'Miracle' Baby Born As Mum Dies In Bike Crash

A "miracle" baby has survived after being born during a motorcycle crash that killed his mum and dad.

One officer who was at the scene in Xiamen City, southeast China, said he spotted the baby lying five metres away from the body of his mum.

"The baby moved his legs and arms and cried out. We immediately rescued the new born baby," said Lyu Yiwen, of Xiamen Haicang Traffic Police Brigade.

The baby was spotted five metres away from the body of his mum

"The vehicle incident made us feel life is fragile, but the new born baby touched us with the miracle and the greatness of life. So, we are all in awe of this new born life."

A hospital spokesman said the baby, which weighs 9lb 2oz (4.2kg), is in a stable condition.

But he added: "At the current time, the baby is suffering from intracranial hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage and brachial plexus injury.

He is in a stable condition but doctors are still concerned

"After consultation, we think the baby is also suffering from lung contusion which can be life-threatening. We must keep a close watch on him."

The pregnant woman and her husband were instantly killed when their motorcycle collided with a truck.

They were on their way to hospital after the mother began feeling abdominal pains on Tuesday morning.

The driver of the truck has been detained by the police.

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Flight MH370: Latest Developments At A Glance

The search for possible debris of missing flight MH370 has entered its second day.

This is what we know:

:: First P3 Orion search aircraft returns to Perth after its sweep

:: Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said "nothing of significance spotted by plane search so far and added objects spotted on satellite images in Indian Ocean may now have "sunk to the bottom". 

:: Five aircraft in total will be involved in today's search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

:: Three Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orions, a civil Gulfstream jet and a US Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft are being used.

:: Due to the distance to and from the target area, the aircraft involved have approximately two hours of search time.

:: One merchant vessel is currently in the search area.

:: A second merchant vessel is due to arrive tonight.

:: At least seven Chinese ships are heading to the region but could take days to arrive.

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Missing Malaysian Jet: Debris 'May Have Sunk'

The search for two large objects that may be from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet has resumed in the southern Indian Ocean.

Friday's operation involves five aircraft, including three RAAF Orions, and a US Navy P8 Poseidon which are scouring a remote area of 8,800 sq miles (23,000 sq km).

An Australian P3 Orion search plane has already arrived back at base in Perth after failing to find any evidence of debris from the missing aircraft.

Flight Lt Conan Brett pilots a RAAF Hercules aircraft during the search

But Australian deputy prime minister Warren Truss says nothing of significance has been spotted in plane search so far.

He also said the objects spotted on satellite images in the remote southern Indian Ocean may have sunk.

"Something that was floating on the sea that long ago may no longer be floating," he told reporters in Perth.

The area where the search will concentrate on today

"It may have slipped to the bottom."

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the country was doing everything it could to find the suspected debris and to keep the families of the passengers informed of the progress.

"We owe it to the families, the friends and the loved ones of the nearly 240 people on board flight MH370 to do everything we can to resolve what is as yet an extraordinary riddle," he said at a news conference.

"Because of the understandable state of anxiety they're in, we also owe it to them to give them information as soon as we get it to hand.

"We have five aircraft searching the area. We're looking for a visual that was picked up on satellite imagery and as soon as we have additional information we'll make it available."

HMS Echo is heading towards the region

A Norwegian merchant ship - the first vessel to reach the vicinity - has been using searchlights through the night to try to locate the objects.

They were spotted by a satellite last Sunday and could potentially be debris from flight MH370, one of which is thought to be 24 metres in length and the other about five metres.

Thursday search was hampered by strong winds, cloud and rain.

The sightings have been deemed "credible" and a "potentially important development" by authorities - as the search for the passenger plane enters its 13th day.

Australian naval vessel HMAS Success, which is capable of retrieving debris, is also en route to the search area but is some days away.

A British naval survey ship, HMS Echo, is also heading to the region.

There has been no trace of the aircraft since it vanished from radar a short distance into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

Satellite images show the possible plane debris

Wider searches, including of a northern corridor from northern Thailand to Kazakhstan, are set to continue until investigators are certain they have located the plane. Some 18 ships and 29 aircraft are taking part.

Those areas were targeted after faint electronic "pings" picked up by one commercial satellite suggested flight MH370 flew on for at least six hours after it disappeared from air traffic control screens.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of the International Airlines Group, said he was baffled by the disappearance of the aircraft.

"My deepest sympathies to everybody associated with this, it must be truly awful for the families and friends of the passengers and crew," he told Sky's Jeff Randall Live.

"I'm baffled; I must have heard twenty, thirty, maybe even forty theories on what has happened and quite honestly, we just don't know.

"I've been in this industry 35 years and I've never seen anything like this. I'm confident that with the technology today and the fact accident investigation has progressed significantly, we will ultimately find out."

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Missing Plane Probe 'May Provide No Answers'

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

One of the world's top air crash investigators has said finding a possible human cause for the disappearance of flight MH370 may be the only way of solving the mystery.

Thomas Anthony, a former security chief with the Federal Aviation Administration, told Sky News finding the aircraft, which disappeared nearly a fortnight ago with 239 people on board, is vital to solving many of the unanswered questions.

It comes after an American scientist who found the wreckage of an Air France plane, which crashed in 2009, claimed investigators may "never find out what happened".

"If the aircraft breaks, the technical investigation will likely disclose the causes," Mr Anthony said.

But he warned: "If the human breaks, the technical investigation may actually provide no answers to what caused the accident, incident or crash."

A message board in Kuala Lumpur

His comments come as the FBI is brought in to help analyse files deleted from a flight simulator belonging to Malaysia Airlines pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah.

Records of simulations were deleted on February 3, although investigators insist Mr Zaharie is innocent until proven guilty.

Mr Anthony, director of the world renowned Aviation Security and Safety Programme at the University of Southern California (USC), criticised officials for failing to speak with a "single investigative voice".

