MH370: Malaysia Airlines to provide financial aid to families

Kuala Lumpur, Apr 20: The grieving families of the 239 passengers and crew of Flight MH370 will receive financial assistance from Malaysia Airlines to ease their burdens, a top official said today, 44 days after the plane vanished mysteriously from radar screens.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainuddin, who heads the sub-committee focusing on the next-of-kin of people on board the ill-fated plane, said that the process to identify those who would receive the assistance started two weeks ago.

The assistance would come solely from Malaysia Airlines (MAS), with the Government only stepping in to bear some of the costs if there is a need for it, he said.

Malaysia has been criticised for its handling of the tragedy, particularly by the relatives of the 154 Chinese passengers on board the ill-fated plane, besides being accused of hiding information.

During a briefing with the families, Hamzah said the families have been requested to submit their own amounts for financial assistance.

"Some of the families have lost their breadwinners and may be facing financial difficulties."Those affected will all receive some form of financial assistance from MAS. However, when the assistance will be given will be determined at a later date as we have recipients from 15 different countries," he was quoted as saying by the Star.com.

He added that two Malaysian representatives were in talks with the families in China regarding financial assistance, with MCA vice-president Paduka Chew Mei Fun expected to fly to Beijing to speak to the next-of-kin of Chinese passengers as well.

Beijing-bound Flight MH370, with 239 people aboard, including five Indians, left the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12.41 am on March 8 and disappeared from radar screens about an hour later while over the South China Sea.

A multinational search was mounted for the Boeing 777-200 aircraft, first in the South China Sea and then, after it was learnt that the plane had veered off course, in the southern Indian Ocean.

After an analysis of satellite data indicated that the plane's last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Australia, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced on March 24 that Flight MH370 had "ended in the southern Indian Ocean".

A multi-nation search operation led by Australia during the last 44 days have been scouring the Indian Ocean but has failed to find the crucial black boxes or the debris of the plane.

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In meeting with Zohran Mamdani, Trump repeats claim he stopped India-Pak war

Agencies

November 22,2025

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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