Malindo Air chief executive officer Chandran Rama Muthy said they were aware of the storm and are monitoring the situation closely although the company does not operate any flights to the south coast of Thailand.

“We do not have flights in the area in Thailand but the storm may spill-over to the northeast of the country such as Kota Baru and Terengganu.

“So far, there are no plans for any flight cancellation and our flight operations department is monitoring the situation closely,” he said when contacted on Friday (Jan 4).

He added that flights are usually not affected by rain and if there were any disruptions due to the storm, it would merely result in flights being delayed.

Malaysia Airlines also confirmed that the carrier had not cancelled any of its domestic flights to the northeast of the country but added that it is monitoring weather conditions.

“If there any updates, we will issue a travel advisory. But so far, there have been no flight cancellations,” the spokesperson said.

AirAsia does not operate flights to affected destinations in Thailand, which are handled by local carriers.

It is advisory, AsiaAsia noted that the storm had cause 16 flight cancellation on Friday (Jan 4) and Saturday (Jan 5) affecting the airports in Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thamarat.

Pabuk, Thailand’s first tropical storm in three decades, killed one person on Friday as it arrived on the south coast, knocking down trees and blowing off roofs in its path.

The information, which comprised home addresses, mobile phone numbers, letters, invoices and copies of identity documents, was first released via Twitter in December but its spread gathered pace this week.

It was not immediately clear whether the officials were targeted by hackers or the victims of an internal leak of the data, some of which dates back to 2017.

“Personal data and documents belonging to hundreds of politicians and public figures were published on the internet,” government spokeswoman Martina Fietz said.

“The government is taking this incident very seriously.”

Among those affected were members of the Bundestag lower house of parliament and the European Parliament as well as regional and local assemblies, she said.

Deputies from all parties represented in the Bundestag were targeted, as well as President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, an interior ministry spokesman said.

However Christian Lueth, parliamentary group speaker for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), later said that his party’s deputies were not hit by the attack and the interior ministry later confirmed this.

– ‘Satire and irony’ –

Fietz said a preliminary investigation indicated that “no sensitive information or data” from Merkel’s office had been leaked.

Berlin’s political establishment nevertheless reacted with alarm.

“Whoever is behind this wants to damage faith in our democracy and its institutions,” Justice Minister Katarina Barley said in a statement.

The far-left Linke’s parliamentary group chief, Dietmar Bartsch, called it “an attack on democracy”.

Beyond politicians, the leak also exposed the private data of celebrities and journalists, including chats and voicemail messages from spouses and children of those targeted.

The daily Bild and public broadcaster RBB first reported the leak.

Bild said it was not clear when the data theft began but said it continued until the end of October.

“At first glance, it does not seem that politically sensitive material was included,” RBB said.

“However the damage is likely to be massive given the volume of personal data published.”

The interior ministry spokesman said it was unclear who was behind the data dump, which derived both from social media and private “cloud” data.

A deputy from Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party, Patrick Sensburg, pointed the finger at right-wing extremists.

“I assume this was a hacker attack by people close to the AfD,” he told the daily Handelsblatt.

Fietz said the amount of Merkel’s data that was exposed was “not excessive” but warned that some of the documents and information published might have been faked.

Given the vast range of data hoovered up, IT experts said it seemed unlikely that it was taken from a single source.

Parliamentary group leaders were notified of the attack late Thursday and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the domestic intelligence service said they were investigating.

“According to our current information, government networks have not been targeted,” BSI tweeted.

The Twitter account @_0rbit published the links every day last month, along the lines of an advent calendar with each link to new information hidden behind a “door”.

The account, which calls itself G0d, was opened in mid-2017 and purportedly has more than 18,000 followers.

It described its activities as “security researching”, “artist” and “satire and irony” and said it was based in Hamburg.

– Account suspended –

A link to Merkel’s data showed two email addresses used by the chancellor, a fax number and letters apparently written by her and to her.

By midday Friday, Twitter had suspended the account.

Last year, the domestic intelligence service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, said there had been repeated cyberattacks against MPs, the military and several embassies that were allegedly carried out by Russian internet espionage group “Snake”.

Also known as “Turla” or “Uruburos”, the group — which targets state departments and embassies worldwide — is believed to have links to Russian intelligence.

Last March, computer networks belonging to the German government came under sustained attack and data from foreign ministry staff was stolen.