Air France flight AF447 crashed in 2009, killing all 228 people on board

He also said he believes Malaysian authorities failed to prepare for a major air disaster.

As news of a possible sighting of debris was announced, the US also offered to help in any way it can.

Officials from both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are in Malaysia to assist with the investigation.

Most air accident investigators will at some point turn to the USC's crash lab.

Sky News was given access to its vast warehouse in eastern Los Angeles, where the wreckage of numerous aircraft is stored.

Flight MH370 vanished on March 8 on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur

Project specialist Daniel Scalese said: "The answers are all here. It does look like a bunch of twisted wreckage but the answers are all here if you know where to look and what to look for."

The USC team said aviation has benefited from the public attention on air disasters as safety continues to improve.

They point to figures showing only 0.4 of every one million flights result in a crash.

Generally, they claim, a chain of five or six factors lead to an accident and discovering just one of those can lead to huge advances.

Mr Anthony said: "We don't have to wait for the final analysis to learn some lessons."

The investigation into the disappearance of flight MH370 is looking at a number of theories, including hijacking, sabotage and terrorism, as well as a fault with the plane, such as a fire in the cockpit.

Authorities believe someone on board intentionally switched off two vital pieces of communication equipment and deliberately diverted the aircraft.

Satellite data suggests the plane flew for at least seven hours after it was turned back across Malaysia towards the Strait of Malacca.

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Flight MH370: Latest Developments At A Glance

The search for missing flight MH370 has taken a dramatic turn with possible debris spotted by a satellite.

This is what we know:

:: Possible debris from missing flight MH370 seen in the Indian Ocean 1,550 miles southwest of Perth.

:: The objects were of "reasonable size", with one about 24 metres in length and the other about five metres long.

:: Satellite images of the objects were dated March 16 and the debris will have moved since then.

::  Four long-range surveillance planes have been sent to search the area where the objects were spotted in the southern Indian Ocean.

The debris was spotted by a satellite

:: They are two Royal Australian Air Force Orions, a New Zealand Orion and a US Navy Poseidon aircraft.

:: John Young, manager of Australian Maritime Safety Authority's emergency response division, said visibility was poor and may hamper efforts to find the objects.

:: He said they "are relatively indistinct on the imagery ... but those who are experts indicate they are credible sightings."

:: Mr Young added: "The indication to me is of objects that are a reasonable size and probably awash with water, moving up and down over the surface."

:: He said the depth of the ocean in the latest area is several thousand metres.

:: The area is in the southern part of the southern air corridor - one of two zones investigators have been focusing on.

:: The Australian naval vessel HMAS Success, which is capable of retrieving any debris, is some days away.

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Missing Plane: 'Objects May Be MH370 Debris'

Two objects possibly related to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have been spotted, the Australian Prime Minister has said.

Tony Abbott said potential debris from the Boeing 777 had been seen on satellite imagery in the southern Indian Ocean.

There is no indication of what the objects might be, although the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said the objects were of a "reasonable size", with one about 24 metres in length and the other about five metres long.

"Pings" from a number of large objects are believed to have been picked up by a US spotter plane on its way to the scene.

:: Live Updates: Search For Possible Debris

Mr Abbott briefs MPs about the sighting of two potential objects from MH370

In a statement to MPs, Mr Abbott described the reported sighting, about 1,550 miles (2,500km) southwest of Perth - or four hours by plane - as "credible" and a "potentially important development".

A Royal Australian Air Force Orion aircraft is in the remote search area looking for the objects.

A second Australian Orion as well as a US Navy Poseidon aircraft and a New Zealand Orion are heading there.

"The task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and it may turn out they are not related to search for MH370," Mr Abbott warned.

A US Navy Poseidon is involved in the search for the objects

Images, which show the objects floating on or just under the surface, were taken on March 16 but it has taken time to analyse the pictures, and the objects would have moved since then.

However, more satellite images are being taken of the area.

John Young, from AMSA, cautioned the objects could be seaborne debris along a shipping route where containers can fall off cargo vessels, but the larger object is longer than a container.

He also said visibility was poor and may hamper efforts to find the objects.

HMAS Success is heading to the area but is some days away

A merchant ship was expected to arrive in the vicinity shortly and the Australian naval vessel HMAS Success, which is capable of retrieving any debris, is some days away.

Search teams have been scouring an enormous expanse of ocean

The search for the missing plane, which had 239 people on board, has been focused on two specific corridors, one of which extends towards the southern reaches of the Indian Ocean.

Mr Young said the objects were spotted in the southern part of the south corridor.

Military planes from Australia, the US and New Zealand have been scouring the vast area, which was halved in size to 118,000 sq miles (305,000 sq km) on Wednesday.

Relatives of missing passengers are led away by Malaysian officials

There has been no trace of the aircraft since it vanished from radar a short distance into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing 12 days ago.

In Beijing, relatives of many of the 154 Chinese passengers waited anxiously for news from an AMSA news conference.

Sky's Jonathan Samuels, who is with the families, said: "They look exhausted. Most have slowly returned to their rooms to await developments from Australia."

Investigators believe two vital pieces of communication equipment were intentionally switched off and the aircraft deliberately diverted, potentially taking it thousands of miles off course.

Satellite data suggests the plane flew for at least seven hours after it was turned back across Malaysia towards the Strait of Malacca.

The development comes after a news conference was interrupted by relatives frustrated at a lack of information from officials.

There were chaotic scenes as two women were bundled out and shut in another room before being led away.

Investigators are considering a number of theories about what happened to the aircraft, including hijacking, sabotage and terrorism.

However, background checks on all foreign passengers bar three from Ukraine and Russia have yielded "no information of significance", Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.

Files from a flight simulator used by the plane's captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, are being examined by experts at the FBI, after it was revealed data was deleted last month.

The pilot is considered innocent until proven guilty and members of his family are co-operating with the the investigation, Mr Hishammuddin said.

More follows...

