Palace insiders close to ex-Malaysian King slam his Russian beauty queen ex-wife for divorce demands of '£8m London home, £1.2m Moscow flat and £24k-a-month'

The former King of Malaysia and his ex-wife Oksana Voevodina are locked in a bitter divorce after their short-lived marriage lasting only one year.

Speaking for the first time, sources close to the Sultan of Kelantan has rounded on his Russian beauty queen ex-wife over her 'astronomical' divorce demands.

The former beauty pageant winner is seeking a £1.2m Moscow apartment and a £24,000-a-month allowance to cover the son born during their marriage - and later an £8m London home, they say, though MailOnline have not been able to establish whether his ex-wife accepts this is correct.

The British-educated ex-king asked courtiers: 'Who does she think I am... Bill Gates?'

A source commented of the couple's son, Leon: 'Is he attending Eton next year that she needs to much for an infant?' 

They also say he lavished on her a glittering wedding ring she craved, believed to be a Jacob Arabo creation worth £203,000.

He also bought her a Porsche Cayenne which in Russia can cost up to £117,500.

The former Miss Moscow wed the 49-year-old sultan in a secret Islamic ceremony in the Malaysian state of Kelantan on June 7 last year. 

This wedding was followed by a glittering reception in Moscow in December which Oksana's camp announced their unlikely union to the world.

But sources close to the private royal says the marriage was doomed as soon details of the reception appeared in the Russian media and he was ill prepared for the avalanche of publicity that followed.  

In November last year, the then king had believed the Russian reception was a strictly private gathering with a limited number of relatives including her parents, and friends.

The reclusive but domestically popular ruler had not been prepared for his stunning bride, the daughter of a provincial Russian orthopaedic surgeon, going public, and believed she had understood his strong desire for 'discretion'. 

Relatives say he was noticeably 'uncomfortable' when the reception turned into a 'glitzy showbiz event' with singers and performers.

'The turning point was the publication of photographs from the Moscow reception,' said a source.

But worse rapidly followed in the days after the reception. 

Suddenly footage of Oksana' clutching a Champagne glass during her clinch with actor Elisey Polischuk, 29, flashed around the world causing deep concern in conservative Malaysia.

The facts of this tawdry TV show remain in dispute, but Oksana's friends say she was entirely open with the monarch about her past personal and professional life.

Royal sources strongly denies this, and one said: 'If he had known about that pool video, he would never have married her.

'No responsible person would. You don't need to be a sultan to make that decision.' 

But sources say he now knew she was 'not fit to be queen' and indeed even after their wedding he didn't introduce her to his parents.

The king left her in Moscow when Oksana was four months pregnant and abdicated his throne within a month, although the two events are not linked, insist palace sources. 

He has still never met the couple's son, Leon.

This summer the sultan used the harshest Islamic divorce known as Triple Talak to break the marriage.

When the breakdown came, Oksana refused an 'amicable split' despite an 'extremely generous' offer, claim sources close to the palace.

Oksana has denied this saying there is scant progress in the divorce settlement.

It is also claimed that Oksana twice refused DNA tests on the son she gave birth to in May. Oksana denies this is the case.

The led to the sultan's Singapore lawyer issuing a statement 'there is no objective evidence as yet as to the biological father of the child'.

A royal source said: 'Perhaps she first wanted to see what the child looked like. Maybe she wasn't sure herself who was the biological father.'

Insiders mischievously wondered why Oksana had named the boy Leon which matches a close longtime Russian male friend of Oksana's called Leonid Zasukhin.

This businessman in his late 30s - photographed in bed with Oksana some years ago (IMAGE) - has boasted that he was a student in Vladimir Putin's FSB intelligence service academy in Moscow.

However, there is no suggestion the child is Zasukhin's, and is now known to have a distinctly Malaysian appearance.

Oksana's social media postings of their intimate moments also enraged the royal circle.

'She likes to take selfies all the time…he didn't expect her to use them against him like this,' said an aide.

'It's clear she has no respect for the royal family. It's really sad.'

It was her Instagram campaign - aimed at her half a million followers - that triggered a statement from the palace last month regretting 'the personal choices made in his private life' in marrying Oksana, while accusing her of defaming the royal family with her 'lies on social media'.

They also felt she was 'disrespectful' to the royal family for waging her campaign at a time when the sultan's father was terminally-ill, they add.

One declared: 'Why was she not content with just being a wife and remaining discreetly in the background?  

'She was the first woman in history of Malaysia to declare herself the wife of the sultan to the media, and to her Instagram followers, without official palace recognition.

'This rubbed many people the wrong way, including the sultan's family members.' 

She was criticised for denying a divorce had taken place, when a letter exists from a lawyer Alexander Dobrovinsky who had represented her vouching for this fact, claim the palace sources. 

Oksana has said she had no agreement with this lawyer.

And they questioned why she used Arkhangelskoye Palace near Moscow as background prop for pictures with and without her tiny son, which they feel gives misleading the impression she is still living in royal surroundings with the sultan, they say. 