At the time, Moscow denied that Russian hackers were involved.

Thailand’s head of Peace Dialogue Panel, Udomchai Thamsarorat, left, and ex-Malaysian police chief Abdul Rahim Noor, speak to the press in Bangkok on Friday. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

Speaking to reporters after first meeting with Malaysian facilitator Abdul Rahim Noor to map out a work plan for peace, Udomchai said BRN’s violent stance was not acceptable, adding that the government wants two-way communication with the group.

A spate of violence has rocked the predominantly Muslim region since early 2004, killing some 7,000 people. The authorities in Bangkok have engaged with a group called MARA Patani – which claims to be an umbrella organisation – but has failed to make any progress as observers believe the group does not represent militants on the ground.

Malaysian facilitator Abdul Rahim Noor, right, and head of Thailand’s Peace Dialogue Panel, Udomchai Thamsarora, at a meeting in Bangkok on Friday.  // EPA-EFE PHOTO

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who introduced ex-police chief Abdul Rahim as the new facilitator, said during his recent visit to Thailand that the authorities should try to discuss the issue with several groups.

Udomchai, who was formerly the Fourth Army Region commander and was recently appointed to lead peace negotiations, told the peace facilitator that the Thai government will set guidelines for peace talks.

Thailand’s head of Peace Dialogue Panel, Udomchai Thamsarorat, left, and Malaysian facilitator, ex-police chief Abdul Rahim Noor, share a joke during their meeting in Bangkok on Friday. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

Agreeing that talks should be conducted with the consent of all stakeholders, he said, different groups will be allowed to reflect their needs freely. The authorities will take all views into consideration for the peace process, he said.

Abdul Rahim said Malaysia is ready to facilitate peace talks as requested by Thailand under the framework set by the Thai authorities.

    The western state has seen a surge in violence in recent weeks between the rebels from the Arakan Army (AA) and security forces, displacing thousands.

It has added a new dimension to the violence in a state already scored by deep ethnic and religious enmity, which saw hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims forced over the border by a bloody army crackdown in 2017.

The AA are calling for greater autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist population in what is one of the country’s poorest states.

    Friday morning’s attacks took place in Buthidaung township in the north of Rakhine state, army spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told AFP.

“We can confirm that the attack on the four police stations was by the AA,” he said, adding that the army immediately sent a support team and that fighting continued into the afternoon.

“We don’t have information on casualties.”

AFP could not reach the ethnic rebels to confirm the attacks.

But the group said in a Facebook post that it had “detained 14 prisoners of war” while under fire from two army helicopters, without linking the incident to the raid on police stations.

The UN’s humanitarian agency said Thursday it was concerned for the estimated 2,500 people currently displaced, many of whom are sheltering in local monasteries.

The AA was sidelined by an unexpected temporary ceasefire declared unilaterally by Myanmar’s military two weeks ago.

The army vowed to stop fighting for four months against a number of armed groups in Kachin and Shan states on the other side of the country.

Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi made the peace process a priority when her party swept to power in landmark 2015 elections.

Some two dozen conflicts continue to fester around the country’s border areas, many dating back to independence 70 years ago.

The AA has said the army is using the truce elsewhere to focus efforts on Rakhine. But observers say no major troop redeployments have yet taken place.

The escalation of violence comes amid a series of unclaimed attacks and murders in recent weeks in northern Rakhine.

Unknown assailants murdered a policeman, while two ethnic Rakhine were found with their throats slit, prompting the army to launch localised “clearance operations”.

“Like you, I’ve heard rumours. I have not received any letter or any official indication about anything.

“So I am not going to talk about all this,” he said when asked to respond to rumours circulating on social media on Sultan Muhammad V’s abdication of the throne.

Dr Mahathir made the comment at a press conference on Friday (Jan 4) after chairing the Pakatan Harapan presidential council meeting.

When pressed further if the Agong had officially returned to work after going on leave for two months up to Dec 31, he merely said: “As far as I know.”

When asked if the Conference of Rulers could appoint an acting Agong for the current term, Dr Mahathir replied that this was up to the Rulers to decide.

Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah was the acting Agong during the absence of Sultan Muhammad. However, his duties ended on Dec 31.

On Thursday (Jan 3), Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah asked the Attorney General’s Chambers to clamp down on fake news circulating on social media about Sultan Muhammad V, the Agong.