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Treasury Sources Tight-Lipped On Budget

Budget 2014: New £1 Coin Is Blast From The Past

Updated: 8:51am UK, Wednesday 19 March 2014

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

George Osborne will use his Budget to announce a major change for the nation's pockets, with a new pound coin to be introduced in 2017.

The new coin, aimed at stamping out forgeries and counterfeits, will replace the £1 coin that was introduced more than 30 years ago and resemble the pre-decimalisation 12-sided "threepenny bit".

According to the Treasury, the new coin will be the most secure in the world.

The new coin will be revealed in a Budget the Chancellor hopes will provide the springboard for a Tory victory at next year's General Election.

Mr Osborne will raise the rate at which people start paying income tax to £10,500, which he claims will benefit all but those on incomes of over £100,000.

But he will reject calls from senior Tories to raise the threshold at which people start paying tax at 40p in the pound, already due to increase to £42,286 next year.

Labour has already started its response putting up posters this morning claiming: "hard-working people are £1,600 worse off with the Tories."

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Ed Miliband said: "I hope we don't see complacency from the Chancellor today because I think so many families across the country are incredibly hard pressed. They are seeing their wages falling, they faced 24 Tory tax rises since 2010.

"What I hope we see from the Chancellor is an understanding of the difficulties families are facing an a response to make life easier and better for them."

The Chancellor will have to respond to Labour's charges that the Tories are out of touch, ordinary families are facing a cost of living crisis and only the rich are benefiting from the economic recovery.

Mr Osborne posted on Twitter on Wednesday morning: "Today I will deliver a Budget for a resilient economy - starting with a resilient pound coin."

Mr Osborne will go on the attack against Labour, claiming the opposition was to blame for the economic crisis when in government and has been proved wrong in opposing the Coalition's austerity measures.

"This will be a Budget for a resilient economy," a Treasury source told Sky News.

"The Government's long-term economic plan is providing economic security by dealing with our record deficit and helping businesses create new jobs at record rates.

"As a country, we have held our nerve, the plan is working, but the job is very far from done. Britain is still borrowing too much.

"We have to invest more and export more, and support growth in every region of our country and all parts of our economy."

The new £1 coin is backed by organisations including the Automatic Vending Association, which said the cost for adapting existing machines would be "minimal".

Kelvin Reynolds, of the British Parking Association, added: "Parking operators have long expressed concerns about a rise in counterfeit £1 coins and the inconvenience this causes to motorists when coins are rejected by parking payment machines and the losses incurred as a result."

The current £1 coin has been in circulation for much longer than the normal lifecycle of a modern British coin.

Its technology is no longer suitable for a coin of its value, leaving it vulnerable to ever more sophisticated counterfeiters.

The Royal Mint estimates about 3% of all £1 coins - around 45 million in total - are now forgeries, although in some parts of the UK, the number is as high as 6%.

Around two million counterfeit £1 coins are removed from circulation annually - a direct cost to the banks and cash handling centres, as well as the economy.

As with all British coins, the new-look £1 piece will feature the Queen's head on one side.

A public competition will be held to decide the design for the reverse, or "tails", side.

Introduced in 1937, the threepenny bit was in the first group of coins ever to feature the portrait of HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

It was the first British coin to use a 12-sided shape, which enhanced its popularity during the Second World War as its distinctive size and shape made it the easiest coin to recognise during the blackout.

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Malaysia Jet May Have Been Seen By Thai Radar

Missing Plane: Air France Families' Sympathy

Updated: 7:07am UK, Wednesday 19 March 2014

By Sarah Hajibagheri, Sky News Producer

The families of the Air France flight AF447 crash victims have written a touching letter to the relatives of those on board the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, offering their support.

In the open letter, published by a German association of family members of the 228 people who were killed, they express their "sympathy and compassion in these days of utmost anxiety".

The letter is critical of the handling of the disappearance by authorities investigating the disappearance of flight MH370.

"We are completely dismayed about the vague and partially contradicting information policy by the Malaysian government," the families say.

They also urge the relatives of passengers, who hail from 14 different countries, to approach their respective national governments to put pressure on the Malaysian military and civil authorities to speed up their investigations and quickly release their findings.

The letter was shared on Facebook by the Families and Friends of American Eagle Flight 4184, a group set up after a plane crash in Indiana in 1994 killed all 68 people on board.

But it is the Air France tragedy which has so far drawn most comparisons with the Malaysia Airlines mystery.

It has been nearly five years since the Airbus A330 took off from Rio de Janeiro, bound for Paris.

On June 1, 2009, the plane plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 passengers and crew on board.

Just like MH370, the jetliner disappeared from radar and a daunting search and rescue operation ensued.

Bodies and debris from the flight emerged in the days and weeks following the crash, but investigators took nearly two years to retrieve the main wreckage and black box recorders.

The final report into the disaster found the flight was doomed by a combination of ice build-up, mechanical failure and pilot error.

Aviation experts who were involved in the search for the Air France plane have arrived in Malaysia to help with the investigation.

It is hoped they might be able to help provide answers for the families of the 239 passengers and crew who, 12 days on, are still missing.

Some 26 countries are searching an area larger than Australia for any sign of the aircraft.

As China joined the hunt, angry relatives of the 154 people from the country who were on the plane threatened to go on hunger strike unless they were given more information from authorities.

Investigators have not uncovered any evidence suggesting there was a plot to hijack or bring down the aircraft, although both theories remain a possibility.

Authorities believe someone on board the flight intentionally switched off two vital pieces of communication equipment and deliberately diverted the aircraft.

Satellite data suggest the plane flew for at least seven hours.

The backgrounds of pilots Zaharie Ahmad Shah and Fariq Abdul Hamid are being checked, as are those of ground engineers who worked on the aircraft before it took off.

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Budget 2014: New £1 Coin Is Blast From The Past

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

George Osborne will use his Budget to announce a major change for the nation's pockets, with a new pound coin to be introduced in 2017.

