khamsith Phommachanh, said the surprise find is currently being kept securely in the city.

“The section’s officials will work with district authorities and other concerned sectors to further study and identify other potential items of interest around the scene,” Mr Khamsith said.

The surprise find of Buddha images and other ancient items is the first major archaeological discovery for many years in the city.

That Ing Hang Stupa is about nine metres high with ornate decoration. It’s reported to house a relic of Buddha’s spine. The 16th century stupa is located in Savannakhet, central Laos.

Savannakhet is famous as the birthplace of Laos’ popular former leader, Kaysone Phomvihane. It was also known as a French trading outpost back in colonial times. There are a number of vintage French colonial and Sino-Franco buildings in the business districts.

The sacred stupa is an important place of worship not only for Lao Buddhists but also devotees from northern Thailand. ‘Dress with respect’ is a must for all visitors. Women may be required to wear traditional sinh before entering the temple grounds, according to the department.

Open daily from 8am-6pm, the stupa is in That Ing Hang village about 15km north of Kaysone Phomvihane City. Visitors can go there by taking a tuk tuk and taxi for the roundtrip or rent a motorbike.

If coming from Thailand, visitors can easily cross the 1.6 km-long Friendship Bridge from Mukdahan province to Laos’ Savannakhet.

That’s a whopping 63 characters and 12 words altogether – and it doesn’t include ‘Binti’!

This was revealed by the  National Registration Department (NRD) director-general Datuk Mohammad Razin Abdullah during the 2018 National Registration Day celebration here. Princess was born last year.

Mohammad Razin also revealed that ‘Ismail’, ‘Ahmad’ and ‘Abdullah’ were the top 3 most popular male names in the country.

The name Ismail was registered to 72,157 people, while Ahmad and Abdullah were registered to 57,914 and 47,989 individuals respectively.

The most popular female name was ‘Fatimah’ (74,605 individuals), followed by ‘Zainab’ (41,450) and ‘Azizah’ (34,414).

In honour of Deputy Home Minister Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman, who launched the event, Mohammad Razin also pointed out that there was only one Mohd Azis Jamman in the country.

Mohd Azis later in his speech jokingly said: “I should copyright my name so that it will remain only mine.”

The charges framed against her are under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLATFPUAA) 2001.

Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram and Ahmad Akram Gharib are the prosecution team, while the defence is being led by Datuk K. Kumaraendran and Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent.

Prosecutor Sri Ram did not oppose bail and suggested a sum of RM10mil.

He then asked for a significantly lower bail of RM250,000.

Sri Ram also claimed that during recording of her statement, Rosmah had approached a witness and asked the witness to make a statement in her favour.

He also asked for Rosmah’s passport to be surrendered and that she not approach any witnesses.

In rebuttal, Geethan said: “She is wife to former prime minister. She has been called by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission three times (on June 5, Sept 26 and Oct 3) and each time she has never failed to attend and gives her full-cooperation.

He added that Rosmah had no prior offences and this was her first time in court.

“A Land Imagined” tells the story of a Chinese labourer who goes missing while working on a building site, and the efforts of a world-weary detective to track him down.

His lonely life serves as a window into the world of the approximately 280,000 foreign workers who toil to build the affluent city-state’s glittering skyscrapers and ubiquitous residential high-rises.

The movie debuted in August at the Locarno Festival, where it won the top prize, and features atmospheric scenes of bleak construction sites, drab workers’ dormitories, and rain-lashed, neon-lit streets.

Singaporean director Yeo Siew Hua said the film aimed to raise awareness about the lives of migrant labourers who have flocked to the wealthy city from poorer parts of Asia and are often regarded as “outsiders”.

“When we talk about the migrant workforce in Singapore, there is a certain blindness, especially in mainstream society,” Yeo told AFP.

“The film tries to show them as humans, as people with hopes and dreams.”

Contrasting depictions

It had its debut around the same time as the US release of Hollywood film “Crazy Rich Asians”, which was a box-office hit and won plaudits for its Asian-majority cast — but its depiction of the city-state could not be more different.

The rom-com, about an American-Chinese economics professor and her Singapore boyfriend, focuses on the ultra-wealthy ethnic Chinese elite and features well-known sights, such as the impressive waterfront skyline.

“A Land Imagined” follows the life of Wang Bi Cheng from China, who works for a land-reclamation company — about a quarter of Singapore sits on reclaimed land.

This is a long-running source of controversy as sand is imported for reclamation from other parts of Asia, a practice that green groups say causes environmental damage in the supplying countries.