A portal reported that Mohd Amar denied rumours that Sultan Muhammad would abdicate the throne.

Meanwhile, a daily reported that an unscheduled meeting among the Malay Rulers took place on Wednesday (Jan 2) night .

During the absence of Sultan Muhammad, there were also foreign media reports and photographs claiming that the King had married a former Russian beauty queen in Moscow.

Istana Negara, however, has not confirmed or denied the alleged wedding ceremony.

Dick Cheney biopic “Vice” leads with six nominations, followed by a trio of films tied at five: “A Star is Born,” “The Favourite” and “Green Book.”

– FILM –

Best film, drama

    “Black Panther”

“BlacKkKlansman”

“Bohemian Rhapsody”

“If Beale Street Could Talk”

“A Star Is Born”

Best film, musical or comedy

“Crazy Rich Asians”

“The Favourite”

“Green Book”

“Mary Poppins Returns”

“Vice”

 Best actor, drama

Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”

Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”

Lucas Hedges, “Boy Erased”

Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”

John David Washington, “BlacKkKlansman”

Best actress, drama

Glenn Close, “The Wife”

Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”

Nicole Kidman, “Destroyer”

Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Rosamund Pike, “A Private War”

Best actor, musical or comedy

Christian Bale, “Vice”

Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Mary Poppins Returns”

Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

Robert Redford, “The Old Man & The Gun”

John C. Reilly, “Stan & Ollie”

Best actress, musical or comedy

Emily Blunt, “Mary Poppins Returns”

Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”

Elsie Fisher, “Eighth Grade”

Charlize Theron, “Tully”

Constance Wu, “Crazy Rich Asians”

 Best supporting actor

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book,”

Timothee Chalamet, “Beautiful Boy”

Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”

Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Best supporting actress

Amy Adams, “Vice”

Claire Foy, “First Man”

Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”

Emma Stone, “The Favourite”

Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Best director

Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”

Alfonso Cuaron, “Roma”

Peter Farrelly, “Green Book”

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”

Adam McKay, “Vice”

Best foreign language film

“Capernaum” (Lebanon)

“Girl” (Belgium)

“Never Look Away” (Germany)

“Roma” (Mexico)

“Shoplifters” (Japan)

Best animated feature

“Incredibles 2”

“Isle of Dogs”

“Mirai”

“Ralph Breaks the Internet”

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”

– TELEVISION –

Best drama series

“The Americans” (FX)

“Bodyguard” (Netflix)

“Homecoming” (Amazon)

“Killing Eve” (BBC America)

“Pose” (FX)

Best drama actor

Jason Bateman, “Ozark”

Stephan James, “Homecoming”

Richard Madden, “Bodyguard”

Billy Porter, “Pose”

Matthew Rhys, “The Americans”

Best drama actress

Caitriona Balfe, “Outlander”

Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve”

Julia Roberts, “Homecoming”

Keri Russell, “The Americans”

Best musical or comedy series

“Barry” (HBO)

“The Good Place” (NBC)

“Kidding” (Showtime)

“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)

Best musical or comedy actor

Sacha Baron Cohen, “Who Is America”

Jim Carrey, “Kidding”

Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”

Donald Glover, “Atlanta”

Bill Hader, “Barry”

Best musical or comedy actress

Kristen Bell, “The Good Place”

Candice Bergen, “Murphy Brown”

Alison Brie, “GLOW”

Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Debra Messing, “Will & Grace”

Best limited series or TV movie

“The Alienist” (TNT)

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX)

“Escape at Dannemora” (Showtime)

“Sharp Objects” (HBO)

“A Very English Scandal” (Amazon)

Best limited series or TV movie actor

Antonio Banderas, “Genius: Picasso”

Daniel Bruhl, “The Alienist”

Darren Criss, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”

Benedict Cumberbatch, “Patrick Melrose”

Hugh Grant, “A Very English Scandal”

Best limited series or TV movie actress

Amy Adams, “Sharp Objects”

Patricia Arquette, “Escape at Dannemora”

Connie Britton, “Dirty John”

Laura Dern, “The Tale”

Regina King, “Seven Seconds”

– FILMS WITH MOST NOMINATIONS –

“Vice” — 6

“The Favourite” — 5

“Green Book” — 5

“A Star Is Born” — 5

“BlacKkKlansman” — 4

“Mary Poppins Returns” — 4

The NSP is an initiative of the Taiwanese administration under leader Tsai Ing-wen. It aims to enhance cooperation and exchanges with 18 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australasia.