The new coin, aimed at stamping out forgeries and counterfeits, will replace the £1 coin that was introduced more than 30 years ago and resemble the pre-decimalisation 12-sided "threepenny bit".

According to the Treasury, the new coin will be the most secure in the world.

The new coin will be revealed in a Budget the Chancellor hopes will provide the springboard for a Tory victory at next year's General Election.

The new £1 coin will have 12 sides and is due to enter circulation in 2017

Mr Osborne will raise the rate at which people start paying income tax to £10,500, which he claims will benefit all but those on incomes of over £100,000.

But he will reject calls from senior Tories to raise the threshold at which people start paying tax at 40p in the pound, already due to increase to £42,286 next year.

Labour has already started its response putting up posters this morning claiming: "hard-working people are £1,600 worse off with the Tories."

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Ed Miliband said: "I hope we don't see complacency from the Chancellor today because I think so many families across the country are incredibly hard pressed. They are seeing their wages falling, they faced 24 Tory tax rises since 2010.

"What I hope we see from the Chancellor is an understanding of the difficulties families are facing an a response to make life easier and better for them."

Labour's poster response

The Chancellor will have to respond to Labour's charges that the Tories are out of touch, ordinary families are facing a cost of living crisis and only the rich are benefiting from the economic recovery.

Mr Osborne posted on Twitter on Wednesday morning: "Today I will deliver a Budget for a resilient economy - starting with a resilient pound coin."

Mr Osborne will go on the attack against Labour, claiming the opposition was to blame for the economic crisis when in government and has been proved wrong in opposing the Coalition's austerity measures.

"This will be a Budget for a resilient economy," a Treasury source told Sky News.

"The Government's long-term economic plan is providing economic security by dealing with our record deficit and helping businesses create new jobs at record rates.

"As a country, we have held our nerve, the plan is working, but the job is very far from done. Britain is still borrowing too much.

"We have to invest more and export more, and support growth in every region of our country and all parts of our economy."

The new £1 coin is backed by organisations including the Automatic Vending Association, which said the cost for adapting existing machines would be "minimal".

Kelvin Reynolds, of the British Parking Association, added: "Parking operators have long expressed concerns about a rise in counterfeit £1 coins and the inconvenience this causes to motorists when coins are rejected by parking payment machines and the losses incurred as a result."

The current £1 coin has been in circulation for much longer than the normal lifecycle of a modern British coin.

Its technology is no longer suitable for a coin of its value, leaving it vulnerable to ever more sophisticated counterfeiters.

The Queen's head will continue to feature on one side of the coin

The Royal Mint estimates about 3% of all £1 coins - around 45 million in total - are now forgeries, although in some parts of the UK, the number is as high as 6%.

Around two million counterfeit £1 coins are removed from circulation annually - a direct cost to the banks and cash handling centres, as well as the economy.

As with all British coins, the new-look £1 piece will feature the Queen's head on one side.

A public competition will be held to decide the design for the reverse, or "tails", side.

Introduced in 1937, the threepenny bit was in the first group of coins ever to feature the portrait of HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

It was the first British coin to use a 12-sided shape, which enhanced its popularity during the Second World War as its distinctive size and shape made it the easiest coin to recognise during the blackout.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Plane Mystery: Faces Of Flight MH370

By Sarah Hajibagheri, Sky News Producer

It is 11 days since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared in the night and investigators appear no closer to knowing the fate of the passengers and crew on board.

The names of the 239 people currently missing are listed in black and white in the plane's manifest.

But these colour photos show the faces of those who were on the flight.

There were 14 different nationalities among the 227 passengers and 12 crew travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, although the majority - 153 in all - were Chinese.

Other passengers came from the United States, Canada, Indonesia, Iran, Australia, India, France, New Zealand, Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan and the Netherlands.

The youngest is two, the oldest 76. Seven of the passengers are children, five of whom are yet to see their fifth birthdays.

On board the plane were sons, daughters, husbands, wives and grandparents. Some were embarking on a new start, others returning home.

Muktesh Mukherjee and his wife Xiaomo Bai

They included a famous stuntman, engineers, artists, Buddhist pilgrims, students, holidaymakers and honeymooners.

These are some of their stories:

:: The husband and wife returning to their sons

Muktesh Mukherjee and Xiaomo Bai were heading home to Beijing after a beach holiday in Vietnam.

Ms Bai, 37, had posted pictures of their break shortly before boarding the flight.

The couple's two young sons were waiting for them at home with Ms Bai's mother.

Mr Muktesh, 42, an Indian-born Canadian employed by US firm XCoal, met his wife while on a business trip to China in 2002.

They lived in Montreal before moving to Beijing.

:: The Hollywood stuntman

Stuntman Ju Kun

Ju Kun's kung fu moves have featured in films such as Fearless, where he doubled for martial arts actor Jet Li, and The Expendables.

The 35-year-old was travelling to Beijing to see his two young children before starting work on the new Netflix and Weinstein Company series Marco Polo in Malaysia.

In a statement, Weinstein said: "He was an integral part of our production team and a tremendous talent. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time."

:: Teen lovers

French students Hadrien Wattrelos, 17, and Zhao Yan, 18, were heading for school in Beijing.

They had enrolled themselves in the Lycee Francais International de Pekin, also known as the French School.

Hadrien posted a picture of himself and Ms Zhao on a social media site, accompanied with the phrase: "Je t'aime."

Ms Zhao replied: "Haaaaaa mon amour, trooooop mignon."

Two other passengers on the flight, Laurence Wattrelos, 52, and Ambre Wattrelos, 14, are believed to be Hadrien's mother and sister.

:: The student studying in Hull

Yue Wenchao, 26, is originally from inner Mongolia but had moved to the UK to study a postgraduate course at the University of Hull Business School.

He was flying to Kuala Lumpur to visit his girlfriend.

