#MorningBrief: Top 5 news - December 22

HERE is the list of key news you need to know today.

RMAF plane crash: Pilot dies on his 45th birthday

"Today is Major Kayamboo's 45th birthday, and sadly he died in a plane crash this afternoon," said a colleague of the Royal Malaysia Air Force pilot who perished when a Beechcraft B200T plane crashed near the munitions terminal of the Butterworth airbase here at 5.18pm, Wednesday.

According to Major Hassan Basri Tajul Arifin, he felt totally at a loss because Kayamboo was such a cheerful person who was always willing to help anyone in need.

The Beechcraft B200T aircraft that crashed at the Butterworth RMAF airstrip.

RMAF plane crash: Seberang Jaya hospital emergency ward centre of attention

The emergency ward at the Seberang Jaya Hospital has become the focus of attention tonight following the crash of the Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) aircraft at the Butterworth Air Base, killing the pilot, today.

A Bernama check at the hospital found 10 RMAF personnel at the hospital compound grounds to help with the handling of the casualties involved.

The emergency ward at the Seberang Jaya Hospital has become the focus of attention last night. - BERNAMA pic

Kelantan govt to meet KAFA to resolve financial woes

The Kelantan government will hold a meeting with Kelantan Football Association (Kafa) on Jan 1, 2017, to resolve the financial turmoil sweeping the state's football governing body to allow The Red Warriors to continue to compete in the Malaysian League (M-League) next year.

State Local Government, Housing, Youth and Sports Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Fattah Mahmood said during the meeting, the state government would analyse the outcome of Kafa's extraordinary congress to be held on Dec 29.

Berlin truck attack suspect named as Tunisian Anis Amri

German authorities triggered a Europe-wide manhunt Wednesday for a rejected asylum seeker suspected of involvement in a deadly truck assault on a Berlin Christmas market claimed by the Daish militant group.

Officials said the suspect, 24-year-old Tunisian national Anis Amri, had already been under investigation for planning an attack, in a development certain to fuel public outrage.

A handout portrait released by German Federal Police Office (BKA) on December 21, 2016 showing two pictures of Tunisian man identified as Anis Amri. - AFP photo

UN votes to set up panel to prepare Syria war crimes cases

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday agreed to set up a panel to gather evidence on war crimes in Syria, taking a first step toward prosecuting those responsible for atrocities in the nearly six-year war.

A resolution on establishing the investigative mechanism was adopted by a vote of 105 to 15, with 52 abstentions.

Smoke billows during fighting as Syrian pro-government forces walk on a street in the Masaken Hanano district in eastern Aleppo. - AFP photo