Here are some of the key headlines from yesterday that you may have missed, in brief.

US Justice Dept files lawsuit to seize 1MDB-linked assets

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's stepson Riza Aziz, family friend and businessman Jho Low and two Abu Dhabi government officials are named in two lawsuits filed by the US Department of Justice to seize assets linked to 1MDB.

The two Abu Dhabi government officials are Khadem al-Qubaisi and Mohamed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny.

According to the lawsuits filed in Los Angeles, funds from 1MDB were "misappropriated" to purchase assets including mansions, artwork, a private jet and gambling debt in Las Vegas casinos.

The seizure of the assets, worth about US$1 billion, is the largest by US Department of Justice to date.

Prime Minister Najib is not named in the lawsuits.

Snap polls blizzard in Penang

Speculation was rife that the Penang legislative assembly would be dissolved, following reports that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali were to meet on the matter.

However, both sides agreed more time is needed to deliberate on the matter.

Analysts say PKR could lose Malay majority seats if a snap election is called in Penang while the polls would set alight any ceasefire pledge among the opposition.
 

Umno supreme council member Nazri Abdul Aziz said while the BN can win more seats in Penang if a snap election is called now, he urged Lim not to waste public funds.

Other Kinibites

PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, famed for his National Feedlot Corporation expose, is planning to expose what he terms as "another outrageous financial scandal" to hit the nation.

A Hindu temple in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, becomes the seventh temple to be vandalised this year, when a statue of a deity was destroyed.

Prime Minister Najib seeks forgiveness for himself, his wife and his administration, for the mistakes made while he is in the Prime Minister's Office, at a Prime Minister's Department Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house.

The government has banned the issuance of identity cards for 'walk-in' applicants by UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Looking ahead

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua will hold a press conference on the US Department of Justice lawsuits to seize assets linked to 1MDB.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will officiate the second bumiputera traders-only Mara Digital mall in Shah Alam.