In one of his last posts on a social media site on March 7, he wrote next to a photo of her: "See u in Beijing!"

:: The New Zealander

Paul Weeks, a mechanical engineer, left his wedding ring and watch at home when he headed to Mongolia for a work trip.

The devoted father instructed his wife, Danica, to pass them on to his two sons, three-year-old Lincoln and 10-month-old Jack, "should anything happen".

Danica, who lives in Perth, Australia, says the hardest part of the ordeal is explaining Paul's absence to their two children.

:: The Australian travel-lovers

Bob and Cathy Lawton loved to travel.

The couple, who are in their fifties and from Springfield Lakes, Australia, are parents to three daughters, as well as doting grandparents.

Cathy's last Facebook post before embarking on their latest adventure read: "Off to China."

:: The father and child

Hu Xiaoning, 34, was travelling home to Beijing with his three-year-old daughter Hu Siwan.

Proud mum Zhang Na has been an active user of China's microblogging site Weibo, regularly posting family photos.

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Ukrainians 'Will Fight War Against Russia'

West Targets Putin's Senior Aides

Updated: 7:54pm UK, Monday 17 March 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, Moscow

He had roared out his displeasure: There would be "severe costs" over Russia's invasion of the Crimea.

Then America's president bleated.

Meanwhile in Europe foreign ministers did what they often do at a time of crisis, they reached for the paperwork.

The result of this two-pronged attack must have left the targets of their displeasure, 11 named by Russia and 21 as yet unnamed by Brussels, feeling as if they had been savaged by a teddy.

While Russian troops armed with the latest surface-to-surface missiles tore up the earth on the borders with Ukraine, and more were securing the Crimea's widely condemned secession, the West went one up from sending a strongly-worded letter of complaint.

Visa bans and assets seizures are to be imposed by Washington and London. The people picked out for this treatment are close to Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

They include Vladislav Surkov, a senior aide to Putin. Sergey Glazyev is a member of Russian Academy of Science. He's a former minister and a founder of the Rodina Party.

Valentina Matviyenko is the highest-ranking female politician in Russia, the former governor of Saint Petersburg and the current chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation.

Dmitry Rogozin is Russia's deputy Prime Minister. Elena Mizulina is a member of the Duma has been a leading light of efforts to instil "family values", which include campaigning against gay rights.

They are all Putin's political intimates. But few are thought to be holders of vast fortunes in overseas bank accounts.

Rogozin tweeted: "@BarackObama, what should do those who have neither accounts nor property abroad? Or U didn't think about it?)".

Others in the two "hit lists" agreed.

Mr Putin is unlikely to be rattled. Nor will he be, according to Dr Andrei Piontkovsky, a senior fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences, until those much closer to him are hit in their pockets.

"Sanctions should not hit 140 million Russians. They should be targeted at 140 oligarchs. The corrupt businessmen who have profited from Putin's rule should he hit so that they create friction for him, they start asking what the hell he is up to and telling him to stop," he said.

This may yet happen. But it's puzzling as to why it was that Mr Putin's wealthiest intimates were sanctioned before those who are mere political functionaries of the Kremlin, men and women who reflect and carry out his views, not who shape them.

It may be that the oligarchs are too big to bash. After all the City thrives on Russian capital, London's estate agents suckle at their gilded cashpoints and public schools do a passable job at turning their offspring into acceptable Sloanes.

But one should, perhaps, give Washington and Brussels some credit for a little wisdom.

The West's relationship with Russia is being reset, reluctantly. If it must be done, though, Foreign Secretary William Hague hinted as much, then it will take time.

He said after the council of ministers meeting that Europe had begun to rethink its dependency on Russian fuel.

Such moves require finding new markets and delivery systems. The US has yet to finish building its natural gas export terminal, for example.

Other economic shifts will be less perceptible. Europe will want to keep Russia as an export market - but restrict its access to strategic technologies.

Economic integration has not limited Russian aggression, it has enabled it. Unpicking that conundrum without starting a war is going to take some doing.

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Missing Plane: Families In Hunger Strike Threat

Families of passengers on board the missing Malaysian Airlines plane have threatened to go on hunger strike, as their desperate wait for news continues.

The threat from relatives waiting in Beijing came as it emerged two-thirds of those on flight MH370 have been cleared of any links to terrorism, according to officials.

"Relatives are very unsatisfied. So you hear them saying 'hunger strike'," Wen Wancheng, whose son was aboard the missing flight, told reporters at the Beijing hotel where families are gathered.

Background checks on all 154 Chinese passengers have not uncovered any evidence suggesting a plot to hijack or bring down the aircraft, Huang Huikang, the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia, said.

It appears to discount one theory that Uighur separatists - the group blamed for an attack in Beijing's Tiananmen Square last October and the massacre at Kunming railway station earlier this month - might have been involved in the plane's disappearance.

There has been no trace of the Boeing 777 since it disappeared less than one hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

The aircraft's tracking devices were deliberately switched off, allowing it to travel almost undetected.

Satellite data suggests the plane flew for at least seven hours and could have ended up anywhere from central Asia to the southern reaches of the Indian Ocean.

Some 239 passengers were on board flight MH370 when it vanished

It has prompted an unprecedented search involving teams from some 26 countries, who are scouring huge swathes of land and ocean for any sign of the aircraft.

Mr Huang said searches are now under way in China - part of which crosses a northern corridor across which the plane may have flown.

Meanwhile, investigators continue to probe the background of pilots Zaharie Ahmad Shah and Fariq Abdul Hamid, as well as ground engineers who worked on the aircraft before it took off.

The homes of both pilots have been searched and a flight simulator belonging to Mr Zaharie seized.

Mr Hamid and Mr Zaharie were at the controls of the Boeing 777

It is believed Mr Hamid made the last communication from the aircraft, calmly telling air traffic controllers as the plane passed into Vietnamese air space: "All right, good night."

Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who is expected to provide an update on the search at a news conference later, said: "The fact that there was no distress signal, no ransom notes, no parties claiming responsibility, there is always hope."

Malaysia's former transport minister Ong Tee Keat told Sky News the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) - a UN body - should take on the investigation to ensure there are no cover-ups or withholding of information.

He said he was not alleging a cover-up, but said transparency is needed.

He also said better coordination is needed among Malaysian government agencies and between countries to help find the plane.

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Missing Plane: Southern Route 'More Likely'

Missing Jet: Timeline Of Key Events

Updated: 2:27pm UK, Sunday 16 March 2014

A summary of the developments surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Sunday, March 9

:: Malaysia's police chief says the pilot, co-pilot as well as ground staff, crew and passengers are now all under investigation.

:: The search expands even further with 25 countries being asked to help, including Australia.

:: Malaysia says its possible the plane's signal could have been picked up while it was on the ground.

Saturday, March 8

:: The Boeing 777, with 239 people on board, loses contact with air traffic control north of Malaysia around 1.20am, some 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.

:: Vietnam says the plane went missing near its airspace.

It launches a search operation which expands into a huge international hunt in the South China Sea, involving dozens of ships and aircraft from countries including the US and Japan.

:: Tearful relatives of the 153 Chinese passengers criticise Malaysia Airlines over a lack of information.

:: Vietnamese planes spot two large oil slicks near the aircraft's last known location, but it proves a false alarm.

:: It also emerges two passengers were travelling on stolen EU passports, fuelling speculation of a terrorist attack.

Sunday, March 9

:: Malaysia said it was investigating a possible terror link to the jet's disappearance and the US sent FBI agents to assist in the investigation.

:: Malaysia raises the first of several suggestions that the plane may have veered radically off-course.

:: The air force chief said it may have turned back towards the country's capital for no apparent reason.

:: A Vietnamese plane spots possible debris off southwest Vietnam - but this is also a false alarm.

Monday, March 10

:: Authorities double the search radius to 100 nautical miles around the point where MH370 disappeared from radar.

:: China criticises Malaysia, saying it needs to speed up the investigation.

:: Malaysia sends ships to investigate a sighting of a possible life raft, but a Vietnamese vessel that gets there first finds only flotsam.

:: Chemical analysis by Malaysia finds no link between oil slicks found at sea and the missing plane.

Tuesday, March 11

:: The search area now includes land on the Malaysian peninsula itself, the waters off its west coast, and an area to the north of Indonesia's Sumatra island, all far removed from the flight's scheduled route.

:: Authorities identify the two men with stolen passports as young Iranians who are believed to be illegal immigrants - not terrorists.

Wednesday, March 12

:: Malaysia expands the search zone to include the Malacca Strait off the country's west coast and the Andaman Sea north of Indonesia, hundreds of miles away.

:: Malaysia's air force chief says an unidentified object was detected on military radar north of the Malacca Strait early on Saturday - less than an hour after the plane lost contact - but says it is still being investigated.

:: At a news conference, Malaysian officials deny the search is in disarray after China says conflicting information about its course is "pretty chaotic".

:: It emerges US regulators warned months ago of a problem with "cracking and corrosion" of the fuselage skin under the satellite antenna on Boeing 777s that could lead to a mid-air break-up.

:: But the manufacturer later confirms that the warning did not apply to the missing plane, which had a different kind of antenna.

Thursday, March 13

:: Malaysia dismisses a report in the Wall Street Journal which said US investigators suspect the plane flew on for four hours after its last known contact, based on data sent from its engines.

:: Authorities in Kuala Lumpur also say that Chinese satellite images of suspected debris in the South China Sea are yet another false lead.

:: India steps up its search, sending three ships and three aircraft to the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Friday, March 14

:: The hunt spreads west to the Indian Ocean after the White House cites unspecified "new information" that the jet may have flown on after losing contact.

:: Malaysia declines to comment on US reports that the plane's communication system continued to "ping" a satellite for hours after it disappeared, suggesting it may have travelled a huge distance.

Saturday, March 15

:: Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak says the last-known movements of the missing airliner were consistent with the deliberate actions of someone on board.

:: He also revealed the last contact with the plane was with a satellite at 8.11am last Saturday which means it could have been flying for more than six hours longer than first thought.

:: The PM confirmed Malaysian air force defence radar picked up traces of the plane turning back westward, crossing over Peninsular Malaysia into the northern stretches of the Strait of Malacca.

:: The search area is expanded to two air corridors - a northern one stretching as far as Turkmenistan and Thailand - and one which goes as far as Indonesia and the southern Indian Ocean.

:: Mr Najib says search efforts in the South China Sea, where the plane first lost contact, had ended.

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Missing Pilot 'Caring And Very Professional'

A friend of one of the pilots on missing flight MH370 has told Sky News he cannot believe he had anything to do with the aircraft's disappearance.

Peter Chong described Zaharie Ahmad Shah as a kind, generous man and said he longs for his friend to return.

He said it was "only natural" investigators were searching his friend's home but added: "He is a very caring person who enjoys life and enjoys flying. He is a very professional pilot."

Mr Hamid is patted down by a member of security staff. Pic: YouTube

Leaked CCTV footage appears to show Mr Zaharie and his co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, calmly passing through security shortly before boarding the aircraft.

The video, which was uploaded to YouTube, seems to show  walking through a body scanner at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Dressed in uniforms, the two men in the video are frisked for less than two seconds each by security staff before collecting luggage from the conveyor belt of an X-ray machine.

Mr Hamid (L) and Mr Zaharie's backgrounds are being investigated

The two pilots have come under increased scrutiny since investigators revealed flight MH370's tracking devices were deliberately switched off mid-way through a flight to Beijing.

Authorities are yet to comment on the CCTV footage, although the personal and religious backgrounds of both pilots are being checked.