While the sultan is no longer king, he remains ruler of the Kelantan state close to the Thailand border and a respected royal figure in Malaysia.

Royal sources said that the ex-monarch provided Oksana with a place to live in Russia for her and the child, and would make a 'generous' divorce settlement 'given they were only married for a year' and separated after six months.

'It won't be a huge sum' compared to amounts she has demanded.

Oksana last week denied to MailOnline in an exclusive interview that he had asked for a DNA test.

She also insisted there was no doubt the royal had fathered her child, and said she was ready for a DNA test if it was requested.

She said her son Leon is the spitting image of his father and she is willing to agree to a DNA test for the boy.

Appealing directly to her ex-husband to start being a father to Leon, the former Miss Moscow said: 'Faris, wake up! You have a son, and you are a father.

'And you are a royal. And no matter what happened to our marriage, I want my son to have both parents. Just think about your son.'

She declined to comment on other claims in this article from palace sources.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/

MMDA's Pialago slams 'bashers'

‘Puro reklamo lang ang kaya niyong gawin,’ MMDA’s Pialago tells ‘bashers’

As the nationwide transport strike concluded on Monday night, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) spokesperson Celine Pialago penned a message for her “bashers” in a post on her official Facebook page.

Pialago became a hot topic on social media for her defense of the administration’s planned Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) modernization program, which was the subject of the Sept. 30 protests.

"The government will never allow them to be successful," Pialago said of the PUV operators who had taken part in the strike.

The reaction online to her words included the resurrection of a viral clip of Pialago as a contestant in the 2014 Miss Earth Philippines competition, when she said that a fellow candidate had "passed away," instead of passed out.

Anakbayan also took part in the snark, saying in a statement that the MMDA's empathy for drivers, operators and commuters "has passed away."

In her Facebook post, Pialago doubled down on her words.

“What's wrong with not letting your transport strike being successful? We won't let you be successful because your intentions are wrong,” she said.

Pialago also claimed that the MMDA was able to "normalize" the situation during the transport strike.

However, GMA News found long lines of commuters struggling to hitch a ride home at the height of rush hour.

In her Facebook statement, Pialago also said that the transport strike participants were holding commuters' comfort.

“We are after the welfare of the people, at sa pagkakataong ito, mahalaga sa amin na hindi na kayo dumagdag pa sa araw-araw ng hirap na dinaranas ng mga commuters,” Pialago said, referring to the drivers and operators who participated in the strike.

“Despite the good intentions of the government, puro reklamo lang ang kaya niyong gawin. Nasasanay kayong gobyerno ang mag-aadjust sa lahat ng reklamo niyo particularly dito sa PUV Modernization Program,” she added.

Members of various transport groups nationwide participated in the strike to protest some contingencies in the PUV modernization program, such as the cancellation of franchises and “impossible” to obtain requirements. — Julia Mari T. Ornedo/BM, GMA News

Albayalde got SUV after questioned drug op in 2013, says Magalong; PNP chief denies

PNP chief Oscar Albayalde was reported to have been one of the Pampanga police officials who acquired a sport utility vehicle shortly after a questionable anti-drug operation in the province in November 2013.

Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, a former head of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said he was ordered by then PNP chief Alan Purisima to investigate why the police officers in the drug operation suddenly had SUVs.

“Actually nabanggit niya pati ‘yang provincial director nila meron din siya,” Magalong told the Senate inquiry into the alleged resale of confiscated drugs by corrupt police officers.

Albayalde the director of Pampanga police at the time of the police operation.

He quickly denied the allegation, saying that what he had during that time was an old pick up truck he bought from a neighbor.

“I really don’t know what personal gripes Mayor Magalong here has against me because this happened in 2013," Albayalde said.

"What I have in 2013 was a pick-up truck, model I don’t know, an old model one, and I can even say that I bought that from a neighbor,” he added.

The 13 police officers in the questioned police operation didn't follow the rules, leading to suspicions that they made money from the confiscated illegal drugs.

They were recommended for dismissal in 2014 but eventually were only demoted by a rank.

“Hindi ko po alam why this is being again… lumalabas after six years. I really do not know the motive of Mayor Magalong ," Albayalde said.

"And again, sabi ko nga, if he has anything against these people, even against me, it could have been done way back 2014, 2015 not during my time as chief PNP,” he added.

Earlier in the hearing, Magalong said Purisima ordered him to conduct an investigation as he received intelligence reports that police officers of Pampanga have newly acquired SUVs. 

“Sabi niya (Purisima) sa akin, 'Benjie, imbestigahan mo nga ito. Just recently may operation sa Pampanga 30 kilos ng shabu. Biglang nagkaroon ng sasakyan nang sabay-sabay,'” Magalong said. —NB, GMA News

Barrameda family appeals to Duterte for justice in Ruby Rose case

The family of Ruby Rose Barrameda has appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte for justice after a Malabon court junked the murder and parricide charges against her estranged husband and father-in-law.

In a report by Cecille Villarosa for Saksi on Monday, Robert Barrameda, the bereaved father of Ruby Rose whose remains were dumped in Navotas waters in 2009, lamented the suffering his daughter endured.

