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The United States dispatched a destroyer to join the massive international search for the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that went missing Saturday morning with 239 on board, as it appeared increasingly likely the plane had crashed into the ocean. Air traffic controllers lost track of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370 shortly after it left Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing, carrying 239 passengers and crew, half of which were Chinese nationals. Vietnam’s military said a search team discovered a 12-mile long oil slick in the Gulf of Thailand that may be the downed Boeing 777, but there had been no...

Niece of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah began tweeting about the MAS MH370 flight around 10am morning when she said “not a good way to wake up. My heart beats so fast when I heard the news. Pray for everyone for everyone on board. #MH370”. She later tweeted praying to God asking Him to protect her Uncle Zaharie, the cabin crew and passengers. --SNIP-- She also retweeted a relative saying “phatanchovy: Allahuakbar… My heart sank when I saw Uncle’s name. Ya Allah, please protect Uncle, the cabin crew and passengers. Ya Allah”.

Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, the pilot of flight MH370 was a Penangite. A fellow classmate from Penang Free School, Jason Lee, 53, said that he last met Zaharie in 2010 during their batch's reunion dinner. "It was his long time ambition to be a pilot and he always told us back then how nice it was to fly around," he said on Saturday, adding that Zaharie was really a friendly person. Lee said that Zaharie joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981 right after he completed his pilot training. Another schoolmate Franklin Lim, said that Zaharie was a brainiac. "He was...

The search for a commercial jetliner that seemingly vanished without warning between Malaysia and Vietnam continued into the night as dark fell on Asia, officials said. -snip- For instance, after the airline released a manifest, Austria denied that one of its citizens was onboard the flight as the list stated. The Austrian citizen was safe and sound, and his passport had been stolen two years ago, Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Weiss told CNN. Similarly, Italy's foreign ministry confirmed that no Italians were onboard MH370, even though an Italian was listed on the manifest. Malaysian officials said they were aware...

--SNIP-- Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi was asked about the possibility of terrorism as the cause for MH370's disappearance. A foreign reporter asked Aziz whether MH370 had been lost due to foul play. "We cannot reveal too many details about our security," Aziz said. "We have reviewed the closed-circuit television video footage pertaining to passengers and their baggages." "So far, we are satisfied with everything," he said. --SNIP-- Malaysia Airlines said that the plane took off at 12.41am Malaysia time, and that the plane disappeared from air traffic control radar in Subang, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, at...

-excerpt- Louis Maraldi, 37, from Cesena, was named as one of the passengers on board the plane. However, reports in Italy have confirmed that he was NOT on board and that he had reported his passport stolen last August.

The attack lasted an hour and when rescuers approached the scene the gunmen also attacked them, according to Khan Faraz, an official in the Jamrud area of Khyber, a rugged tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Around a dozen wounded were taken to hospital, but others died on the road waiting for help to arrive, he said. Another official, Assistant Political Agent Jehangir Azam, said all the casualties were members of the levies or Khasadar, both locally recruited government-backed militias. They were providing security for the health workers. Polio vaccination teams are frequently attacked, as are government security forces. A spokeswoman for...

As Christians of every stripe in Jesus' hometown of Nazareth begin to again take a real stand for their faith, local Muslims are warning them not to overstep the boundaries of their traditional place in the Middle East (hint: they must remain dhimmis, or second-class). A large billboard hanging at a central point in Nazareth features a picture of an Israeli stop sign, along with the English translation of a verse from the Koran cautioning Christians (and Jews) to speak only the "truth" regarding Allah. The poster (and Koran 4:171) reads: "O people of the Scripture (Christians)! Do not exceed...

Jews who ascended to the Temple Mount in the last few days discovered that the Muslim Waqf has been planting trash cans throughout the plaza atop the Mount. Two weeks ago, as LIBA project coordinator Yehuda Glick visited the Mount, he saw drilling being carried out into the paved floor of the Mount plaza. Muslims refused to say what they were doing and were assisted by police in pushing Glick away. The mystery of the drilling has now been solved: the holes were used for planting dozens of trash cans, and dozens more await their turn. Temple activists said Monday...