Police are investigating a flight simulator found at the home of Mr Zaharie, who has more than 18,000 hours' flying experience and joined Malaysia Airlines more than 30 years ago.

Messages posted on the 53-year-old's Facebook page suggest he was a politically active opponent of the coalition that has ruled Malaysia for 57 years since the country became independent.

Mr Fariq, 27, had only recently graduated to the cockpit of the Boeing 777 and had not asked to fly with Mr Zaharie, authorities have confirmed.

But a senior American politician has revealed that US intelligence has been focusing on Mr Zaharie and Mr Hamid.

"I think from all the information I've been briefed on from, you know, high levels within homeland security, national counterterrorism centre, intelligence community, that something was going on with the pilot," Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News Sunday.

"I think this all leads towards the cockpit, with the pilot himself, and co-pilot."

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Missing Plane: Police Probe Flight Engineer

Investigators say they are looking into the background of one of the passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.

Mohd Khairul Amri Selamat said on social media sites he was a flight engineer working for a Swiss-based private jet charter company.

The 29-year-old's apparent experience means he would have a knowledge of in-flight computer systems and be able to carry out repairs.

The missing plane could have landed at hundreds of locations. Pic: WNYC

However, as an engineer specialising in executive jets, he would not necessarily have had the skills required to divert and fly a Boeing 777.

A senior police official with knowledge of the investigation said: "The focus is on anyone who might have had aviation skills on that plane."

Authorities have also been focusing on the men at the controls - Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and his first officer, Fariq Abdul Hamid.

Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said US intelligence was focusing on the two pilots.

The senior US politician also suggested hijackers may have landed the plane and be planning to use it "as a cruise missile" in a 9/11-style terror attack.

But a friend of Mr Zaharie has told Sky News he doubts he had anything to do with the jet's disappearance.

The search for the plane has dramatically widened as satellite data suggests the Boeing 777, which had 239 people on board, flew for at least seven hours - more than six hours after it lost contact with air traffic control.

It has been claimed it could have landed at one of more than 600 runways spread across at least a dozen countries.

Mr Hamid, left, and Mr Zaharie were the pilots on the missing jet

Researchers at WNYC searched for runways with a length of at least 0.95 miles (1.52km) within a radius of 2,530 miles (4,070km) from the aircraft's last known position.

Some 634 runways, stretching from the India-Pakistan border to the northeast coast of Australia, matched those requirements - many of them in remote, inaccessible places

The number of countries involved in the search for the plane has nearly doubled over the past two days to 26, after satellite and military radar data projected two large corridors the plane might have flown through.

The northern corridor stretches in an arc over south and central Asia, while the other swoops deep into the southern Indian Ocean towards Australia.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board

Malaysia has announced that it was deploying its naval and air force assets to the southern corridor, with Australian vowing substantial assistance.

Some experts believe the plane is most likely to have flown southwest towards the Indian Ocean, as the northwesterly route would have taken it through numerous national airspaces in an area monitored extensively by satellites.

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Pilots And Crew In Spotlight As Homes Raided

Police investigating the missing Malaysian airliner have searched the homes of both pilots, as authorities turned their attentions to those onboard the plane.

Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and his First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid are among the few who would have been in a position to tamper with equipment on Flight MH370.

Experts say the Boeing 777's transponder would have had to be turned off by someone with technical knowledge and that it is "inconceivable" anyone in the passenger cabin was involved in the diversion.

Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said the jet's communications had been deliberately disabled by "someone on the plane".

Pilots Fariq Abdul Hamid and Zaharie Ahmad Shah

"In view of this latest development, the Malaysian authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board," he said.

It later emerged that police in Malaysia had searched the homes of both Mr Shah and co-pilot Mr Hamid.

Hijacking has also not been ruled out, but the country's prime minister refused to be drawn on the matter, saying instead authorities were "refocusing their investigation into the crew and passengers on board".

Reports emerged last week that Mr Hamid, 27, had entertained two women in the cockpit during a flight between the Thai island of Phuket and Malay capital Kuala Lumpur in 2011.

Australian woman Jonti Roos alleged that Mr Hamid and another pilot had talked to her and a friend, smoked and posed for photos in a clear violation of aviation rules.

Mr Hamid has about 2,800 hours of flying experience and has worked for Malaysia Airlines since 2007.

The house of Fariq Abdul Hamid on Saturday

Malaysia Airlines said it was shocked by the claims about Mr Hamid's conduct.

Neighbour Ayop Jantan told the Associated Press that he had heard that Mr Hamid was engaged and planning his wedding.

Police were seen outside the home of Captain Shah on Saturday - a gated community in the town of Shah Alam, just outside of Kuala Lumpur.

Captain Shah, 53, joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981 and was known as an avid flying buff who had clocked more than 18,000 flying hours.

The grandfather is said to have enjoyed flying miniature planes on his days off and had created a series of "community service" YouTube videos with handy hints to help cut bills.

Fariq Abdul Hamid with Jonti Roos and a friend

He was also a certified flight simulator examiner and had sufficient knowledge to build his own simulator at his home.

Several days ago, the Malaysians were forced to deny raiding the pilots' homes, when suggestions that the place could have been deliberately diverted first emerged.

Despite that, police have confirmed they are looking at the pair's psychological backgrounds, their family life and connections.

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Missing Plane: 'Evidence Points To Hijack'

Efforts to divert the missing Malaysia Airlines plane needed "preparation and forethought" and appear to have been part of a hijack, aviation security experts have told Sky News.

While Malaysian authorities are refusing to say publicly that a hijack is the most likely scenario, the country's prime minister confirmed the plane had been deliberately diverted and its communications cut.

The Boeing 777-200 was heading from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board last Saturday when it disappeared around 40 minutes into its flight.

And experts say the fact Flight MH370 vanished in a so-called 'dead space' area - when Malaysian air traffic controllers handed over control to their Vietnamese counterparts - appears a crucial factor in the mystery.