According to Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, the Foreign Ministry’s director for the protection of Indonesian citizens and legal entities abroad, his office had asked the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office (IETO) in Taiwan to follow up on complaints by students regarding the circumstances of their college internships that started in 2017, alleging they were placed in forced labor schemes.

“The government, through the Trade Ministry, has asked the IETO to further investigate the wellbeing of the students enrolled in the college internship scheme and make sure that local authorities take the necessary concrete steps to protect their interests and safety,” Iqbal said in a statement on Wednesday.

Last week, Taiwanese media reported lawmaker Ko Chih-en from the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) as saying that at least six universities were found to have assigned students under the NSP program to manual labor positions in Taiwanese factories.

In one case, 300 students under the age of 20 who were enrolled at Hsing Wu Technology University in New Taipei City’s Linkou district were only allowed to go to class two days a week and have one day of rest, while working the remaining four days at a factory, where they packaged 30,000 contact lenses for 10 hours per shift, Ko was quoted as saying.

Iqbal said the Foreign Ministry had asked the IETO to coordinate with local authorities to temporarily halt the recruitment and sending of students under the scheme until they are guaranteed better conditions.

“According to the investigation results by the IETO, it was revealed that the situation faced by participating students […] varied among the eight universities that host them,” he said.

The report said the students had come to attend special international classes at Taiwan’s Department of Information Management in October last year, and that the Ministry of Education (MOE) had prohibited internships for first-year college students. However, universities reportedly arranged for the students to work in a group despite the ban.

Separately, Hsing Wu University issued its own protest calling all parties involved to create a good environment for international students so they could “feel warmth of friendship between Taiwan and Indonesia” through the NSP scheme.

Through a Mandarin press release translated into Bahasa Indonesia, the university denied ever forcing the Indonesian students to work in factories, saying the program syllabus had been reviewed by its partner school in Indonesia, as well as the Bangka administration from which the students originated.

It further claimed that students were allowed to work no more than 20 hours per week in groups, in accordance with labor and health procedures.

“The students have never been exploited, and it does not make sense for them to put out 30 thousand labels 10 hours per day,” it said in the statement, a copy of which The Jakarta Post obtained. “All [work] is recorded in an attendance report and backed by salary slips received during work.”

The university also said that recent coverage of the issue had damaged the reputation of the companies involved, even as they had to agree to take in the students for free.

Taiwanese officials have yet to comment directly on the issue.

The Foreign Ministry estimated that 6,000 Indonesians study in Taiwan, and as many as 1,000 are enrolled in the college-internship scheme at eight universities for the 2017-2018 period.

“It is estimated that the number of Indonesian students in Taiwan will continue to increase along with the New Southbound Policy, which provides more scholarships through various schemes to students from 18 Asian countries, including Indonesia,” Iqbal said.

At 10pm Wednesday, the storm’s eye was 380km off the mainland of the southern region. Wind speeds at the eye reached up to 75 km per hour.

The storm is expected to move west-northwest at 15km per hour. According to forecasts, the eye of the storm will be 170km south of the Ca Mau Cape in southern Ca Mau Province and 200km southwest of Con Dao Island at 10pm on Thursday.

With the effects of the storm and extreme cold spells, strong winds are forecast to hit the western area of the East Sea (South China Sea), as well as the seas from Quang Ngai to Bình Thuan and from Ba Ria – Vung Tao to Ca Mau.

The storm has caused heavy rains and thunderstorms in Ninh Thuan Province since Tuesday night with rainfall of 80-130mm per day. The province also experienced rough seas and waves of up to four metres.

Preparing for the upcoming storm, authorities have taken measures to protect their localities, monitor the path of the storm, and assist owners of sea vessels as they prepare escape routes. They are also mobilising search and rescue teams to be ready in case of emergency.

Chairman of the People’s Committee of southern Bac Lieu Province Duong Thanh Trung held an urgent meeting on Wednesday with relevant agencies to deploy preventive measures.

He told the provincial Steering Board for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue to call on all ships operating offshore to quickly return or move out of the storm’s path to safety.

Local authorities reported that all 310 boats operating offshore of Bac Lieu Province have been notified of the storm and will be kept updated on its movement.