He lives in a shared dormitory next to a busy road and spends his nights playing computer games in a cybercafe — befriending the sassy woman who works there — and hangs out with a Bangladeshi labourer who is struggling with debts.

When Wang goes missing, police send in a jaded detective, Lok, who is shocked when he encounters the migrants’ living conditions.

NGOs working with foreign labourers in the city-state of 5.6 million welcomed the film for drawing attention to their lives.

Stephanie Chok, advocacy and communications manager from campaign group Home, said challenges for foreign labourers range from poor living conditions to long working hours and unscrupulous employers withholding wages or underpaying them.

Depictions of workers’ lives in the film ring true, such as huge, self-contained dormitory complexes in less desirable parts of Singapore and employers holding on to workers’ passports to prevent them from leaving, she said.

Huge debts

Wang’s Bangladeshi friend, Ajit, is unable to leave Singapore due to debts — a common problem for foreign labourers, who often take out loans for fees to secure work and are unable to pay them back due to low salaries, according to rights groups.

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, however, insists that surveys it has commissioned show the vast majority of foreign workers are satisfied with working in the city and consider it “an attractive destination country”.

The ministry has a “comprehensive regulatory framework to ensure that foreign workers in Singapore are properly managed, and that their wellbeing is not compromised”, a spokesman said in a statement.

It said workers were protected by laws in areas including payment of salaries, compensation for work injuries and ensuring they have accommodation of a decent standard.

After its success at Locarno, the film is heading to other festivals, including Hamburg and Vancouver, and will have a commercial release in Singapore at the end of the year.

Those fighting for a better lot for foreign labourers praised the effort to draw greater attention to their difficulties.

“When we tell Singaporeans about the issues that the migrant workers face, they say ‘no, no, Singapore is a country where we have very good laws, and these things cannot be happening’,” Ethan Guo, from NGO Transient Workers Count Too, told AFP.

“I think general awareness of the plight that these migrant workers go through is what we feel is needed more in Singapore.”

Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has identified operatives from Russia’s GRU arm as being behind various high-profile computer attacks, according to the Foreign Office.

Many have been previously linked to Moscow, including the 2017 “BadRabbit” ransomware targeting of a Ukrainian international airport and Russian media outlets, and last year’s attempted hacking of the World Anti-Doping Agency in Switzerland.

“This pattern of behaviour demonstrates their desire to operate without regard to international law or established norms and to do so with a feeling of impunity and without consequences,” Hunt said in a statement.

“Our message is clear: together with our allies, we will expose and respond to the GRU’s attempts to undermine international stability.”

The NCSC has “high confidence” that the GRU was “almost certainly” responsible for the 2017 attacks, as well as others including the infamous targeting of the US Democratic Party ahead of the 2016 presidential election, according to Whitehall sources.

The British government holds the Kremlin ultimately responsible for the cyber campaign, they said.

The Foreign Office described it as a “flagrant violation of international law” that had cost national economies millions of pounds.

“These cyber attacks serve no legitimate national security interest, instead impacting the ability of people around the world to go about their daily lives free from interference, and even their ability to enjoy sport,” Hunt added.

“The GRU’s actions are reckless and indiscriminate: they try to undermine and interfere in elections in other countries; they are even prepared to damage Russian companies and Russian citizens.”

The hackers identified as GRU operatives by the NCSC include an entity variously called “APT28”, “Pawn Storm”, “Sandworm”, “Fancy Bear” and the “Sofacy Group”.

The Justice Department in the United States has previously blamed the group for conducting numerous hacking operations there and around the world.

They include targeting everything from American political parties and the websites of conservative US think tanks to key infrastructure industries like power grids.

Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said the GRU’s activities “go well beyond traditional peacetime espionage”.

“By launching disruptive operations that threaten life in target societies, they blur the line between war and peace,” he added.

CNN cited the coroner in Florence County, inland from the coastal resort of Myrtle Beach, as saying one officer had died from his wounds.

CNN said the officer was among five — two city officers and three Florence County Sheriff’s deputies, who were wounded.

There were no immediate details on the condition of the other officers, after the latest shooting involving police in the United States.

The Florence County Emergency Management office had reported on Twitter at about 5:00 pm that an “active shooter” situation was under way in Florence.

One hour later it said the incident had ended with a suspect in custody.

According to preliminary data from the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, 107 officers had been killed this year, prior to the latest case.

More than one-third of the deaths were linked to firearms.

They were among more than 30,000 deaths annually linked to guns throughout the country.