John Lindsay, former head of air safety at British Airways, said this would have been the "ideal" time to take over the aircraft "because it would give a period of time when no one was aware of what the aircraft was doing".

He said this and the disabling of the plane's transponders - which transmit data on a plane's location to air traffic controllers - suggest it was well-planned.

"It seems to be more than just a strong coincidence that the loss of contact with the aircraft happened at the point of hand-over," he told Sky News.

"(Also) there's a lot of (communication) equipment on there, most of which operates automatically, and to disable particularly the ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) it would need some preparation and forethought.

"It's quite doable, but it's not something the pilots would have been trained to do, whereas the air traffic control transponder is something that is routinely switched on and off as required.

"But the ACARS are a different matter as are the sat coms. These things would have required some preparation and forethought about how they were going to be accomplished and when they were going to be accomplished."

He said it was "inconceivable" that someone in the passenger cabin would know the critical point at which the aircraft was being handed over to Vietnamese control.

A huge sea and air search is continuing for the plane

This suggests either the collusion of the crew or someone in the flight deck when hand-over occurred.

Former BA pilot Alastair Rosenschein told Sky News it is "looking more likely" that the plane was hijacked.

"What is puzzling is the fact that the ACARS and the transponder appear to have been disabled or switched off or become unworkable at separate times," he said.

"It rather suggests that was a deliberate action."

Final satellite communication came more than six-and-a-half hours after the plane vanished from civilian radar.

Aviation security expert Philip Baum said the possibility of pilot suicide is now decreasing "because you would have expected a suicide pilot to simply crash the aircraft not carry on flying".

"So it now looks like we're dealing with a terrorist situation or with the actions of a deranged individual or an asylum seeker," he said.

Previous theories about why the plane vanished included a sudden mid-air explosion, catastrophic equipment or structural failure, or a crash into the South China Sea.

If a plane if hijacked, crew are trained to be compliant and do whatever they can to safeguard the plane and passengers.

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Missing Plane Investigation Turns To Pilots

Missing Jet: Timeline Of Key Events

Updated: 2:41pm UK, Saturday 15 March 2014

A summary of the developments surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Saturday, March 8

:: The Boeing 777, with 239 people on board, loses contact with air traffic control north of Malaysia around 1.20am, some 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.

:: Vietnam says the plane went missing near its airspace.

It launches a search operation which expands into a huge international hunt in the South China Sea, involving dozens of ships and aircraft from countries including the US and Japan.

:: Tearful relatives of the 153 Chinese passengers criticise Malaysia Airlines over a lack of information.

:: Vietnamese planes spot two large oil slicks near the aircraft's last known location, but it proves a false alarm.

:: It also emerges two passengers were travelling on stolen EU passports, fuelling speculation of a terrorist attack.

Sunday, March 9

:: Malaysia said it was investigating a possible terror link to the jet's disappearance and the US sent FBI agents to assist in the investigation.

:: Malaysia raises the first of several suggestions that the plane may have veered radically off-course.

:: The air force chief said it may have turned back towards the country's capital for no apparent reason.

:: A Vietnamese plane spots possible debris off southwest Vietnam - but this is also a false alarm.

Monday, March 10

:: Authorities double the search radius to 100 nautical miles around the point where MH370 disappeared from radar.

:: China criticises Malaysia, saying it needs to speed up the investigation.

:: Malaysia sends ships to investigate a sighting of a possible life raft, but a Vietnamese vessel that gets there first finds only flotsam.

:: Chemical analysis by Malaysia finds no link between oil slicks found at sea and the missing plane.

Tuesday, March 11

:: The search area now includes land on the Malaysian peninsula itself, the waters off its west coast, and an area to the north of Indonesia's Sumatra island, all far removed from the flight's scheduled route.

:: Authorities identify the two men with stolen passports as young Iranians who are believed to be illegal immigrants - not terrorists.

Wednesday, March 12

:: Malaysia expands the search zone to include the Malacca Strait off the country's west coast and the Andaman Sea north of Indonesia, hundreds of miles away.

:: Malaysia's air force chief says an unidentified object was detected on military radar north of the Malacca Strait early on Saturday - less than an hour after the plane lost contact - but says it is still being investigated.

:: At a news conference, Malaysian officials deny the search is in disarray after China says conflicting information about its course is "pretty chaotic".

:: It emerges US regulators warned months ago of a problem with "cracking and corrosion" of the fuselage skin under the satellite antenna on Boeing 777s that could lead to a mid-air break-up.

:: But the manufacturer later confirms that the warning did not apply to the missing plane, which had a different kind of antenna.

Thursday, March 13

:: Malaysia dismisses a report in the Wall Street Journal which said US investigators suspect the plane flew on for four hours after its last known contact, based on data sent from its engines.

:: Authorities in Kuala Lumpur also say that Chinese satellite images of suspected debris in the South China Sea are yet another false lead.

:: India steps up its search, sending three ships and three aircraft to the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Friday, March 14

:: The hunt spreads west to the Indian Ocean after the White House cites unspecified "new information" that the jet may have flown on after losing contact.

:: Malaysia declines to comment on US reports that the plane's communication system continued to "ping" a satellite for hours after it disappeared, suggesting it may have travelled a huge distance.

Saturday, March 15

:: Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak says the last-known movements of the missing airliner were consistent with the deliberate actions of someone on board.

:: He also revealed the last contact with the plane was with a satellite at 8.11am last Saturday which means it could have been flying for more than six hours longer than first thought.

:: The PM confirmed Malaysian air force defence radar picked up traces of the plane turning back westward, crossing over Peninsular Malaysia into the northern stretches of the Strait of Malacca.

:: The search area is expanded to two air corridors - a northern one stretching as far as Turkmenistan and Thailand - and one which goes as far as Indonesia and the southern Indian Ocean.

:: Mr Najib says search efforts in the South China Sea, where the plane first lost contact, had ended.

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