By Mr. CurmudgeonWhen Ibn Jubayr, the secretary to the Muslim governor of conquered Spain visited the Great Pyramid of Giza in 1182, he described it as a "miraculous construction and wonderful to look upon." Historian John O'Neill (author of "Holy Warriors") said the Islamic dignitary was blissfully ignorant as to its builders, believing the ancient structures to be "the tombs of early prophets mentioned in the Koran." Jubayr lamented, "To be short, none but the Great and Glorious God can know their story."You see, by Jubayr's time, all Greco-Roman historical sources were swept from the Muslim-dominated world ... they felt...

An elderly woman was left on the floor at a care home for up to ten minutes because a nurse was praying, an inquest heard. Alzheimer's sufferer Dorothy Griffiths, 87, was found sitting down after staff heard a bang and a carer went to the office for help to lift her. But agency nurse Abdul Bhutto, who was in charge, said they would have to wait. Carer Zoe Shaw told the Sheffield hearing: "It took between five and ten minutes because he was praying upstairs in the office on his prayer mat. A staff member told me we had to...

Yes, they really said that. Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Tom Gross).

After Osama Bin Ladin was killed, someone on our side released the name of the doctor who, with DNA tests verified that OBL was in the compound. Who did it and why?

Saudi religious police warn against celebrating New Year’s Eve Monday, 30 December 2013 10:50 AM Saudi Arabia’s religious police has warned that “punitive measures” will be taken against those who celebrated New Year’s Eve on December 31, Arabic daily Okaz reported. The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vices (Haia) based its warning on a religious edict issued by the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars banning such celebrations, the newspaper said. The conservative Islamic kingdom follows the Muslim lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, which stems from the Christian religion. Its new year is based...

Last October, Muslims from the urban municipality of Viana, Luanda, attended the destruction of the minaret of their mosque Zengo. (On Islam) Angola became the first country in the world to ban Islam and dismantle mosques in an effort to stem the spread of extremism. IBTimes reported: A number of news outlets have reported that Angola has “banned” Islam and started to dismantle mosques in a bold effort to stem the spread of Muslim extremism. Weekly French-language Moroccan newspaper La Nouvelle Tribune published an article on Friday sourcing “several” Angolan officials, including the Southwest African nation’s minister of culture,...

In his article “Gulf between perception and reality of Muslims” (Oct.3), Aijaz Zaka Syed has once again echoed the feelings of all Muslims around the globe who feel bad about the way the entire community is being blamed for the wrongdoings of a few, who in the name of Islam are wreaking havoc around the world and giving a bad name to Islam and Muslims at large. It is sad to hear and read reports about killings and violence perpetrated by deviant groups who claim to be waging a “holy war.” The writer has rightly stressed that the word Islam...

Turkey will take all necessary measures to prevent activities in connection with the 100th anniversary of the so-called 'Armenian genocide' to be held by Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ismail Alper Joshgun told media today. He was commenting on the activities that Armenia might hold in 2015 in connection with 100th anniversary of the so-called 'Armenian genocide'. "Earlier, Armenians voiced far-fetched claims and such claims can be expected in the future," the ambassador added. "Turkey will celebrate the centenary of the Battle of Canakkale in two years," he said. He stressed that Armenia's state ideology is...

A young Christian girl beheaded in Syria. The sign of extremism and fanatics, the long beards, is present in each and everyone of these subhuman Muslims who killed this small child, in their jihad to Allah – inspired by the Quran. This is Obama, Britain, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey funded and supported handiwork. Don’t put your support behind any of these people, whether for military action in Syria, asylum, immigration, another hate preaching mosque. This is what is moving into your town, your country, your society, your neighborhood: video... This video is written with false propaganda claiming...

The FBI is investigating claims that up to five of the terrorists who killed 68 people in a despicable attack on an upmarket Kenyan shopping mall are Americans, as the Kenyan military reported that it had rescued hostages and secured 'most parts' of the center following the two day standoff. Sources close to terror group Al Shabaab told CNN on Sunday that nine extremists had been named on their Twitter account along with their nationalities and allegedly included U.S. citizens. The account has now been suspended by the site. And just before sundown Kenya Defence Forces posted on its Twitter...