“Biro mo patayin ka nang ganyan, babae ka, nakaposas, walang kalaban-laban, sakalin ka nang ganyan,” he said.

“Umaapela kami kay Presidente Duterte na sana po ay bigyan mo kami ng pagkakataon na makamtan namin ang hustisya,” he added.

In an August 15 order, the Malabon Regional Trial Court Branch 170 dismissed the parricide case against Barrameda's estranged husband, Manuel "Third" Jimenez III, for supposed failure to establish probable cause that he had masterminded the killing of his wife.

The same court dismissed the murder case against Third's father, Manuel Jimenez, Jr.;  Lennard "Spyke" Descalso, and Norberto Ponce on July 10 upon finding that the prosecution was unable to establish their "direct participation" in Ruby Rose's death.

The dismissal of the charges outraged the family of Ruby Rose, sister of former beauty queen Rochelle Barrameda. They claimed that the Jimenezes never cooperated with them in the investigation.

“Nung time na nawawala nga ‘yung kapatid ko, ni hindi siya tumulong para hanapin, ilang beses kaming nagmakaawa sa kanila na baka pwede naman kalimutan muna namin 'yung problema namin, ng pamilya nila, ng pamilya namin. Ang importante, mahanap lang 'yung kapatid ko. Pero hindi ho sila nakipagtulungan, tapos ganito na lang na ma-di-dismiss.”

Meanwhile, the Barrameda family also called on Manuel Montero to surface.

Montero directed authorities to the location of Ruby Rose’s body and identified the suspects. He was turned into a state witness but he took back his statements in 2013. He has since gone missing. 

“Manumbalik uli sa’yo na ikaw makonsensya, sana bumalik ka na rin sa amin Montero,” said Ruby Rose’s father. — Julia Mari Ornedo/BAP, GMA News

'Used and dehumanized': Dozens of boys found chained in Nigeria

ADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - More than 300 boys and men, some as young as five and many in chains and bearing scars from beatings, have been rescued in a raid on a building that purported to be an Islamic school in northern Nigeria, police said on Friday.

Most of the freed captives seen by a Reuters reporter in the city of Kaduna were children, aged up to their late teens. Some shuffled with their ankles manacled and others were chained by their legs to large metal wheels to prevent escape.

One boy, held by the hand by a police officer as he walked unsteadily, had sores visible on his back that appeared consistent with injuries inflicted by a whip.

Some children had been brought from neighboring countries including Burkina Faso, Mali and Ghana, police said, while others had been left by their parents in what they believed to be an Islamic school or rehabilitation center.

"This place is neither a rehab or an Islamic school because you can see it for yourselves," Kaduna state's police commissioner, Ali Janga, told reporters. "The children gathered here are from all over the country... some of them were even chained. They were used, dehumanized, you can see it yourself."

Kaduna police spokesman Yakubu Sabo said seven people who said they were teachers at the school had been arrested in Thursday's raid.

"The state government is currently providing food to the children who are between the ages of five and above," he said. It was not clear how long the captives had been held there.

Read more at yahoo.com

Guia Gomez Castro denies ‘drug queen’ tag, says suspects get killed even sans proof

The barangay chairperson accused of dealing illegal drugs sourced from corrupt police officers has denied the allegations against her.

According to Ivan Mayrina's report on "24 Oras", Barangay 484 chairman Guia Gomez Castro also took a jab at the Duterte administration's war on drugs, saying suspects nowadays get killed even if there was no proof against them. 

"Hindi ko alam kung saan saan nila pinagkukuha yang mga sinasabi nilang link sa akin. God knows ni hindi ko kilala yang mga yan," Castro said in a statement coursed through someone close to her.

“Kahit anong sabihin ko at depensang gawin ko hindi rin naman ako paniniwalaan ng mga taong hindi naman ako kilala dahil sa isip nila ay hinusgahan na nila ako,” she added.

“Kung ang pananahimik kapalit ng kaligtasan ko sampu ng pamilya ko, mas nanaisin kong manahimik hindi ko na priority ang iisipin ng iba kung guilty ako sa paningin nila so be it," Castro said.

"Iba ang sistema ngayon wala nang pagkakataong idepensa ang sarili bigla na lang babarilin ang tao ngayon kahit wala pang napapatunayan," she added.

The Bureau of Immigration has confirmed that Castro left the country recently because she had no pending warrant of arrest.

A barangay official said she went to the United States.

Castro won the chairperson's seat in Barangay 484 in the 2018 barangay elections.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Aaron Aquino stood by the agency's information that Castro was buying drugs confiscated by corrupt policemen and bring them back into the market.

It was also alleged that the same policemen protect her by preempting anti-drug operations against her.

"Everything is intelligence based. So, kahit anong pag-defend niya sa sarili niya hindi niya made-defend talaga kasi lahat ng nakalap naming information ay binalidate at kinonfirm," Aquino said.

"Bumalik siya ng pilipinas at harapin niya lahat ng pinagagawa niya," she added. —NB, GMA News