Authorities of Kien Giang Province prohibited ships from operating in the provincial sea from 12pm Wednesday until the last information about the storm’s movement is announced.

Relevant agencies were required to instruct ship owners to return or find shelter to ensure safety by 4pm the same day.

Ship rescue

Thirteen fishermen on two sunken fishing ships from southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, which were in distress on Tuesday while they were on the way to Indonesia to avoid the storm, have been rescued saved, according to the province’s Board Guard Command.

Their ships sank at around 10am. The provincial border guard is guiding the fishermen to a storm shelter.

Meanwhile, local authorities have lost contact with 18 fishermen onboard two other fishing ships from the province. The command said ship BV 5419 TS with three fishermen and ship BV 5418 TS with 15 fishermen were also on the way to Indonesia to escape the storm. Their ships’ engines had broken when they were 70 nautical miles off Natuna island of Indonesia.

The provincial border guards identified satellite telephone numbers of the two missing ships and are working with relevant agencies to search for the fishermen.

He said both countries are still in talks on the matter and have not arrived at a good solution.

“What we are trying to do is to ensure that we will not spend much money while China will not suffer a loss,” Dr Mahathir told the Chinese-language Sin Chew Daily in an interview on Monday (Dec 31).

Malaysia is in a dilemma between terminating the project or continuing with it, with either option entailing huge financial costs, he said.

“We are negotiating – formally or informally – with them (the Chinese). To them, this is a profitable contract, so they are reluctant to make changes,” he said.

Before the May 9 general election, the now-ruling Pakatan Harapan alliance led by Dr Mahathir had vowed to terminate the ECRL project as it said the contract and loan terms were unfavourable to Malaysia.

“But this is not easy as we were bound by the contract and could not terminate the project easily as we have no money to pay China… We have paid a lot of money to China after the postponement,” he said.

The RM81bil ECRL project was approved by Cabinet under then-Premier Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in October 2016. The construction was to be handled by China Communication Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) while the financing was to be provided by Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank of China).

Malaysia would be able to secure part of the loan from Exim Bank of China on the condition that CCCC builds the railway.

‘ECRL a waste of money’

The 688km rail link, if built, would connect Port Klang in Selangor with Pengkalan Kubor in Kelantan and would be constructed in two phases.

Dr Mahathir said the ECRL is a waste of money as the government would not get any returns from the rail project and there is no way for Putrajaya to tax the concessionaire.

He also cited the West Coast railway line, from which he claimed the government never made a single sen, despite its heavy usage.

“Along the ECRL, there are fewer people and the people are mostly poor – not doing big business like the people along the West Coast railway line – so you cannot get your investment back.

“The returns from the project are close to ‘zero’ and we need to pay an RM55bil debt,” he said.

Mahathir also denied during the Sin Chew interview that he is a “pro-Japan, anti-China” leader, noting that he had defended China when he attended a forum in Japan.

“They asked me of my feelings about China. I said that Malaysia is always in touch with China and we are trading partners. We are always friendly to China,” he said.

China came to Malaysia for trade centuries ago but it never colonised Malaysia, unlike the Portuguese, he said.

“So, which countries should (you) fear? China or Europe?” he asked.

“The Chinese people used to know me as their friend. Now, I am said to be not friendly to them, just because our government is reviewing the ECRL and Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) projects?

“The Chinese government understands about our financial problems. It is not that we don’t want (these projects), but (these) are bad projects in the first place and we cannot afford them,” Dr Mahathir said, adding that he would travel to China if it was necessary.

Dr Mahathir also said that Putrajaya will not return the two giant pandas, given to Malaysia on May 21, 2014, earlier than the date agreed by both countries.

“No, this is a gift,” he said, admitting the pandas are a meaningful symbol of the bilateral relations between China and Malaysia and that Malaysia would treat the pandas with care.

He said the Cabinet has never discussed the matter and he knew nothing about the statement made by Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar.

Dr Xavier said in November Putrajaya would discuss with the Chinese government the status of the Giant Panda Conservation Programme in 2019 over its cost.

“The negotiations will have to be carried out with the China Wildlife Conservation Association on whether to continue keeping the giant pandas with the second cub,” said Dr Xavier, adding that the government spent RM4.65mil for the pandas in 2018.

He added that the cost of managing the pandas is expected to increase to RM7.38mil in 2019.